it's the end of the world as we know it

Apparently today is the last day of civilization according to the Mayan calendar.
Well, I forgot to pencil that little detail in on my calendar and completely forgot about it.
So I will not be celebrating the end of the world today, ancient Indians.
What I will be celebrating is that it's nearly CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!! Which of course makes me giddy like a schoolgirl

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There was a big old snowstorm yesterday. Up until noon it was a wonderfully depressing steady downpour of rain. Then the depressing rain turned to frozen flakes of fun, and a lot of my favorite-- big, fatty snowflakes.

We closed the jewelry store at 3:30, right when the snow was starting to go bonkers. It will never cease to amaze me that people will bundle up, bundle up the kids who have a snowday, and drive in such weather to have their ring cleaned. Not really the time for errands. Run that shhhht under some tap water instead you maniacs.

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I went back to LM a couple days ago and made cookies with my mom. I also shook every single present under the tree, and partially unwrapped the ones in gift bags. Yes mom, I should know better by now. And yes mom, I realize that you also know better by now since the present in the gift bag wasn't even for me...

fa la la la la

Ben and I watched "Christmas Vacation" last night. Slight correction: I watched it and snort-laughed along with those silly Griswolds. Ben watched it, watched me, and then fell asleep.


xoxo, b

cat with eyeliner

My parents rescued [another] cat. This kitty- RJ- has clinically proven ADHD. He looks like he is wearing emo eyeliner. He stole my peanut butter cookie, and then tried to take another right from my mouth. He's a mental spaz-cake.

He should fit in just fine with my parents.

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Ben's holiday work party was this last Friday. I miraculously had off that same day, so we drove down to IL together bright and freakin' early in the morning. I sang and seat-danced to Christmas music on the hour ride there, and Ben reminded me that I was not invisible while in a car. Exactly sweet cheeks, more like on stage...

I did some solid Christmas shopping, coffee drinking, and time killing while Ben was at work. I even saw the Griswold's family roadster with a dead christmas tree strapped on top of it. I took a blurry picture on my dumb-dumb phone and texted it to numerous contacts to share the joy of what I had just seen. Then I went in the mall and mall Santa waved at me. I texted my sista Branners right away to make her jealous of my amazing good fortune. She replied "he has to be nice to kids and retards... that's what he's paid for." Clever.

Then the holiday work party finally started, and I was able to have my X-Rated mixed drink and fried shrimp and fancy pizza and sliders. And all was pretty much good in the world.

Sidenote pet peeve: If you're going to start giving a grand diagnosis in front of everyone on how I'm so skinny and should eat a sandwhich, then the least you could do is buy me a damn sandwhich Dr. Nobody. Then I'd have a burger to go with your stupid opinion. And make sure it has pickles and extra cheese on it.

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Benjamin has been sick for the last couple of days. I got him pretty filled up with cough drops, NyQuil, orange juice, and even some homemade chicky noodle soup. I was pretty determined not to fall victim to the same monstrosity that made my husband become a whiney lump on the couch.

I woke up this morning with a scratchy throat. Not cool life, not cool.

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As soon as my mom gets her life together and finishes up work, we are going to make Christmas cookies. It will be glorious and sugar-filled.

xoxo, b

hippies on the high seas

The Ellen Show-- my most favoritest show ever and member of my bucket list must do-- was in Milwaukee December 4th. And I was there.

Jessica and I showed up to Walgreens with our ugly Christmas sweaters, Packers tutus, and a couple of footballs for the Toys for Tots campaign. The place was jam packed by the time we got there. HELLOOO.... I left work early to get there & Jess drove in from LM. Dedication.  Since the joint was so packed, we ran inside Walgreens and purchased a big, neon pink sign. Then we wrote "We're over here!" and an arrow pointed towards us. It was beautiful for the time it was used. Then it got even more packed, and everyone in front of us had a sign. But I was not discouraged! Nay! I rolled that poster into a tube and stuck a Santa hat on top of it. Then, to really get the party started, we swapped out the Santa hat for Jessica's Packer cow hat.


See list of video proof below:

News footage... I'm holding up a neon pink sign in the far right. Please observe that I was prancing around before any of the rest of the crowd became so jolly.

The Ellen Show. Right around the 57 second mark, and 1:40 mark. Note the jumping Santa hat on a stick in the far right.

I would also like to add that we had a small Twitter following, urging Ellen to get us onto the show. So why the hat only got on, I will never know.


December 4th was also my mom's birthday. Apparently she's 29....which blows my mind since I've already hit quarter life crisis 25.

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On Black Friday (but really late on Turkey Thursday) I bought Ben's Christmas present.... a television.

