2022: Be Nice to Me

 

Hi All!

Haven't had much of a drive to come on here in the past year.

Truly because not much has happened to me for me to need or want to document it but believe it or not, things have still happened lol.

I'm not sure what flipped on in my mind but I have hope for 2022 being pretty decent. 

Here's a recap of what happened in 2021:

January-March: I started taking Archie on more walks around town because I knew I needed to get him and myself into a more active routine. I tried dieting but when I didn't see much of a result I figured it didn't work and stopped caring about it. I went shopping with my friend, May, and had dinner with her and Sam. Travis and I stayed inside most of the time since it be cold and ordered from a few places in town we usually wouldn't go to. Our refrigerator went out around this time and we had finally had enough money saved to get our driveway done but we definitely needed a refrigerator more than a driveway, sadly.

April: The snow melted and I hated how our patio/deck looked so we got new furniture and lights for out there which made me love it so much and I spent A LOT of time out there the summer of '21. We had planned on staining the deck and putting up a pergola but every chance we had it rained or we couldn't decide on what to do.

May: We added a bit more curb appeal to our front walk way with some new plants and grasses. We put in a new door and window in our main floor powder room and it was an improvement we needed for sure. In late May, we went to Milwaukee for my 28th birthday and stayed at a fancy hotel and spent too much on food and drinks. We went to Ikea for Travis' first time and unfortunately didn't buy anything because we didn't have any money lol.

June-August: This summer was mostly spent at home lounging. We rode our bikes a lot more and even went to and around Lake Wazeecha, about 12 miles, which is a lot for me. I spent some much needed time with family in Big Eau Pleine again and had a nice visit from my Aunt. 

September-October: We had a picnic with Travis' family and then went on our yearly camping trip. It was later in the season so there weren't that many other campers in the park. We only stayed for a day because it was supposed to rain the morning we were leaving so we left in the middle of the night. The Sunday after we went to the Packers-Steelers game at Lambeau and had the most amazing seats ever, 35 yard line, front row, right behind the Steeler's D-Line bench! The next day, my mom and I went up north to have some fun craft time with the Timmerman ladies. We made wreaths and yarn sticks lol. Mid-October I went to my first work trip and stayed in a hotel alone for the first time which felt super weird but I spent most of the time with all of the people at the training anyway. 

November: Luckily throughout the entire year neither Travis or myself contracted Covid or if we did, we didn't notice and hopefully didn't pass it on to anyone we came in contact with. I know I hate hearing about it but my GOD I just want it to go away. We tested negative before we went to Thanksgiving at my Aunt's in Madison or as they call it, Steins-giving, since we all drink out of ornate steins they've collected over the years. My parents joined us for the first time this year.

 December: Earlier in the month we visited my brother and his family in Hudson for Christmas. We ate in a heated green house downtown which was super cool and played new board games I got for Christmas. Check out Hues and Cues, its harder than it looks! Travis' Birthday was also just a nice day at home and I got him a cake from Carlo's Bakery this year. The next weekend we were supposed to go back West to have Travis' family Christmas but it snowed so much that we didn't want to chance driving in it. The Tuesday before the holidays I stopped by my Grandparents house to give them our grandchildren gift to them and well wishes since I wasn't going to be seeing them on Christmas this year. Christmas Eve I went ice skating with my boss and her family and then we spent the evening at my parent's house (I got rollerblades!) and we said our goodbyes since they were going to be leaving the next Monday. Christmas day was spent at home just Travis and I, the way we like it. We were both spoiled rotten. Later that day my friend Van came up! She was originally supposed to come up that Wednesday but stupid Covid ruined all of our plans! New Years Eve was spent at home while Travis worked until 10; we watched a bit of the ball drop but it wasn't much to write home about, kind of a lame holiday in my opinion! 

That's all I can remember based off of pictures and Instagram posts since I stopped writing in my Journal. 

This year we're looking forward to finally doing our driveway!!! It's not the most glamorous thing to spend a ton of money on but Travis is really excited to not have to shovel/snow blow our shitty bumpy/half gravel driveway for another winter and be able to play basketball properly as well. I'm just excited to rollerblade on it lol.

