Entries Tagged as 'Sports'

Superbowl XLV – We Are The Champions!

February 7th, 2011 · No Comments

This year for the Superbowl my brother came down to visit and to go to Trent and Loden’s house for their party. For a half a second after we beat the Bears in the last game, I thought maybe Dallas and I should host a Superbowl party, but we’re leaving for Hawaii next week (!!!!) and we quickly came to our senses about the timing of that. We have enough plans and money and everything to worry about, no need to pile on a Superbowl party! We’d gone to Trent and Loden’s Superbowl party last year, though, and it was a lot of fun, so no need to worry. I knew they’d do it right. Actually, Dallas wasn’t feeling well, so he stayed home. Danny and Caroline came and picked my brother and I up and we were off.

I was surprised when we arrived because I didn’t know that Trent’s friend Andy was a Packers fan from Wisconsin! Limey was nice enough to take a photo of all the Packers fans together.


Caroline, Andy, Richard, Rachelle

Not a bad showing for a Superbowl party in Chicago!

Another great part of having parties at Trent and Loden’s house: They have a kegerator in their dining room! Yesterday Trent had Brooklyn Lager and Founders IPA on tap and it was awesome. I didn’t think I was going to drink on Sunday because of the weekend I had (more on that later), but the Brooklyn Lager was delicious.

Loden always makes such delicious food! This photo is of one of her specialties: Chocolate covered bacon! We also had pulled pork, mac & cheese, cheesy potatoes, baked beans, and taco dip that had crack in it. It had to be crack. So addictive. Ed also brought his famous S’Mores dessert. Loden’s friend Mike made this appetizer dip that was basically a vat of bubbling hot cheese. Of course, this made it onto the coffee table that the Packers fans were sitting around… along with a big bowl of cheese curds that my brother brought from Wisconsin. If that’s not enough, someone may have pushed off the tortilla chips and used cheese curds to dip into the hot cheese dip! Hey, we’re from Wisconsin. What can we say? We like cheese and cheese on cheese! (I have a photo of this somewhere, but I forgot to upload it.)

Loden asked me to bring dessert and I thought a long time about what kind of green and gold dessert or football-themed dessert to bring. I originally wanted to make football-shaped brownies, but couldn’t find a football cookie cutter without running around all over town. I ended up with these:

The colors are not quite right, but close enough. These were Zesty Lemon Bars and Lime Squares. I actually had to make the lemon bars twice because the first batch did not turn out. I used this recipe first. I should have known to never stray from Martha!

Charlie is Trent and Loden’s dog. He’s so nice and lovable. He is a Cockapoo. So soft and snuggly, he’s a huge baby. But so chill. Nothing phases him. Not even when his “sister,” Sugar Bear, gets out and wanders around the house:

Anyway, the game! OMG what a great game! This is the first Superbowl in a long time that I actually cared who won! Everyone was nice enough to let the Packers fans sit on the couch at the TV and watch the game. Other were mingling and eating snacks. A bunch of my friends were at first cheering so hard against the Packers, but eventually they just started cheering for their numbers. Dallas wasn’t even there and he won $200 in a Guthrie’s pool! Trent and Limey were also betting on everything. Who will score next, the next play will be a pass or not, who will fumble next, etc. I guess that’s what you have to do when you don’t care about the game. Limey did not come out ahead on all those bets!

I’m so happy the Packers won, I think it’s still sinking in! Packers are the Superbowl champions!

One more thing. I made a bet with Sean, an old NY blogging friend who is a huge Steelers fan. When I emailled him to “pay up,” he told me his wife gave birth to their baby boy yesterday! Their first born. What a gracious loser. He’s already posted to his blog!

I bet this is the last time he makes this sort of bet with someone who can do a bit of Photoshopping! hahahha

[Read more →]

Tags:··························

Superbowl Bound!

January 23rd, 2011 · 2 Comments

I bunkered down in my living room with my fellow Packers fan Caroline today and watched the Packers beat the Bears to win the NFC Championship and earn the right to play a Superbowl XLV. Caroline brought over all of the Wisconsin necessities: A port wine cheese ball made in Kaukauna, WI (where I lived for a few years); cheddar from Weyauwega, WI; summer sausage from Oshkosh, WI; and Packer-themed cupcakes (not from WI, but fun anyway). She also brought over some Leinenkugel’s beer from Chippewa Falls, WI and a microbrew from Horny Goat, out of Stevens Point, WI. And I had some Shine On beer from Central Waters Brewing in Amherst, WI and a variety of beers from Sand Creek Brewing in Black River Falls, WI. It was awesome!

