Painting Pouring 101

I'm a sucker for free art projects in case you didn't realize that by now. When Neenah Library was hosting a paint pouring project, I put it on my calendar without knowing what it exactly was. It just sounded like fun. 

Paint pouring is a technique that you allows you to blend paint together to create a marble effect you wouldn't normally get with regular blending. 

Acrylic paint is mixed with a glue/water mixture and then literally poured onto canvas. 

Then you tilt the canvas from side to side to create the marble effect. Because the paint is slightly thicker, you may need to help get it to edges. You may also have to help fill in the holes where the paint doesn't want to go. If you tilt the canvas in all directions it really helps with the blending. 

I choose spring colors for my initial painting -- pink, yellow, and aqua. Instead of a nice pastel spring look, it turned into psychedelic '70s. I'm beginning to think I need to stay away from pink and yellow when I do art projects. Everything I do with those colors turns into something from the '60s or '70s.

Since their was extra canvas, I made a smaller one with fall colors.. red, yellow, orange.. The paint was a tad runnier so it was much easier to swirl. I really liked how this one turned out while still wet.

However as the paint dries, the colors become more muted and less vibrant. The psychedlic '70s piece is much more tolerable -- not so psychedlic. The bright fall one though is too dull now. It's still cool but it was much cooler when wet. 

This is one art project I might consider doing again at home. It is actually very calming and you know how your paint is going to swirl together. 

6337. Try Mac and Cheese Bites

One of the latest food fads is deep fried anything including deep fried mac and cheese. I love deep fried food and I love mac and cheese. Deep fried mac and cheese just didn't seem right in my book but then again neither does Deep Fried Oreos. As much as I wanted to try mac and cheese bites, I was too cheap to actually spend any real money on them in case I didn't like them.

When work was offering 3 mac and cheese bites for a $1 as our weekly snack sale option, I was like this is my chance. So I paid $1 for 3 quarter sized mac and cheese balls.

Whoever came up with this idea is a genius. Deep fried mac and cheese is amazing, The hint of chilies and peppers inside made it even more delicious. Don't forget the bacon. There was bacon too. Bacon makes everything yummy.

I'll be honest though as good as they are I am still not willing to pay $3 or $4 for them. Call me frugal but when I can get a whole bowl of mac and cheese for like $7 why would I pay $4 for 3 mac and cheese bites even if they are bigger than a quarter. The math just add up. In the mean time I will keep paying my $1 every few weeks for some at work.

A Nice Morning for a Sunday Drivve

The hubby and I decided to head south to see my parents for the day. Since it was late fall, I figured we could stop at Holy Hill to see the fall colors. I couldn't tell exactly if the colors were past peak or not but I figured we would take a ride anyways.

As we cruised down 41, I noticed most of the trees lost their leaves already and figured we might be disappointed. The further south we drove, the leaves on the trees started to re-appear and had some color to them. By the time we reached Richfield and Holy Hill, fall was back on the trees.

Holy Hill is a Catholic Basilica and Shrine on a top of a hill overlooking the country side in Southwestern Washington County. Being Catholic, I don't know what I was thinking about visiting a church on a Sunday. People go to mass on Sundays therefore it probably will be quite busy. However, I didn't think this one through and was shocked at the number of cars that were there. We parked in a distant grass lot and had to walk up the hill to top... a week after I did serious damage to my foot (again I didn't think things through). You walk up a hill and then a set of winding stairs to reach the observation level. Goodness there is an elevator once you reach the top of the hill which we took down.

The Colors weren't quite popping yet. There was a lot of green still when we got to top of the hill. People flock to Holy Hill not only for religious reason but also to see the fall colors. I was slightly disappointed that the colors weren't quite there yet. There was plenty of golden hues at the bottom of the hill but once you got to the Shrine the colors weren't popping yet.

Besides the views, many visitors come to Holy Hill for religious reasons. There are two masses every day of the week except Sunday when there are four masses. This explained all the cars. Besides the masses, there is also the Station of the Cross, Vespers, Sunday Marian Devotions, and Confessions. As the hubby and I watched a stream of people being led from station to station trying to figure out what was going, another lady asked me what was happening below. I told I had no clue and she said she went to Catholic Schools and should know and I was like me too. My only guess is it might have been Stations of the Cross but that isn't usually done in October.

Again not paying attention to the day of the week or time of the day, I decided I wanted to check out the Basilica... until I opened the doors and realized mass was being said. We will leave that for another day.

So our time at Holy Hill did not go as planned. Next time we will not go on a Sunday and I will try to check the color forecast better. I really would love to see the colors pop from Holy Hill. Everyone, Catholic or not, should at least experience the fall colors from a top of Holy Hill. You can see for miles and it is supposed to be amazing.

444. Bob for apples

Growing up I really never really went to a Halloween party until high school. Sure Dad took us to the Knights of Columbus Halloween Party in the church basement but that was a few snacks and a costumer contest. I don't remember any games. I sure don't remember ever seeing apple bobbing.

Since bobbing for apples was one of the things that I was itching to cross off the bucket list for the last few years, I decided I was going to have a small apple bobbing get together. Danielle was bringing the apples, Shannon brought the tub, and I supplied the caramel (for later).

Well... Danielle forgot the apples. The tub was quite large and needed to be filled in the shower. Luckily we have a walk in shower in the one bathroom that never gets used and I have a few apples in the fridge.

Once the tub was nearly filled, we all trooped into the bathroom where Natalie and Erin said they would bob for apples too. I get the honors to go first. I knew bobbing for apples was going to be difficult from what I heard. However, I didn't think it was going to be impossible.

