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

 

 

The Big Question

Now that Mrs. G and I are married we were just waiting for the BIG QUESTION to start banging on our door.  The big question is of course, when are we going to start having kids????  I even thought that someone in one of their speeches at the reception would bring it up.  Unfortunately, I was rather militant about this and even remember saying to Mrs. G (when she was Ms. S) prior to the wedding "I'm going to bepissed if someone brings that up.  It's none of their business!"

To be honest, I thought it would come from Mrs. G's mother for sure.  This will be her first grandchild while my parents already have 3 and since I'm the baby, I think they're more than fine waiting a bit.  Maybe it's a been there done that attitude.  For instance, I remember dropping my older brothers off at college and my folks being emotional.  When it was my turn, I got a hug and a smile and a "talk to ya later."  (Maybe they were happy to be childless for the first time in over 23 years.) Not that they wouldn't be excited for a new baby.  They'd be ecstatic.  Anyway, I got sidetracked.

Mrs. G's mother has not said much at all.  And if at all, more curiosity than anything.  Again, not that she wouldn't be excited but I haven't really heard boo.  My folks haven't said a word.  (Now I'm back on that topic.  Maybe that's a subject for my therapist if I had one.)  There's been a few inquiries from siblings but that's about it.

My biggest surprise is that my guy friends have inquired about it consistently.  Most of my friends have children and I think are excited.  Maybe the thinking is that we can hang out more if I have kids also.  (Don't get to see them much.)  I do have one friend who is single and is very picky about his ladies meaning he's always single.  He was the first to inquire and he has a few times since.  This is a friend of mine who I go and watch football with and drink beer.  Not family planning or future plans!  I saw a male former co worker of mine the other day who in passing asked me how I was.  I enthusiastically told him I got married and pointed to my ring.  (I've noticed my go to move is holding up my hand and pointing to my ring.)  He said to me right away "You need to start having kids right away, don't wait."

I guess my point of this whole post is that I am shocked by who is inquiring.  My thoughts were family members would be asking......nay, hounding us about having kids.  But the truth is, it's my guy friends who are interested.  Which is actually flattering and touching.  It's nice to see them encouraging etc.  Maybe it's because it's something we can share and talk about.  Or maybe, it gives us an excuse to get together on play dates and drink beer.  Either way, it's a good thing.

And to answer the big question........none ya bizness.

Mr. G

Ring Shopping

Believe it or not, shopping for a ring that not only will your bride where forever, there's the added stress of whether or not you picked the right style etc.  I have trouble picking out clothes in the morning so picking out a ring was a daunting task.

As it turns out, my engagement saga starts out with me going to purchase the ring.  I was fortunate enough to be gifted my Grandma's solitaire which was near perfect.  I took a long lunch from work to go pick out the ring.  Mrs. G and I had looked at rings before on several occasions and had basically decided on a style however when I saw her future ring I knew it was the one!  Two weeks later I was picking it up.  No one ever tells you that buying a ring is a nerve wracking ordeal.  I remember paying for it and my hands were shaking and I was sweating.  The lady handed me the bag and receipt and said "thanks and good luck."  I stood there perplexed with a dumb smile on my face.  I think I was only there for seconds and didn't say anything.  Very awkward.

I walked through the mall with my bag in hand very covertly nearing the exit still quite shaken and sweaty.  A whole range of emotions were going through my head.  Excitement, nerves, excitement for the future and also joy about how the beautiful the ring turned out.  (I still am quite proud of it to this day.)  I just knew I had to get out of the mall and back to my car and back to work!  All of a sudden I hear my name yelled!  Did I hear that correctly??  Someone's yelling my name.  It was my college roommate and good friend who was at Big Bowl waiting for his computer to be fixed.  He asked me "whatcha doing here?"  Well, I showed him the bag and took out the ring and said "you tell me."  His reply, "Sweating a bit, are ya?"

Now, that evening my family and my future bride's family were going to a social event.  Plus, I had to go pick up the future Mrs. G after work.  What to do with the ring????  I can't have it kicking around in the back seat.  Someone had told me to put it underneath the spare tire in the trunk.  Panicked, I did it.  Soooo, unbeknownst to my future bride, her engagement ring was underneath the spare.  Other than getting a flat tire, I figured it was a safe hiding spot. That evening a whole crew of people were in that car and we had to park it in a parking lot for the event.  It made me very nervous out there and I kept trying to look out to see if was safe.

That evening getting home it was pouring rain.  I didn't want to leave it in the car over night even though it was in a garage.  Getting home around 10 PM, I pulled the lame excuse, I'm not sure if I closed the garage door.  I zipped upstairs and put on my baggiest pair of shorts with big pockets and ran into the pouring rain.  She thought I was crazy but I wasn't going to leave it out there over night!  Came back in soaked and found a hiding spot for the ring until the big event.

Which is a post for another time......

