Marquette Tribune: The man behind the curtain

The Marquette Tribune just posted a story on one of our hospitality employees.

It's a fun snippet of what working backstage for a concert venue is like. The article's author, Molly Gamble, seems to have captured the employee's personality and spirit quite well. Enjoy!

Here, take my sweater...

Good evening!

...Writing to you live from our show with Ingrid Michaelson at Turner Hall Ballroom. The house is packed, and so far everything is going great. The opener, Matthew Perryman Jones, is playing right now. I am digging his acoustic, mellow sound as I type away in the tech office.

Do you guys like Ingrid Michaelson? I've gotta admit, her songs have me hooked. "The Way I Am" (aka the Sweater song) is constantly stuck in my head and I am guilty of singing it in the shower. Her new single "Maybe" is pretty fun.

So lately I haven't had much time for new posts... nor have I been enjoying much interesting food. Today though, I did get to do something fitness-related... a horseback riding lesson!

I didn't get any photos today, but will fill you in. I found a wonderful person who is willing to give me private lessons for a nominal fee. In exchange, I am expected to tack and groom my horse, help with horse training, etc. Needless to say... this is VERY EXCITING and I am pinching myself to make sure it's really happening!

My horse's name is Chance, he's a certified Paint / Pinto mix gelding and is very well trained. I have never worked with such a well-behaved or gentle animal. Here's a photo from the owner's posting - isn't he handsome?

We had a great two hours today getting to know each other, and I can't wait for the next lesson. Eventually I will be riding the trails of Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine area, which will be incredible to experience.

I really enjoyed the ride to and from the farm, which was about an hour away from my home. The trees are at their peak of fall colors right now, and I absorbed all of the beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows from my viewpoint behind the wheel of Edward.

Other highlights... Zak bought some Honeycrisp apples and shared one with me. WOW are these great. How have I never tried one before? What's your favorite type of apple?

Gonna get back to work. Have a great evening!

Finally Friday

Can I get an Amen to that? Friday! Yes.

Today is going to go by quickly, and tonight will be a fun one. We have not one, but THREE events going on at work:

- Point Fish Fry & A Flick at Milwaukee's Lakefront at Discovery World Museum. It's a free outdoor movie series with a retail bazaar, beer a-plenty and good food. Tonight, we're showing PULP FICTION. That's right, no kids allowed. It's gonna be awesome!

- Tracy Chapman @ Pabst Theater, complete with pre- and post-concert dance party by PUMP! DJs. Tracy Chapman = "Gimme One Reason," "Fast Car," etc. Yes!

- Daniel Johnston @ Turner Hall Ballroom. He's a genius. Don't know if I'll make it over there, but it should be an amazing show. A Milwaukee band The Candleiers are opening and also backing Daniel.

What are your plans for this weekend?

I packed a bunch of good eats today as I am gonna be one busy gal!

- Stonyfield Organic Plain Yogurt, with frozen blueberries and Alterra Coffee Roasters granola

A review of granola will come later today, once I try it out :-)

- The last of my whole wheat pasta, bean and tuna salad with herbed feta

- Kashi Chewy Cherry Dark Chocolate bar and Country Cheddar crackers

- Breakfast on the go - one piece of Health Nut bread, spread with PB&Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams (1 tbsp) and Roundy's Organic Crunchy Peanut Butter

Sooooo delicious. 

On the way in, I picked up a 'Venti' Iced Coffee with Soy from Starbucks. This + the aforementioned 1/2 sandwich are my favorite breakfast to get fueled up for a busy day!

What is your favorite meal / snack combination for a busy day?

If the Coach handbag looks familiar, I bought it from Angela's Shop 4 a Cause (benefitting the Canadian Cancer Research Fund) in June! LOVE it.

Time to get cracking at my multiple tasks. See you soon :-)

I wanna hear from you guys today!

What is your favorite late summer outdoor activity?

What kinds of entertainment options does your city offer during the summer?