We're also planning on doing a few more renovations such as the main level flooring and the stairs. I want to paint the upstairs hallway and finally hang our portraits I did a few years ago. I think we'll finally finish staining the deck and the front porch as well. 

Travis and I talk about another doggo but we'll see what this year brings on. 

April, I have plans for a girls trip to the Mall of America since we freaking love shopping and later in the month,Van might visit again too! No big birthday plans as of yet and no big travel plans either. I hope we can get to Lake Michigan this summer and I'd like to cross off carnival ride on my summer to-do list along with swim or water park.

Hopefully I take photos and actually remember to write down things that happened or things I'm doing even if they're just everyday occurrences. I'm also trying to take more photos on my Instax mini11 and so far this year I've taken one photo of Travis and I after we got home from watching Spiderman: No Way Home. Keep an eye on my Instagram since that's where I post more regularly in stories. 

Stay tuned!

xxoo,

Myia

The BEST Shrimp Tacos

Hey People!

I thought about it and I figured, okay I'll make up the birthday shrimp taco recipe. 

We made some shrimp tacos the week before my birthday when we were at Candlewood but we A) didn't have salt and B) were kind of just making it up with what we could get minimally. But they were so good I wanted to have them again as my birthday dinner.

Now, I am not a chef nor do I claim to be. This is truly just off the top of my head and measurements aren't exact. Literally do what you'd like to the flavor levels you'd like. *shrugs*

Travis wasn't happy I'm sharing this recipe since we think if we ever open a food truck or restaurant (truly not sure when that would ever happen) we'd definitely have this on the menu...but I just gave the basics.

Sadly, this was the only photo I took of the tacos...

But! Here's what I can remedy of the recipe:

Ingredients:

-Any shrimp of choice (we used extra large pre-cooked frozen shrimp), you'll need about 4pcs of shrimp per taco.

-Butter (about 2-3 tbs for the shrimp and extra for browning the tortillas

-Garlic (about 2-3 cloves, minced)

-4-6 tortillas, depending on how many people and how many tacos are being had (we had two each)

-1/2 to 1c of guacamole (I make my own, not gonna share the recipe but store bought or your own is fine)

-Half a bag of broccoli slaw

-About 1/4c of a creamy lime dressing (we used store bought)

-1-2tbs mediterranean seasoning

-1 lime

-1/4 to 1/2c Salsa verde (again, we used store bought)

-About 1/2 to 1c. Mexican cheese blend for topping (honestly use however much you'd like, I think the more the merrier)

Directions:

1) If the shrimp hasn't been thawed, do so. Peel, de-vein and remove tails.

2) Take the broccoli slaw out of the bag into medium bowl. Add cilantro lime dressing and mix. Squeeze rest of half of the juice from one half of the lime to slaw and mix.  

3) Add butter and garlic to pan and heat to just melt. Add thawed shrimp and sauté until just turn pink. Make sure to not overcook shrimp or it becomes rubbery. This should take only a few minutes on medium to medium-high heat.

4) Remove shrimp from pan and set aside, if no butter remains in pan, melt a bit more to brown tortillas. Heat/ lightly brown tortillas in pan on both sides at same temp. Once brown, set aside.

5) Assemble tacos with shrimp, slaw, guac, salsa verde, and cheese to top. Squeeze other half of lime on top of each taco for added acidity. 

6) Enjoy!

xoxo

Myia

2020 | My Outlook

Hello All.

Long time, no?

Hope everyone had a great set of holidays and New Year's Eve/Day. 

Mine were spent with family and friends as they should be. I spent Thanksgiving with a different side of my family and it was absolutely amazing and a total soul cleanse. 

My many Christmases were spent with old friends, very close family discussing what is considered "old" music, and my love spoiling me more than usual (and no, we are not planning any big trips this year). 

