Color me Happy - part 1

When I started this blog, my goal was to focus on the changes that I was making to break those old habits that kept be from being the person that I wanted to be.  I have come to realize that these changes are more than just food and exercise related!  There are so many more aspects of my life that also play a huge roll in achieving these goals!  Spending time with my friends and family has always been something that I enjoy and I am finding that I have some absolutely wonderful people in my life that have a huge influence in making my into the person that I am today (you all better know who you are!) and I can't imagine this adventure without each one of you!  This weekend was one of those weekends that I was able to spent time with several of those friends, as well as meeting several other amazing people that I am now proud to call my friends!

This past weekend was the much awaited for Color Run in Madison!  When Beth and I saw this event posted many months ago, we didn't waste any time getting signed up and booking our hotel!  Then we had to wait...

But the weekend finally arrived and the wait was over!  We all took Friday off from work and headed to Madison bright and early.  Along the way, John and I stopped and did some shopping at the outlet mall in Oshkosh, since we never get down that way anymore.  Shopping for new running clothes has become one of my new favorite things to do.  Not only does a new pair of shorts or a cute tank give me motivation to get out for another run, but my running clothes are the most comfortable things in my closet these days! I wish I could wear them everyday - but I guess that would not be appropriate for the workplace!  I can at least get away with wearing my running shoes at work, so that is a start!

Beth and I

By the time we made it to Madison (after shopping and lunch), our hotel room was ready early, Chad and Beth were already there and it was off to an afternoon of fun!  Our first stop?  The Alliant Energy Center to pick up my race packet for tomorrow.  While I was getting checked in, little did I know that Beth was working on talking John into joining us for the fun tomorrow!  By the time I got my packet and t-shirt and was browsing the goodies in the Color Run Store, her work was done.  He was signing up! But not only was he signing up for the event... he bought himself a multi colored tutu to wear for the walk/run tomorrow. This was going to be an awesome weekend!

John in his new tutu!

Of course, on the way back to the parking lot, we had to stop and take some pictures by the race signs.  Our favorite?  "Jump if you are happy!!  How could we not be happy?  It was the start of a fun filled weekend with
wonderful friends!

Next stop, The New Glarus Brewery just south of Madison!  What an amazing place!  Their new location (which opened in 2008) sits up top of the hill overlooking town.  There is still work going on around the property and we will have to make another trip down to see the work in progress!    We each grabbed a pint of beer (ok, Beth, Chad and myself did anyway, since John doesn't drink beer) and made our way through the self guided tour.  The hard hat tours that they offer would have been interesting, but those need to be booked in advance and we didn't plan that far ahead.  Maybe next time...

New Glarus Brewery

I could have probably spent hours wandering around the property and buildings, but since closing time was quickly sneaking up on us, we will have to save that for the next trip!  Just getting a brief look at the architecture and ambiance of the property is enough to make me want to come back again next time we are in the area.

We also spent some time wandering around downtown New Glarus, checking out some of the small shops.  Our main reason for visiting downtown was to check out the New Glarus Bakery!  YUM!  By the time we left, we had more treats to keep us going for the weekend than we will even need!

Our final stop of the day was at Ella's Deli for dinner.  Wendy pointed this treasure out to me when we were in Madison last month for our Winery and Trader Joe's/Whole Foods run.  How could you not want to stop at a place that has a HUGE fully operational carousel out front???  From the time we walked through the front door until we left, we kept finding cool things to check out!  The carousel outside was just the start!  There were animated characters everywhere!  Spongebob was actually flying over our table, Mighty Mouse was over near one window and the Genie (from Aladdin) was near another window!

Dinner was good, but the highlight of any dinner at Ella's Deli is the dessert menu - it's 18 pages long!  From traditional banana splits to their Pound Cake Sunday' there is something for everyone.  However for the extremely brave sweet tooth, you will have to check out the Sparkled Kazoo!  This monstrosity is a total of 32 scoops of ice cream and sherbet, covered in sundae sauces and whipped cream!  No, we did not even attempt this creation, but I know several people who would like to try and conquer it!  If you are ever in Madison and enjoy checking out the interesting hidden gems of an area, this is a place you really should check out!

What a day!  And this was only the first day of the amazing weekend!