Winter in Wisconsin! Part 1.

I always go back to Wisconsin for Christmas and this time I planned an extended vacation because I hadn't been home since last Christmas.  I'm so lucky and thankful that all of my jobs worked around my schedule and I was able to get shifts covered and people wanted to pick up certain days, so I was able to spend a whole two and a half weeks with my family in Plymouth!

With some of my favorite girls, Dru, Ari, and Olivia!

It was literally go go go the entire time I was home!  Not only was it Christmas and the Holidays, but there were Birthday's, brunches, and dinners to attend.  One of the best parts about being home was that our entire family on my Mom's side was able to get together for the first time in years.  I was able to spend quality time with my cousin's children that I don't get to see very often; we talked about "Frozen," played games, they showed me their Christmas presents, we roared, I cackled, gave lots of hugs, and so much more.

Another one of my favorite things about being home are the dinners I have with my family.  We went to St. Anne for my Uncle's Birthday and had a steak dinner that night, my Mom & Dad had a steak and lobster night for my brother and I one day when we were all home together, and we went to Prime Quarter a different night and grilled our own steaks.  Plus, we tried The Black Pig in Sheboygan, Rupp's where I had amazing Cajun Chicken, Mom had made roast beef one night, we had chili, Dad made his incredible steak sandwiches and more.  The family time really makes the trip worthwhile, and I loved being able to grab lunch one day with my Grandpa and Dad, and spend a lot of time with my Grandpa during my mini-vacation.

Wegner Family Christmas Eve 2014

We always get together with my cousins and aunt's and uncle's to play games like Spades, Loaded Questions, and at home we play Settler's of Catan and Peanuts.  It's always so fun to laugh and have a good time with my family.  Mom and I play Dr. Mario and we even watched a few movies together.  Mom and I watched my favorite Christmas movie one night, 'White Christmas' and I caught 'Love Actually,' another night.  Mom had never seen 'Country Strong' so we watched that while I got 'The Fault in Our Stars' for Christmas so we had family night all together with that wonderful, amazing, heart-wrenching movie.

The Packer's had two games while I was home and won the Division Title.  I would have loved to have gone to a game but getting tickets for them are super hard since it's all Season Ticket holders.  It was nice just to watch them at home while Mom and I were baking Christmas cookies, or we were all playing cards.  I wore my Aaron Rodgers jersey with pride, especially after he left the Detroit game with an injury to his calf/ankle, and then came back and threw that beautiful touchdown pass to Randall Cobb!  There's nothing like watching my home-team while I'm in Wisconsin; it's just a totally different feeling.

Make sure to check out Part 2 of Winter in Wisconsin!

Punta Cana! Part 3.

I couldn't believe the trip was almost over and we only had a couple more days in Punta Cana.  After getting sick on Wednesday night after Dinner at the French Restaurant, though I don't believe it was from the food but rather the ice in my Orange Soda, I was more determined to spend time by the pool and get in as many activities as possible.  Unfortunately, my drinking had pretty much commenced, and I stuck with lots of water and perhaps a glass of wine at Dinner or Chunky Monkey by the Pool.

Turtle Head

We stayed by the beach longer than normal on our last full day there, swimming in the water, I took my last dance class (each day was different, so I learned Salsa, Merengue, and Bachata), and read my book underneath an umbrella.  We made our way to the swimming pool that afternoon and all of us had water races, took pictures underwater, and basked in the sun while we floated in the pool.  That night we all went off and did some shopping.  Mom was looking for some jewelry so we bartered with the guy to give us a good deal and she found a bracelet she liked.  I found these super cute little Turtle guys, but there wasn't much else I really liked, so I picked up my painted Turtle and a Punta Cana shot glass for Emily and I's apartment and then met up with everyone and we all played 'Catchphrase' on our last night before we had Dinner.

Last day of Dance Lessons, Bachata Bachata!

That night we ate at the Italian Restaurant and I was able to order a dish similar to Fettucine Alfredo (at this point, I was missing normal food) although I tried all the fun sushi appetizers and gazpacho's they had including watermelon, cucumber, and even beet that was delicious.  But my favorite part of that meal was the giant wheel of fresh Parmesan cheese you had to scrape to get out!  I put cheese on everything I could, from my salad, to my crackers, to my pasta, to my sushi, to my gazpacho soups, and anything else.  After getting sick on Wednesday I stuck with a lot of fruits and veggies too, not eating anything too heavy because I didn't want to worry about not getting to enjoy the rest of the vacation.  Since I've been back in LA I've really been missing the fresh pineapple, mango, and watermelon!!

