Ever Changing, Ever the Same

Blessed. Truly I am blessed. Growing up I came from a wonderful family-two amazing parents and an older sister who I now get along greatly with. My life was forever changed in 2002-when my mom unexpectedly passed away. It was the worst moment in my life and I thought my family would never be the same. My mom was the most creative-beautiful-caring person I knew. To all of a sudden wake up one morning and have her gone-was the hardest thing I've had to deal with. My relationship with my dad has always been an overly strong one-and he along with my friends and family were how I got through that horrific time. It's still hard to think about my life if my mom were still here-but everything happens for a reason-and God does not give you something you cannot handle. I questioned my faith-God-everything to why he would take such an amazing person from us-but time went on-and it is very true that time does heal all.

Where I am going with this is-I thought my family would never be complete again...to my surprise my family is growing in a beautiful way. I am blessed that my dad is getting remarried to a wonderful person-who I am happy to say will be my future step-mom. I truly could not have asked for a better person for my dad. I will also have a step-sister and brother-and step-niece...whom I care for them all. I am lucky to have such wonderful people coming into my family.

Hope Floats, but Faith Walks

To live your life with a strong faith is important to me. Through trials and tribulations your faith it was what gets you through. You can hope that things imrove but when you leap with your faith, then things will change. You can hope a million times over for something to happen, but without a motion set into action, your hope is pointless. To have faith in someone or something is a brave thing. How do you know how much faith to put into a person on a chance meeting? Sometimes you get a feeling about a person and you can't stop but question why they walked into your life. It's funny when you have the least faith in things-something or someone happens and you find yourself asking were they meant to walk out again or should you leap and make an extra effort?

Thoughts

I have been seeing a local Milwaukee cover band for years...6 years to be exact. How did I get started? My parents went down to Milwaukee one afternoon to an event called Rainbow Summer, where this band happened to be playing. They had seen the Love Monkeys before and always said that this band had such a good vibe and that I had to be ready to dance. So one of my best friends and I tagged along and had our first Love Monkey experience. Most of the songs we didn't know b/c we were what 15 and didn't listen to the music our parents did. But we saw everyone dancing so we got gutsy and danced in front of the stage. Being 15 you don't know how to dance, so we just moved to the music the best we knew how to. We were hooked b/c the band seemed so in sync with the music and the vibe they give off is just awesome. So we tagged along with our parents when we could to see the Love Monkeys and then when we turned 16 we went to as many shows as were in close driving distance. We started talking to the lead singer after every show and they soon knew us as the two brown haired girls from West Bend. We thought they were so cool we even got their autographs and starting crafting LM sequenced shirts. We had people ask where we bought them-haha we MADE them! We soon began to recognize their songs and learned to love the old school rock and roll--became more comfortable dancing in our skin--and it soon became one of our favorite things to do.

I am now 21 and still frequent LM concerts whenever I can. A lot of people say, "Why go see the LoveMonkeys when you've seen them a hundred times?" Why-b/c a LM concert is a place where you can let loose, have fun, and throw your worries out the window. I have learned that life is too short to be anything but happy. One thing that makes me happy is letting loose, dancing my butt off, and singing along to some of my favorite songs. It doesn't matter how you dance, what you look like, or how loud you sing-as long as you are having fun. I have a friendship with the people in the band and I am by no means a groupie-but a person respectful of a great group of guys who put on a great show week after week. They may be a cover band-but one hell of a cover band. They also have their own music-and I do own every CD. I prefer their own music to some of the covers but that's just because I'm an old school LM kind of girl.

Since I am now 21 and can legally drink at concerts I am blessed for them to give me "VIP" treatment. I have also made some great friends through going to shows and shared the LM experience with my friends. I also joked that I want the LM to play at my wedding-so let's hope they are still together for awhile*~

Searching for my lost shaker of salt. . .

