Month: February 2012

Posted on

Hooray beer!

Happy Leap Day! I’m not really sure what the proper way to honor a day that comes only once every 4 years is, but how about with some beer? Sounds good to me – come on in!

Last Saturday we went to Bockfest at Capital Brewery in Middleton, WI, just on the west side of Madison. This was our 2nd year in a row, and it’s so much fun.

We go with our great friends E & C, and they’ve gone a number of years now. 4 I think? We got over there early (this year we met up at their house around 8:30am), head to a local bar just a few blocks from the brewery called the Hody, then mosey into the fest at 11.

Ticket holders are granted entry at 11, general public is allowed in at noon if there is any space available, taps close at 4, and everyone is kicked out by 5. It’s always held the last Saturday of February, so you’re guaranteed to be cold in Wisconsin at that time, and it has become our annual beginning of the beerfest/pub crawl season.

I drove us home again this year so didn’t indulge quite as much as everyone else, but I still had plenty of fun. R took his usual plethora of pictures, so here is a nice rundown of the day, photo style…

The line is always long, even for ticket holders. Fortunately it moves quickly once they open the gates.

That doesn’t put a damper on our good times, though!

Once everyone is in and ready to go, they hold the traditional running of the blondes – it’s a 1k jog around the block. Very taxing. I’ll have to remember my blonde wig next time. It’s also a little play on words, since their Blonde is the featured brew at Bockfest – highly delicious, highly potent, and you only get half a mug full. And everyone only gets 1.

You always see a multitude of crazy costumes and hats at Bockfest, and R found the banana guy again this year. Turns out he’s one of E’s little brother’s friends. Small beer world.

Workers of the brewery and their family/friends throw stuff off the roof of the place all day long. Why? Who knows. But if you toss anything into a crowd of drunk people they’re guaranteed to go nuts.

This time they threw beads, little plush dinosaurs (a new addition this year, but they matched the green brontosaurus statue that resides permanently on the brewery roof. r caught one for d!), and smoked chub. Yes, those are fish, and it is totally disgusting. I made sure I was far inside this year before the chub came out – if I got hit with one of those nasty things I was ready to punch someone.

By the time they kicked us out of the place we were more than ready to head downtown for some delicious grub on our way out of town, but not before we stopped off for a few quick shots in the oversized tailgating chairs.

And that makes another successful Bockfest in the books. I think I like this tradition. Cheers!

 

 

Posted on

Tucson recap

If you’ll remember, D and I flew out to Tucson for a nice long weekend over President’s Day. My grandparents live out there, so we made a Friday night – Tuesday afternoon visit. My mom, stepdad, one of my sisters, and my brother-in-law joined us for a great time.

The flights out ended up sucking, however.

We were delayed a few minutes leaving Milwaukee waiting for 25 passengers from a flight in from Newark, which was awesome. We landed in Denver in just enough time to make our quick half hour connection, though, so I thought we would be Tucson-bound with no problem.

Not so much. I looked up at the flight monitor board as soon as we deplaned only to discover that our 2nd flight was delayed for an hour and a half. Wha?!?! WHY?!?!? Now I have to spend 2 HOURS entertaining a very overtired D all by myself. Gag!

Delayed?? But I'm sleepy!

Fortunately we survived, obvs, and we got into Tucson around 1am. D was happy as a clam to see Grandma and Auntie M at the airport, and I was just so relieved to be off airplanes. Bring on the vacation!

I forgot a camera, of course, so all the pictures I have from our trip were taken on my iPhone. So please excuse the quality, but here is a photographic recap of our days out west. It felt so good to relax, spend time with family, and soak up some sun.

The fruit in my grandparents’ yards was all a-bloom!

D and I thoroughly enjoyed our first visit to the Desert Museum, just west of Tucson in the Saguaro National Park. It’s gorgeous out there! I think the hummingbirds in that little sanctuary area thought D’s hat was a flower, because 1 of them flew right up to her head, which she loved.

Tuesday morning we took D up to the mini golf course before we left, and she had an absolute blast running around all the holes chasing her golf ball. We should have done that every day!