Mom & I before Dinner :)

We stayed down by the Lobby as long as we could, drinking and playing games and then finally made our way up to the room where a few of us had ordered room service and played Trivial Pursuit one more time before we would head back to the States that following afternoon.

The next morning we all went to Breakfast together, toasting with our Mimosa's to a wonderful vacation.  After packing up my suitcase (rolling clothes was the most genius trick ever) I tried to order a drink at the Lobby Bar since it had Sambuca in it but it was too strong so I stuck with one of my standbys, a Tanqueray & Sprite, which was refreshing, while we waited for our shuttle to take us to the airport.  We got to say our goodbye's to everyone, and get some snacks until our plane arrived and then as we made our way to the tarmac and boarded our plane, it was a bittersweet goodbye to the Dominican Republic.

Our Trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic!

All in all, the best part of the vacation was having fun in the sun, getting to order these tropical drinks and spend time with my family while trying new foods.  All that aside, we've traveled to different cities in Mexico on 3 different occasions, and I can't speak for anyone else, but I'd take a trip back to Mexico before I'd head back to the Dominican Republic.  And I'd much rather spend family time with cocktails and games right in good ol' Plymouth Wisconsin because when it comes down to it, it's not where you are, it's who you're with, and I'm pretty lucky to have such an awesome family :)  Thank you to the Wegner's & Wittkopp's for an excellent trip!

Punta Cana! Part 2.

The week my family and I spent in Punta Cana this July consisted of fun tropical cocktails, an assortment of themed restaurants (we got to eat at every single one), with days spent by the beach and pool, and nights laughing and playing games like Catchphrase, Trivial Pursuit, and Loaded Questions!

Tuna Tartare

My Dad and brother, Bobby, arrived on the second day and that night we had reservations for the Japanese Restaurant, Maiko, which I was really looking forward to.  The meal started off with a few different kinds of sushi and some tempura, and then the Habachi was started and we got fish, steak, shrimp, chicken, veggies, and rice.  After our meal we were moved to a different table and served dessert, and also celebrated my 'Belated 30th Birthday.'  It was one of my favorite Restaurants of the trip and I was happy to see my Dad trying sushi and eating shrimp for the first time ever!!  Way to go, Dad!

Wegner Family in Punta Cana :)

For Dinner on our third night we went to the Garden Grill where they had different types of steaks and a huge buffet.  I think I had 3 platefuls of food before my steak even arrived!  The steak was good but not even close to the Rack of Lamb I had the next night at the French Restaurant!  I've never had Lamb before so I was a little nervous but it was absolutely delicious and cooked perfectly.  I also had Lobster Bisque soup that night in addition to an excellent Tuna Tartare.  Because there were 11 people in our group they brought us extra appetizers and entree's so we were able to try everything, which was really cool.  Everyone else tried the Lobster but I stuck with my Lamb and amazing veggies that night.

No Jacoby Vacation would be complete without Family Photos at every possible opportunity so on the night we went to the French Restaurant, while we were all dressed up, we went down to the Beach to get some group photos even though that evening was a little overcast.  Say cheese!

During the day, we'd be by the Beach and grab drinks at the Bar, like Banana Mudslides or Blue Hawaiian's, and they served Hot Dogs so you felt like you were at the Ballpark!  We found a quieter pool a couple days into our vacation where we ended up spending most of the time when we were out in the sun.  They had Sambuca so one afternoon I sipped on that while I floated on a raft :)  The Hotel Staff also brought wild animals around to take pictures with, there were Parrots, Snakes, and even a Spider Monkey!  Of course, I love monkey's so as scared as I was, I got my photo taken with the Monkey! 

Cocktails by the Pool!

Clearly, time flies when you're having fun!

A Different Kind of Sunday Funday

This past Sunday I picked up a shift to Bartend at Irish Times and as I got there, a whole film crew was just finishing up for the day.  And before they had even gotten all their equipment out of the bar, I had customers in to watch the LA Kings Game!  It ended up being a really fun Sunday; since it's Spring, Softball has started, so a bunch of teams came in together and ordered drinks and food, thankfully, all staggered, but kept me busy all day long!  I even had a Saint's visitor, and of course, Hell Fires & Baby Dragons were to be had...long live The Baby Dragon :)
  

A regular I see at Gabe's for Karaoke was in and actually asked me a really interesting question, what do I like better, Bartending or Hosting Karaoke?  I wasn't quite sure how to answer because I really enjoy doing both.  Right now, Bartending is sporadic, but I really miss it when I'm not doing it.  When I was working at Cabo, I was so unhappy, but when I was at Saint's, it was by far one of the best jobs I've ever had!  To top it all off, Bartending is great money and most of the time, doesn't even feel like work because when you're busy and having fun the time just flies by.  On the other hand, Karaoke is practicing my career and my craft even though I don't pursue singing; it keeps me on my toes and is always fun and exciting to sing and perform.  Do I miss the late hours when you're Bartending and working until 3 am, probably not.  But I miss the job itself terribly and will be really happy when I have a steady Bartending job sometime soon.

