Me thinks...

...that some on scene blogging may need to take place here next year. I mean really an event just for brats, what could be better? Oh wait, I know what could be better, it is in the fall and I bet I could find some squeaky cheese and beer to go with it. Heaven on earth for sure!

Fall

          I woke up this morning thinking to myself "holy crap it is cold in here and it is still dark outside. Is it possible I slept right through fall?" Good news though, I didn't, and it is still fall! The last few days the weather has been wonderful here. I wish we could just push the pause button and it would stay like this for a while since Alabama doesn't do the whole 4 seasons thing real well.
          I love fall and everything fall has to offer. I have such great memories of falls back in Wisconsin. Back home we would be out at the pumpkin patch, eating caramel apples, and playing in the hay barn. I haven't been able to do much of that here, but I have a mission to change at least some of that this year. Fall activities are pretty much the same no matter where you live, just with minor variations. I can pretty much do everything I loved to do back home here except go apple picking. Apparently Alabama does not have great soil for apple trees which makes me a little sad but I can drive just a couple hours towards NE Tennessee and North Carolina if I really feel the need to do manual labor and pick my own apples. I can however make life easy and go to the farmers market for the apples and make caramel sauce to eat them with - YUM!
          I love that when fall sets in it just means we all want to get up and enjoy being outside before the cold sets in. Fall festivals are a great for this and they always seem more enjoyable to me than the summer ones. People are happier, there are less bugs, and you can be out longer before you die of sweltering Alabama heat. Everywhere I have lived has had fall festivals and they are not to be missed. It is a great opportunity to wear your favorite team's fleece hoodie outside of the house or in my case, to pull out my black boots and a warm turtleneck and look like I actually belong in the season.
          One of my all time favorite fall foods has to be Caramel Apple Pie in a Paper Bag (CAPIAPB). DOOD it is amazing! If you are back in Wisconsin go here and get some pie, seriously! I was lucky enough this past weekend to be in St. Louis and some great friends hooked me up, so I have had my fill this year, phew cuz that would have been a problem. 
          My list of reasons why I love fall is long and could go on a really long time, so rather than put everyone to sleep I am just going to go enjoy the fall evening with happy thoughts of CAPIAPB and hope you do the same!

Accent

I am in St. Louis this weekend on work and staying with some great friends. This morning we went to church and the pastor has a killer Wisconsin accent. It was great. Thanks to Pastor Shevey for his great accent and talking to us about it afterwards!

Mosquitoes

Alright folks I have a confession to make. I live in 90 + degree weather in the summer time by choice and I love it, except for 1 thing - these bleeping mosquitoes!! OK that isn't the confession, but I will get back to that in just a second. Back home we made fun of these pesky little things as the state bird and they are everywhere to be sure. However, I moved to Alabama and now I can't even walk outside without getting attacked. Here is where the confession comes in, so I haven't worn skirts or shorts for pretty much two summers straight now. I like to wear light clothes and be cool in the summer time but these days my legs, ankles and feet look like someone beat me up. And by someone I mean the mosquitoes. They seriously hate me with a passion around here. Today, I was in the grass for apx. 2.5 minutes and my feet blew up in little (BIG) bites, claritan and benadryl cream to the rescue and I could at least walk without feeling like my feet needed to be itched right off of my legs. They might be the state bird of Wisconsin but they take the cake around here for the one thing that can really really get under my skin. Haha...under my skin...I made a joke...well it was funny in my head at least. So the BBSC (Beer Brats and Squeaky Cheese) tip is if you plan to move to the south be prepared to fend off mosquitoes like you've never done before!

Back On

Yes I  have been slacking and I admit it, but yesterday I was inspired not once but twice to get back at it.  Tonight in honor of those inspirations I am posting both of them for you to read and maybe be inspired.

First was an email that was forwarded to me by the great and wonderful Nancy. Now I have to say that I don't do the whole chain mail thing, but this article was a great reminder of my home team and that football season is here! Take a minute and read this inspirational story, you will be glad you did.

