Fun Statues in West Bend

Last Friday, I went up to West Bend, Wisconsin, to visit the Museum of Wisconsin Art for the very first time.  The museum has been in the same location since 1961, but recently demolished the old building to make way for a brand new, modern-looking one.  But since I arrived early, before it opened at 10:00, I walked around for a bit, and noticed some really different statues close by.  Two of the statues, the frog and toad musicians, sat on benches outside what used to be the city's train depot.

The other group of statues were located right behind the museum and featured an otter, beaver and turtle.  A strange combination, I thought, but intriguing.

I don't know the meaning behind these statues (if any), but since they were near the art museum, they fit in nicely and were an amusing treat I didn't expect.

This post is also featured in Create With Joy's Wordless Wednesday. 

Spring Flowers

Spring has finally started coming to Wisconsin.  Recently, I took a class on Macro Photography, especially how you can use it for flowers.  Then I went to both Waukesha Floral & Greenhouse and the Mitchell Park Domes to practice my new skills.  I had a lot of fun and learned a lot!

I will try to post more photos of flowers as they bloom in the outdoors over the next few months.  This post is for Wordless Wednesday.  To see more bloggers' photos (and maybe more flowers), click here and here.

New Feature: My Theater Photos

I have added a new tab to the blog which features the photos I've been taking for Sunset Playhouse in Elm Grove, WI.  All of the photos have been published to go along with the productions' reviews or featured on Sunset's Facebook page to promote the shows. 

I have had such a great time as a photography volunteer with Sunset Playhouse, and it's been a great way to learn better skills both behind the camera and in Photoshop.  I photograph the shows either during the last technical rehearsal or during the show itself, so it's really hard to capture the best moments of a show while being concerned with the lighting.  But it's also really great when you know you've got a good shot and froze the moment wonderfully.

So feel free to check out the Brew City Arts tab at the top.  There's not a lot in there now since I only started in January, but there will be more as their season continues.  To see what Sunset Playhouse has upcoming, click here.

Not Your Ordinary Cupcakes

While I was in Cedarburg over the weekend to attend their 39th annual Winter Fest (which you can read about here), one of the events they had going on was a Cupcake Competition.  If you have been to one of these event in your own hometown, you know how fun and tasty they can be.  I have been to a couple in Madison, but they did not have the level of creativity the one in Cedarburg had. 

There were two separate competitions, an adult one and a youth one.  You paid $5.00 for 5 cupcakes (you could also buy more for $1.00 apiece) and voted on both the taste and the display.  As you can see from the photos, these displays were very inventive.

This display, part of the youth category, featured a different flavored cupcake for each region of the United States.

The Parisian display was also part of the youth category.

I don't know if there was a specific theme, but a lot of them were based on children's books such as Curious George.

Since I only had $5.00 to spend on cupcakes (and not that large of an appetite), I restricted my tastings to the Adult competition.  Unfortunately, I did not get a good photo of the cupcake I liked the best, which was chocolate with peanut butter frosting and filling.  But these bears, which were also chocolate, were quite good as well.

This display, part of the adult category, was based on Willy Wonka.

And this display was my absolute favorite.  It was based on "The Lorax" and their cupcakes had trees made with the cupcake as the base and cotton candy as the branches.

All in all, it was a tasty and fun way to spend part of the chilly day.  If you have the chance to participate in a cupcake challenge in your city (such as the Iron Cupcake), you should.  But bring a friend (or five) to help you indulge.

This post is also my "N" post for Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday.  Click on the link to see more!

Wordless Wednesday: Cedarburg, WI

I'm finally able to participate in Create With Joy's Wordless Wednesday.  Here are some more photos I took of historic Cedarburg Wisconsin while I was there for their annual Winter Fest.

 

ABC's of ME

Thanks to Holli's Hoots and Hollers (great blog - you should check it out), I got the idea to share with you some more facts about my life - in ABC format.  Most of the questions are the same as hers but I did change two of them.

A-     Age: Will turn 39 on March 7

B-      Bedsize: Full

C-      Chore you Hate: Dishes

D-     Drink of Choice: Wine, preferably chardonnay

E-      Essential start to your day item : Coffee

F-      Favorite color: Blue

G-     Gold or Silver: Silver

H-     Height: 5’0”

I-        Instruments I play(ed)-I too own a guitar, just like Holli, but have yet to take lessons.  I did play alto saxophone in high school.

J-       Job : Administrative Temp.  Also in my final semester at school to study Medical Coding.

