Quarter of a Century

Turning 25 on Fat Tuesday pretty much makes it the best day ever.  Not only are you allowed to eat an absurd amount of food on your birthday, it is also reinforced by the fact that today you are supposed to be a glutton.  So I ate cake, two pieces - and a lot of yummy delicious meals with some of my closest friends in Milwaukee. I truly felt so full after dinner tonight that my body believed it was November and Thanksgiving.

Now, I think in my 25 years, I've been very fortunate to have some wonderful life experiences including but not limited to: being a Bronco, Buckeye, OSL, singing in Ireland/Poland/Czech Republic, camping on the shores of Lake Michigan, runs on the Dish, NYC musicals, almost dying riding a donkey in Greece, trips to Taho Falls, and many many more.  

So, thinking back to the first quarter of my life, I wanted to create a list of 25 things that I want to accomplish in the next 25 years.  A bucket list of sorts.

1. Run a marathon (I'm signed up for one in October - here's to hoping it happens)

2. Read at the very least 12 new novels a year (one a month shouldn't be too difficult)

3. Climb Machu Picchu - this would also require me to travel to South America

4.Travel to South Africa - I've always wanted to see the Cape of Good Hope

5. Become confident with my cooking skills.

6. Go for a run in 25 US cities that I have not yet visited

7. Perform in a community theater production

8. Graduate with another degree

9. See at least 1 concert a year

10. Complete a triathlon

11. Re-read the Harry Potter series at least 5 more times

12. Live abroad.

13. Visit London town. (I have a fascination with the Royal Family and I want to take a trip to Kensington Gardens to view the statue of my favorite childhood story, Peter Pan)

14. Go to every Midnight showing of the Hunger Games movies. (slightly joking, but read the books)

15. Become more crafty - as in making gifts for others or nifty things for around the house (TGFP - thank God for Pinterest)

16. Get a dog - take dog for runs, lay with dog most days, and play with dog most days

17. Buy a pair of Christian Louboutin's and rock them (after all, nothing, in my opinion, is better than a tall woman rocking heels).

18. Feel successful in my career

19. See at least 5 musicals a year 

20.Plant and tend a garden successfully

21. Make my own compost (and us it on my garden!)

22. Become a certified fitness instructor.

23. Dye my hair.  Believe or not, it's never been done before.

24. Learn a language (preferably Italian - sounds like you're singing when speaking!  Bella!)

25. Learn to play the guitar.

I think I have some exciting times to look forward to.  Thanks for the birthday love.  Only the best is yet to come.

Forget the Derby. Race Turtles.

I know what you're thinking.  The title of this post is absurd.  And it is.  But, let me tell you, you should invest some time in turtle racing - I highly recommend it.


This past Friday, I made the trip to Chicago to spend an evening with friends.  The evening was carefully planned - attend the Tony Award winning musical, Spring Awakening at Northwestern University followed by going to an establishment called Big Joe's in Lincoln Square for turtle racing.  That's right - racing turtles.  Talk about an oxymoron. But, we do know the story of the tortoise and the hare and we learned that slow and steady wins the race.  And that is exactly the experience at Big Joe's.


So, this is how the night works - there are 7 races.  The first 6 determine the winners for the final 7th race at the end of the evening.  You are given tickets throughout the evening and those tickets are placed into a bucket.  By the last race - you have a ton of tickets and you hope and pray that the odds are ever in your favor (yes... that is a shameless plug for the Hunger Games...).  If a ticket is pulled that you posses - you then represent a turtle in their race.  There are 6 turtles, all ranging in size and skill.  My favorite is a turtle named Yolanda. She is also affectionately known as the slowest (insert profanity) turtle in the world.  She is my home girl.  Never once did I see her move an inch throughout the 4 races I bore witness to.  Talk about going against the crowd, and I respect that.


The numbers for the 6th race began to be called and sure enough, one of our groups' numbers was called.  My friends had me go to the race table and I was the personal cheerleader for turtle #6 - Lucky Dan.  What an exciting race - after some time of Lucky Dan being a little lazy, he picked it up to bring us the bronze.  And although it seems a bit odd to get excited over watching turtles race, I have to say it's one of the most strange yet one of the most interesting things I have done in recent times.  And extremely American.  

Give Me That Strawberry!

I will be the first person to state that I'm OK that this year I don't have an official Valentine in the way Hallmark intended.  I did not go on a fancy date with someone and exchange expensive gifts.  This year, I did something better: I spent Valentine's Day with some of my closest friends in Milwaukee.


Some people look at Valentine's Day as a dreaded day because they aren't in a relationship.  But that's not what today is about.  Today is about telling those around you that you care about them.  Yes, this year, we have 366 days (it is a leap year, ya know!) to tell others we care for them.  But, isn't it nice to take time out of one day to really let others know how much you truly are thankful for them?  