Secondly, I don't aspire to be a professional blog writer by any means but I know it is something I want to do for fun because I enjoy it. My hope is that just one person will read and enjoy it (*clears throat* hint to the hubby) but no one is going to read it if I don't post anything. *sigh* but lately I have felt more like reading blogs than writing my own. I read many blogs in a day, but my favorite by far is Ree Drummond who is the author of http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/. She seriously rocks! Yesterday she posted this article and it really spoke to me. If you like to blog, I am speaking to you "Graphite Free", or want to get into blogging, that is you "Embrace the Suck" then read this list and her blog.

So there you go, here are the two things that have kindly reminded me to stop making excuses and get my butt back in the saddle. Consider it done!

Kirk

It was sad to see Kirk go home on this week's episode of the Bachelorette, but I must say I enjoyed the hometown visit! It reminded me of when I was younger and all the animals dad had done at the taxidermist hanging around the house. Looking back on it, it was a tad creepy but totally makes me laugh. Kirk you and your dad's stuffed animals will be missed, but I am sure you will find some great Midwesterner woman back home that can appreciate it! In case you missed it...

Southern Food pt. 1

The title of my blog reflects my favorite food groups from back home and food is on my mind again. The hubby had time off this weekend and made me breakfast Sunday morning and it was so good. That got me thinking about my favorite foods from back home and from here in the south.
Beer soaked grilled brats were the meal that I requested for my birthday meals and any other special event. They are usually the highlight of my trips back, along with some fresh squeaky cheese of course! Yes I can buy brats at the stores here, it isn't the same, but that is okay it gets me by in a pinch. I have found that I have an interesting problem when I go home to the dairy land and that is how much I miss some of my favorite southern foods. Southern bbq is an entire food group itself and I am pretty sure I could eat it everyday if I could. When I go home, I have to take some of Uncle Adam's bbq with me or else I won't survive. I have to admit it is sad when you have to plan what food to take home with you. The other food that I can't live without now is biscuits and gravy. Holy moly what a wonderful creation. I am lucky that my husband makes a killer gravy, so as long as he is with me we are only a few ingredients from a yummy meal. However, should I be home with out him Cracker Barrel has yummy biscuits and gravy or Upper Crust restaurant near where I used to live has a pretty good substitute.
Now that my stomach is growling I am going to try to focus on a few non food related tasks today. 

How to celebrate cows in the south :)

I love me some beef but I love me some Chick - fil - A

http://www.cowappreciationday.com/

How we do the 4th of July

I have been chomping at this post all week. I received this picture Sunday with a caption "how we do the 4th in Wisconsin". I feel like I should have something witty to say about what it is like to celebrate the 4th back home in WI and how it is different here. I have struggled to come up with a list of things you can do here as a substitute for that which you are missing from back home.  Truth is though I don't really think there is much different. When I think about celebrating this holiday when I was in WI, we grilled out, hung out with family and friends, lit some sparklers and watched a few fireworks. Ironic how I do that very same thing here with a few differences of course. My blood family isn't here, but my own family and my friends who are like family are here and I enjoy my time with them as much as I did the clan back home. Are the things we put on the grill slightly different than back home - sure, but if you really want brats they sell Johnsonville at the local grocery store. We have fireworks and act goofy. I guess if I have to be honest, there is one thing missing, cheese curds, but you can't win 'em all right, so I deal.

I guess my philosophical view of this situation (yikes did I really just say that) is that is doesn't matter where you are, it just matters to appreciate our freedoms and remember those who have made it happen and continue to protect it. Hope you all had a happy 4th of July!

Tiger Meat

Tonight the hubby and I are watching one of our favorite shows, No Reservations. Anthony Bourdain is visiting the rust belt which includes Detroit, Baltimore and Buffalo. While in Detroit he is eating at an Iraqi restaruant and they bring something to the table that looks familiar to me. Hubby says "hey honey it's tiger meat" and sure enough it is, well at least a version of it. I am so proud of hubby because I taught him that term and he remembered it! So where did I learn about this dish and what is it are the questions we need to address.