New Year's Eve was spent at home, with some nice steaks and shrimp (as Uncle Jill would say, MOOMACH!) and we started a new tradition of watching 'the best' movie of that year. Since, that was  basically all on people's opinions we just watched a few we hadn't seen, including 'Book Smart', 'Jo Jo Rabbit' and then I watched 'The Aristocats' because it was my favorite when I was a kid and hadn't seen it since. 

Now we are here!

I am still enjoying my 'new' job and right now is our slower part of the year so I'm learning to get creative with my time. 

During some down time, I mentally listed my goals for this year. 

As of now, not all of them are an "absolutely must be done" type of goal because if they don't happen then I will feel like a total pile of garbage but I'm making a real effort to achieve them.

My main goal is to become financially comfortable and learn to actually budget.

I am absolutely a spender and if I know I have extra money that I can burn, I absolutely will go to Target or get those other throw pillows that caught my eye. 

I KNOW I don't need anymore throw pillows, I'm friggen set. 

I sat myself down and calculated how I would be able to pay off my credit card debt by this September and if I stick to my guns and no major issues arise, it'll be done.  

I will have the obvious student loans to keep chugging along on and my vehicle payment but with the extra credit card payments out of the way, I can double up on my payments and still be comfortable.

We're planning on doing some more updates on our house this year including the half bath on the main level and the entry/ mudroom.

We have plans to do a major remodel on our upstairs bath and guest room which includes dormers and moving walls around so that may have to be planned for 2021 or later. 

We still would like to put in new flooring everywhere and we absolutely NEED new windows, but we would like to do that as we go. The kitchen and dining area will probably be one of the last projects since it would mostly be new appliances and doesn't have to be done right away.

Some of you may know but my friend, Mollie and I have a podcast that we started back in 2018 and have recorded about 4-5 episodes. We stopped recording when she had her appendix out and I want to pick it back up as we have everything to make it happen. What is it about you ask? Basically nothing, we discuss everything and anything and don't have guidelines to follow and maybe they'll show up magically. This is the big goal that I don't have a tight grip on it but even if we get it published finally,  I'll feel like I've got it accomplished.

This past year was a lot. Travis and I bought a house, visited Scotland, I changed jobs, and we added a puppy to our family. 

All of these major highs were absolutely great, but for the majority of the year I wasn't having a great time mentally. I really fell out of love with myself and cut a few ties with people because I was absolutely sick of being the only one making an effort. 

I started to care less and less about the things I used to find joy in and basically stopped caring about my appearance. Some people saw that and would make comments and that obviously just made it worse.

There were a few moments here and there where that wasn't the case but they truly didn't last long enough to make an actual affect.

I stopped making posts here and on instagram because I truly felt like I had nothing worth sharing with anyone, and when I took a few photos to share what we've been up to, I hated everything about it and changed my mind.

This holiday season really didn't feel like a happy Christmas time for me and I know it doesn't always have to but I just wanted everything to be over. 

I guess what had to happen was a new year and a new decade to bring an idea of renewal and clear thinking. I know most people don't follow through on their resolutions and yearly goals but my absolutely main goal is to just be happier.

I don't know what will need to happen for that to be, but I'm excited for it none the less. 

I have hope for a better year and a really clear vision for my goals, I just need to suck it up and do it. 

And I will.

I'm not going to waste my time on people that don't deserve it. If you want to be in my life, make an effort. And if you know me at all, I don't require much to be my friend. 

I'm making an actual effort to get my finances in order because even as I am extremely fortunate to have what I have, finances are something that stress me out to the max even if I even come close.

And that's the real real, from me to you.

I hope all of you have had a wonderful new year and are hopeful for new beginnings and growth.

xoxo

Myia

Life Update | 2019

Hello All!

It's been a moment, to say the least. 

There's so much I have to catch you all up on.

Last time you heard from me, unless you know me in real life or follow me on social media, I was just getting back from Mykonos, Greece with Travis. 

Since then, I've had two different jobs, I bought a new (to me) vehicle, I've driven to Pittsburgh, went to my first ever Badgers football game, relaxed in a cabin for Travis' Birthday, spent a proper weekend in Milwaukee, went to Edinburgh, Scotland for my Birthday and to top it all off we bought a house!