Those were 4 glorious days, and I’m so glad we were able to make the trip. We don’t see my grandparents nearly often enough, so I always love when they are able to spend time with D too.

We weren’t quite as excited for our flights home as we were for the ones heading out there, but it was wonderful to get to see Daddy again.

 

 

 

 

Posted on

Friday Funk – 7×7 edition

Yep, that’s right, I’ve been tagged again.

This one’s a little different, but I’m still not doing the tagging part at the end. Yes, I would love to know 7 more things about 7 more people, but I really don’t even know where I’d begin picking who to tag. So you’ll just have to deal with that.

But here’s the rest of it…

7×7 Blog Award

Thank the person who nominated you: That would be the lovely *Bleep* over at *Bleeping* Amazing. She’s a military mama who blogs anonymously to protect her family, something I totally dig. She’s got some great stories of life raising a pair of boys, so please go check her out.

 

Share 7 things about yourself that readers don’t know:

Hmm, this one’s tough, because a lot of you know me in real life and I’m a pretty open book, but I’ll give it a shot…

  1. I hate using knives. If I can cut something with just a fork, I will.
  2. I failed to make the cheerleading squad in 7th grade because I forgot to pack white socks to change into with my tryout outfit. I guess thick green wool socks are frowned upon in the cheerleading world.
  3. I sideswiped a van in a Subway parking lot on the very first day I had my driver’s license. The very first day!! Ugh.
  4. For as good a swimmer as I am, foreign bodies of open water TOTALLY freak me out. I hate swimming in lakes with which I’m not familiar, and if I get stuck in a patch of seaweed, I will likely start crying if you don’t get me out immediately. I’m not kidding.
  5. I love sports cars and driving fast. If I could afford one, I would get a Lamborghini, Ferrari, Lotus, Maserati, or other such sweet ride in a heartbeat, then proceed to blow your doors off the line.
  6. I can’t drive stick. Guess I’d better work on that if I’m going to roll on dubs in a Lambo.
  7. I can wiggle my ears and plug my nose without using my fingers. That latter skill has come in EXTREMELY handy since having a child. I rarely smell a poopy diaper.

 

Share 7 of your blog posts that fit into the following categories:

Most beautiful:  I’m going with this one strictly for the pictures. Hawaii – the rest…

You cannot change:  I’m not quite sure I understand what this one is asking, but here’s my entry. Right or wrong, I am still the mama

Most helpful:  I have a tie for this one… Homemade Sugar Scrub or my breastfeeding guide

Most controversial:  I don’t really write on very controversial topics, but maybe this one? Do I want my kids to be French?

Most surprisingly successful:  Finding a little Mom Sexy of my own

Most underrated:  Be Enough Me: A Letter

Most pride-worthy:  Be sure to click through to the actual post for which I won in this one; it’s good. I’m a Blogmas winner!

 

So there ya have it. Did you learn anything else about me? Like I said, I’m skipping the tagging because I can.

Thank you for the award, *Bleep*!

I am always beyond flattered when someone says I inspire them. Because to me, all I’m doing is sitting over here telling my crazy little stories. So knowing that others are out there reading and enjoying them totally makes me smile.

 

 

 

Posted on

Lil ol’ me, a Hall of Famer!

D and I got back from Tucson last night, so a full recap post will be coming soon. Stay tuned for that excellence.

But in other news, I had a surprising, yet decidedly awesome, letter waiting for me when we got home. R told me I had received a piece of mail from my high school, and I thought big deal, wonder what that’s all about? A reunion or the alumni association looking for pledges?

Neither. It was something much, much better.

They’re inducting me into the Peoria High School Athletic Hall of Fame!!

Me? Seriously?? I’m going to be in a Hall of Fame! Wahoo!!

They are announcing my selection for the Hall of Fame at a luncheon in October, so all of you in the Peoria area please feel free to swing by and hoot and holler when they call my name. You can even make signs if you want. Lots of glitter, as long as it doesn’t get anywhere near me.

I’m so excited, and honestly couldn’t be more proud. For as little as I really keep in contact with anyone/anything having to do with my high school years, an induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame is a huge honor. I always saw those plaques hanging in the walls and thought what a cool feeling that would be, but I never in a million years thought it would actually happen to me.

