Life in the Fast Lane

As the Eagles would sing, we've been living Life in the Fast Lane this weekend. Well, at least the Busy Lane.

We took the afternoon off Friday and caught a ride to Appleton with two of Jim's classmates. Then we met up with 3 more couples for dinner at Spatz, a pretty good little bar and grill close to the Performing Arts Center. Then we walked over the PAC for the Eagles tribute band Hotel California.

In the Small World category, we ran into Jim's cousin Kim (far left with her hubby) and also his cousin Keith.

Then in the Super Small World category, I ran into my old friend Stacey from Menominee, Michigan. Yes, way back in my newspaper days up there from 1990-1994. We kept in touch through Facebook and I saw her some 4 or 5 years ago. But still.... SMALL FREAKING WORLD!!!

Now onto the show... Normally, I'd rather see a REAL band than a tribute band, but since the Eagles weren't in town for 50 bucks a ticket, we went with Hotel California – their tribute band.

We definitely were pleasantly surprised by the caliber of talent. This kid could play fiddle, piano, and guitar and sing!

This guy has been with the group for quite sometime and was great!

Mr. Long Hair was entertaining – and play the harmonica or mouth harp or whatever pretty darn good! 

Mr. Curly on the right was phenomenal. Can't believe he's not playing guitar in some major rock band. Other than the fact, there's not a lot out there. His voice was crazy good, too. We all had a blast.

Went out a bit in Appleton on the way back to the hotel, but were all asleep by 1 a.m. because we're old that way. This morning, we had breakfast in a restaurant sitting right in the heart of the enormous Appleton Farmers' Market. Then headed home.

Got home after noon and didn't have much time to relax before dressing up for a wedding. Carter's friend and high school classmate Katelyn was getting married up at Eron's Event Barn near Rudolph. Since Carter and Mamie didn't come home, we represented them – and ourselves, of course.

Game time, er wedding time, temp was 88 degrees. Uff da. It was a short ceremony, thankfully, and Katelyn looked beautiful as ever. Very pretty venue, too!

And definitely the perfect day to give out can coooooozies. No idea how to spell that. But it was nice to have!

Came home after a delicious reception dinner there. Hubby stayed home in the A/C with Sylvester. And I went to one of the two grad parties we had today. It was still going strong. And my promise to be home in "an hour-ish" was more like 2 hours-ISH. But hey, it was fun to see people – especially softball moms and dad excited to go to state!

Speaking of Royals sports... Assumption soccer took the Regional Championship today and one of our freshman track runners claimed first in the 100M and second in the 200M (with a school record) at state. WOW. What a day!

Hitting the hay now and looking forward to life in the Slow Lane on Sunday! 

I Did Not Throw Away My Shot

If you ever oversleep for church on Sunday but your phone rings from a girlfriend from church – answer it! She wasn't calling because you needed to be at church. You needed to be her last-second replacement partner to go see Hamilton!

When my friend Kim purchased the tickets way back when, she planned to take her daughter, my "niece" and dancer/singer extraordinaire Megan. But then Megan couldn't go due to some dance rehearsal and when Megan's back-up ticket person fell ill today, it was time for Kim to find someone at the last second. Someone who loves musicals – especially this one. And I got the lucky call. 

I had one hour to get ready. And at that point, it didn't matter I had plans for a movie with a friend and plans for golf with hubby today. If you've seen it, you know why Hamilton trumps all!

Kim hadn't seen it before so I showed her plenty of photo op places before the show. Pretty much counted on the fact that as a "stage mom" she'd absolutely love it.

And she DID love it. And it was phenomenal per usual! My only mistake was forgetting to pack any Kleenex for that part – you know the one – where I cried.

The casting – even with several understudies today – was amazing. And it was so entertaining. 

As much as I loved being the alternate attendee, you MUST see this one, Megan!! YOU should, too, if you haven't yet.

Also, just so you know. I'd be happy to be on any of your backup plus-one lists for any event like this!

Beat the Clock

I feel like I've been in a Cinderella story all week. No handsome prince – just trying to beat the clock and get into bed by midnight the past few nights. To do that, I had to skip blogging. But I'll give you a quick lowdown of the fun...

On Wednesday, I literally got home about one minute to midnight. My friend Cindy and I finally got to see Dear Evan Hansen – the last show from our 2019/2020 season ticket package. Just 4 words about that: Well worth the wait!