Early last year my coworkers and I were told that the business was closing and we would no longer have jobs. I did not stick it out til the end like many of my coworkers, and I got a job at a local golf course near my house. 

As it was only a seasonal job, I found employment in Stevens Point, working with my cousin and friend from college who soon turned into one of my closest friends.

I bought a Volkswagen Tiguan for hauling and bad weather, and it's just the cutest little SUV.

Right after, Travis and I drove to Pittsburgh to see his favorite football team ever, the Steelers. I found a nice restaurant for dinner and the next morning we headed to Heinz field. It was so cool! And no knocks on Lambeau, but I think I liked it better. No bleacher seats, you could see the Lombardi trophies right there (without having to buy a ticket to see them) and everyone was so nice and helpful.
The morning before the game was the terrible terrorist attack on the synagogue in Pittsburgh and there was a moment of silence for those who lost their lives and those that were injured.
The Steelers won the game and overall, it was a great time. We drove home right after the game, and it down poured the entire time. I drove there, so that meant Travis had to drive home (sorry, but thems the rules).

I got tickets from a coworker for the first Badger football game of the season and it was so much fun! We couldn't find parking right away so we almost missed kick off, but Camp Randall is a monument in Madison and the college kids made it an event. That makes me sound 80 years old, but it is what it is.

Travis' Birthday in 2017, we booked a cabin in south western Wisconsin and it was so cozy and quaint, we've decided that was going to be our tradition for his day. For his 29th, we booked the newest cabin on the property and it wasn't as quaint as the first cabin but it had amazing views and still was relaxing. This year, we're going to be at the same place in a different cabin again!

Travis turned me into a proper Milwaukee Bucks fan and got great tickets for a game this season. We had dinner at a french restaurant called Fauntleroy. It was chic and modern and the food was fabulous! The next day we searched for breakfast places and most had an hour to two hour waiting line and Travis was not having it, so we found a cute Italian place called 'Onesto'. We had a delicious brunch with mimosas, I definitely want to go back! For a bit of culture, we made a trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum, of course. There was no featured exhibit outside of the main area this time so we went straight in. After a few hours, we made our way to Fiserv Forum and soaked in all of its beautiful glory. We went to the upper level with the balcony and had a few pre-game drinks. Our seats were 2nd row so we had amazing views (you can see us on TV too!). After a Bucks win, we headed back home.

This past May, Travis and I visited Europe for our second time and this time was to the United Kingdom. We've wanted to visit Scotland for a long time and why not do it now? Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and the city is filled with so much history and beauty. I'm not going to go into too much detail here as I'll save it for another post : )
Just know, it's so green, so cozy, and yet so vast.

Starting in January of 2019, Travis and I discussed the possibilities of buying a house. He got pre-approved, we found a few houses we liked, met our Realtor, and it was all a process from there. We saw about 8 different houses, which I know doesn't seem like a lot, but after a little while it seemed like we would never find one as all the ones we really liked, had an accepted offer put on as soon as we put one out there. There was a house that immediately caught Travis' eye and it already had an accepted offer on it. About a month later, the sale fell through and we rushed to go see it. It wasn't like we had thought so we passed and looked elsewhere. After about a week, Travis couldn't stop thinking about it and asked our Realtor if we could see it again. Our Realtor seemed a little iffy on us putting an offer on it, but we did and the offer was accepted!
I am currently writing this from the kitchen of that house. Pictures and more details to come!



So far, it has been a whirlwind of a year and it's only half over!
We're in for a lot of hard work and stress with the house, but also a lot of excitement and happiness. As I post this, I'm realizing I don't take enough photos, or edit enough photos; something to work on!

Stay tuned for what comes next!


Myia

Update | Life Started in May

Hi Everybody!

