"Mom Look What I Made!"

While in Door County we went to a wonderful art studio where you can create just about anything you can imagine. Located on a rural farm there are multiple studios you can explore including painting, mosaics, metals, glass and pottery. The first day we were there I created a mosaic bone with hooks to hang near my back door for the dog's leash and collar. The next day we were there I created a gift for my sister's baby shower which I am hosting in 10 days. We spent about 3 hours each day at the studio and after you complete your art the works are glazed and fired over night to be ready the following afternoon. There are farm animals wandering about, a place to purchase lunch and other activities for both adults and children.
I had such a great time finding my inner pre-schooler and am quite proud of my art.
For more information check out the Studio's website here:
http://www.handsonartstudio.com/

My Little Reality TV Addiction

I am not a television addict, I don't watch a single sitcom or drama but do like to veg out late at night to anything on HGTV (House Hunters and House Hunters International are my favorites).
Lately I have become completely addicted to the most bizarre shows, and REALITY programs at that. I really blame it on the hundreds of channels we have now on the new flatscreen in the remodeled basement. Tori and Dean Home Sweet Hollywood is fascinating to me and I have actually started DVRing every episode. Tori Spelling might be the oddest fish in the LA pond and that is staying something, it's like watching a living cartoon character with a bad boob job and an annoying voice, but there is something absolutely endearing about her marriage to hotty Dean and watching them parent their son Liam and multiple dogs all while she is pregnant with their daughter. Frankly I think it's a riot to watch them and have added them to my fictional list of "If you could invite anyone to dinner..."
To check out their show click here:
http://www.oxygen.com/tvshows/torianddean/
On a trip to LA a couple of years ago I got hooked on late night episodes of The Girls Next Door, I just love those ditzy Playboy bunny girlfriends of Hugh Hefner (Bridget is my fav). Check out their site here:
http://www.eonline.com/on/shows/girlsnextdoor/index.jsp
This is one show my husband will pause to watch every time he walks by the tv and he watches ZERO television.

Dairy Breakfast Anyone?

So on Sunday morning we went to a dairy breakfast on a working farm in Door County. Hundreds of people were there to eat scrambled eggs with ham and pancakes with maple syrup and cherries under large tents set up on the grounds of the farm. We were greated by a milk fed midwestern lass complete with tiara who apparently was Ms. Door County and then filled our plates with hot food being prepared in the largest skillets I have ever seen (see picture).
There must have been dozens and dozens of volunteers, mostly Boy Scouts and others from local organizations because as soon as you emptied your plate someone brought by a plate of hot pancakes or steaming scrambled eggs. After we ate and drank excellent cherry juice and cider the barns were open to view the dairy cows, pigs, ipacas, small ponies and baby cows. I have never seen a dairy cow up close and they are absolutely the largest animals I have ever seen outside of elephants in the zoo. HUGE! I pet my first pig, very bristly and smelled that "dairyair" and all in all had a great morning. Picture below is of the cow "entertainment" in the barn.

Up at the Farm

So this week I will be blogging about my farm adventures over the 4th of July holiday weekend. I stayed at the farm house of friends Kathy and Thom and their daughter Amy in Brussels, Door County Wisconsin which is about a 4 hour drive north of Chicago.
For me it was a weekend of firsts including:
1. My first trip to a dairy farm (dairy cows are HUGE, picture coming soon)
2. I pet a pig
3. I learned how to create mosaic artwork
4. Ate fried cheese curds (delicious!)
5. Learned how to drive a tractor (see picture above)
More pictures will be posted this week.

Road Trip and Audio Books

I'm leaving tonight to drive to Door County Wisconsin to spend the 4th weekend with my friends Kathy and Thom at their farm house.
Road trips for me are about stocking up on snacks, taking some left over takeout in a tupperware container to eat on the road and listening to audio books. Usually when driving to our boat in Michigan I take a couple of audio books for the road and can get through a few discs once I turn off AM radio after leaving Chicago. Tonights drive is an hour or so longer and I'm hoping to get through a complete book.
Last road trip I listened to Austenland by Shannon Hale which was one of the better audio books I've listened too. I prefer a narrator who can distinquish the characters by different voices and those with female readers for romances. For tonight's trip I have, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, The Devil Wears Prada and Angels and Demons. I have listened to The DaVinci Code on audio and loved it and am hoping Angels and Demons is as good or better.
My all time favorite audio books are the Harry Potter's. Jim Dale has been the reader throughout the series and I have never heard a better audio reader. He manages different voices for hundreds of characters and you can distinguish each one as easily as watching different actors in the films. Brilliant!

Laughing so hard I cried

GOTTA PEE

Two women friends had left for a girl's night out.
Both were very faithful and loving wives, however they had gotten
over-enthusiastic on the Bacardi Breezers.
Incredibly drunk and walking home they needed to pee,so they
stopped in the cemetery. One of them had nothing to wipe with so she thought she would take off her panties and use them. Her friend however was wearing a rather expensive pair of panties and did not want to ruin them. She was lucky enough to squat down next to a grave that had a wreath with a ribbon on it, so she proceeded to wipe with that.
After the girls did their business they proceeded to go home.
The next day one of the woman's husbands was concerned that his
normally sweet and innocent wife was still in bed hung over, so he phoned the other husband and said:
"These girl's nights out have got to stop! I'm starting to suspect
the worst. .. my wife came home with no panties!!'
"That's nothing" said the other husband,
"Mine came back with a card stuck to her ass that said.....
"From all of us at the Fire Station.
We'll never forget you.''

Tastes at the Taste of Chicago

I enjoyed dinner at the Taste of Chicago last night. It was a beautiful summer evening and surprisingly not as crowded as I expected. The Taste is a 10 day food festival on the City's lakefront complete with over 60 restaurants serving their specialties, musical entertainment and family activities. Admission is free and food is purchased with coupons, $8 will get you 12 coupons and portions range from 4 to 10 tickets each. The Taste is famous for the diversity of restaurants as well as the favorites such as Eli's Cheesecake.
Some restaurants definitely offer better options for your money that others. For example, you can get a large slice of chocolate chip cheesecake with a scoop of ice cream for 7 tickets at Eli's while at Billy Goat Tavern, 8 tickets will only get you an overcooked bland burger (according to my kid). My favorite at all the places we sampled was the french fries with curry sauce and vinegar from O'Brien's Pub, absolutely finger licking good.