Orange Colored Sky

Let's start with weekend updates! The NCAA playoffs road trip was a good time, got to meet Nikki and Abby and stayed in Hudson. The games were pretty awesome too but we ended up losing to St. Cloud. The Puckheads were on TV in the UP with what seemed like a direct feed from the arena, nothing was blocked. I heard that they showed me a lot doing the same Mojo dance. I was also told that I need to learn new dance moves... what other moves do I need at a hockey game!? We went to the second game on Saturday and decided to cheer against both teams (Wisconsin or St. Cloud). The night ended in Minneapolis partying it up with some guys from St. Cloud and ended up giving them a ride home.

Next road trip, to Milwaukee for Meet Me at Miller Park. The first game was cool with front row seats on the third base line. We got Braun's attention a few times and had a sign that said, "Ryan Braun stole my girlfriend." The third time we got his attention he finally saw the sign and kind of shrugged as if, sorry. The guys were yelling, "I really loved her, I thought she was the one" it was very entertaining. We ended up beating the Tigers this game and probably should've only played the first 3 innings since nothing happened after that. Everyone came over to my house to crash and we had a bonfire and hung out drinking some more. The following morning I didn't feel very well, allergies, and went to tailgate at 10am. We prepped for rain and put a tarp between two vans to grill and keep dry. This was fairly successful and by the time we were ready to head into the game the rain had stopped. This game was much better than the previous night. We were a few rows back on the first base line. The score of the game was the best with the Tigers ahead by the bottom of the 9th and then Counsell getting a great hit to win the game. The ball went to the second baseman and he threw it to the first baseman then he dropped it and Counsell was safe with the winning run going in. Easter dinner that night and hanging out with my family was nice, we talked finances and post graduation things. The following morning we went to Mequon for brunch with my Grandparents and Cousins with Aunt and Uncle. I met the newest addition to the Krause family, Ben. Oh! My mom found the coolest Easter gift's for the boys! She got a frog and a duck and they were soft puppets that made noise, the frog rib-bits and the duck sings 3 songs. They were the most fun to play with!

Last road trip before a break! I went to Eau Claire for the Viennese Ball. It was great fun to see my sister sing with the jazz band after hearing about it. She did a great job both nights and the dancing was exhausting. I never got to waltz but I wasn't going to try to find a guy to dance with. Spending time with my sister in EC was fun because I've never really gone out to the bars there. One of her friend's was buying PBR for me and him to anger my sister (she thinks that someone from WI shouldn't drink PBR). The second night was fun dancing with my parents, I won't try to swing dance with them till they've had more practice. It was no use trying to lead them to do something. The Frozen Four was won by Boston College 5-0, silly Wisconsin (they suck). It was a great weekend.

On to current affairs, only 2 weeks till graduation! I'm almost finished with my on-line class and my only worry is getting my MATC class transferred in time to have it on my transcript. I really hope that grade gets fixed soon!! I have only two finals during finals week and neither of them are cumulative! This semester is pretty simple as far classes go. I'm still looking for a job in New Orleans and seeing what's available but haven't applied yet. I have a few tips on jobs but not sure if any will work out. On to work on my theatre portfolio.

Upcoming events: Trout Fest (Kalkaska, MI), Doc in town, Graduation, Back to Milwaukee

The Boys Are Back In Town

It's been a very long while but i'm going to attempt to fit everything in so bear with me.

We'll start in February where we left off, the Olympics were in full swing and that's all that I did other than go to class. I cheered for the US as well as Canada, which got me into some trouble with Doc. Other events going on in February were Rent which was less then anything acceptable. Abby and her friend Katie came into town and had to leave at intermission. They couldn't stand being there for the second half because it was so terrible. I finally got to see the UP 200 also which was pretty cool. Well I suppose that's pretty much it for updates based on the mast big entry. On to more important things.

The hockey season ended on a great note! We swept LSSU and got 4th in the CCHA. Rowdy, Nik, and Ken were in town and we had a fun time going out to Harlow. As soon as we turned into Harlow Rowdy told us if we saw any animals that he was going to call them lesbians, so he rolled down the window and called them lesbians. We continued the trek through Harlow until we got stuck, then we rolled back and got even more stuck. Nik and Ken walked till they got cell service and left Rowdy and myself with the vehicle. While they were gone Rowdy decided to start a fire and was somewhat unsuccessful the first few times. I think that Nik and Ken returned before the fire got going. The boys went around looking for wood to keep the fire going and Nik ended up balls deep in snow and stuck. Of course, I had to save him since I wasn't doing anything but being a woman. We kept the fire going and eventually Josh showed up with shovels to help us get out. We made it out safe and left the lesbians to their thing.