When I was growing up we always had Christmas Eve at my grandparent's farm. Grandma made tons of little cookies, ham sandwiches, fruit and veggie plates, cheese and venison sausage spreads, and this weird thing called tiger meat. I loved our Christmas Eve meals with the exception of that meat stuff. Everyone breathe, it is not literally tiger meat but it is instead a mixture of raw, fresh beef mixed with seasonings and a binder (probably egg) and then put on crackers - seriously gross in my opinion but my family seemed to like it. I have to be honest and say I did not actually try the stuff. My mind just wouldn't allow me to. Eventually I ignored it really well or it disappeared from the menu because I don't remember it being around for quite some time. As I got older, I actually didn't know if tiger meat was what it was truly called but sure enough when you Google it, the dish I am describing pops up. I learned that it appears to have a German heritage, which is why Grandma would have made it, and very local to the Midwest states of WI, MN and the Dakotas. Good thing I am in AL now!

This is not a dish I would seek out, but it seems that there are other people and cultures that have a similar take on this meal. As a Midwesterner living in the south, I am supposed to advise you where you could seek this option out. However, this dish still gives me the heebie geebies so I won't be doing that, but I welcome anyone to share if they have any thoughts on tiger meat in the south!

It's ok when...

...you talk about someone in a not so nice way as long as you say "bless their heart" somewhere in the sentence. This is an important lesson to learn if you are going to successfully adapt to living in the south. I say that for two reasons. 1. You can talk about someone without offending anyone and 2. you can know when someone is talking about you in an offensive way. In my opinion it was more important to know when I was being talked about!

I have been doing informal research in the last two weeks about this phrase. I am told by using this phrase you have free reign to say whatever you want about a person and it is OK.  Urban dictionary list three definitions for this phrase and they coincide very well with what I found in my research (mostly).  1: phrase used by Southern women to excuse themselves for speaking ill of someone else. 2: an expression of sympathy or pity. 3: a polite way to respond to an ignoramus, particularly male, who showers upon you flattering but unwanted compliments. They even list examples for us!

1: "She's as ugly as a mud-fence, bless her heart."
2: "Well, bless your heart, that must have been terrible!"
3: drunk fella: "I think you're beautiful! Even if you were ugly, I'd STILL think you were beautiful!"
recipient: "...bless your heart."

 

My research would suggest that it is both men and women who use the phrase, not just women as the Internet says. And to think I believed everything I read on the Internet! Also, since #3 is situational and I apparently just don't have many friends who have run into this form of the phrase because it never came up but I can see how it fits in that situation as well.

There are critics who are against using this phrase. They call the disease BHHS, bless her heart syndrome, and believe it can only be used when talking negatively about someone. These critics are obviously not from the south, bless their hearts, or they would understand that it isn't just a negative phrase used to soften an insult.

*We have to interrupt your regularly scheduled blog for an important announcement* I just took a work orientated phone call and the person on the other line dropped the BHHS line and I about spit out my coffee. Would have been a waste of good coffee for sure! Sorry for my random Friday ramblings. It has been a long week and my brainwaves aren't connecting all the dots, bless my heart. (sorry i couldn't resist)

OK back on track now. This is a true southernism and I actually enjoy hearing it. People in the south pride themselves on being polite and welcoming and while this phrase could be used in a very mean spirited fashion, I am lucky enough to know people who use with the best intentions at heart.

 

For a bit of humor today

A little bit more humor

Have a great 4th of July!

Fashion Update

First off I want to say sorry for being MIA last week. Work has been crazy with the big opening but I am back and ready to write! Secondly I want to say thanks to those of you who have been telling people about the blog project. I am excited to get a few of those guest bloggers in here for opinions and thoughts other than my own. Should be exciting!

On to tonight’s topic of fashion. Last week I noticed an interesting fashion trend that seemed to not discriminate against who wore it. I asked those around me to confirm that they were seeing the same thing I was. Sure enough they were and apparently I missed the memo that it has been in style for a while. What is this fashion trend you ask about? It is seersucker; you know that blue and white striped suit I am talking about. If you don’t, here is a picture for you.  The more I looked the more I noticed men and women both wearing it. Some were in full suits, others in shorts and some had fitted jackets and some of it actually looked good. I said some, not all! Then yesterday this trend was completely confirmed for me. I opened my current issue of Southern Living and the very first article is entitled “Best of the South”. Anyone want to take a guess what the short article was on? That’s right – seersucker! Now that I have learned about this fashion trend I am even more interested to find out where it came from.

