You know what they say…

Time flies when you’re having fun!

Well, I don’t really know who they are, but they couldn’t be more correct! I’ve been so busy having fun that I’m almost in disbelief that it’s Friday again.

My busy fun started last Friday when I spent the day baking cupcakes & making chocolate covered strawberries for a rehearsal dinner.

White Chocolate Truffle, Mint Chocolate Oreo & Red Velvet cupcakes were all on the menu.

Along with milk & dark chocolate strawberries.

Wanna know a secret?

This was my first time ever making chocolate covered strawberries. The sister & mother of the groom requested I make them or make a suggestion for someone who could. Since I didn’t want to make things more complicated for them & didn’t really know anyone to recommend, I accepted the challenge! I knew it couldn’t be too difficult so I just went with it.

Not too shabby I supose!

Overall I was really happy with the outcome & so grateful they asked me to take on the job!

Saturday brought about a whole different kind of fun. A kind of fun that almost makes me queasy just thinking about it. And not neccessarily in a good way.

Okay, picture this. A perfectly sunny, 78 degree day, not a cloud in the sky. A lush, green park overlooking Lake Monona with gorgeous views of the state capitol.

Now add to that about 500 different beers from over 100 different breweries from all around the Midwest.

As you might assume, the day got a little messy.

The Great Taste of the Midwest is not for the novice beer drinker.

You’re given a 10 oz. glass as you enter the gates. Beyond those gates lie some of the tasiest, hoppiest, maltiest brews from the surrounding areas. Dependent upon who is pouring your sample, you might get 2 ounces of beer each time. Or, you might get a full 10 oz.

Especially if your hair is not quite blonde, not quite brown & you’re ordering a beer called “Ginger Blonde”, “Naughty Girl”, or something along those lines.

Also, if you happen to know a brewer or two, you might even get a full pour every time. Keep in mind, most of these beers are 5% ABV & up. Some are even closer to 10%… You see where I’m going with this?

It was a long day.

Especially for this guy.

And this guy.

We drank.

We got tats.

We attempted to get good photos.

Most importantly, we had fun.

And I stole was given these sweet boots.

We were shuttled home before dark. Later that night & the next day weren’t so much fun. But you know what? I’ll do it all again next year… Some people just never learn.

Even though I wasn’t feeling well, I had to get up & moving on Sunday because my parents & I were headed to American Players Theater to see Skylight. I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but please, if you’re in the area & have even a tiny interest in theater, PLEASE GO HERE!! Skylight was wonderful. We all laughed. We all cried.

Skylight takes place in the indoor theater & spaghetti is prepared by one of the actors. It was all I could do not to run to the stage & dig in. I stopped at the grocery store on my way home & prepared spaghetti, just like Kyra.

Monday morning my friend Melissa & I embarked on a little adventure to our friend Cassie’s parents’ place in Northern Wisconsin. Cassie & her husband Dave now live in Atlanta so it was great to not only spend time with her, but also just relax for a couple of days.

This view from my spot on the dock pretty much sums up our couple of days there.

But of course boating, skiing & tubing happened too.

I did nothing with my hair & wore no makeup the entire time. It was liberating.

On our last night, we headed into town to pick up a few groceries to replenish what we had eaten. We also had dinner at a little bar/restaurant. It’s in these places that you learn that the Northwoods is really nothing like the rest of Wisconsin. Or maybe it’s just that Madison is it’s only little bubble. Either way, it’s refreshing. Nobody cares what you look like. Nobody cares how you speak. Nobody cares about anything, really. And it’s a great way to relax.

…with friends that you adore…

Of course reality was a rough one & I jumped in head first yesterday with an 11 hour day at work. I’ll do the same today & then I’m off for a few days again. I guess that’s not so horrible. 😉

I’m doing my best to get caught up on the blogs I follow but ya’ll were busy while I was away! I had over 200 new posts on my Google Reader when I checked it yesterday. Yikes! I’ll catch up soon enough, but tell me, what have you been up to? What are your plans for the weekend? I’ll be doing some more baking this weekend, this time for an awesome fundraiser I’ll tell you all about later. Time with friends & family will be mixed in as well & Monday is a day off for our entire company, as it is our annual Employee Appreciation party. Oddly enough, employee appreciation parties in my line of work are quite similar to my day at the beer festival…

Cheers to the weekend!