Sources: George Clooney says Coconut Cream Pie Larabars Looking Good

Happy Thursday, everyone! It's been a looooong but fun week. Lil' Sister Annie turned 23 on Tuesday - Happy Birthday again! I have to take a second to say what a proud big sister I am. Annie has accomplished so much at such a young age... halfway through her Masters in Psychology, and working on her PhD at the same time! She is a beautiful person physically and mentally, is a gracious hostess and chef, and inspires me in every way. Lately she's been impressing me with her hikes around Colorado Springs, and I am excited for her summit of Pike's Peak this September which she's doing for charity. Not to mention she's got impeccable taste for music and food, and an overall lust for life! I just love her so much and am so happy that we've got an awesome sisterly relationship :-)

Back to this week... Thanks to a ton of shows at work (6 total!) and an old friend who was in town on Monday / Tuesday off the Blink 182 / Fall Out Boy / Panic at the Disco tour, I've gotten my fair share of late nights this week! Did some time at the Safehouse - my favorite bar in America, and also Riptide, a great seafood bar and grill on the Milwaukee River. Today, Zak surprised me by suggesting we get lunch - he works really far from Downtown where I am, so we usually never get to do these kind of things. We bought sandwiches and enjoyed the sunshine, eating al fresco by the river. The weather is gorgeous and hopefully will hold out for the weekeend!

Tonight, we have Lykke Li at Turner Hall Ballroom and everyone around the office is pretty stoked for the show. We booked it what feels like forever ago, and it's crazy that it's finally here. Openers are Miike Snow - a couple members had produced Britney Spears' "Toxic" under a different artist name - and Esser, whose song "Headlock" is currently stuck in my head. One great thing my job has done to me over the years, is that I can appreciate all genres of music, and I feel like tonight will indulge my dance-y electronic side.

Now, on to the product review! Y'all ready for this?

Decided to try out my second ever Larabar today, the Coconut Cream Pie flavor, as an afternoon snack. How does this bar compare to the Pecan Pie bar, reviewed earlier this week?

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! I prefer this flavor very much over the Pecan Pie Larabar.

How does this bar stack up, nutritionally? Let's take a look, stats are thanks of MyFitnessPal.com:

Nutrition Facts

Larabar - Coconut Cream Pie

Servings:    of 1 bar

Calories

200

Sodium

5 mg

Total Fat

10 g

Potassium

300 mg

     Saturated

7 g

Total Carbs

27 g

     Polyunsaturated

1 g

     Dietary Fiber

5 g

     Monounsaturated

2 g

     Sugars

21 g

     Trans

0 g

Protein

3 g

Cholesterol

0 mg

 

 

Vitamin A

0 %

Calcium

2 %

Vitamin C

0 %

Iron

6 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

The good:

- Flavor is great - all coconut, with the delectable flavors of almond and hint of mellow cashew

- The texture is grittier than the Pecan Pie bar but very pleasant, with detectable pieces of shredded coconut and nuts. 

- Ingredient list on the package says this bar has "Unsweetened Coconut, Almonds, Cashews, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil," fine by me. I love that there are so few ingredients and that all have recognizable names!

- 10% your daily value for Copper again (LOL - so weird) as well as Magnesium

- 5g of fiber! That rocks.

- George Clooney recommends it... at least this picture makes it look like he does

I've had my Onion desk calendar stuck on Clooney's Feb. 3rd headline since... well since Feb. 3rd of this year. Isn't it hilarious? "Sources: George Clooney Looking Good"

The iffy:

- Fat content = Yowza! I had read a review of this bar from Tina, who loves this product but points out it has 7g of saturated fat! The label says that of the remaining 3g of total fat, 2g are monounsaturated and .05g polyunsaturated. This goes beyond my fat smarts so I am going to need to read up on what this exactly means.

- 200 calories, 3g protein = not what I typically look for in a bar. As I said with the Pecan Pie Larabar, I'd rather have high protein for so many calories. I realize that for a product that's mostly nuts and coconut this is average... however I look for more.

The Verdict:

I like prefer this flavor over the Pecan Pie bar, however will probably not purchase very often. I will save my dough for packaged bars that are higher in protein / other nutrients. I think it's a great once in a while indulgence, but a little too much of a splurge calorie and fat wise to be a regular snack item. I'd rather eat more food to feel full :-)

Some questions - please feel free to leave comments!

What is your favorite flavor of Larabar? 

What is your favorite packaged energy / granola / fruit bar?

What is your favorite George Clooney movie? ;-)