The story of seersucker turns out to be quite interesting. Apparently back before air conditioning was available in Washington the senators from the south felt it was important to still look proper. In 1907 a New Orleans clothier designed an all cotton blue and white striped fabric into suits for these men. It was called seersucker from the Persian words milk and honey. The method in which it is thread together gives it the wrinkled looked, allows it to stay away from the body and doesn’t require ironing. Trent Lott decided to bring seersucker back to the Senate in the 90s and started a trend that is still followed today by both the men and women of the senate, seersucker Thursday observed in June. In addition to the Senate, it was also common for nurses to wear during World War II and also by the first female United States Marines as their summer service uniforms.

Personally I still don’t love seersucker as a fashion trend but I have much more of an appreciation for the southern heritage the fashion comes from.That is something I can support!

Sources:

http://www.senate.gov/
http://www.wikipedia.org/

Vocabulary Lesson - Biff it good

I like to be "in the know" but I have taken many of the things I learned at face value. I am enjoying doing the research on these for the blog because now I know why it is that way. For example, the word of the day today is biff. In my world biff means to trip, fall, hit, get injured etc... It would be used in a sentence as such: while taking pictures the hubby tripped on the stairs and almost biffed it. Hold that image for a minute.When I use the word around here people usually look at me and scratch their heads or I get the agreement nod with the confused look.Alright, about that mental image, a few weeks ago we are home for lil sis's wedding and during rehearsal the hubby is taking pictures from the balcony of the church. All of the sudden I hear laughing around me and someone says "he biffed it" and then there was applause a few seconds later when he reappeared. I couldn't help breaking into laughter, not at hubby tripping but at the pleasure of being surrounded by people who used one of my favorite words!    

Ok so back to the meaning of the word biff. I decided to do a little looking around and apparently there is some disagreement on what the word means and where it comes from. The most popular response is that it is short for biffy, which is an outhouse and it is a British word common in Canada. While my mom hails from this area and all, I am pretty sure I have never heard an outhouse called that. Additionally, biff also means to whack, blow, punch or hit. At least these are physical occurrences and are similar to the meaning I grew up with.I personally prefer to use it in the fall or trip form.

There is the vocabulary lesson for the day and what have we learned; no matter what the definition is biff is never a good thing!

For a great biff video click here Thanks Adam and Keri (and Carson)

Great News!

In reviewing the Culver's website it would appear that there will be a location within two hours of me!!! Murfreesboro, TN will now be my new favorite place to visit. Happiness is here

Accents

I want to talk about accents for a moment today. When I am at home many of my friends and family give me a hard time for the accent I have picked up. Around here though I get a lot of "you aren't from around here are you?" question. I feel like an accent outcast, like I don't belong anywhere. I find myself saying that no I haven't picked up the southern accent and yes I do still talk like I am from the Midwest but no one accepts that. Oh well, I have learned to deal with that fact and move on. I am proud of my mix of accents, it makes me unique! Last night I had an interesting discovery though. Many of you know I am obsessed with reality TV. It is my guilty pleasure. Well for those of you who watch the Bachelorette you know there is a contestant on there named Kirk and he is from Wisconsin. Last night, while I was getting caught up on this weeks show, I realized I was smiling every time Kirk came on TV because his accent was familiar to me. I could actually hear the Wisconsin in his voice. Hearing is my strongest of the 5 senses, in fact my mom calls me rabbit ears, and my boss hates it but none the less it is. I always found it strange that I have never noticed accents of my friends and family back home, but now that I am away from it, I find comfort when I hear that familiar sound. It is amazing to me that I have been away from it for so long now that I can actually pick it out of a crowd, it truly is the sound of home.