Since he was present for the shopping, and happened to be the fine young lad who hauled the television box from Target to the car, from the car to the apartment, and from the general apartment area to being set up in the bedroom, he knew that he was getting a tv from me this holiday time.
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With that pre-story out of the way, one night we happened to Netflix across Whale Wars. This show is all about hippies on the high seas, declaring their love and willingness to die if it saved a single whale. Of course, we were addicted after episode numero uno.

These silly guys and gals are on a ship cruising around the Antarctic. The ship isn't designed to be in icy areas. Most of the crew has never been on a ship or had any experience, except maybe for that one time as a kid when Uncle Greg took them for a spin on the old fishing boat. It's madness, and I plan on continued watching to see what crazy mishaps those happy hippies get themselves into.

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I would really enjoy wrapping some Christmas presents today, but I've run out of gifts. I mentioned that I wanted to go and finish our Christmas shopping while I have off today.... but Benjamin wants to go Christmas shopping with me.

So I suppose I'll wait for him. I've heard from a number of reliable sources that in 5+ years he won't want to do those sort of things.

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The Style Network is doing a reality show on Packers fans. Auditions were held near Lambeau Field on Thursday that I did not know about this until after the fact.

My husband knew about it within plenty of time, yet willfully and knowingly disregarded the notion that such fantastic news should be shared with his better half.

When I approaced him concerning this most distressing news, he said, quote "Ooh shoot, you found out. Yeah, I didn't want to tell you, because I knew you and Jess would get on the show. Then everyone would know what a crazy person I married."

There is a tight, strange feeling in my chest. I believe it to be utter devastation, because I don't fall into the age bracket most commonly associated with heart attacks.

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Off to eat cookies for breakfast... but those cookies have oatmeal in them so it's all good.

xoxo, b

turkey extravaganza

My Betty Crocker baking experiences over the Thanksgiving weekend were..... multiple and devastating.

My first attempt at baking a freakin' apple pie ended with a burnt and butter-less pastry. Round Two seemed like it was going to be easier than prom night, until Ben came home and busted me for using a pre-mixed apple crisp concoction that expired in 2009. My bad. So I got my Betty Crocker buns in the car and hit up the Pick N Save for a pre-made pumpkin pie.

Sunday was a Turkey Day with my parents, Brianna, and Brianna's boyfriend (they started dating following our wedding, so I'm taking credit). Since we were hosting the little gathering at our place, I was in charge of making the turkey. After discussing with multiple individuals who know a thing or two about cooking, it was decided that I would make a turkey boob in the crock pot. Since the apple deserts had been a disappointment, I was pretty pumped to prove myself as a bonafide chef. Or at least a girl who can create something edible. 

I purchased my turkey boob, defrosted it in the fridge for a day and a half as instructed, and seasoned it late Saturday night. I gently lowered the boob into the crock pot and gingerly put the cover in place. Tilting my head to one side, I felt a smile crawl onto my face as I watched the beginning of perfection. I could practically taste my success. Ben was busy picking out a movie for us to watch before going to bed, so with one final nod and smile at my masterpiece, I left the boob to simmer to its glorious finale.

The next morning, I woke up and feeling confused, politely asked Ben if he could smell the turkey. He responded that he in deed did not smell the turkey, and rolled out of bed to investigate. He quickly returned to the bedroom, looking like a mug shot. Apparently, after watching the movie, Ben shuffled around the apartment unplugging the vast assortment of Christmas lights and unplugged the crock pot as well. He was so panicky and upset about the lifeless and cold turkey boob in the crock pot that I couldn't even be upset. We drove over to Pick N Save (again) and adopted our second turkey boob. Ben was left with intense instructions on how to recreate my original masterpiece in 1/4 of the time as I headed out to work. Blah blah blah we ended up having turkey in time for dinner.

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At Ben's family Turkey Day, THREE COUPLES stood up throughout dinner to announce that they were knocked up and expecting in May/June. His aunts and uncles kept looking at us, apparently waiting for a similar announcement from Ben & I. So I announced that I was planning on having a food baby and got seconds.

I am fully aware that it's startling and fantastic that I've kept a myself AND a pair of cats alive and functioning up until now... and that a tiny human depending on me probably isn't the greatest idea at this point.

"The Parent Rap"

So congrats to ya'll who are with child. I know what you did last September.

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 xoxo, b

black ops blogging

Right now, I am black ops blogging at work... as Justin Bieber sings softly over the sound system, whispering for me to meet him under the mistletoe.....

ooh Bieber, you tease.

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My accomplishments for the day include (in no particular order): Finishing a venti Starbucks coffee. Black ops blog post. The things I do to feel alive! Singing along to the Christmas Biebs. Wearing my red high heels for a combined total of 37 minutes today.


xoxo. b

gobble gobble lick lick

IT'S BASICALLY TURKEY DAY!!

yum

Today, I will get my Betty Crocker on, and try to create an edible apple pie masterpiece to bring to family turkey day. There is no middle ground here... it will either be a splendid surprise, or a god-awful disaster. Because that's how I roll.