OK, maybe more than 4. It was in incredible show. We read the book and saw the movie and listened to the "soundtrack." But the live Broadway performance exceeded our expectations. We laughed a lot and cried, too. Had a big lump in my throat for quite a while after its conclusion. Just so good. See the Appleton paper's review of it here to learn more about it. And go if you can!

Thursday was all about baseball. And a late night editing pictures. Why are these Royals fans cheering? Well, a couple of reasons. One is that we had our first victory of the season with our 7-1 win over Port Edwards. Two is that we had to borrow some players, sort of, to make it happen.

Our roster is small to begin with and with two players out, we were down to just 8 available to suit up yesterday. If you don't follow baseball ever – you need 9 players for a full team. I mean it's not illegal to have 8, but 9 works best. So we had 2 members of the golf team and 1 from track and field suit up. I don't think he'd played since elementary school, so the fans were pretty excited when he not only swung and made contact with the ball, but got a double and eventually scored.

I know it's always a lot more fun to win. But this was just fun to see a school come together to make a team. Loved it! Maybe those 3 will stay on? Never count out anything these days.

Friday (today) was a long, rainy day. First work, then workout, then meeting friends at Homestead first, then Layla's for fish fries. Except it was very busy and took forever to get a table for 7. Ended up finally eating about 8:45. According to my husband, the rich eat late! So there must have been others who got their food after we did! 

Just got home and I'm determined to get to bed before midnight AND get 8 hours of sleep. My mind says I should "Live like there's no midnight," but my body says, "You turned on your heated mattress pad the minute you walked in the door – who are you kidding?"

Time for bed, Cinderella!

Gratitude Challenge Day 5 :: That's Entertainment

I'm going to slightly improvise for Day 5 of the Gratitude Challenge and add musicals.

Day 5: A favorite book or movie. 

For the record, I do have a few favorite books and movies I'm grateful for. But tonight, I have thrillifying Broadway musical on my mind – that was based on a book and set up as prequel to the Wizard of Oz movie.

Just got home from seeing Wicked over in Appleton. Clock's about to strike midnight, so this tired old witch will keep this short. 

I saw Wicked 10 years ago and loved it. And bought the swankified Wicked jacket I'm wearing above. Just had to have it. And dang, it's so cool I can't believe I don't wear it more often. Anyway, I was excited to wear it and see the show again.

My friend Cindy, who was my season ticket partner pre-Covid and during Covid, had never seen it. So I was excited to introduce her to my favorite show. Went to dinner at Good Company first, then walked down to the Emerald City. Left our broom parked at the restaurant!

The thing I love about Wicked is that there's more than one thing to love. It's entertaining as heck. Very funny. And sad moments, too. Great music. Incredible set designs. And the Broadway touring cast was crazy talented. We laughed and cried. 

I'm grateful for the experience. Grateful for the incredible message of friendship and acceptance in the musical. And grateful to share it with a dear friend. 

Pretty Oz-some!

#gratitudemonth

Dinner and a Show

Last night was the third show in my season ticket package of 6 touring Broadway shows at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton. Since my usual partner was under the weather, my friend Brenda filled in at the last minute to join me.

We ate at The Good Company – so good – and just walked the two blocks from there to the show. Pretty chilly last night so it was a brisk walk!

Since the Miss Saigon musical takes place in Vietnam during the war, the local Vietnam veterans had displays of artifacts there. I like how Appleton does a great job adding some depth to the shows. I mean it's winter. We're all in the lobby area for an hour, so they might as well entertain and educate us.

I had heard of Miss Saigon but didn't know the whole story line. This isn't a real spoiler since it's been around 30 years. Through music, it tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover. There are some funny and entertaining parts, but I'm not gonna deny it was sad. And knowing this happened frequently for real, that's sad, too.

But we both enjoyed it. I rank it behind the first two shows I saw this season, but a Broadway production is always, always worth seeing if you can. The talent is incredible and the changing set and scenery are amazing to watch.

Worth getting home at midnight and trying to recover all day at work! Good thing today was my "Friday."

Opening Night at the Opera

Photo courtesy Phantom of the Opera Facebook page.

I've never considered myself the opera type. But Phantom of the Opera? Yes, please!

When my friend and co-season ticket holder Cindy and I watched a version of the musical on Sunday, we weren't sure how much we'd like it in person. Some of the singing was so opera-y that we couldn't quite understand it. What we knew though, was that it's a beautiful but tragic love story. What we didn't know... we looked up on the internet to prepare ourselves for the opening night of the Broadway touring show in Appleton.

But we weren't prepared. We were impressed, astonished and amazed beyond our expectations. And that's a pretty cool thing!