Now, society makes it seem like you have to be in a duo to make this day extra special.  Today, I spent Valentines with one of my closest friends, her wonderful husband, and my little niece.  Couldn't get much better than that.  At the end of dinner, we got dessert which were some chocolate covered strawberries.  When they were brought out to us, they came in a pair.  Needless to say, after an exhausting dance off, I got one of the coveted berries.  Clearly there's an assumption of how one chooses to spend this holiday.  Clearly, I like to go against the trend. 


Nevertheless, tonight was a great reminder of why I love living here in Milwaukee, and it's in part due to the wonderful friendships I have surrounding me every day.

Fear the Deer

Last evening, we took about 50 of our students to a Milwaukee Bucks game.  This happened to be my first time seeing the Bucks play and probably my first NBA game I had gone to in years.  I really didn't know what to expect, but I was interested to see what the Bucks had to offer.  It makes sense that Milwaukee's team is named for a deer.  I mean, what else do Wisconsinites like to do in the Fall other than go deer hunting?  And the best part about it is their catch phrase of "Fear the Deer."  I mean, I was for sure intimidated.


Once the game began, I was even more impressed with my half time experience.  Walking out to the lobby area, I witnessed a drum line.  How cool is that. I never was in band, but I have to say, I've always appreciated a good solid drum line.  Then, upon my return to my seat, the half time show began.  Words cannot describe how awesome and strange the performance was: A One Man Village People.  No joke.  This guy stood in the middle, dressed as the Native American character and had four life size puppets - two in front and two behind, hooked up to him with this interesting contraption that made them look almost real.  They danced around the court to the YMCA, In the Navy, and even to some classic MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice.  It pretty much was epic and something I had never witnessed before.


To top it off, the Bucks beat the Magic.  Great first trip to see my local NBA team.

Like Two Crickets Chirping in the Night

Last night, I was fortunate enough to get to see the amazing band, City and Colour play a show at the Pabst Theater here in good 'ol MKE.  One of the many things I love about a good concert is a great opener.  This concert did not fail to disappoint.  The opener's name: The Low Anthem.  They are a group based out of Rhode Island.  For me, this was my first in person encounter I think with anyone from the state of Rhode Island.  So, initially I was very excited to learn this fun fact, and then on top of it, their music was pretty much epic.


They were very experimental with a lot of their music, and it led to some of the most creative sounds I've heard from a group in a while. They even used a saw to create some eerie tones - they basically played it like a violin, using a bow to rub on the side of the tool.  For another song, they basically were unplugged and performed a sweet four part harmony with the lead singer from City and Colour.  To top it all off, their final song, they had us create a sound with our cell phones that basically sounded like crickets chirping in the night. How do you create this noise at home do you ask?  Well, it's very simple.  Find a friend. Stand next to said friend.  Call said friend.  Said friend answers phone call and places call on speaker phone.  You also place your call on speaker phone.  Bring phones together facing one another.  Listen.


Now, once you do that, think of an entire theater with that sound.  It's epic.


To top things off, City and Colour was just phenomenal.  If you don't believe me, check them out for yourself:

Superbowl XLVI: Who Are You Excited to Watch?

We are down to two teams: The New England Patriots and the New York Giants. And although I am excited to head over to a friend's home tonight to watch the game, I can't help but to think of the real reason I want to watch the Superbowl.  Last years battle for the coveted title included the Steelers (makes me think of this) and the Packers.  So, really, it was just made to be a good match up (I'm referencing last year's performance from both teams...).  Anywho, I enjoyed going out to a local establishment and actually wanted to watch the game. 

For me, this year actually serves as a year where I'm more excited for the Half Time Show more-so than anything else.  I mean, who doesn't love the Material Girl?  No joke, last week, I had a dream where I got to go to a Madonna concert.  Even my subconscious was excited to see the pop culture icon rock it out live.  It made me think of how big a production this whole thing really has become.  Sure, it's about who wins - but really, it's a celebration of consumerism.  We anticipate the commercials to see who has the best advertisements - and who knows, it probably will lead to an increase in sales.  News coverage all week has been focusing somewhat on the Giants and the Pats, but also on the city of Indianapolis.  Talk about a great way to increase tourism in that Midwestern town.  They even get the biggest names in show-business to perform with the hope to increase the audience size to then watch said commercials to increase consumerism (see the pattern here?).

So, who are you really excited to watch tonight?  With the Lions and the Packers losses early in the playoffs, I have to say I have no preference for who wins the game tonight (although the Giants were my defense for my Fantasy Team...).  But you better believe I will be eating lots of great food, hanging with great friends, enjoying commercials, and jamming out to the Material Girl.