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After my work meeting yesterday morning, I rushed home on a full tank of caffeinated coffee and attacked our apartment with Christmas decorations. It's great! But it's Christmas decorating... and in my humble but always correct opinion... that means you could always use a little more tinsel and twinkling lights. I'm unsupervised for the majority of the day today, and awake way too early thanks to Paris wiping kitty boogers on me until I woke up, so let's see what trouble I can get into.

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According to local sources, I will be doing my first ever Black Friday shopping with my sister within 48 hours of right now. Yikes.

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Nicole (aka SoCo) with a bottle of SoCo...

xoxo, b

photo bomb like aaron

I saw this little ditty about Aaron Rogers being a photo-bomber.... it's like the man could not get any cooler if he tried. Photobombing is an underappreciated art

Packer win tonight against Detroit. Ugly win, but still a win, so I'll have it please and thank you.

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Ben, Nathan, and I saw the final Twilight movie tonight. Not necessarily a fan, but we felt like we might as well round out the saga by seeing the finale....

Movie Spoiler Alert... some vampire heads get ripped clean off their bodies. And I'm a horrible person who was obviously raised as a boy during my impressionable formative years, because I had a decent chuckle while the tween behind me had a decent emotional breakdown.

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Every so often, when there is a crazy huge orange moon, or some whack-a-do walks into work and says something ridiculous, or I notice some grocery store boy watching me pick out a cucumber... (seriously, they put those things on the bottom shelf and wait for you to come over and pick out a good one. dirty grocers )... cutting to the chase here....the idea that The Truman Show is actually taking place in current real-time as "The Britani Show" seems plausible.

I decided to mention this idea to Ben while we were driving to LM the other night. I think he expects me to think of obnoxious things like that and NOT  keep them to myself, but just word vomit them all over the place like I usually do.

Anywho, Ben was completely unfazed, and apparently, the cats and Ben are all paid actors on "The Britani Show." He should stop enabling me.

But... I'm pretty sure that this absurd thought has crossed someone else's  mind at some point.... right? No? Yeah, me neither.

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xoxo, b

half a chance

Last week, the idea of running a half marathon was presented to me.

I said hell no.

Then I thought about it, realized that the silly little 13.1 intimidated me, and immediately decided that I would make that thing my beyatch.

Long story short, I will be "running" (aka crawling on bloody knees with dirty tear-streaked face) a half marathon in Washington DC this March. As a heads up to those concerned with penciling things into their calendars: If the race is Saturday, March 16th... my untimely funeral should be the following Monday or Tuesday.



xoxo, b

arizona

Our trip to Arizona was just a couple weeks ago, and it was GREAT!

Ben and I left the MKE airport at the un-godly hour of 7am.... and dropped into Phoenix by 9am local time. We shuttled over to the rental car location, where I promptly parked my buns on a bench to guard our bags and engage in some people watching while Ben checked in. He got the keys, and we headed into the parking structure to load into our rental car. When we finally found our rental car section of the massive structure, the little Hispanic man who greeted us took a look at our claims ticket and simply muttered "white one right there." WELL, the white one right there happened to be a 2013 Mustang CONVERTIBLE!!!! Ben was smiling like a fool because he knew all along, and I think he enjoys surprising me because of my strange reactions. I really tried to keep my shit together, but there's a slight possibility that I lost bladder control and started squeaking in excitement.

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So we loaded into the Mustang, which had FIVE MILES TOTAL on it, as well as plastic protectors still scattered throughout the car. The owner's manual itself was still in shrink wrap. The glorious new car smell lingered in the air... It was a bucket list check mark: Convertible road trip.

We stopped at the Casa Grande Ruins on our way south to meet up with my 'rents. It was interesting and made me want to build forts like I did when I was younger.


We drove down to Oro Valley, which is right outside of Tucson, and met up with my parents at the condo they were renting. They were pretty excited to rock out in a convertible as well.

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One day, we had a genius idea to put 5 people into a 4 person convertible and drive 2 hours to Tombstone, AZ. My mom, Brianna, and I squeezed into the backseat and regretted our decision 30 minutes into the trip. Whoever was sitting in the middle of the backseat ended up sitting on a hard hump, which caused butt cheek numbness. Silver lining: it was a couple hours in a car without wasting sunshine exposure.

When we stopped for lunch at a dusty little town along the way, my mom ended up getting herself stuck in the seat belt in the parking lot of a Quiznos. The jury is still out on exactly how she managed to get stuck with the belt unbuckled yet around her waist... wiggling up so she was standing in the backseat.... and climbing out of the car laughing/yelling at the rest of us that "this is not funny! THIS IS NOT FUNNY! I'M SERIOUS YOU GUYS!! HELP ME!!!!!"