More yummy goodness

I can tell you since i moved south there are two restaurants that i really miss getting to eat at. The first is Perkins, oh what i wouldn't give for their breakfast and a blueberry muffin. The second and most important is Culvers. Oh how i miss Culvers. We will talk about this more in an upcoming post but today I was reminded of Culvers when i saw this coupon. They are famous for their butter burgers. It makes me drool just thinking about it. Well Steak 'n Shake has a Wisconsin butter burger substitute. Though it isn't the same, if you are in the south where Culvers has not yet moved, this burger is a good start. Now if i could just find some lemon ice...

Spotted

One of the things I promised was to post when I find Wisconsin related items (usually food) available here. Last weekend the hubby and I went out to lunch at a nearby sports bar and I found this on the menu. While it really is only the Wisconsin dog because it has lots of cheese on it, I appreciated that they gave credit to the good ole dairy state!

Vocabulary lesson for the day

So is it a buggy or a cart? I am not sure why but in the south a shopping cart is referred to as a buggy. Sure I had heard the term back home but not in common usage like it is here. I have actually had people correct me when I called it a cart. When you look up the term buggy as a quick internet search, you end up with things horses pull, things you put babies in and fun machines you drive on sand dunes.  In comparison when you look up cart it shows thing obviously intended to be used to carry items not people in.

Interestingly more research shows that the original shopping cart was named a "Folding Basket Carriage for Self-Service Stores" in the late 1930s and early 1940s when the patent was applied for. Men didn’t like them because they were girly and women did not like them because they seemed to mimic a baby “buggy”.  Ahhh there is that buggy thing again. No matter that they were not received well at the beginning, they have obviously caught on since they are at just about every store in some form or fashion these days.

To me the comparison to a baby buggy seems to make sense and is a very acceptable reason to call it a buggy rather than a cart. I do find it interesting though that even Wikipedia lists the South as the only region other than Pittsburgh in the US that calls it a buggy. Either way I really have no preference one way or the other as long as people take the time to put them away when they are finished using them!

What’s in a Name?

Trying to be creative and come up with a title is something I struggled with all the way back to high school English class. The pressure to come up with a good name or title is such a big deal and can be very stressful. I have to admit I got lucky with the title of the blog. It started out as a conversation about some of my favorite foods from back home and then someone said to me “hey that’s a great name for a blog”. Beer, Brats and Squeaky Cheese was born. Now I will have to admit if you put this food on one side of the table and put a plate of southern bbq and biscuits with gravy on the other side, I have no idea which one I would pick! But that just seemed like a lot of words for a title so I stuck with the Wisconsin food, plus I have a great diagram to go with it!

Getting Started

After many long months of talking about writing my blog, I have finally decided to actually do it. So why a blog? Truthfully I am not sure there is just one answer to this but “because I want too” seems to be the best answer I have. I was born and raised a Wisconsinite for my first 22 years and am now a transplant in Alabama. I have lived life as a Midwesterner (we will talk about this term later) and as a Southerner and I love them both. So Beer, Brats, and Squeaky Cheese (BBSC for short) is my way of sharing my love of Wisconsin and my love of the south. But more importantly it is my diary of the things I have learned about living in the south and maybe somewhere down the line it will help someone else out with their transition. Or at least provide some humor as I retell the stories of the mistakes I have made while learning to live in the south.

What will we be talking about on BBSC? Well there are a few categories that are really important to me and I will cover on a regular basis. Food is a very important topic here! Vocabulary lessons just like back in school. Who doesn’t love a good social event right, can’t wait to get to these. Finally we have the miscellaneous categories the include behaviors, stereotypes, products, history and the best topic of all – guest bloggers. That’s right folks, now my friends, family, coworkers and even husband can use this as a place to discuss anything related to living in the Midwest or the South, even if it means making fun of my accent.

I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I have!

And so it begins...

Each day we will add something new to our guide.
We will have vocabulary lessons, food comparisons, event coverage, guest bloggers from both sides of the line, and of course personal stories of my stumbles along the way. So as they say around here "ya'll come back now, ya hear?!"