The following morning I woke up very early to beat the snow storm in the UP to get to Milwaukee so I could fly to New Orleans. The roads were so terrible in the UP at 7am, I was afraid that I wouldn't make it to Milwaukee and end up in a ditch. Fortunately I got home and even had time to take a nap! I got a ride to the airport and my flights were all good, with the exception that I was flying Delta and not Midwest Airlines! I really wanted the cookies. I made it to NOLA safe and got flowers from my wonderful boyfriend, Doc. The week started out slow but by Wednesday they flew! Doc had work on Monday and Tuesday so I got to meet and hang out with his sister-in-law Kaye. She and I ran some errands then Doc got off work early but I let him sleep. Kaye and I went to pick up Mason and Braeden from school to take Braeden to the doctor. They were tons of fun to hang out with, even though I have said I dislike children there are some exceptions. That night all of us went out to dinner and it was pouring outside! The dinner was fun, being able to meet Doc's brother Nick and family. Tuesday, Doc went to work and Kaye picked me up to go shopping, I found some great jeans and sweaters. Later in the day Doc and I went to find some new sneakers for me since my other pair needed replacement. Wednesday Doc and I went car shopping and looked at some apartments in Metarie. We found him a car but he still hasn't done anything about a purchase there. The apartments were nice but not what I was looking for. Thursday we drove out to Slidell to look at apartments and after getting a little lost we found them. We also had some time to kill between viewings so we looked at some more vehicles. By the end of the day I knew where we were moving to and I cannot wait! That night we also went to Nick and Kaye's and I made lasagna for us. I played a few games against the boys in Mario Bros and didn't do all too bad. Kaye and I killed 3 bottles of wine which was fine with the guys. Friday was tourist day and we went downtown and went to the aquarium then walked to Jackson Square. We eventually made it to Bourbon street and I had a real NOLA hurricane and then got Pimms, which is a British gin. By the end of those two drinks I was gone. We got home and I think I took a nap as well as on the car ride home. Doc called a co-worker in Metarie and we met up with him and his girlfriend that night. Saturday morning I flew back home to Milwaukee. It was sad to see him go but I knew that I would see him soon. Being home was nice, just to spend some time with my parents and relax. I went to visit my Grandpa at the nursing home and he kept asking why I was with a Slovak in New Orleans. I told him that I was visiting my boyfriend and that he was actually Russian. Grandpa then started rolling off some Russian, we asked what it meant and he didn't know. When I got back home my mom and I sat in our basement and tried to figure out what needed to go and what I was potentially going to take. This got me even more excited to move to New Orleans, plus they talked me into a two-bedroom instead of a one-bedroom. Now I can take my desk with and have a guest room!

The following weekend NMU played Alaska in the second round of the CCHA playoffs. We ended up dominating with 4-3 then 5-1. It was a great game to end with for my senior year last game at the Berry. The boys were going to the JOE! Everyone started planning and I skipped the bus and went down with a van and got group rate tickets. Somehow, I managed to get rid of all 20 tickets for both days! It was unbelievable. The ride down I got no sleep and never got any sleep for that matter that day. We played Ferris in the early game and beat them 4-3. Doc showed up a little late because of airlines being shit but as soon as he showed we got 3 goals with 3 shots in the second. He certainly made an entrance... That night was Fan Fest where Northern took over and they had to get more booze, twice! We even closed down the place at 2am! The next day we had the late game and Doc has family in the Detroit area so we had brunch with them. It was fun meeting some of his extended family. After we got back I was exhausted so both of us took an hour and half nap. Even with the nap we were still exhausted at the game. You could tell that a lot of the fans had a rough day/night. Before the game we met up at Cobo Joe's and had a snack then to the Joe. Northern was doing fairly well but they seemed like they were tired too. Long story short, Michigan won 2-1. After the game we walked to the fan bus and saw them go then saw the players bus go as well. The bars were calling so we walked to The Post for a few drinks where two puckheads were christened and dubbed with names. Doc and I met up with Dave and went out with him for the rest of the night, getting home around 3am. Sunday morning we had breakfast at IHOP then went on the road. I took a brief nap and went to bed early on Sunday.

We end with today, the Cats are still going strong and playing in the NCAA Playoffs in St. Paul, MN. I'm going to caravan and save money, again, by NOT taking the bus. Thank god I have friend's near St. Paul!