Once we made it to Tombstone, we spent some time walking around. We found a silver mining tour, so we decided to hit up the saloon and then head back for some underground excitement. The Good Enough Mine tour was pretty cool, especially since we got to be decked out in hard hats. As we started to descend into the dark depths of the silver mine, Mama Steph became claustrophobic (I think she flashed back to her Quizno parking lot ordeal of before) and had to leave.

After the tour, and after finding my mom, both Brianna and I found silver rings as a souvenir of our AZ trip. Then we rode back in the convertible..... which is more fun when you have more room. I'm jus' saying.

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Early in the morning on one of the days, Ben woke me up and asked if I wanted to go outside and watch the end of a meteor shower. It's widely known that I do not do mornings as well as other individuals, but Ben was so darn cute that I slid on my flippy flops and ventured outside with him. The desert sky was crisp and the stars were so bright... it was beautiful. We walked up a small hill on a dead end street and laid down on the pavement to watch for falling stars. We saw a couple before the sun started to ruin our view and we began to talk about going back inside. It was at this point that I heard what I originally thought to be a dried leaf blowing across the road. It was immediately following this thought that it occurred to me that we were in a desert, and there weren't any colorful fall leaves blowing around........

Whipping around, I saw that it was a stinky little skunk coming straight for us. I wasn't about to be a part of his target practice, so I took off like a bullet out of a gun yelling the whole time "RUN BEN!! IT'S A SKUNK, RUUUUUN!!" As I was shuffling in my flippy flops down the hill trying to keep up the overly large men's lounge pants I was sporting , I saw a gentleman picking up his morning newspaper at the end of his driveway. He gave he an odd look, but then shouted out a "good morning!" As I cruised by looking like a rockstar, I yelled back a hurried "good morniiiiiiiinggg!" Ben jogged by 10 seconds later giggling.

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Our last day in AZ, we decided to do some hiking in the Catalina foothills. It was an awesome, tiresome, experience climbing up a pile of jagged rocks like a mountain goat.

Being overzealous, I pushed for a 3 mile hike to Romero Pools... which incidentally, included the 3 mile hike back out. I wanted to do this: Romero Pools. However, when we got to the pools, there wasn't enough water in the pools to do any sort of jumping, diving, or swimming. The whole hike was so pretty though, and I think it was worth the extra work!

at the Romero Pools with heat exhaustion

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The ride back to Phoenix to catch our early evening flight was bittersweet. The Catalina foothills started to melt into the distance as the highway stretched before us. Everything was so pretty and basked in sunlight.

Ben was really pushing to do a 180 degree turn and head straight to Mexico with the convertible and whatever we had in our single carry-on bag. The idea of running away and living on a beach somewhere south of the border was and continues to be a tempting idea. I absolutely adore the feeling of freedom when you are on the road with no real plans-- just whatever tips your fancy at the time.

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We arrived back to MKE at midnight, and like every other time we get home from a trip, we were attacked all night by a couple of fluffy, purring black monsters.  Then we woke up a couple hours later and each headed our separate ways to work.

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xoxo, b

#luxurytenting

We went to Indianapolis 2 weeks ago to do some tailgating, aka #luxurytenting.

a touch of tailgating Saturday morning

It was tenting at its finest. It was also an eye-opener to just how awesome Green Bay fans are compared to.... well.... everyone else.

beer steins for sipping suds in style

making our mark with sidewalk chalk

We got to Indy early Saturday morning, after a car ride of sing-alongs to the Biebs and country music. Saturday night, we went to Rock Bottom Brewery downtown for a meet and greet with some Packer players and personnel... or we tried. There were sooooo many Packer fans that the meet and greet was moved to the basement and you had to have a wristband to get in. However, Packers President Mark Murphy came and mingled thru the crowd, and Jess and I got our picture with him!

Saturday night we set up our tent, grilled up a couple of brats, and sat around the grill before crawling into the luxury tent for some shut eye.


Sunday = game day. Game day = tutu time!

the luxury tent site

After we got all of our luxury tent camp set up, we busted out the tutus and played catch, had a beer pong tournament, played some bag toss, and had a couple dance parties. It was lovely.

tutus!!

Ben playing beer pong at the luxury tent

beer pong championship game where
I played referee and made obnoxious fake calls....

  

Jess refilling cups for
the championship game... in heels

absolute intimidation

Jess in Clay Matthews mode

it's like that rock was there for me to stand on...

Colts fan bar... title belting outside

For the game... we walked to the JW Marriott that is only a couple blocks from the stadium. It was too dead and boring, so at half time we took a stroll over to the Colts Fan bar downtown, but it was too expensive. We stood outside and watched some more of the game, and then went to Rock Bottom Brewery to finish up the god-awful game.

the bitter end....

 On the walk back, our mood wasn't as joyful. In fact, some jag-weed rent-a-cop told me that I was not crossing the street "nice enough" and that I could be arrested for that. Hello stupid, I'm in the depths of despair, so of course I'm going to be doing a pouty walk back to my car and all the way back to Wisconsin. Fool.