I'm not gonna lie, I started this blog post back in late July/ early August and I've been so dang busy but I keep remembering to add things to this and I just keep putting it off. How terrible of me, right? Anyway, this is what I've been up to this year since I've been MIA for over a year:

April:

I had my Senior Exhibition for my BFA show, and it went so fantastically I could cry. So many people came to support us and I sold a few pieces! My art teachers from high school and junior high school all came to support Allison and I (since we went to the same schools) and it was so amazing to see them. We talked about possible careers and what the job market in the art field looks like. A lot of smiles came from me that day.
Thank you again to everyone for coming!

(Almost) the whole Fam-Damily | Big Eau Pleine

Hey Everyone!

A few weekends ago my Dad's family got together at Big Eau Pleine park in Marathon county and gathered for a little Timmerman fun.

I had to work both Friday and Saturday but I still got to spend some quality time with them.

Myself and my beautiful girl cousins (missing Chelsea and Monica)

(sorry for the quality of the photo, it was getting dark, and it's not like we all hadn't had a bit to drink....)

Abbey, Brook, myself, Veronica, and Megan

 The Ranger's station was a cute little A-frame.
When I arrived on Friday, Mom, Dad, and I set up camp and went to grab some firewood from Blaze the firewood seller. Blaze, firewood, ha get it? But for real, that was his real name. All I thought of was Blaise Zabini, like Blaise from Harry Potter....yeah you know what I mean.
We went back to camp, started up the fire and headed over by everyone else to see who was here and who wasn't. As we said our 'hello's' and 'good to see you!'s' we waited for Uncle Dan to show up and set up camp so we could go for a fish fry at the 'Moon Saloon' in Moon, WI.
Fish fry was meh, definitely could've been better.
Also, kind of a loud environment (with the Olympic opening ceremony playing on all tv's and loud music playing across the bar) for a dinner.
But, that's just me.
I drove Mom and Dad back to camp, and headed home so I could get some shut eye before work in the morning.

 Dad prepping the fire.

 Mom & her handy-dandy gloves.

 Found this lil baby frog...well, Mom found him first ;)

 No idea what body of water this was, but I passed it on a really awesome road bridge. I'm assuming it was the Wisconsin River...but don't quote me.

Saturday, I got up there around the same time as Friday and I'm super sad that I missed out on the pontoon party boat ride :(
But, I spent some time with Mom and Dad getting our pudgy pies ready for competition. Last year we had a 'meat' competition. This year we decided on the camp classic, pudgy pies. If you don't know what a pudgy pie is, lord help you it is basically a sandwich similar to a grilled cheese, but it is made on a cast iron grill. You take whatever type of bread (can be pretty much almost anything, pancake, waffle, garlic bread, french loaf, etc.) and put it down on one side of the grill, put your filling of whatever you want on the bread (can be sweet i.e. pie filling, or can be savory i.e. sauce, cheese, meats, etc.) and top with another piece of the same bread type thing and flip the other half of the iron onto of the pie and put it in the fire to cook. Don't over cook it or obviously it'll burn, but just cook them to your preference.
Our 'Olympic' competition had 'The Original' which was made by my mother, we had quite a few reubens, an ode to Fronie, a dirt cake pie (which was super tangy and surprisingly good!), apple pie, and a couple of 'pole pies' made by Aunt Ann (which were basically the west coast version of a pudgy pie, totally not the same). Overall there wasn't a single pie that wasn't good.
Yum-yum clan, y'all know how to make 'em.
Later on, Mom and I walked down to the boat landing and looked at the super beautiful view of the lake and the sun set. Holy balls it was so beautiful. Stood there for about 10 mins just soaking it in.
Later that night we went up to the fire hosts camp of the night and had some good (and very loud, thank you, Cody) chats. A few of the fam said they had never tried Rum Chata before (and if you haven't either, I strongly suggest you do) and I was flabbergasted so I ran back to the camper to grab that and whatever else I figured everyone would like to try.
Survey says: It's damn good.
We also had a few 'Tippy Cow's' to hand out and those went over very well also.
Later on, someone, got a little too rowdy, so most of us decided to go for a walk and somehow ended up chilling at Mom and Dad's site with Mom and Uncle Joel.
Best campfire time goes to Saturday night.