A group of my friends and I packed up a few cars over the weekend to leave for Alpine Valley to see Jimmy Buffett. We left at 11 a.m. for an 8 o’clock concert. Which left a lot of time for drinking and tailgating. Being a Jimmy Buffett concert virgin I was told to expect the unexpected. And needless to say these Buffett fans are out of control. I had an absolute fun day with a great group of people, accompanied by care-free music, which led for the perfect sunny day. What I learned at our own little Margaritaville:

1. Margaritas at noon are OK-because it’s five o’clock somewhere.
2. The more beads/leis you wear, the more you fit in.
3. Scratch that, the more beads/leis and the more drunk you are, the more you fit in.
4. Missouri boys love Wisconsin girl’s aviators. At least mine:)
5. Upside-down margaritas got er done. At least got me done.
6. I found out what the meaning of the shark fin on top of many cars was.
7. Palm tree beer bongs DO exist.
8. Cherries soaked in Jack Daniels are potent. 10+cherries later...
9. It’s impossible to go to the bathroom in a porta-potty with a grass skirt on.
10. You learn a lot about people by simply waiting in line for the porta-potty with them.
11. Anything goes in Margaritaville.
12. Even if you don’t have ALL the necessary tailgating tools you learn to improvise.
13. Teaching previous generations how to play flip cup in the wind is an experience.
14. Old men drink straight up gin. Don’t drink out of their mugs.
15. Even if you don’t know all of Jimmy Buffett songs you can still sing along.

Fanciful Fondue

This weekend was definetley one to remember! It was started by a good friend of mine and I attending my sister's fondue party. Being a first-time fonduer I was very excited about this party. A glass of wine in hand accompanied by new and old faces and great food made for the perfect party. Not to mention I can't wait to have my own fondue party! My sister did an amazing job making a delightful array of fondue dishes.

We decided to drive back to West Bend and feeling a little sleepy from the wine I decided to call it a night. Only getting a few hours of sleep the night before I was ready for bed knowing that the next would be a full day of partying. Well that was all and well until my friend's from home started calling saying I had to come out for at least a drink! Two X-Rated drinks later and a run in with a lot of old friends I was happy I decided to go.

Being Open to Everything

My roomates and I recently watched a movie called Something New and the catch phrase that became imprinted in our minds is to "Let Go, Let Flow." Most of us have an expectation of who we are going to marry or who we are going to fall in love with and most of the time this expectation is shut down by reality. I am open to all sorts of things, foods, and people but I guess I always imagined myself settling down with a certain type of person. I have inherently bid farwell to this belief. I am strong believer in fate so I know somewhere, somehow, someone will enter my life and take me by surprise. Or maybe the other way around-I will surprise them of what I offer as an individual, a lover, or an intellect-

So we are all letting go and letting things flow. Not that we were not before, we are just more in tune to be open to everything. We are going to try new bars (Brady Street), take enrichment courses (Pilates & I chose to also do an ethnic Indian cooking class), and new people...

JaZz

So last night was the first night of Jazz in the Park. I went with one of my roomate's and both of us were excited for our first Jazz experience. The music was great, the people interesting, and the wine delicious. The grass was filled wall to wall with people, but we eventually found my sister and her friends. We sipped on our Door County cherry wine, had good conversation and people watched as a multidude of different people walked past. We left Jazz agreeing it's going to be a new weekly habit and we're going to trade off who brings the cheese and the wine.

Well it being a Thursday night and remembering that a certain bar gives away free strawberries and champagne and $2 martinis...we preceded there. Not even 10 minutes into sitting down the table became extra wobbly and I had a lap full of champagne. No big deal except I was wearing linen pants. No worries it soon dried quickly and we were joined by some old and new friends. The bands are always kicking so when this band started and we realized the lead singer was pretty cute we lept onto stage to "shake a tailfeather." haha...Then we again danced the night away to great oldies and sipped our June Bug martinis. Yum. When the bartended jumped on stage and began pouring a mysterious alcohol into girls mouths I decided it was time to leave.
Let's hope every Thursday is as good as they have been*~