The water wasn't quite high enough in the tub and attempting to get an apple was nearly impossible. Every time I would try to bite an apple, I would almost drown. I couldn't keep my eyes open under water to see. Needless to say I didn't get an apple and neither did any one else because I ended up with a bloody nose which ended all the fun. I probably would have kept going until I got that dang apple otherwise.

After we cleaned up (and I put on dry clothes), we dipped made caramel apples with the apples we had left. My caramel was too thick which made dipping nearly impossible. Cutting the apple and the dipping worked a whole lot better.

Maybe next year I will have another fall fun party with apple bobbing, caramel apples, and maybe even pumpkin painting. It was certainly a fun evening and I won't mind trying to bob for apples again.

6510. Go to the NLCS

When the Brewers made the playoffs, we said we were going to go no matter what it was going to cost us. We got lucky with the NLDS and got tickets to games 1 and 3 at Miller Park. We didn't have to use game 3 since they won in 3 games in Denver. The hubby was online as soon as he could to get tickets to the NLCS and we got seats in the corner upstairs. It didn't matter we were in the park.

Then things got interesting. An phone call and a couple emails later, we ended up with free tickets to all the home games thanks to hubby's connections. The hubby couldn't go Friday night because he had football but I sure could. We were going to game 2 on Saturday as well.

We got to our seats in time for the line ups and the National Anthem. They announced the entire roster for each team. Everyone was on the foul lines for the National Anthem which was played by a brass quintet.

Then Bob Uecker threw out the first pitch. Unbelievable to watch.

I thought the atmosphere at the NLDS was crazy. The NLCS was even crazier on Friday night. The crowd at Miller Park for Game 1 was electric. It was pumped up and insane. I relished in it. Everyone was high fiving, cheering, and waving rally towels. I spent half the game on my feet.

Unfortunately we left our seats in the 8th inning and things started to go south. The Dodgers scored 2 runs to get within 2. We decided to beat the crowd and head home after the middle of the eighth. It was not pretty in the ninth. The Dodgers scored again but luckily the Brewers held them and the Brewers took Game 1 of the series. I really wish I was there to relish in the craziness of the crowd. I also vowed not to leave our seats until the game was over on Saturday.

Saturday we got there in time to see the Dodgers take batting practice. Batting practice is always cool to see. We were not lucky enough to get a ball but the hubby's buddy found a ball in the seat next to him. Thomas was the lucky recipient  of the ball when he and Rick showed up.

The game on Saturday had a completely different feel to it. It was much less electric and a lot less quiet. I almost felt it wasn't a play off game. I wanted the high energy game we had the night before.

The Brewers had the lead going into the seventh inning. However, by the middle of the eighth again we lost the lead thanks to a two run homer. Our bull pen wasn't the shining star it was normally. Once the lead was lost, everyone was feeling dejected. When the game ended you could feel the sadness and rejection as people walked out.

Now that I've been both the NLDS and NLCS, I can't wait to experience the World Series when they make it that far (even if it's not this year). Playoff baseball is something to experience and every baseball fan should experience it.

6508. Go to the NLDS

With the Brewers having a legitimate chance of making the play-offs and the World Series, the hubby starting talking about going to the World Series. In order to get to the World Series, the Brewers have to get into the play-offs first. It looked like they were going to be the Wild Card Team and the Cubs were going to be the Central Division Champs. After a few lucky breaks and an extra game, the Brewers were Central Division Champs. We were headed to the play-offs.

Not only did the hubby want to go to the World Series, he wanted to go to as many play off games as possible. I received an email about early ticket access to the Wild Card Game and the Division Series. I forwarded to the hubby and he bought Wild Card Tickets, NLDS (Division Series) tickets for Games 1 and 3. Tickets were only $40 a piece so it wasn't too bad and we would be refunded any games that weren't played at Miller Park.

Since the Brewers won the Central with the best record in the National League, they didn't have to play the Wild Card and would have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Game One of the NLDS was scheduled for 4:07 and after working out a few details, I was able to get out of work early for it. We left Appleton at 1:00 and got to Miller Park at 3:30. We had a few traffic snarls, due to other issues besides game traffic. Actually we didn't mind getting to the game this late as we were further back in the parking lot and it would be easier to get out.

We got inside as they sang the National Anthem and were upstairs for the first pitch. We were in our seats in time for the game to start. Miller Park was rocking with play-off fever and the noise level was crazy. Our seats were in the right field corner by Bernie's Chalet. 

They were actually very good seats until the fourth when the sun was in our eyes but that was only a few innings. 

I was worried about it being too loud but actually it wasn't bad. You could definitely tell there was a different vibe to the crowd -- a play-off vibe.It was loud, energetic, and was there for the game. 

I met up with Andrea who was also at the game. It was great being able to see people I knew at the game.

Speaking of the game, it was a really good game. The Brewers pitched a bull pen game and had a 2-0 lead going into the late innings. They actually stranded the bases loaded in the 8th inning. We headed downstairs after the 7th to walk around. The hubby asked me after the 8th if I wanted to go back to our seats and I was like, the game is almost over by the time we get back up there it would be over. 

Yeah well, we should have gone back to our seats. The Rockies tied it in the top of the ninth and we were headed to extra innings. We watched the ninth from the third base side and we decided to move to the outfield for the tenth. We stood by the rail of Friday's and watched the tenth. After "Moose" hit the game winning single, we were out of the park and in our car within 5 minutes. I knew we weren't been able to see the celebration and I was hungry (okay more like hangry in the ninth). However, I think we learned our lesson and should have headed back to our seats. 

Despite the hit to the wallet, I can't wait for more play off baseball. Hopefully I will be able to cross off "Go to the World Series" off the bucket list or at least the NLCS. Play-off fever is high this year at Miller Park and it's only going to get worse.