Upcoming events: NCAA Playoffs (St. Paul road trip), MM@MP (Milwaukee road trip), V-Ball (Eau Claire road trip) or Frozen Four (Detroit road trip)

Let's hope I post sooner than later with weekend updates! All of my weekends are full till commencement other than one! I need to get some work done with my classes!!!

1 2 3 Goodbye

This weekend has brought two tragedies to two communities. One the Olympic community losing a 21 year old luger from Georgia. I've watching the video a few times of his crash and the only thing I can think is that he was doing something that he loved. Georgia was lucky to have him representing them and I can't believe that something like that could happen at the winter games. The second loss is a girl from Marquette, she was very involved in the Hospitality program at Northern. She had a certain vibe about her and there is an energy that seems to be missing yet still alive. She was in a few of my classes and was a great person, from what I know. Today's class is very tough with the news just starting to spread and all my prayers go out to her friend's and family. The hospitality industry missed out on a great person in the field but now has an angel to watch over.

December, 1963 (oh, what a night)

Updates from previous post:

Elsa's Wedding was AMAZING! It was beautiful and tons of fun! I think my favorite part is that she had a red wedding dress, I can't wait to see how she alters it to wear again (cut shorter to dance). The day was long and exhausting and yet so short. The part that annoyed a lot of us was that the photographer kept taking pictures of us between the church and reception. We just wanted to pick up some champagne and drive around. The reception was great with a pretty cool DJ and a MARIACHI band!!! To start, the bride and groom were introduced, Mr and Mrs. Scardino (I'm going to miss Gonzalez). Then they went right into the speeches! This was pretty good, except that there wasn't much of a toast. So... me being the way I am when the mariachi came in I decided to follow that. HOW DO YOU FOLLOW A MARIACHI?!?!?! I might be able to answer that! Just make a fool of yourself, I focused on a few main points, how do you follow a mariachi, knowing Elsa, un-officially thanking Target for the un-official sponsor, and maybe another point that I can't remember. Anyways, I rocked it and then had tons of fun dancing the night away. The groom's step-dad told me throughout the night that I was the life of the party. Sad to say, I left around 11:30pm because I was tired and I had to wake up early to drive back to the UP. I said my goodbyes and crashed as soon as I got home... well after I chatted with Doc.

The next day I trekked back to the UP and stopped in Green Bay for lunch with my Grandparents. I think that I'm going to try to spend more time with them while I'm in the Midwest. The plan right now is to move down to New Orleans with Doc over the summer and stay there. I'll probably miss the random dinners with my Grandparents when they're in Milwaukee. Back on topic, the hockey game that night was fun, except that the Puckhead section was minimal, meaning 4-ish. I took over the drum cheers and eventually the fraternity boys showed up. One of the boys wanted the drum I had and I just gave him a look like, "HELL NO." It's interesting playing a drum with the Puckheads, being a percussionist as well. When you hand off a cowbell to any of them they look at it like, "how's it work?" Some of them DO have rhythm and know what they're doing. My favorite part is when you know how to do a cheer and you spice it up.. then you get looks! I feed off of those looks of, "stop ruining the cheer" which I'm not, and you would know that if you knew rhythms. So the team won, I can't remember by what but it was weird being at a game without Doc.

That diet thing I mentioned last time... not happening really. My weekends are really screwy so I skip those days and then I lose momentum. I feel like I'm eating healthier and I'm really trying!

On to new business. I forgot to mention that my car decided to have problems when I was home for the wedding so I had a soccer mom van for a week. This was okay, other than paying for gas. Having the van was cool because then I got to go back home the following week to get my car back. Umm... the week was uneventful. No, wait, my best friend is now single, I was scared for the first week of what she was going to do, like crazy stuff. It was okay, she just drank (almost like her birth week, but not, because I wasn't there).