Sincerely,

Mr. G

Red Letter Days

One of our most memorable and treasured wedding gifts came from a good friend of mine, Maggie; she presented the gift to me the morning of our wedding.  To say it was a special and very sweet moment for my friend and I would be an understatement, this gift was one that came from the heart and meant so very much to me.

Here is the story leading up to the opening of the gift and the gift itself.

On the morning of the wedding all of the incredible women in my wedding party joined me in a hotel suite to get ready for the big day, this included my maid and matron of honor, bridesmaids, personal attendants, sister in laws, flower girl, my mom, future sister in law and some other special guests that popped in.  There was a lot of hustle and bustle, to say the least.  We all enjoyed the morning, getting hair and makeup done, the gals that are already married sharing fun stories from their wedding day and maybe a few little tears of joy and nerves snuck in there.  I was having a blast, this was exactly what I imagined; all of the most important women in my life were surrounding me and I just sat back and enjoyed….not thinking or worrying about anything. 

That is, until I realized it was 10:30am and my florist hadn’t arrived to deliver my flowers nor had anyone heard from her.  Now I had the most incredible florist, she was my 7^th grade home economics teacher and I absolutely adored her and knew I had nothing to worry about.  I was always confident that she would show up but what I realized is that I had no contact information for her with me, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!  No home phone or cell phone and all I could think was, “what if she got lost?”  Most of my friends and family members called me one of the most organized brides ever; I tried to make sure I covered my entire basis as to make our day go as smoothly as I could.  So having forgot her contact info was sort of out of character for me, I was so confident in her I never worried or thought I’d need the number.  Long story short, she didn’t get lost, my flowers were incredible and I ultimately should not have worried.

In order for the gals to keep my mind off my little melt down Maggie suggested I open her gift to Andy and I.  GREAT IDEA:)

She presented me with a beautiful turquoise and silver box, I carefully opened the box and on top of the tissue paper was a poem.  Maggie suggested that I read the poem out loud.  As I began to read the poem titled “Red Letter Days”, the tears began to flow.  All of the love and happiness I felt just poured out of me as I read the following poem aloud.

Red Letter Days

Every now and then in life, each of us deserves a place of honor for a Red Letter Day.  Enclosed in this box is a place setting to help celebrate your special occasions.

It is my prayer that these dishes will make many appearances throughout the years.  They can be used to celebrate a milestone in your careers or to cheer one on who is facing a challenge.  They can be used to celebrate a birthday, to recognize a goal reached, or simply to say, “I love you.”

And of course, when the time comes, these dishes can be used to celebrate your children…when one of them earns an A, wins a race, or does a good deed, out they can come.

My hope is that these dishes will help you and Andy recognize and celebrate the good times ahead, both the large and the small moments and that these moments will be many over your years together.

In the box was a red bowl, red plate, red mug and red napkins; this gift is something that Andy and I will cherish for years to come.

Two nights ago the table was set with one typical place setting and one red place setting; I had received great news at work regarding a promotion.  My wonderful husband remembered the “Red Letter Days” and set my place with the red dishes.  It was so much fun to be eating off of this setting and to know how proud my husband was of my hard work and dedication at work. 

I don’t know where Maggie found this poem, maybe she wrote it or maybe she found it somewhere….but either way this gift was from her heart and something that I intend to pass along to other couples in the future. 

Maggie, thank you for always being the supportive wonderful friend every woman needs!  I hope our story continues for many many years….we could already write quite the amusing book:)  Love ya lady!

Here are some photos of me opening the gift on our wedding day, I forgot to take one of me using the dishes a couple of nights ago.

 

With love,
Mrs. G

Winnie’s Corks

As a shower gift I received the book Winnie’s Corks by Jeffrey Wittig, along with the book I was given a very large glass vase, two bottles of red wine and a package of sharpie markers.  While I didn’t really understand what the gift meant I figured my older sister and Matron of Honor had something very sweet up her sleeve. 

I was correct; my sister explained the premise of the book.  I’ve included the description of the book below.

From amazon.com, “A small comfortable home in Maine, the well-tended garden, and the promise of another cold winter on the way. Is that all there is for the rest of my life, Winnie wondered? But that all changed with a phone call from her daughter, Beth. "Mom? I'm moving back to Maine. Can you watch Elaine after school?" And so Winnie's life (which had been moving a little too slowly), took a sudden and powerful turn from which she would never be the same. Elaine had noticed the corks that very first day, sitting in a basket on the hearth of the fireplace. "What are these, Grandma?" she'd asked, holding a cork in her hands. With some reluctance Winnie described their history. "All my special moments for the last 48 years have been preserved with a few words and a date and placed in that basket," she explained. Memories, she'd sighed. The good, the bad, and the unexpected. And so a promise is made and each day after school Elaine is allowed to reach into the basket and pull out a cork, and Winnie confides in her granddaughter, telling the story of that moment in her life. As the two women forge a friendship, Winnie discovers more than she thought possible about her own life and the future it holds. Stories are shared. Memories rekindled. A passionate new love is found, and adventures begin anew as a family is reunited.