Now I’ll just have to make sure they spell my name right, since the envelope was addressed to “Joselyn”. Um, that would be J-o-c-e-l-y-n, thank you very much.

 

 

Posted on

This could totally be on Pinterest: Homemade Sugar Scrub

Sugar scrubs.

We’ve all seen them, many of you probably already use them, but for some reason it took me until just a few months ago to finally hop on this wagon. I’d always seen them at salons and boutiques and actually secretly admired them with all their enticing scents and varieties, but I never felt the need to take one home.

That all changed last fall, though. An aesthetician recommended I pick one up to help keep my bikini area smooth and free of ingrowns after waxing, so I figured why not.

I fell instantly in love.

The first one I tried had a citrus scent, and it was heavenly. Not too scratchy or sticky like I always imagined sugar scrubs would be, but surprisingly gentle and quite easily applied. You just rub it on your skin with your finger tips so the sugar melts a little and works its exfoliating magic.

Wow. Here’s what I’d been missing all these years!

However… That little 4 oz. jar of sweet smoothness cost $10. It did last roughly 5 months, but to replace that jar a couple times a year at $10 a pop seemed kind of excessive for something made out of sugar. (this coming from the girl who will happily spend many times that amount every 3ish months to get her hair cut and colored, though. don’t judge, people – there are GRAYS in there and they need to disappear!)

I knew there had to be a way to refill my scrub at a lower cost, but you know how anti-DIY and un-crafty I am. The thought of actually making my own concoction made me a little nauseous.

Then I found what has to be the world’s simplest recipe, so I thought ok, even I can try this one. I saw the original recipe here, then tweaked it to my liking as follows:

1.  Since my jar was 4 oz., I poured only 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup white sugar in a bowl and stirred them together.

 

2.  Next, I drizzled in some regular old olive oil until the sugar mixture was pretty well soaked. This step is completely arbitrary – simply pour in as much oil as you’d like. If you want your scrub a little drier, don’t use as much oil; if you want it a little more saturated, use more oil.

 

3.  If you want a touch of scent, add a splash of vanilla extract or other essential oil of your choice. I put a little vanilla in mine, but it didn’t do a whole lot to change the scent. It still smelled like cookies. Next time I may try an essential oil for a new flavor.

 

4.  Stir everything together, and you have yourself your very own homemade sugar scrub. Easy peasy!

 

So, to recap:

  1. brown sugar
  2. white sugar
  3. olive oil
  4. {optional} vanilla extract or other essential oil for scent

Combine all ingredients to the saturation level of your liking, then scrub away!

All in, this scrub probably cost me $0.50 per 4 oz. instead of the $10 I originally paid at the salon. It took me less than 5 minutes to make and works just as well as its more expensive counterpart.

I must admit, even this non-DIYer was impressed by how well worth it and totally not scary this project was. I don’t think I’ll ever pay for a store-bought sugar scrub again.

 

 

 

Posted on

Just click on that little orange button

Some of you, dear readers, may have subscribed to my blog through the Google Friend Connect widget that used to be in my sidebar, and for that I thank you sincerely!

Unfortunately, Google is doing away with Friend Connect in a matter of weeks, so our connection will be lost. I know! The horror!!

Have no fear, though. There is a most excellent and incredibly effortless way to keep our bond alive and strong even when that widget goes by the wayside permanently.

All you need to do is take a peek up in my header and click on that little orange RSS button. Or you can click right here if you’d rather:

It will magically open up a screen for you to subscribe to ScooterMarie and have it delivered right to the reader feed of your choice. Easy breezy!

Or, if you prefer to receive all of my insanely witty banter and tantalizing charm via email, please enter your email address in that little box over in the sidebar. FeedBurner will zip a note right to your inbox with every new post.

You’ll never miss a word of ScooterMarie again! I can feel your collective sighs of relief washing over me now…

So please, if you would be so kind – either subscribe via the orange RSS feed button up top there or stick with me via email subscription from the box in my sidebar. You will totally make my day. See how happy I am?

Thank you!