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On a side note... I saw this little clip this morning and coughed up bagel bits laughing so hard

My daughter has chosen the Dark Side



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I went out for drinks last night with a couple of girls from work. We hit up The Safe House... and since I didn't know the secret password to gain entry, I had to fight off invisible ninjas. WELL, let me tell you, I was in ninja slicing mode, and the girls working there said that was one of the best things they have seen. Booya!


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Ben & I are flying to Phoenix tomorrow morning!! Our flight leaves MKE at 7am or something rediculous like that. Then we are driving down to the Tucson area to spend a couple of days with my folks for a fam vaca... with Brianna flying in Sunday night. I plan on catching a lizard and a tan


xoxo, b

the cat bit my elbow

We went to Indy for the Packer game... and it was very fun. Minus the complete crap loss. Details on luxury tenting to come...

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Yesterday, I had to be to work at 7am for inventory, which meant I was physically there ten minutes late and mentally showed up 3 hours into it.

Anywho, while I was at work trying to support our strange little family, Ben was at home watching Prison Break on Netflix. When I got home last night and we were both jumping around the living room in our Matthews jerseys (green and pink, respectively) during a commercial break from the Packers/Texans game, he told me about his day:

" I was laying on the couch, and Nicole came right up to me and so I picked her up and she laid by me on the couch. I put the blanket over her, and she slept by me purring for like 30 minutes! She was so cute! Then, I got off the couch and sat on the floor and she got up and bit my elbow. Then she jumped off the couch and kept biting my elbow and she even bit my hand!  So I bit her head. "

I was laughing during this very serious story he was telling me, and laughing even harder when he found the cat and showed me how he bit her head.

Like I said, strange little family.

xoxo, b

Packer tutu

I made Packer tutu's yesterday..... and they are SO GOOD!! I feel like Jess and I will be older, Packer versions of Sophia Grace & Rosie in these glorious tutus


I'm wearing my Packer tutu today while packing up for our little Indy tailgate road trip that starts tomorrow morning


Paris & Nicole have been chasing after me like little fe-lions trying to attack the tutu....

Creepers

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In other news, I finally changed my name on my Kohl's charge card. All aboard, we're headed to procrastination station whoot whoot


xoxo, tutu b

packer roadtrip time

Blue skies! Orange&Red trees! Crisp air! I love fall

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I had to go to Wally World  this morning, & I found the most glorious candy aisle. Ah-mazing, breathtaking, and dangerous....

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I'm going to go to Indy to tailgate at the Packer game this coming weekend. Ben's going, Jessica is coming, and I think Bart too. We will be busting out "The Luxury Tent" and making a weekend of it. I'm pretty pumped for tailgate crashing in enemy territory

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xoxo, b

fall-ing

It's officially fall!! 

I'm excited for the pretty leaves to change along the river in downtown Milwaukee.... that would make my living room view so very wonderful. And the bedroom view too

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How Bad We Need Each Other by Marc Scibilia looooove his voice :)

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I'm pretty much obsessed with "Up" and the love story between Carl & Ellie. It is so sweet!!

And I want that been-together-forever-with-your-best-friend-acting-silly-and-filling-up-the-pages-of-your-adventure-book-grow-old-together-love, minus the dying at the end.








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There comes a time in every girl's life (I would imagine), where she takes a look at where/who/what she is and decides if she's kosher with it.

Who she's with. Her circle of friends. Where she's living. Hobbies. Job....

So, maybe she finds that the day-to-day is generally just dandy, but there's no possibility of going somewhere with it long term. "Where you are is where you are" in some cases. But if you're not growing and changing, then what are  you doing? I'm not okay with being stagnant... it's driving me wild.

So maybe this girl is going to do something about it-- take what she's had and done and realize that even though it's not where she thought she would be, she was there. She learned, she grew, she had an experience.

But maybe it's time for something else.

xoxo, b

 

pumpkin lager

Splendid fall day today! The smell of crisp fall leaves, and the gentle loving embrace of malted barley and specialty craft beer wafting through the air and hugging my senses.....


Living next to a brewery rocks. I love you, Milwaukee.



xoxo, b

winter [wi] in september

Road Trip:

After Ben got home from work on Friday night (around 7:30ish), we packed up the tiny Speck of a rental car (which he had managed to get for 40 bucks or something outlandish like that) and went about driving north to Winter, WI.

Of course, I was feeling spaz-tastic about going on a trip, playing my new burned CD filled with country music and Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend," and being able to spend some adventure time with the mister.