The weekend was EPIC! The Lacee and I drove down to Milwaukee for a weekend errand. When we got to South Milw there was a city water main break that affected the whole city of SM. This was just great, no drinking, no boiling the water. So, all of the grocery stores stocked up on water, like CRAZY! They fixed the break by noon the next day. That night my parents had ticket to a show Downtown so we went to Rudy's for dinner, 2 margarita pitchers and a meal later we were out the door. Lacee and I started at Bar Louie and had a Dirty CEO (olives stuffed with blue cheese). We got a free martini to test out for the Valentine's specialties, it tasted like a cherry tootsie pop! After that we went to Water Street Brewery and I had a beer, Lacee had two. We chatted with some guys at the bar and then went next door to Rosie's. We got a pitcher of Spotted Cow, delish! My parents called me and said they were at Egan's and something about my Grandparents. At this point Lacee and I are pretty gone. We went to Egan's and my parents were sitting there with my Grandparents. So Lacee met Grandma and Grandpa when she was drunk. ALWAYS FUN! The next day I took Lacee around town, shopping, Kopps, Grandparent's old condo, and all the fun things. That night we volunteered at the theatre in town and saw the community players show for free. The shows were okay. After the show me, Lacee and Becky went out downtown to The Safe House. It was tons of fun! We found a spot at the end of the bar and chatted with one of the bar-backs throughout the night, Agent Smith. Lacee had several free drinks, on account of her being so HOT... and the guys swarming around her. Agent Smith mixed a NA drink for Becky and then made an AMAZING drink! Damn Girl, Slap Me Again! It was such a great drink! I got the recipe and I am going to attempt to get it in the UP.

I think I'm going to end this insanely long update at that.

Upcoming: Vancouver Winter Olympics, Hockey games, Rent, UP 200, Abby Visiting!

Hospitality, Hockey and Happiness

Let's see... where has the time gone? A lot has happened and yet it's only been... two weeks?? I have found the love of my life and only met him in October. I can't believe that everything is happening so fast but yet slow at the same time. My classes this semester are all about hospitality and I'm debating entering the field. I actually have no idea what I want to do. Ms. Lee is crazy and fun something that I need in a professor. There's a lot of internet research in the classes so I try to keep focused without being on Facebook like everyone else. God I HATE when people Facebook during class!!! Do that on your own time when people around you aren't paying thousands of dollars for their education!

Michigan Tech still sucks, hockey has been kinda shitty. We were swept by UNO which is upsetting. The game sounded horrid on the radio, even with Danis and Gerdewagen chatting away. On the plus side I got to chat with Doc during the whole game since he was listening to it through Skype, through me. I can't believe how horrid the team was playing. This was the last meeting of the two teams for a few years. UNO is changing conferences to WCHA, LAME!

Like I mentioned earlier, I have found the love of my life to which I am the happiest I will ever be. But, he's moved down to New Orleans and won't be back in the UP other than to visit. His last weekend was fun, we spent all of our free time together. The hockey games weren't all too bad either. We dominated on Friday against Bowling Green, 6-0. This was great for the confidence of our goalie, Stewart. Saturday was a bit nerve wreaking, we were down 1-3 then came back to tie. The game ended in a shoot-out which was pretty f-ing awesome! First shoot-out at home this season. The rest of the night went well. I met Doc's friend Nicole and she and I chatted throughout the night. I think I did good for her not liking me at all... oh well, the time has passed.

Upcoming events: Elsa's wedding (I'm a bridesmaid.), Alaska games (I'll miss Friday's because of the wedding), updates on me working out/dieting, trip to New Orleans to see Doc (Spring Break)

Out with the Old, In with the New

This past year was a great year. I turned 21 and enjoyed the bar scene, became a Puckhead, and have recently changed myself for the better. I had a lot of fun in 2009 but it wasn't what I wanted and it took a great guy to straight out tell me. I don't know what I would do without him and I'll have to figure that out sooner than later, that's a different story in of itself. So, 2009 was fun, I'm hoping to make 2010 all the better.

To end the year my sister and I took a road trip down to Houston to visit our family. The trek down was interesting. Memphis was dead and the hotel was next to an abandoned factory... we think. Beale street was even really dead, then again it was a Tuesday in Winter. Abby and I had determined that everything is closed on Sunday and Monday especially in winter. On the way to Hot Springs, AR we took a 30 mile detour to check out the Louisiana Purchase baseline. This was pretty sweet with the trees parting right where the baseline runs. Hot Springs was fun too, we checked out bath house row and went into one of them to see how people used to bathe. My favorite part was driving through the park, which is a mountain. With Leon, the Neon, I was going around those turns like none other! The only problem was that the passenger was yelling to slow down and is also scared of heights. We had some fun trying to take a picture of us at the top with the timer on my camera. We stayed the next night in Texarkana, TX/AR. It was an odd town on the border of the two states. So of course the following morning we went downtown for the photo op. Finally in Houston we hung out with our cousins, aunt and uncle, cats and dogs. It was definately an adventure.