 Mom making the pudgy pies for competition

 The lake we camped by, in its beautiful glory

Sunday was picture day. The kids reenacted an older photo of them sitting on a dock (circa 1970-something?) and just missing 3 boys, it turned out pretty darn good! Grandma and Grandpa made some good lookin' kids. (and they made some even better lookin' ones ;)
Later, we got all packed up and headed over to Dan's site for some foods and stories about family secrets and possible mob affiliation? Doubt it, but would be kind of cool.
Then we said our goodbyes and headed back home.

 

Ann, Sandy, Marge, Dan, Joan, Dad, and Mary (missing Ed, John, and Twig)

 Only took slightly longer than normal, but we got 'er!

 The spouses

Trying to figure out where Aunt Ann's next plot of land will be.

Let's do it again next year!
And like I said, we definitely gotta get together more than once or twice a year.
Be there or be...a piece of shit :)

Hope you're all enjoying the end of your summer!
xoxo

Weekend in the Northwoods | Hodag 2016

Hey Everyone!

I'm back from my weeklong vacation up in Rhinelander, Wisconsin
(and finally posting about it a month later...whoops!)
And you know that the only reason that I would go up there for an entire week, with horrible cell service mind you, would be to attend the 39th Annual Hodag Country Festival!

As soon as it turned into July, I was just itching for the day to come when I could pack up my car and head up north.
This year, Mom, Dad, and I decided to go up a day earlier than normal (Tuesday instead of Wednesday) so we could be settled in a day earlier than everyone else and be ready for the chair line.
Honestly, it was a great idea.

Day 1:

I got up there around 6:30pm, and Mom, Dad, and I went to a bar a little bit away from the grounds called "The Jailhouse". It's your average pub, serving food (if I remember, their Tuesday special is 10 tacos for $10! What a deal!) They're also overlooking water and have a boat landing right in the parking lot (which is cool if you need to grab a bite to eat after being on the water all day). We had the sausage and bacon pizza, which was pretty good!
We got back to the grounds, I got my ever so lovely orange wristband and overflow camping/parking pass and unpacked to settle in for the night. Friends of my parents' (John and Tracy) stopped by for an hour before it started to rain. Later that night, Mom, Dad, and myself settled in to play a few rounds of Mom's favorite game, Sequence (Dad didn't quite get the hang of play a card-grab a card). We couldn't wait until the next day to for the surprise of being the first there.

Day 2:

Everyone getting settled in.

Waiting in the chair line

Got our chairs down!

Got the best seat in the house for the weekend, next to Uncle Jill (or apparently my grandma, says the jewelry man)

We woke up with no rush (just the way we like it) and anticipated everyone's arrival. The Waltz's were the first to arrive, followed by Hannah, Becky&Jim, and Uncle Jill&A1. They all unpacked and settled in then we put up the carport so we could enjoy the hot, but with shade.
It was pretty hot and sunny while sitting in line waiting for them to let us put our chairs down, but honestly, I'll take hot and sunny over raining, cold, and hailing any day. We sat where we pretty much always do, and it's always prime. After we settled down, Mom, Dad, and I got a fish fry and then we headed to 'the pav' for some merch. Apparently when you spend so much you get a free mug thing? Neat.
We went back to camp and got settled in for the night, started a fire, y'know the whole shebang.
 We went to bed and that was that.

Day 3:

The essentials

Thursday was nail day

 Apparently Thursday was also cold, rainy, and have Myia be sick, day.

Thursday is always pot luck day, which was m-m-m good! Always is. So much dang food.
After the pot luck, we were still all huddled under the carport as it was raining on and off and pretty chilly. I had to put on my pants and close toed shoes, along with three shirts and a hat and a blanket...I'm pretty sure I had a cold..great. Patty and Gretchen came up to join us Thursday. Gretchen brought some sunflowers and honestly, it did liven up the carport in the damp weather :)
Uncle Jill, A1, Mom, Dad, and I decided to stay back and not go to the shows and sit in the wet.
Mom, Dad, and I played a few rounds of Sequence again, Hanna told me my fortune with a deck of playing cards (she was surprisingly accurate), and UJ and A1 spectated. Dad and A1 started a fire while UJ tried to light a (30 year old) mosquito repeller. The rest of the night was pretty much just that. Also felt like I was going to die while trying to get to sleep, but that's another thing.