It was while I was in the middle of a good headbanging, belting out the lyrics-- or just my own words-- to "Boyfriend" that I saw Ben scratching his nose with my peripheral vision. I then saw him start to reach towards my face. NATURALLY, I figured he was coming at me with a booger, so I whipped my head into the "holy shit" handle in the tiny Speck of a car and gave myself and insta-bruise, insta-bump in the middle of my forehead. All this approximately 28 minutes into our trip.

I started up some bipolar combination of laughing/crying because my self-inflicted injury hurt so bad.... and then I was emotionally puzzled because I really was not sure if I was laughing or crying.We stopped and Ben bought me a Starbucks, because Starbucks is like a mental band aid when you are suffering from a surefire concussion.

Moving on........

We made it to the cabin by roughly 2am... after seeing racoons, deer, a cat, a red fox, a family of skunks gathered in the middle of the road, and a creature crossing the road which Ben insists was a baby llama.

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On Saturday, we went "downtown" for breakfast. Then we all got into the Speck and drove to Hayward. First things first, we went to a candy store. Every time I walk into that place I smile.... so gorgeous, so filled with sugar!

We bought some chocolate fudge, cashew turtles, and caramel filled chocolate balls. Then my mom & I did some shopping in the little stores in the area while my dad & Ben wandered around behind us complaining that their boxes of fudge were melting.

After complaining cut our shopping excursion short, we hit up a little wine tasting at Hook Stone Winery.

wine tasting with the goofy 'rents

On the way back to Winter, we stopped at a casino and bought a bunch of cheap fireworks to light off that evening while sitting around a bonfire and sipping.


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bear!!

 
Sunday morning was pretty laid back. While "downtown," Ben and I saw some guys pull up with a black bear they had just shot. That thing was scary huge, which is exactly why I insist that we start campfires in the middle of the day and go inside by dusk. Those creepy bears are lurking in the bushes waiting to eat me.

We left the cabin around noon. Driving back was so pretty with all the leaves changing, the windows down, and the country music up. I really had to tone down my in-car dancing since the Speck was so tiny and filled with hazardous possibilities.

About 2 hours into the trip, we stopped at a little place along the way with some really cool metal artwork. This guy gets random stuff from salvage yards, old farms, etc and makes bird baths, flowers, caterpillars, turtles, and abstract oddities. 

Ned and some flowers

My mom and dad bought a sweet little bird bath. Ben and I got a grouping of flowers and a turtle who I immediately named Ned. According to inside sources, that was the shortest amount of time for me to name an inanimate object.





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And now it's Tuesday. Paris is laying on the table next to the computer smacking random keys as I try to type. She's Grade A Brat this morning.

xoxo, b (&Paris)

24 hours

sooo........ I spent 24 hours in Chicago. OH MY GOSH It was so much fun!!! And I just want to say "THANK YOU" to the guys and girls who made it so amazing! luv ya! Hopefully we can all get together again...... soon!!!

seriously.... too. much. fun. 

I was able to cross off "ride a mechanical bull" from the good ole L.T.D. list.

& only 24 hours! hmm.... maybe we should go somewhere and make a weekend out of it? :)
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Tonight, Ben and I are going up to Winter, WI  to spend the weekend        up nort' with the Tom&Steph combo. Pretty dang pumped... Mama Steph is bringing s'more stuff, games, and steaks. I'm bringing wine. Should be fun! I'm planning on hitting up the brewery tour in Hayward.... are you with me?!

6 hour drive tonight after Ben gets home at 7-ish.....
..... thank goodness we are in our 20's.

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Met up with Jessica today for lunch in "mexico" and some margaritas on the patio. Kinda sucks that summer is drawing to a close and we won't be able to patio-sip here in the near future. HOWEVER, we did have a great brainstorm session, where we decided we will be going to a Packer's game and making a "how to tailgate, Ellen please come and tailgate with us!" video. OOoooh if only.... I LOVE ELLEN! I also got to hear about how jess is going to mexico.... actual mexico.... to film disaster relief footage for the area. so cool :) I hope she doesn't get eaten up by a giant snake or lizard monster

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"springsteen" is still stuck in my head. & on repeat in my vudoo on the way to work and home each night.

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xoxo, b

springsteen

This song has literally been on my mental replay consistently for the last week or so: Springsteen

It makes me feel so happy... and think about the pretty drive Ben & I did from Vegas to Phoenix where this song was on every radio station (which I was absolutely A-okay with)

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I'm doing a solo mission to color my hair this afternoon. Gutsy? Yes. But with big risks come big rewards.... or bigger issues to deal with.... we'll see

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Happiness is kinda a funny little thing.
Here's my personal thoughts on that jazz:

1) you can't always control the situation or the outcome, but you can control your reaction

2) spend more time right now.

3) quality over quantity in your relationships... have a sanity structure (aka family/friends) you could literally melt into a puddle in front of, and they'd help you back to your solid state

4) figure out who you are, and your quirks, and own it. dance to your own symphony.... because marching to the beat of a drum is lame.