K-      Kids: None

L-       Living arrangement: By myself in a 1 bedroom, but would like a 2-bedroom someday for a photography studio

M-   Mom’s name: Vicki

N-     Nicknames: Don't really have one

O-     Overnight hospital stay: When I was 12, I had back surgery for scoliosis.  At the time it was a week-long stay.

P-      Pet Peeve: People who talk during movies in theaters, which is why I never go to movie theaters anymore.

Q-     Quote of Inspiration: "Be the change you wish to see in the world" - Ghandi

R-      Right or left handed: Left

S-      Siblings: Two brothers, Patrick and David

T-      Time I wake up:  6 am during the week and 8 or 9 am on the weekends.

U-     Underwear: Cotton briefs since they are comfortable

V-     Vegetables I dislike: I would have to agree with Holli and say Brusells sprouts.  Don't like sprouts of any kind, actually.

W-   What makes you run late: Checking my Twitter account

X-      X-rays I’ve had: Just the ones before and after my back surgery.

Y-      Yummy food I make: I'm known for my green bean casserole, and I also enjoy simple appetizers like stuffed mushrooms or barbecued meatballs (in the slow cooker).

            Z-      Zoo favorite: I always enjoy seeing the giraffes.  They are so graceful.

So there's me in a 26-letter nutshell.  Have a great week everyone!
 

More Frigid Fun: Cedarburg Winter Fest 2013

Yesterday, I spent the entire day up in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, about 20 miles north of Milwaukee, to attend their annual Winter Fest.  I had never been to this festival before, but I found out it has been celebrated for almost 40 years.  There were a lot of fun events for kids and adults including a chili contest, cupcake contest (more on that Thursday), wine tasting (Cedarburg is known for Cedar Creek wine), ice skating, hay rides, a snowball fight, and a very unusual parade.

It starts and ends as most parades around the country do, with a salute to veterans and a display by the local fire department.  But, in between, the Cedarburg Winter Fest Parade features bed floats that go on to compete in a bed race on the frozen Cedar Creek. I didn't get to see the race itself since I was scheduled for a group photowalk meetup at 2:00, but as you can see below, they get pretty outrageous, and that's the fun of it. 

The theme of this year's fest is "Winter Safari" so the Crème & Crepe restaurant's float fit in well with crepes running alongside a jeep.

I admit I haven't been to any parades in Milwaukee, so I don't know if this is ordinary, but this parade featured the Miller Park Racing Sausages, Bennie Brewer and the Admirals mascot (whatever it is).

It wouldn't be a festival in Wisconsin without an ice sculpture contest, as you may have seen from previous posts recently.  Most went along with the "Winter Safari" theme, like the hippo above.

And this monkey holding binoculars.

But I think this sculpture was the coolest (no pun intended) of a snow leopard.

And this person was finishing up his hippo after judging ended at 2:00 which gave me the opportunity to photograph it as it was being carved.

Even though it was a very cold day (high of 16 degrees), there were a lot of activities at the Winter Fest to keep people from forgetting the frigid day.  I will have more photos Wednesday of Cedarburg from the photowalk, and then on Thursday I'll have photos from the cupcake contest.  Come back soon!

Keeping Cold: Ice Sculptors at Waukesha Janboree

The same weekend I attended the State Snow Sculpting contest in Racine (you can read about that entry too), I went to my city's downtown to the Waukesha Janboree Ice Sculpting contest.  This year was a little different than previous years in that the high temperature was 45 degrees and just after the judging began, the sun came out.  So the sculptures had to work fast and pray that their creation didn't melt before it was judged.  Needless to say, the ones in the doorways and under awnings fared the best with the sun, but I think everyone did a fantastic job with their creations.

The sculptors got to work at 9:00 Saturday morning and worked until 2:00 when the judging started.  They got to use whatever tools they wanted as long as they weren't electrical.

This man finished his sculpture rather early, so, while waiting around for the judges to come by, he sculpted a smaller block of ice into a beer mug (why not?  It's Wisconsin!)



                                

My friend, Ben (below), participated for the first time in 4 years and made a really cool sculpture of a dragon with an ice cream cone (you can see the finished sculpture below).  The theme of this year's Janboree was "Fire & Ice".

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

And here are some of the other finished sculptures:

This sculpture was made to represent Golden Guernsey dairy, which, unfortunately is closing its doors very soon.

This sculpture, representing General Electric (a large employer in Waukesha County) had a working light bulb inside.

And this sculpture represented my favorite Waukesha coffee shop, The Steaming Cup.

This is also my "K" post for Jennifer Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday.  Unfortunately, even though I have a lot of fun participating in her blog hop, my participation this year may be sporadic at best, since I'm in my last semester of school.  But click on the link to see more posts!