Day 4:

Friday was Margaritaville Day! My Great-Uncle Howie hosts Margaritaville with his buddies and family. They whip up about 400 margaritas with their gas powered blenders. Although it was raining a bit, we stuck it out and went, with the help of our lovely chauffeur, Tracy. We spent an hour or so drinking margaritas and schmoozing with family. We went back to camp, grabbed everyone else and headed to go see Lauren Alaina. She was pretty good! Packer jersey and all. Then, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band came on! They were fantastic. Honestly never thought I'd say that I had seen them in the flesh. Ahh! (Currently listening to 'Mr. Bojangles' and you should too). Thomas Rhett was the closer and he was pretty dang good too. Not bad to look at either ;) Mom, and Dad headed back early and I stayed back till the end. Eventually we got back to camp and sat around the fire. We laughed, and drank some more, then it was time for bed.

Day 5:

'Lois' and I

Back row: Matt, Jaeke, Jim

Next row: Chris, A1, myself, Becky w/clay head, Mom, Pam, Dad

Middle row: Ken, Jean, Amber, Dawn, Hanna, Patty, Jack

Second to last row: Randee, Gretchen, Uncle Jill, JoAnne

Front row: Rachel the selfie-stick extraordinaire

(Missing Mike)

Saturday was 'Murica Day. As you can see, I opted for stripes, Mom was my stars. I figured overalls were a good idea, it was the perfect temp, and you know that when you bend over or lift up your arms, your butt crack won't show :) All of us ladies donned star spangled flowers, pins that told everyone to, "drink up bitches!", and our pull-tab bracelets made by Randee.
No rain, and beautiful temperatures at about 72, Saturday was perfect!
The lineup for Saturday was as follows: Clare Dunn (we didn't go down to see her), Dallas Smith (same), Jana Kramer (She was pretty good! Tiny too. We caught the last bit of her set), Montgomery Gentry (They always put on a good show, good times had all around!), and Jake Owen was the closer. He was fantastic, his music was lively and fun, the horns were a great touch (I posted a photo to Instagram earlier in the week and his horn players' Instagram liked it!). Dad really enjoyed the horns, even though when he expressed how much he liked them, he called it percussion, silly dad. I think Jake got a few downloads from my father the next week. We had jello shots all day, I ran out of drinks (but not like we don't bring enough to quench everyone's thirsts, thanks again, Dawn!). It was a fantastic night!
After the show, we went back to camp and unloaded. Amber and Rachel invited me to go with them to a campsite with a bunch of their friends from Polonia, WI. We played corn hole (of course) and watched as people got locked out of their campers, showed us some drunken pda, spilled, and fell down a lot. I also apparently offended a small, inebriated, shirtless man who wanted to play guitar for us, but meh. After a couple of hours we walked back to camp and went to bed.

Pro Tip for Hodag and personal reminder: Overalls are not the most convenient outfit, especially once you've broken the seal. 

Day 5:

(I'm gonna warn you, this one is a little wordy, so bear with me)

This was the exact moment I fell in love with harmonica players, more specifically, Chris Janson.