5) do what you want. you  know you  best

6) define yourself by your actions, not your income

7) 'fess up when you're wrong, and make it right

8) everything happens for a reason, I'm positive of that.

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Tomorrow I'm going to Chicago for the night with a couple of girl friends. I will be hitting up a hot tub, a club, and any impromptu dance floor I find. Mmmmmmmmmmm yeah!!

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free birthday mug

Ben's 27th birthday was a couple of weeks ago. I got him an adorable tiny little dwarf hamster which he named Forest (run Forest, run!) He also got cupcakes, tshirts, long sleeved lounge shirts, and a sweet volcano for the fishtank that blows bubbles and glows red like lava.

Ben with the look of mischief plastered on his face

the boys tried very strange beer

It was two days of presents and celebration for the Benjamin creature. Day 1 was presents. Day 2 (the actual bday) we went to Rosie's so Ben could get his free bday mug... then to Ben's current most favoritest place: World of Beer on Brady Street. Jessica came with us to Rosie's, and then had to leave. Then we met up with Branners and Weiner for the remainder of the evening

Ben had an enjoyable, drunken night telling everyone that it was his BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!! and running down Brady Street pretending he was an airplane. He later whispered to me that his face hurt because he was smiling so much. It can be very entertaining Ben-sitting





**Forest is no longer with us. She was too little for her cage, and while climbing the sides of the wire cage and trying to chew her way out like it was Alcatraz, she decided to wiggle out between the bars. P&N figured this was a bedtime snack, went nuts, tried to help her wiggle out, and knocked the cage over onto her.... killing Forest at approximately 4am. I was and still am extremely upset by this, and have only recently began to talk to P&N again because they are murderers in my book. I want them to have teardrop tattoos by their eyeballs. Ben also is very upset... and wants a look-a-like that will be named Forrest (two R's) that he can love. However, it needs to be a glass cage with barbed wire so the furry black monsters stay back at least 50 feet and the tiny dwarf hamster can't go shimmying out between the wires. Then I can get to pretending that the whole thing never happened.

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We got to see fireworks this Labor Day weekend, since LM's fireworks had been cancelled on the 4th due to the blessed drought. Ben & I were back in the LM, and my mom roped us into helping at the brat stand.... again. 

Ben and my mom, making brats and doggies

The LM Fire Department was there too, with their firetrucks and ladders and such. I asked one of the firefighters if I could climb the giant ladder. He said I have to pass Basic first. Pure disappointment.

It's all good though... because it makes me think of how Ben&I have been roped into it for as long as the non-profit 4th of July fireworks committee has been doing the brat stand.... and how it was after goofing around at the brat stand one year, watching the fireworks, and then going to a little park to watch the stars together that Ben proposed to me. aaaaaaaaaaawwww small town life

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xoxo, b

chasing waterfalls

 New York 1 Year Anniversary Trip = Success!!

We left Thursday night after work and started driving east towards New York wine country. On the way, we saw a deer, and there was cursing and a slight heart attack. And then life continued.......

climbing a building

Anywho, on Friday it was overcast and rainy-ish. Our general plan was to get to Watkins Glen State Park and get our camp on, but that didn't seem like fun in the rain. So we switched gears and ended up in Rochester, NY Friday afternoon. We headed over to the National Museum of Play and naturally, we played.

Xbox

There was literally every toy that you could have ever played with...
Barbies...
Xbox....
Pong....

chatting with Big Bird

dolls.....
Michael Jackson disc player.....
Seasame Street....
Dance Dance revolution....
a comic book heroes section......

and everything else you could possibly think of...






Friday night, we left our riverside hotel room and walked over to Roc Brewing Company for a cold craft beer. I was positive we were walking through the ghetto, and that I was going to be brit-napped.... then the clouds parted and a stream of sunshine shone down upon the brewery and all my worries vanished....

so dramatic.

At the brewery, we each tried a beer. Then we saw some other folks near us who got a sample platter of beers... and within two minutes we also had a sample platter of beer.

taste testing

It was pretty tasty stuff. Then my smarty pants husband had too many sips and figured it would be a great idea to not only taste test each beer individually... but to mix a little of each beer in his glass and taste them all at once.

He thought it was fantastic.

I thought it was not  fantastic.



Saturday, we drove down the Seneca Wine Trail-- right along the lake-- to Watkins Glen, NY. I got all sorts of excited seeing all the vineyards and wineries on our way south.... and I began plotting my wine trail travels.

vineyards and Seneca Lake

Upon our glorious arrival to Watkins Glen, we found Nascar fans in every nook and cranny. Turns out that there was a Nascar race Sunday afternoon.... so the place was jumping. Neither Ben nor I are race fans... don't get me wrong, I love cars that go fast. The important fact, however, is simply that I like to be IN  the car that is going fast, not watching it.