After I was done with work at Irish Times I headed up to North Hollywood for Dale & Thi's Game Night.  Thi's leaving for New York in a couple weeks so we all wanted to get together before she left.  We usually have Game Nights every couple of months and it had been a while since our last.  The first game of the night was Balderdash.  I had never played and we had walked in just after they started so we joined in and it was actually a lot of fun.  There were a lot of laughs but also a lot of distractions and it was taking forever to finish a round...before we knew it, it was 2 hours later and we hadn't even gotten half-way through the game.  After working an 8 hour day at the bar I was really exhausted but wanted to make sure I could spend some time with Thi before she left since I'm going back to Wisconsin next week.  I'm sure I was probably a little cranky.  Cranium was up next but we had so many people we had to split into 3 teams and things just got kind of messy...too many people to focus on the game and I felt like there were just way too many distractions to even have fun.  I wouldn't say I'm super competitive; I like to have fun, and at the end of the day, it's just a game, and no one is going to remember who won 5 years down the road, but someone has to know the rules of the game and keep everyone on task.  We probably should have just spent the night socializing or playing drinking games ;)  The cool thing about Cranium and the group we had is that everyone is super creative as most of us are actors or in the entertainment industry so we all do get involved and excited about the categories, whether it be whistling a song, doing charades, or drawing with your eyes closed, and even the word categories are fun.  I love spelling backwards, but I'm a nerd.  The last game before everyone went their separate ways was Celebrity; where everyone writes 5 names down that are known celebrities and then there are 3 rounds where you act out and talk about the person, then on the 2nd round can only give a 1 word clue, and the last round is charades.  I had never played before but again we split into 2 teams and that game was definitely faster-paced.  We'll have to remember that one for next time!

Time flies when you're at Game Night and before you know it, it's 3 am...so to bed it was, after a very long and eventful Sunday Funday.

Under The Sea

I got back to LA late on Thursday night after my trip to Spokane to shoot for ILF Media and I had an audition on Friday for a Theater Production of 'The Little Mermaid.'  I was really excited for it, because it's being presented as a Children's Musical, using the Stage Production of it, as well as the Disney Movie.

The audition was in Santa Monica and I started off by singing 'Baby Love,' and then did a scene from the movie with the Director reading opposite of me.  S* & I had a great conversation about her company and how she does Children's Productions, also teaches classes and does Children's Parties.  Since I love kids, this is the perfect job for me!  I felt really good about the audition so hopefully I'll get to perform as Ariel for the little ones!!

Last night I headed up to North Hollywood for a Game Night with Dale & Thi and some of their friends.  We played games till after 3 in the morning...and boy did it get intense!  Thi makes the competition fierce and we had two teams ready for the first round of Cranium.  Karen, Dale, and I made a valiant effort but Thi, Jenny, and Jared did all too well with their Creative cards and beat us.  We played Apples to Apples next and it's such a fun game to play with a big group of people who don't know each other very well because it's a guessing game as to what the judge will choose.  Serious or comedy...it's a crap shoot!  Karen won Apples and Apples and shortly after we had 2 new guests.  Megan had come from a party where they played Mafia, which I haven't played since I was in grade school, but was always such a fun group game.  That didn't go over too well with the crew so we went back to Cranium and this time with Megan on our team  we won!  Even with Justin helping out the other team they couldn't compare to our master Humdingers!  We finished off the night with Taboo which got a little crazy, and in our final round we killed it!!  Next thing we know, it's 3:30 in the morning and time for everyone to head home!  Super fun and eventful Game Night!  Who's hosting next?!

The best thing about Game Night with a group of super creative people is how effective the games are at honing in skills that can help us all out in our daily lives, for the actors and creatives of the room, charades, singing or drawing helps us work our brain muscles while the intellectuals can figure out the polygraph questions and use reasoning to figure out the data heads.  Adults playing games...it's like we're all kids again!