Sunday, as you can see, was a very wet day. They don't call in 'Rain-lander' for nothin'! I don't think I saw a single person without some form of rain protection (i.e. poncho, hoodie, ran coat, rain boots, or umbrella (which is not permitted! naughty naughty). We didn't go down to the show to see Cam, but we got there around the time The Brothers Osborne were finishing their set (Mom really wanted to see them) and we sat to watch everyone else. There was no way we were going to miss Neal McCoy, I mean, he's Mr. Hodag. When we got to our seats it was only partially raining, we figured that we could easily sit through it without ponchos. Terri Clark came out and did a great set, she still looks amazing! Also, she's a packer fan, so we like her.  We gave her a standing ovation and she was flabbergasted that we wanted her to come back for another set, surprise Terri! We loved you!
I remember Terri Clarks set really well because before she started, Mom and I went to go grab some vittles and I found some loaded Mac N' Jack bites (deep fried mac n' cheese made with Monterey Jack) and holy balls were they deep fried bites of heaven. Uncle Jill agreed.
We went around to look at what every stand had as far as trinkets and attire. The usual random sunglasses, expensive boots, woven everything, knock-off t-shirts (which also had bamoo (I'm assuming they meant Bamboo) pillows, and Quin (queen?) pillows as well.
 I'd like to know where the bamoo grows.

We went down to the band merchandise tent and they didn't have any Brothers Osborne merch, so Mom was a bit peeved, so we went back to the seats and watched the rest of Terri's set.
Chris Janson was on after her and all I can say is, I'm in love. Too bad for me, he's married and has a little baby girl. That string bean of a white boy can play the hell out of a harmonica. He was flying all over the stage, jumping up and down, flailing his arms all over the place, holy spit-fire. As soon as I heard that man play his harmonica, it was all I wanted to hear for the rest of my life. Okay, I might be a little over dramatic, but seriously, the kid is good.
Towards the end of his set, it started to downpour pretty good. Everyone was soaked, and we were totally okay with that because we were having a good time!

People were handing out plastic artificial insemination gloves in-between Chris and Neal, because for some reason, that's Neal's thing? Any who, people get them and blow them up and wave them around when he comes on, and we all go crazy. He called us crazy (and stupid) for standing out in the pouring ran for so long just to see him. Well, Neal, we'd probably stand around in light snowfall for you too. He didn't climb on top of the stage like he usually does, most likely because he would've slipped and fell but, he did bring out his two youngest grandsons, and they were super cute! His band always has a great time, and we love them every year. People always say to us, "well, don't you get a little bored with seeing him every single year?" and we tell them, no frickin' way. He's definitely one of the best entertainers, red-blooded American, drinks just about whatever people throw on stage, and wears whatever people give him. For a guy who is almost 60, he doesn't show it on stage.

After Neal was done, Uncle usually does her 'end of the 'dag 5-point cartwheel' but she took a tumble the night before and couldn't do it, so Rachel did it for her.
We then all packed up our chairs and coolers, and walked back to camp as it was all said and done. It stopped raining, and we played a new game. Joe Santagato calls it "Watch Ya Mouth", you basically wear a cheek retractor (like the ones used for teeth whitening) and you say phrases and hope your team can guess what you said. Someone got all of us on video singing David Allan Coe's "You never even called me by my name" (darlin') so, whoever has that, I'd love to see it ;)
After a few rounds of that, the group was a little too inebriated to continue on. 
Everyone keep your cheek retractors for next year! 

Monday was pack-up-and-go-home day. Hugs and good-byes all around. Not like we never see each other, but it's still sad-ish none the less. A few campers (not in our group) had some trouble packing up and getting their RV's out of the park because the ground was so soggy. Bleh!

On my way home, I always have this like slight depression that it's over because it's what I look forward to ever summer. I can't help but feel humbled because of the wonderful people that I get to spend my week with are some of my very favorites. I love every single one of them!

Overall, it was a successful Hodag. My 9th Year (although I skipped a few years in-between).
I met some great people (JoAnne, Jack, Ken, Jean, Amber, Patti & Gretchen) come back again!
Jack, the game for next year will be 100% re-vamped, and ready for next time!
Hopefully next year is less damp, and even if there isn't a whole lot of sun, warm weather is all we ask for.

Neal McCoy says 330 days 'til next Hodag!

If you've gone to the Hodag, let me know your favorite part of the week was, and if you didn't go to the Hodag but went to another music festival, let me know who you saw!

Hope you all had a great July and are enjoying the last bits of your summer!
xoxo