We got lost for a hot second trying to find the state park... which is right in the middle of town. But moving on...

We got to Watkins Glen State Park and set up our camp. Then we got busy hiking in the GORGEOUS gorge......

It was like something right out of a movie...

A heart at the bottom of some falls

 

 Pictures don't do it justice!!





After we got done hiking, we went back to our campsite and started a campfire. We went into the woods to pick up some kindling... or so I thought. I returned to camp with little twigs and sticks.... Ben returned with a fallen tree. Hmm...

 

That night, we sat around the campfire and chilled out. It was great to hang out together and just shoot the breeze. It was a warm night, but the fire felt wonderful.  
Side note: we could hear the Nascar qualifying races early in the night, which was kinda cool.




Sunday was wine trail day. And it was everything I had hoped for and more. An area dedicated to wine and wine tastings-- such a place does exist!

We decided to drive north for a little bit and then turn around and hit up the majority of the wineries on our way back to Watkins Glen.

Fruit Yard Winery: first stop, super friendly. Specialized in fruit wines.We bought 2 bottles.

Ashley Lynn Winery: great lady with a silly laugh that I loved. We only got a tiny shot glass tasting of each wine, but she waved the $2 tasting fee because we bought a bottle and she liked us :)


Shaw Vineyard: specialized in dry wines. We paid $5 each for a glassful of  10+ red and white wines, and got to talk to someone who was near our age. Bought a bottle of white wine

Stopped at R.E.D.S. Hots for a philly cheese steak sandwhich..... tasty and quick and right along the wine trail so we didn't lose any precious wine time

Miles Wine Cellars: weeping willows and a big white mansion on the lake... sleeping dog on the great front porch.... so beautiful!

National Geographic Travel said it was the "most serenely gorgeous setting of any winery in the region." They were right. $3 tasting and wine glasses to keep. We bought a bottle called "Call Me a Cab"

a few items from our new wine collection

Glenora Wine Cellars: overlooking Seneca Lake, gave us cheese (woohoo Wisconsin)  with our wine tasting. Live jazz musicians playing outside on the patio. Bought a bottle of sparkling wine... SO GOOD!!

Magnus Ridge Winery: super pretty building with friendly dogs that greeted us as we drove in. We didn't do a wine tasting here, but we found a funky little hot pad that made me laugh

Pompous Ass Winery: loved it because of its name... and the wine was good, too. We got a bottle of wine, and a coffee mug for my coffee mug addiction

After our wine tastings, I was in the mood for some more hiking. So off we went to the gorge again.....

During our hike, it started to rain... and we went running around like a couple of goonies trying to find shelter. Then it cleared up and we saw a rainbow.

kissing on a bridge... using the 10 second self timer on the camera

walking behind waterfalls

When we were done with our hike, we headed back to camp and started up a bonfire. Ben finished burning the giant tree he had dragged out of the woods on our first afternoon there, and we made s'mores

Monday morning, we broke camp, packed up, and drove over to Ithaca, NY to go hiking and swimming at the base of a waterfall. Because swimming at the base of a waterfall sounds pretty sweet. Monday also happened to be August 13. 2012, aka our first anniversary!

Lucifer Falls

happy hikers

Robert Treman State Park was very pretty, and we spent a good deal of time doing hiking trails that were a bit more difficult than Watkins Glen. By the time we were done hiking and ready for swimming, the 66 degree water felt.......refreshing.  And then straight up shocking.

off-roading...

We took videos of each of us jumping off the diving board into the lake: Ben did a stunning cannonball that made the kids gasp and cheer. I did a rendition of a flailing noodle arm bird about to drown.

Monday afternoon, we finished up our trip to the Finger Lakes area and were trying to figure out what to do: #1) start driving back to Milwaukee and stop somewhere along the way or #2) head up to Niagara Falls

Option #2 won, and by Monday afternoon we found ourselves standing at the biggest waterfall we had seen on our trip.

1 Year: Niagara Falls, NY

We (eerr... Britani) thought it would be pretty cute if we took a picture each year on our anniversary of the two of us-- wherever we happen to be-- holding a sign with what year we are at. And all those pictures are going into a little scrapbook.

Year 1's sign was a bit bootleg.... a random piece of copy paper that was in the car and a ballpoint pen to write with.....but that actually ended up being perfect

We got a hotel on the river a couple miles from the Falls, showered up, and then headed back to the Falls to eat dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and check out Niagara Falls light up at night.

 

Tuesday morning, we slept in and then went back to Niagara Falls for some more exploring. We checked out Three Sisters Island, which is just upstream from the American Falls.


Then we got in the car and drove back to Milwaukee.... with multiple stops at Starbucks, fast food restaurants, and gas stations.

We got home around 10:30pm and dropped into bed..... where 2 very fluffly kitties tried to get our attention all night.



Home again, home again :)

xoxo, b