“Participation” Award

Participation award? Lame! I know I’ll strike a cord with all other competitive peeps in saying that there is really nothing worse then being awarded for just showing up and “trying”. To hell with that – blood, sweat and tears need to be involved to make any “game” worth the time and energy. There really is no better time than during the Olympic Games to demonstrate a country’s true colors when it comes to competing. For example, after a Women’s Track event, a silver-medal-winning American athlete was disappointed in her performance and insists she will continue to return until the gold is hers. Now that’s what I’m talking about- ‘Merica!

In an attempt to bring some of that Olympic spirit and nationalism to the home front, my husband and I (mostly) host an annual event (it’s in it’s second year, so I think we can officially label it “annual”) harnessing the energy of the Olympic games and incorporating it with what us Wisconsinites do best – drinking beer. I would love to take credit for originating The Day Drinking Olympics however it was a culmination of outside forces and opinions that really brought the idea to life.

Here’s how it works:

• Teams of 4-8 players are chosen among participants and a country is decided on (ie my husband and another couple represented Greece this past year). No two teams can be the same country.
• Once a country is set – participants are strongly encouraged to dress up costumes that incorporate the chosen country’s culture (Going with Greece again, we dressed up in togas and donned our best God/Goddess gear).
• Also, for food and drink, participants are asked to bring items indigenous to the region of choice (Greece = gyros, hummus, baklava).
• Once the hard part is out of the way – it’s on to the games. We chose only four events this year to keep it simple: Beer Pong, Flip Cup, Horseshoes and Bean Bag Toss. The more games, the longer it takes and the drunker people get – including hosts/hostesses. 🙂 We learned that the hard way in the 1st annual. . .
• This year I set up a tentative schedule so that all teams played all games versus the different teams. That quickly went out the window, however, after people insist on doing their own thing or half listen to the m.c. (ME!) I tried not to be so bound by rules, so the events wouldn’t be so rigid, but I think we do need a bit more enforcement for next year. I’m thinking more of a tournament style set-up.

Well that’s the gist of it . . . I’ll let the awesome pics do the rest of the talking – You’ll get the idea.

Oopa! (And Silver Medalists)

Gold Medal Winners in both the games and team spirit.

Sumo? Su-NO! This happened.

Ciao!

Bronze Medalists. ‘Merica!

I was the force behind the cupcakes – ice cream cone cupcakes made to look like Olympic Torches and the chocolate cupcake Olympic rings YAY! Team America brought the fabulous Apple Pies.

 

I added quite a few other nuances to the festivities, but failed to capture them on film. There’s always the 3rd annual . . .

 

Blog, you say? Don’t mind if I do!

So . . . Lisa Day here, and I’m blogging. Well, a poor excuse for it anyways as I prefer the learn-as-you-go method. With everything. Ask my mom.  As history shows,  I never heeded her “advice” as I always thought it was her way of trying to boss me around. And hey – who wants their mom bossing them around? In retrospect, listening to her  probably would have saved some time, money and heartache but life lessons are hard to come by when under another’s influence. Self taught is the way to go, if you ask me. And you’re reading this,  so by default, you asked me. (Oh, and mom, since you’re probably going to be one of the few subscribers – you know I mean it in the best way possible way – since my independent nature is definitely a trait inherited from you.)

Anyways, back to to my primal attempt in showing the world what I’m all about. Everything I read in reference to blogging suggested narrowing the focus to attract a more defined audience. I say- NO! My brain is generally all over the place, so it would only be fitting to conduct a blog accordingly.  If I were to attempt to categorize this blog I couldn’t. Not by a long shot.

I really like to create. Anything. I realize the ambiguous nature of that statement but it’s the stone cold truth.  Whether it be as mundane as an out-of-order sign to hang on the bathroom stall at work or using serious elbow grease to re-purpose old furniture – I love it.  There is really nothing better than a blank canvas and no location that is off limits – office, kitchen, living room, bedroom, garage, and yard – you name it and I’ll be there searching for my next project.  I’m a firm believer that Pinterest was created just for me. Well me, and the other million or so like-minded folk.

I can’t count the times in a week that I hear  the following questions: “how did you do that?”,  “where ever did you find that?” or “can I get your recipe?” Instead of having to recite a play-by-play each time, I thought there has to be some way to collect my projects, creations, etc. in some sort of forum that could be shared with others. A BLOG, you say?? Brilliant!  Well brilliant may be a bit strong as the thought has been crossing my mind for years, just never really dug my heels in until now.  Now, in the yuppiest tone possible, with my head down while looking over my glasses, I’ll answer those questions with “just go to my blog”.

You may not have asked for it – but I’ll be providing snarky commentary throughout my posts as puns, sarcasm and word play are my kryptonite. It began with the title and will not end. Ever. That is one thing  I can guarantee with 100% accuracy. Get it? “Rome wasn’t built by a Day?” (Last name = Day). Aw yeah – I saw that eye roll. Keep ’em coming.

And so it begins . . .