Jews on Christmas: nighttime skating on a frozen lake.

Jared and I met at summer camp when we were 10 years old, and we've been friends ever since. A good friend comes to visit you even when it's freezing outside, and that's the kind of friend Jared is. As Jewish folks who obviously had no Christmas plans, we figured it was the perfect time for him to fly in from NYC for a visit.

I picked Jared up at the airport with a custom sign that I made in honor of our joint Madonna obsession.

I found him!

Then we had a delicious dinner at Lao Laan-Xang, which was quite crowded for Christmas Eve. The next day, after a matinee (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), it was time for Jared's true Madison experience: skating on a frozen lake at Tenney Park.

I'm a competitive figure skater, but I rarely skate on lakes. I saved an old pair of skates for such occasions. The temperature was 30 degrees that night, which was downright humid for Wisconsin in December. There was a dusting of snow on the lake, and a few flakes were still falling.

The surface was different for me, but I got around just fine.
Jared liked the traction from the snow.

My skating abilities were limited since I was wearing a coat and on a lake. But of course, I had to work in a few tricks:

Scratch spin.

Salchow.

Jared had great balance and a knack for speed:

Taking in the Wisconsin winter!

Moving around kept us warm, and the night was picture perfect.

Posing on the lake.

An awesome night, an great visit, and an out-of-the-ordinary way to enjoy my favorite sport.

Lakeside morning.

After my lovely 4th of July, I invited some friends to join me at Tenney Beach this morning. Bronwen, Scott, Elysha, Abby, Clementine, and I had a relaxing lakeside morning of swimming and lounging. And with Bronwen's homemade iced coffee and delicious pastries from Batch Bakehouse, I'd say this was a perfect start to my Sunday.

"It's so picturesque!" was Bronwen's reaction to this photo op. I just love lounging with the ducks.

Lakeside 4th of July.

I've been a working professional for two years, and I know one thing for certain: paid holidays rock. The 4th of July is one of 'em, and nothing beats a weekday off from work. 

With perfect weather outside and only an afternoon BBQ on my agenda, I packed up my new Matt & Nat cork tote and headed to Tenney Beach. Less than 2 miles from my condo, this seemed like the perfect lakeside lounging spot.

Note: In Wisconsin, the word "beach" means a lakeside place to lounge with a small amount of sand and a large amount of grass. There are no waves, no seashells, and building a sand castle would be a challenge. 

I set up my towel lakeside and pulled out the latest issue of Vogue: pure bliss.

The ducks kept me company.

When I got through my magazine, that perfect lake was calling me, so I went for a swim. I went to summer camp for 9 years, so I'm used to lake swimming, but I probably hadn't been in a lake since 2003. And hell, I hadn't been swimming in the state of Wisconsin yet, so I figured I was due.

After my first swim in Lake Mendota. Wet hair and Ray-Bans.

Swimming: check. Now, back to lounging in my Havaianas.

My solo lake trip was fabulous but I was getting hungry, and in true 4th of July fashion, it was time for a BBQ. I headed off to Jennifer and John's house for a pretty amazing spread:

Chick pea salad, chips, olives, a veggie dog, and a veggie skewer: Yum!

After hanging at the BBQ for a while, my friend Michal invited me to join her at BB Clarke Beach on Lake Monona (yup, that would be another "beach" full of grass). I was pretty full and couldn't pass up more lakeside lounging:

Took those Havaianas to lake #2.

And then, it happened: I revealed the horrible fact that after living in Madison for over two years, I had never been to Memorial Union Terrace (arguably the best place for summer hangouts and swimming in Lake Mendota). We packed up our bags, headed over to the Union, and claimed our spot on the dock:

Michal and me enjoying the sun.

We had a beautiful lakeside view...

and jumped in! 

My second swim for the day: quite relaxing.

After hours by the lake (which included meeting Alejandro, a friendly Puerto Rican who will be Michal's new salsa dance partner), it was time to grab a table and get some food (we opted for Mediterranean wraps).

The signature Union chair: these are all over the terrace in orange, green, and yellow.
Really brightens up the place!

Two lakes, two swimming trips, and a delicious BBQ: a fabulous 4th of July.

I often skate, but I rarely do it outdoors.

As I have mentioned before on this blog, I'm a figure skater. I've been skating and competing for almost 21 years, and I can't remember my life without skating. 

Last weekend, my friends Elysha and Scott asked me to come skating with them at the Tenney Park Rink and teach their 2.5 year old daughter, Abby, how to skate. Of course I said yes: I never say no to skating. However, it's notable that in almost 21 years of skating, I had NEVER skated on a pond (I've skated outdoors, but never on a frozen pond). Since January is National Skating Month, what better time to try?

Abby did a great job for a first-timer and was willing to do a little bit of independent skating.

Abby found the snow more interesting than the ice. Here she is taking a break with her mom.

Elysha and I are knitters, so of course we sported our handmade headwear.

Happy National Skating Month!