You know you are from Wisconsin when...

I got this idea from Kate (Set this Circus Down) http://www.kaitlynandbryan.com/. 

 

The major difference between Kate and I...she is from South Orange County California and a lot of the points are MUCH more glamorous than the following WI points. 

YIKES!  Here goes nothing, the italicized points are the ones I relate to.

1.      Your whole family wears green and gold to church on Sunday (I’ve never done this but have seen it).

2.      Snow tires come standard on all your cars.

3.      You refer to the Green Bay Packers as “we”.

4.      You have gotten frost-bitten and sunburned in the same week. (Not quite this drastic however this May we had 17 inches of snow on Thursday May 2^nd and on Saturday My 4^th it was 60 degrees)

5.      You can identify an Illinois accent.

6.      You know what cow-tipping is.

7.      Down South to you means Chicago.

8.      Travelling coast to coast means going from LaCrosse to Milwaukee.

9.      A brat is something you eat.

10.  You have no problem spelling Milwaukee.

11.  You can actually pronounce Oconomowoc.

12.  You don’t have a coughing fit from one sip of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

13.  You know how to Polka. (I can Polka, sober)

14.  Your snow blower gets stuck on the roof.

15.  You think the start of deer season is a national holiday.

16.  You design your Halloween costumes to fit over a snowsuit. (This is so true!!)

17.  You enjoy driving in the winter because the potholes fill with snow.

18.  You know what “knee high by the Fourth of July” means.

19.  You know it is traditional for the bride and groom to go bar hopping between the wedding ceremony and the wedding reception.

20.  You find 0 degrees just a little chilly.

21.  You are a connoisseur of cheese curds and find anyone unfamiliar with them to be frighteningly foreign. (I was at a MN Gopher football game a year ago and did the happy dance when the cheese curd guy told me he only buys Ellsworth Cheese Curds.)

22.  You know that Kaukauna is NOT an Hawaiian Island.

23.  You think Lutheran and Catholic are THE major religions.

24.  Football schedules are checked before wedding dates are set.

25.  At least one kid in your class had to help with morning chores.  Stinky!

26.  You always believed that vacation meant “going up North”.

There are plenty more where these came from and I have to admit that I am giggling uncontrollably while writing this blog!

I hope you enjoyed these silly little tidbits about Wisconsin, even as silly as these are Wisconsin is a nice place and my hometown provided a nice place to grow up.

With love,

Mrs. G

 

Birthday Celebrations - just the beginning!

My birthday is in one week and birthday celebrations began last night with a wonderful dinner at a little Italian restaurant in Edina, MN called Arezzo Ristorante. This birthday dinner was part of my gift from my new in-laws.

Arezzo is a charming little Italian restaurant, they have a lovely patio and we enjoyed our dinner outside last night as the weather was perfect.

The waiter suggested a bottle of Rizzi Barbera for the table and all four of us enjoyed the wine, it was easy to drink and went very well with our dinner choices.

We started the meal with Strangolapreti (oven baked spinach and ricotta dumplings, topped with fresh tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and grans padano) and delicious bread with olive oil to dip.All four of us thoroughly enjoyed the appetizer.

My MIL ordered the Tagliatelle di Pollo e pinoli (house made tagliatelle pasta tossed with chicken, tomatoes and pine nuts in white wine sauce, topped with goat cheese).

My FIL enjoyed the Torteli Padrino (spinach tortelli hand stuffed with a blend of ricotta cheese and fresh spinach, finished in a tomato and eggplant sauce).

Mr. G ordered the Pollo alla Marsala (sliced chicken breast sautéed in Sicilian Marsala liqueur, served with mashed potatoes and asparagus).

I ordered the Farfale alla Gorgonzola e Salsiccia (butterfly pasta tossed with gorgonzola sauce and spicy Italian sausage).

All four of us loved our meals and shared the tiramisu for dessert. We were very full and enjoyed the evening immensely.

Each year I often say that I'm going to scale back on the celebrating but then another year rolls around and I celebrate with my in-laws, my family, Mr. G, some girlfriends, a birthday weekend at the cabin, etc etc....and by the time August is done I've had 7 "birthday celebrations", drank too much red wine and probably gained 7 pounds.

So to say I'm grateful for amazing people in my life is an understatement...I love celebrating with all of them and wouldn't trade it for the world.

How many birthday celebrations do you have?

Check back next week after Mr. G and I return from our couples weekend at the cabin. 4 couples are accompanying us to the cabin, lots of food, drinks and great company!!

 

With love,

Mrs. G