Come the New Year, 2010! We went over to the neighbors and my best friend Lacee was my first phone call of her New Year and I called her once it hit midnight by me. This year is going to be great!!! The following day all of us went to the museum and saw A Christmas Carol in IMAX. However, durind this excursion, one of the dogs got into my bag and ate my favorite black patent leather heels. These heels are now out of season and I can't get them anywhere. On a better note: Northern Hockey picked up some wins in Minnesota beating Clarkson and then the Minnesota Gophers. This was also the night that Doc and I decided to start to "date." None of the being in a relationship stuff had hit me at all. After Houston we started heading North to Oklahoma City to visit one of Abby's friends, Garrett. We did so much in one day it is unbelieveable! Garrett's Uncle Scott took us around and showed us the OK City Bombing, the OK Land Rush, Toby Keith's home, several big houses, and the OU campus. It was a very fun day and I really wish we had more pictures or photos of Scott. The whole tour in that one day was what made the trip great. After that was the trek back to South Milwaukee. I drove the majority of the way while Abby slept. We made it home safe and I had so much to do in only a few days!

The wedding fever has only just begun. I tried on my bridesmaid dress and it looks amazing! I'm so much more excited about Elsa's wedding now that I have my dress, and it's paid in full! Elsa also gave me a pair of shoes for the wedding that I get to keep. I'm so pumped. Elsa and I chatted for a while, as we always do, in the cold Wisconsin weather and then headed our separate ways. The Bachelorette party was the following night and it was ablast except when I couldn't find parking due to an event at Uhelin Hall and the Bucks vs Bulls game (damn FIBS!). I finally made it and got my reservation sorted out. I got Elsa up on the piano and she got sung to, in traditional Lucille's manner. I also bought her a Jello injector and one of the bouncers gave it to her. This was very entertaining for everyone. After the piano bar we went to Buckhead's that is a dance club but to me it felt more like a sports bar with the dead animals on the wall. Elsa got drunk at the this bar and the Bachelor party found us. She and Dan were cute but broke all the rules for Last Night Out parties. I was upset about this but I met the guy that I'm walking down the aisle with, Blake. He and I chatted the whole night and decided about 3 or 4 times that we disagreed too much and we couldn't walk together. I think that the wedding will be fun anyways. After bar close Elsa went home with her maid-of-honor, Amber, and Blake walked me to my car. I was going to take him to Dan's place but first we had to find Dan. Turns out Dan thought he was walking North when he was really going South. Once I found out where I was, we found Dan and I got both of them home safe. I got home around 3:30am.

Today, I drove back to the UP. I've been waiting to get back since I found out that Lacee was going to be back. I really wanted to be there hanging out with Doc and loving it. The problem is that Doc is moving to New Orleans in 8 days, well 7 now. I can't get over the fact that he won't be in the UP anymore. He came over while I was unpacking and things felt kind of awkward since we were both waiting for something to happen. We both had the first kiss of the New Year and then he said something I never thought I would hear for a few years, "I love you." This kind of freaked me out and I have some thinking to do. I really do Love him but I'm not sure I can bring myself to say it. I hope that stopping by his work and saying that I'm Doc's girl made him feel a lot better. I think I need to get used to being together with him, I have a week to do it. I hope to make the best of it.

The New Year brings lots of hockey in very little time. Northern plays on Tuesday against MI Tech at Houghton. Then a home series versus Bowling Green. Can not wait for the games this semester!

what a wonderful life

my life has changed so much with in the last month. for starters i had at least one drink every day for 19 days straight. it's time to take a break and focus in on my life. a lot of the things that happened were probably due to the alcohol. i almost hate myself for blaming my actions on alcohol. i should know better than to let it take over my life. since so much has happened i will give the highlights.
my best friend won a karaoke contest and i was there as her number one fan! i was cut from a show in the theatre, this made way for hockey games. i became a member of the loud, hard-core fans of hockey. i met a few of the players. i celebrated thanksgiving with my family. i spread the game of pub golf in marquette. i met some new people.
i'm sure that i'm forgetting some things but that's okay. my life has just gone in a completely different direction that what i expected. i hope that i can get myself back on track. i think that a few days in the UP with minimum plans will help me figure things out. i just need that time to myself to think. maybe i'll make use of my snowshoes and go out to presque with an mp3 player and an open mind. the outdoors and fresh air will probably do me some good.
to end this post i have a poem that i wrote last year:

living in the moment

some people plan their lives out,
every minute something is planned,
free time, work, sleeping.
i've lived this life. . .
it's sickening.
no chance to be free from life and all the schedules.
i will live life by the hour,
no minute, no second
actually, i will live life by the moments as it brings me to them.
New plan: live in the moment
make decisions when you really know.
(because who really knows)