These are the stories of Winnie's Corks.”

My sister told me that what she hoped was that there were many moments in my life with my new husband and both of our families that were worth writing on corks.  It was a very sweet gift and one that I will cherish forever.

So, fast forward to about 2 weeks after our wedding; I had not started to read Winnie’s Corks yet and decided that it was probably time to check the book out.  I started to read the book on a Thursday evening and literally could not put it down, I read the book at every possible moment I could.  The story had me hooked from the first page and I couldn’t wait to start my own corks.  Now, one small little piece of info you should know…this book is not just story after story of each cork, it includes a story about a family in their present day and things that happened to them.  This book includes a heart break, a love story, reconciliation and many more facets of the family.  I’ve read some reviews that didn’t like that it wasn’t just about the corks but that was what I loved the most about the book, Jeffrey Wittig was able to incorporate the corks into the story of an incredible family.

I finished the book in 3 days and have enjoyed documenting some amazing times during the last three weeks via corks.  Now most people who know me know that I love myself a nice glass of red wine or champagne.  So there is no shortage of corks in our house but I'm careful to only write on corks during special occasions or if there is a story I want to remember about that wine.

I will tell you quickly about my two favorite corks, the first cork was from a bottle of Coppola that Mr. G and I shared on our one month anniversary.  We lit candles, cooked a nice quiet dinner at home, listened to romantic music and danced to our first dance song in our living room.  My husband and I are romantic individuals however at our reception during our first dance there were so many flashes going off and so many people around that our first dance was a little less romantic than I imagined but that was okay because we were surrounded by our incredible family and friends.  So as we danced in our living room on our one month anniversary I mentioned to my husband that our “second first dance” was more romantic than our first first dance.  We had a good laugh. 

The cork reads:

June 4^th, 2013
ONE MONTH
Second First Dance

The second cork was from a bottle of Cristalino Rose that we enjoyed on Sunday night June 9^th.  We had been at Bed Bath & Beyond picking up some items from our registry that we needed and decided to use the gift cards we received to purchase a Roomba for our home.  We brought the Roomba home and got her all set up, in about 10 minutes our lives had changed.  Ha ha, I am slightly over exaggerating but to say we love our Roomba is very much correct!  Once the Roomba began running around our house, bumping into things, getting stuck under the couch and running over my toes (twice) we decided we absolutely had to name her.  On June 9^th we introduced “Rosie the Roomba” as the newest member of the G family and decided to toast to Rosie.  Our families think we are fairly crazy but they laughed at how excited we are about Rosie.

Here is what the cork reads:

06/09/13
WELCOME
ROSIE THE ROOMBA

Needless to say, I would very much recommend Winnie’s Corks as a great summer read….or anytime read.  No, I didn’t get paid to endorse this book; I just loved it so much that I wanted to share.  And I would encourage anyone who reads it to start writing on your corks, it is an amazing way to remember great stories.

Here are some pics of the book, corks and vase we store our corks in.  I hope all of you are well and enjoying the summer, the weather is finally getting better here in Minnesota.

 

 

With love,

 Mrs. G

 

 

The Male Rebuttal

For the record, Mrs. G makes some very good points about the difference in male and female and wedding pictures.  And it is true, I may not have been as into them as she had hoped and I hope my beautiful wife can overlook my male pattern indifference. 

I would like to point that I did well up a few times myself.  They are beautiful pictures and April at Sophisticated Grace did an absolutely amazing job.  She is extremely talented and it shows.  The pictures were very moving and it did bring back wonderful memories for me.   It was truly a blessed event but I will turn to an issue that Mrs. G and I have been struggling with for years.  I don't like the way I look in pictures.  Very critical of myself and prior to the wedding I think I put on 15 pounds.  Most people before their wedding lose weight.  Apparently I missed that memo. (When my family has a wedding there is at least a week's worth of celebrating of different kinds all involving heavy food and drink. And I indulged generously.)

Heading into this wedding I had hoped to look like Justin Timberlake however I more looked like our 27th President, Howard Taft who is best known for his ample size and 300 pound frame.  Type in President Taft into Google and the top suggestion is "president Taft weight."  (Did you know he was Chief Justice after his presidency? Wonder what he weighed then?)

As I looked at these pictures, it wasn't that I didn't think they were wonderful, it was I was seeing something I didn't expect.  A much heavier me!  True, I didn't have as much gusto and excitement as my blushing bride but I think that is common however the weight thing did get to me.

Sooooo, I hope my wife can forgive me.  It's not the first time we've had this discussion.  But I did hit the gym this AM so maybe that underwear modeling contract is around the corner.  Right, Mrs G??? 

Mr. G