Lets train

baseball brunch bridges booze etc

So our 12 mile run on Saturday was pretty fabulous and we finished in 1:50. If we run our half marathon in less than 2 hours I will be elated and it might even push me over the edge to click the 'register' button on the Chicago Marathon site. We'll see.

But after the run we had to hurry up and get our drinking faces on....for we had tickets to a tailgating par-tay from 3-6pm before the Brewers game. It was all you can eat, all you can drink, plus your game tickets for $75 which I thought was pretty decent. Daytime drinking with a bunch of strangers huddled together to stay warm always make me think of St. Louis Mardi Gras--minus the beads and boobs. But you see, Wisconsin daytime drinking is a serious sport and no joke, it's like a different world up here....some alternate universe. You'll see what I mean in a minute.

We went with some of Nate's PT friends and endured the seemingly-nice-but-yet-cold weather in the name of baseball. I was brave and even brought my SLR despite the vision of beer dumping into my bag and destroying my camera forever. That's the part when I scream and cry and throw a tantrum and whine about it to anyone who would listen. Aren't you glad my vision never turned into reality? Me too.

So yeah, here we are gearing up for the game. Did I mention that this was the second home game of the season? And we played the Cubs? Pretty intense. Pansies need not apply.




So there we were having a jolly old time when all of a sudden, Bernie Brewer strutted into the tent area! He is so squeezable and I forced him to take a picture with us. Although I was once enthralled with any accidental flare I caught in pictures, this one is quite annoying and I understand why people get those hood things for their lenses. Oh well, still a fun picture. Even if Bernie DOES remind me of that creepy Burger King guy with is haunting smile.


Nate with some of his fellow PT students. And no, dude in the back is not a part of the group although he is obviously awesome.


And now, I'd like to expose you to something called, "Welcome to Wisconsin." You see, although I love St. Louis, you will never see Cardinals fans dress up like this. This is not an insult to either state.....it's just a matter of fact, coming from someone who has drifted like a nomad into a new culture of Wisconsinites. Also the lumpy beer gut is a dead giveaway---this boy obviously loves Miller High Life [no Budweiser in this belly]. Only in Wisconsin:


And I know some die-hard Cubs fans that claim to be unique and loyal and all of that.....but really, only Brewers fans do things like this:


I have no idea why a green jumpsuit and a gorilla costume are appropriate for Easter weekend but apparently it's normal up here.


And this guy? Yep, epitome of Wisconsin for sure. Why do I feel like we are at a Packers game at this point? Note the actual fox legs dangling down his back. PETA doesn't exactly thrive up here, you guys.


In an unfortunate turn of events, our seats just so happened to be surrounded by a bunch of dudes wearing this type of gear:

You know how testosterone and booze don't always mix? The whole liquid courage thing plus a little crazy sports fan thing intertwined with an intense rivalry between two midwestern cities thing equals macho men acting stupid.

I must say that my husband and all of his friends were well behaved but some other lads were just plain crazy about this game. I mean, I thought it was just a stupid ball game but apparently the whole world revolves around baseball for some people in both Milwaukee and Chicago....at least after a day of downing beers like water.

Actual phrases I heard during the game: "Your momma.....", "Sweet season last year, a-hole......", and then there was something about football thrown in there for good measure. My personal breaking point was when someone dumped a beer down from the heavens in an attempt to soak the opposition and instead, it splattered my innocent little head. Not happy. It made me bitter and old and haggy for sure. It also made my hair frizz which as we all know, can bring the wrath of estrogen to which no amount of testosterone could ever withstand.

But anyway, boys are dumb when it comes to their sports. It's sad, really. Don't they know it's supposed to be fun......and look! Sausage races! Who doesn't love a good sausage race to distract a bunch of drunkards? My rarely-used telephoto lens came out to play for this one.


And of course, before the race I chose the winner with my Hot Dog pick. Nate's choice of Chorizo never stood a chance. I win!


Miller Park is pretty much the bomb, even if those Cubs fans called it 'Wrigley North.' No offense but our retractable roof is way cooler and much more functional. At least these Wisconsinites prepare for their sub-par temperatures with this invention. Also, please note our crappy seats strategically placed right behind a rail. Eh, whatever.


Ooooh, lookie! Pretty fireworks under the closed roof!


So after losing in a heartbreaker, we soothed ourselves with my favorite pizza around: Riverfront Pizzeria. [insert Homer Simpson's gargled drooling here].


And that was Saturday.

Then came Sunday when we pulled our tired selves out of bed for 8 a.m. church with Nate's parents. It was lovely and I SO wished I would've snuck in my camera to snap pics of the awesome spring flowers at the altar. OMG, you guys. So much color and prettiness it hurt.

Then we all went to brunch at my favorite brunch place, Trocodero. [I love eating out, can you tell? Too bad we never splurge like this because we're too cheap. In the name of the Resurrection, we decided to go all out and partake in multiple meals outside of our boring little home. I know Jesus would approve].

Anyway, outside of brunch is this awesome bridge that I've seen many-a-times on Flickr and have always wanted to shoot it myself. Of course, my shots are not nearly as fantastic as the amazing ones on Flickr but I tried. It's called the Marsupial Bridge. You'll see why in a minute:




Because here is a giant rat sculpture right across from the bridge. Weird, huh?


Wanna see our grub?

Here is what they call 'Puffed Pastries', or as I like to call them, 'Freaking Amazing Chocolate Filled Flakiness.'


I could not decide between the stuffed French toast, a Belgian waffle, an omelet, or a crepe. So I got this instead: Brie, Tomato, and Basil on a baguette. Pure heaven, I tell you. The French don't mess around.


After successfully drinking insane quantities of expensive coffee and eating ourselves silly we came back home and changed into our Sunday lounge wear. Is there anything better than lounge wear? Oh, yeah.....just my TWO HOUR NAP on the couch with my boys. Yes, we were that tired and I forgot about my love affair with naps.

To prove that it really isn't Spring here yet, no blossoms or flowers or anything fun like that, I took this picture of a pathetic little bud on our tree. I'm told it might flower into something glorious....probably by July, at this rate.


After all of our festivities from the weekend, I realized I wasn't satisfied with the number of pictures we took together. I mean, I got plenty of inanimate objects and complete strangers. But I wanted one of us to mark Easter Sunday, 2009. Here is what I got right before Nate drifted into his napping coma. I followed shortly after of course. I like how it's very 'us', don't you?


And finally, Mom sent me this scan of my first Easter back in 1982. I know, my overalls are the bomb, don't remind me.
This might have been the year I forced my parents to 'hide' Easter eggs on the sidewalks because I didn't like the way grass felt on my feet. Or maybe I did that for the first five years of my life, but whatever. I was very odd as a child. Thank goodness I grew out of that, right?

And that is how we spent our Easter weekend. I think it will take us all week to recover....which will be just in time for a 'quick' 6 hour drive to STL for a 13.1 mile run. I bet I'll be tired next Monday, too. :)