Their photo booth was fun since it included masks a la Phantom. They always have something neat like that for the audience members to do before the performance. (We also ate at the Good Company before the show and that was amazing, too!)

If you know anything about the musical, you know about the chandelier. This one that "dropped" weighs 1,500 pounds and has 6,000 crystals! That's some prop, right? And just watching the stage change its settings so fluidly before our eyes. It's always so impressive when you witness this level of a performance.

I'd recommend seeing it if you can. This was part of the show's 25th anniversary tour and there are only 3 more cities after Appleton. Then, just like the Phantom, it may go into hiding for a long time.

It runs through Dec. 15. For showtimes, visit foxcitiespac.com.

Hip-Hop History Lesson

When you build up expectations for something, it's such a treat when it meet and exceeds them! I've been looking forward to seeing Hamilton for years – yes, years – so I was beyond excited for today to come!

In early 2018 they announced the musical about Alexander Hamilton would tour through Appleton. I've seen a lot of Broadway shows (Wicked, Les Miserables, etc) at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center and it's a super venue. Since Hamilton tickets are in such hot demand, the best way to ensure I could get them was to buy a season ticket package. And convince a musical-loving friend to do it with you.

So my girlfriend Cindy and I will get to see some other great shows this season – like Phantom of the Opera and Dear Evan Hansen – but we were most excited about Hamilton!

If you haven't heard anything about it, it is honestly a hip-hop history lesson about Alexander Hamilton and his role with the founding of our nation. Besides dying in the famous duel with Aaron Burr, he was the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and known for the creation of a national bank. Seems like dry content, but take if from both of us... SOOOOOO entertaining! I'm glad I studied up on it a bit and listened to the soundtrack so I could follow the rap songs. These guys are good!

And even though are tickets seated us on the third level, we could see the whole stage and it was actually pretty cool because they kept changing the scenes without interruption to the flow of music or story. I can't say enough how amazing it was!

I'll quit babbling. I'm tired but won't be able to sleep anyway since I have so many of the songs in my head!

Who lives? Who dies? Who tells your story?

Silver Linings and Such

Not sure if hubby is quoting a country song or a John Wayne movie, but when I stress about something and it goes my way, he often says "The Lord looks out for drunks and ne-er do-wells."

Does it matter which category I'm in? Not really. It's true though. But I like to think of it as finally finding that silver lining in the cloud!

Today a big cloud came out. And I stressed. It was one of those things that were sort of in my control, but not really.

We were scheduling a trip for work and I said I didn't have any conflicts this fall except for my sister weekend in late September. So it ended up that Oct. 1-3 worked the best. I don't know what calendar I was looking at, because I completely overlooked going to Hamilton... on Oct. 2! Oh no!

I've been waiting two years to go, knowing it was going on tour and coming to the Fox Cities in 2019. I bought season tickets in March just so I could be sure to get tickets for this show. Now what?

Although I try to have a work-life balance, I didn't want to miss the work thing since it's one of my video shoots and I should be there. And it was completely my fault that I overlooked my own personal event of the year on my calendar! So I looked at the performing arts center site and saw that people can do ticket exchanges.

And the deadline to exchange Hamilton tickets is... tomorrow! I guess silver lining #1 that this all came about today.

I checked with my friend who has tickets with me and she was thankfully available for all other days during the two weeks Hamilton is showing. Silver lining #2.

I managed to get on the website tonight and get those tickets exchanged for the Friday night show that same week, sitting in about the same spot – so no charge. I did not even have to pay for my idiocy! Silver lining #3.

Thank you, Lord. For looking out for this overbooked lost sheep!

Special Angels in the Outfield

It was a special day at the ballpark for my friends who lost their daughter last year, just a few months before her high school graduation. It was Emily's decision to leave this world. But it was her family and friends' decision to keep her memory alive through a foundation that helps people who need certain kinds of help but can't afford it.

Today was a fundraiser for the Emily Klopotek Angel Foundation at the Timber Rattlers stadium in Appleton. We called it Angels in the Outfield.

And look at all these angels! There about 80 or so pictured here but more than a hundred showed their support. How wonderful!

And the sun was shining, too, so Emily's mom and I knew Em was smiling down on us.

Our large group was acknowledged on the jumbo-tron, too. I guess that officially makes us amazing. Hats off to all the organizers for putting together the tailgating ahead of time, the game tickets (and Timber Rattler victory), and gorgeous weather!

As a bonus, It was a nice date day with hubby. That's two days in a row we were seen together! Thank you, angels for aligning the stars – and our calendars.