Later on Jess came by and watched the end of the game with us. It was fun to have a girls football party where in between plays we could ponder important things like “Who is cuter? Matthews or Rodgers?” and “Did you hear that Cutler is dating Kristin Cavallari?” and rewind BJ Raji’s touchdown play 5 times so we could giggle at his dance. Fun day. AND!!!! PACKERS IN THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!!!!!!

[Read more →]

Tags:·····················

Sunday Funday

January 19th, 2011 · No Comments

Last Sunday we went to Danny and Caroline’s for lunch and to watch the Bears game. The Packers had destroyed the Falcons the night before and we were excited to see if it would be the Bears and Packers playing for the NFC Championship.

Caroline and I finished off some strong bloody maries and we had gumbo for lunch. Danny’s gumbo was a winner and so were the Bears. Big game coming up this weekend!

John came over to visit and had his dog Winston with him. Danny and Dallas like to make fun of this dog because he is a “designer” dog and he cost a lot of money. He’s a Labradoodle (Labrador + Poodle). But check this out:

OMG. He was the cutest. And the nicest. I totally fell hard for him. AND? He doesn’t shed and he is hypoallergenic, so people with allergies won’t be affected! That part about not shedding and not being allergic really got me. I’m starting to suspect Dallas is allergic to dogs. I’m sort of obsessed with this dog and dog breed now.

After the game we played Gran Turismo on Playstation. Danny has rigged up this driving contraption that you can put right in front of the TV. It’s like a prototype, but we think he should start production of these things soon!

[Read more →]

Tags:···············

Andy’s Surprise Birthday Party

January 18th, 2011 · No Comments

On Saturday night Andy’s girlfriend Katie and Andy’s friend John threw a surprise party to celebrate his 40th birthday. Everyone gathered at John’s house between 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. Andy was scheduled to arrive at 8:00 p.m. This is us trying to shut our mouths so we don’t ruin the surprise.

John told Andy he met a new girl and went on a couple dates with her. This new girl supposedly was to have invited John to a party with her friends. John didn’t want to go alone so he invited Andy and Katie to come along and make it a double date. This was the premise for getting Andy to John’s house. He was so surprised!

In the next few photos, it’s still sinking in…

And here we all are, surprising him.

And then the party was off! Such a fun time. Rich made this pineapple vodka. There were 15 pineapples and 6 handles of Stoli in this jug! It was delicious, we mixed it with sprite.

I made Andy’s favorite cupcakes for the party – Irish Car Bomb cupcakes.

At some point Andy made a drunken speech and we made a toast to “everyone’s best friend.”

Downstairs, John’s living room has a disco ball.

This made it a football dance party down there. The Packers game was on and they killed the Falcons. People were actually cheering for the Packers because they wanted to see a Bears/Packers NFC Championship Game. The Bears won on Sunday and now it’s on. The Bears and Packers have not met each other in the post season since 1941!

Dallas and Andy and their terrible dance moves.

Katie got Andy a delicious cake from Alliance Bakery.

Fun party! Happy birthday, Andy!

[Read more →]

Tags:············

At Least It Was a Good Game

September 28th, 2010 · No Comments

Last night we went to Smoke Daddy to watch the Bears vs. Packers game with a bunch of Dallas’s friends. It was only like 50-some degrees outside, but we still sat on the patio with the TV facing outside and the window open so we could hear the audio. There were a few people with us who did not like the Bears, but no other person who was cheering for the Packers.

It was a fun night, despite the cold and the Packers’ loss. We all ordered food and beer and watched the game. A lot of people walking by on the street would stop and watch for a while. Years ago, I lived a few blocks from Smoke Daddy, before we knew Josh, the owner, and we used to go there sometimes. I don’t think I’ve eaten there since that time. Last night I got pulled chicken and beans and tried some of Dallas’s chili and cornbread. Everything was so delicious.

And the game? It was really close at the end but the Packers got so many penalties (18!) and that’s what killed them. The Bears ended up winning with 20 points to the Packers’ 17.

[Read more →]

Tags:·······