If you want to learn more about the Emily Klopotek Angel Foundation, visit https://chiton-orange-dwkc.squarespace.com/ or message me. 

Good and Plenty

My day was full but in a good way. A great way! Plenty going on and each important in their own way.

Had Book Club at 9 a.m. at the coffee shop. Always great to spend a few hours with my girlfriends! Then it was off to shoot a senior portrait session. This kid has such a ready, easy smile that it was an awesome shoot. Even got to the baseball field for a few frames. And opportunities for creativity.

Cam was so cooperative that we managed to get photos in three locations in less than 2 hours!

Had just enough time to sort through them and then get ready to go to Appleton. I picked up my friend Cindy and we went to a fundraiser for the memorial fund established in honor of my girl Emily. 

The Empowerment and Body Positivity Art Gallery and Silent Auction – featuring items like the one above – had art for sale plus raffle baskets. All proceeds will go to the Emily Klopotek Angel Foundation, who mission is to provide financial support to those experiencing barriers to eating disorder treatment.

I feel blessed to be a part of the process of getting this going. With the logo I designed and the opportunity to show support for my friends, we're all helping each other heal.

Cindy and I were glad it worked out that we could over there today. It was good for us to spend time together, too, with a yummy dinner and plenty of time to talk in the car. Plus a nice campfire at home on our return.

Busy days aren't bad when you're doing things important to you, your heart and soul.

All Aboard The Birthday Express

When you're not looking, the number 50 can come rolling down the tracks and you can't do anything to stop it.

That's what's happening to a lot of friends my age this year. When they're smart, they just hop on board the Birthday Express and enjoy the ride.

Tonight we got to help our friend Mike celebrate the milestone – and go for part of the ride with him.

We had dinner at Pullman's in Trolley Square in downtown Appleton. I knew the place because our friends Angelo and Robyn celebrated their wedding there a few years back. It's cool. There's a trolley-like rail car inside... but you just can't go in it.

There were 10 of us. Mike and Christine came up from Racine area, two came from nearby in the Fox Valley, and the rest of us hailed from Rapids. Thankfully the snow was sporadic enough we had safe travels both ways. Especially since we had to go "off track" and take the CRV.

By coincidence – or maybe not – the indoor trolley car is No. 50!

So now there are two things that are 50. Ha. Thanks for being a good sport, birthday boy!

Had excellent food (chew-chew) and great conversation.

We'll see if my diet gets back "on track" some day soon!

Rough Mudders

Thanks to the fickle nature of Mother Nature and weather men, we changed our tee time several times this week before settling on noon Saturday at The Creeks at Ivy Acres near Appleton.

We timed it just right, too. We met our friends Scott and Sandy from Green Bay and we all experienced rain en route to the course. But then it was done and we had mostly sunny skies and gentle breezes and plenty of humidity to go around.

Oh and did I mention mud?

The cart paths made it seem like were going ATV muddin' for the day or running one of those crazy Tough Mudder obstacle races. Since I can't seem to find the fairway on a clear day, I guess I was a "rough" mudder. Somehow managed to keep our feet and legs relatively clean.

We've golfed this course before when it was called Eagle Creek. With a new name and owners, there are a few changes. Still adjacent to farmland and requires crossing a highway a few times.

But now has these creeks or leaves or, in the case of the ladies' tees, red lipstick markers in the tee boxes.

Yes, the swing sisters are easily entertained!

I had to laugh or else I would have probably cried at how badly I scored on some holes. Everyone else is a pretty good golfer. I'm just there for the fun in the sun with friends.

My artsy shot of the day. 18th hole sign swinging in the wind with the silo in the background and Jim waiting to tee off.

After golf, we went out to eat near Appleton and went our separate ways. After a reprieve from rain all day, we were headed into the eastbound storm.

Pretty eerie clouds.

But stranger to see the sun glowing in the distance. At least then we knew the thunder storm couldn't last too long. Still a unique sight.

The best part was that driving into the sun, I knew there'd have to be rainbows. It's scientific logic! And we were not disappointed. Saw a double one starting (faintly above) and even saw both ends of one.

The top of the arch disappeared into the clouds, but it was cool to see the different places that "appeared" to be the end of the rainbow... Wisconsin Rapids, a farm field and here is the baseball diamonds in Kellner!

We stopped in on the way home just to see when our friends' kids would be playing tomorrow. There were rain delays but we should be able to see at least one game that works into our schedule Sunday. No golfing tomorrow – just church and grad parties. No rain either.

If you can trust a forecast around here.