In The Shadow of Lambeau Field

We, here in the shadow of Lambeau Field, have a new favorite TV commercial. Watch it, and you'll see why!

No, I didn't shoot the commercial, but that gets my nomination for Best TV Commercial of the Year! Even Packer fans have to admit, that's funny...

Weekly Winners are brought to you each week by Lotus at Sarcastic Mom. Go on over and give her some comment love...pretty please?

We LOVE Our Green Bay Packers

I am participating in Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Finish Fiesta, sponsored by Carrie at Candid Carrie.

The "Frozen Tundra" on a nice day!

The players riding kid's bikes to practice, from the locker room.



St. Vincent. His friend, the nun, sports an official cheese bra. All donations for photo ops go to the American Cancer Society.






Donald Driver executing a perfect Lambeau Leap. Watch those hands, ladies!

The Bikini Girls, of Maxim magazine fame . Is it HOT in here?

And the winners of the Great Poprs Giveaway, where you suggested a name for a Leader Dog puppy, are Tortuga and Freegal1000. Tortuga suggested Clara, and freegal, Gracie. Kristi, who will raise the puppy for her first year, won't be able to say definitively until she actually meets the pup. So they both win 5 multipacks of Poprs. The rest of you who suggested names will receive one multipack. Thanks for playing!

Packers vs. Vikings: 576 Tickets Available!

For the Packer Viking game Sunday, November 1, 12:00 at Lambeau Field.

Prices range from $348 to $1,800 (note: tickets may sell for more than face value).

Really?

My best guess is that Brent (Brett) didn't see the sweet post I did about him back on July 29th, or he NEVER would have worn purple.

What do YOU think about the continuing soap opera that is Brett Favre?

Actually, the first meeting of the Pack and the Favre-enhanced Vikings will be a Monday night game, in Minnesota, October 5 at 7:30. Watch it on ESPN. We Packer fans are waiting to play the Vikes at Lambeau, Brett's home for 16 years...

Up to Our Keisters, and Beyond!

We had such a lovely, uneventful Turkey Day Holiday, celebrating with family and friends. So, we knew that Getaway Sunday, the Busiest Travel Day of the Year, Might. Come. To. This.

No, this shot isn't current. It was snapped by a TJ, whom we presume is a UW-Madison student, judging by his profile. It was posted on his blog, Feeding Milk to Chickens, in February 2008, the last time The Badger State had a snowstorm of monumental proportions.

That day, Wisconsin suffered snows that Shut. The. State. Down. And we're talkin' schools, government offices, the whole proverbial Ball of Wax. OK, we're Mixing Metaphors here, but still...

Southeastern Wisconsin, from Madison to Milwaukee, is forecast to get something along the lines of 10 inches today. According to Moker, and his Profile of Wisconsin for Blog Around the World, we Hardy Cheeseheads enjoy weather akin to "Nine months of winter, and three months of tough sledding."

We're just a Tad Concerned today, though. The East Coast Branch of The Pop'rs Cousins are traveling back to school at Larry U. Today. In the Snow. Hope the precipitation doesn't dump enough to cover poor ol' Mr. Lincoln's Head in front of Bascom Hall. But ya never know!

On a much more positive note, The Green Bay Packers play Carolina today at Lambeau Field. Snow is forecast. Go, Pack!

Aunt Julie Hosts *Recipe Week*-Part Deux

We had such a Fun and Successful *Recipe Week* in September, that Aunt Julie has decided to do it again! Every day, between now and next Sunday, we'll be sharing Yummy Recipes with all of our Bloggy Friends, as part of Aunt Julie's *Recipe Week*--Part Deux.

At the end of the week--next Sunday, to be precise--we have a little ol' surprise in store for ya! We'll be asking readers to submit Yummy Dishes of their own to share, as the lead-up to our Next Pop'rs Giveaway!

Today's recipe is an Old Wisconsin Favorite, which we start thinking about just as the leaves begin to turn. Hot Beefs go really well with Cold Beer, and put us in mind of a Packer Party. The above pic, BTW, captures Uncle Lynn and his Mom, Pearl, right in the midst of tailgating at Historic Lambeau Field.

So, think about us Packer Fans as you're pulling out your crock pot, browning the meat, and setting the whole thing on "low" so it can simmer throughout the day. Go, Pack!

Aunt Julie's Hot Beefs
1 chuck roast (three to four pounds)
Small amount of olive oil
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1 envelope Lipton's Beefy Onion Soup Mix
1 beer, can of beef broth or water (your choice)
Whole wheat hamburger buns, toasted

Brown the roast on top of the stove in a little olive oil on both sides. Sprinkle the roast with salt & pepper as you're browning it. Transfer the browned roast to a crock pot. Add the envelope of Lipton Soup Mix, and about an inch of water, canned beef broth, or beer. The Pop'rs Family prefers the "beer option." Let the roast cook on "low" all day. At dinnertime, the meat will shred very easily with a fork. Stir it all up, and serve with a little juice on toasted buns. Aunt Julie likes sliced pickles on hers, and maybe a little ketchup. Moker and Veggie Mom love sliced raw onions and ketchup. Maybe even a little Texas Pete instead of ketchup!

Lay's Kettle Cooked Jalapeño Chips are a lovely accompaniment to this delightful repast. And have another bottle of beer, while you're at it!

~Tomorrow: Aunt Julie's Beef Stoganoff!~

A Packer Party, and Some Positive Vibes

Aunt Julie, Uncle Lynn, and All The Pop'rs Cousins started a wonderful Fall Tradition a few years back, holding Packer Parties in their Family Room. They even get all festive and decorate for the occasion, as Aunt Julie's photo, above, illustrates.

The Gang, of course, worships at the proverbial alter of The Green Bay Packers during football seasons.

"We have friends, Joe and Patty, who are our parents' ages, who have had season tickets for ages," Aunt Julie explains. "They have four seats together, and another set of two."

Julie says the Family Room Tradition actually started at a home game at Lambeau Field. "We were once invited to a game, years ago, and had a ball. We drove to Lambeau in Vanna White, of course. We cooked out behind the stadium, listened to the pregame on the radio, and really got immersed in the atmosphere."

Of course, nothing could ruin this Festive Occasion, except for a food shortage. "I was supposed to bring the brats and the small Weber grill," Auntie J. remembers. "When the fire was just right, we looked through the cooler for the brats…I had forgotten them on the kitchen counter! Joe and Patty's daughter, Chris, and I RAN to a grocery store a few blocks away. We were running against the crowd, like salmon swimming upstream, and had to listen to fans tell us to turn around, the stadium was 'that way'."

"Long story short," Julie says, "we bought Klements precooked brats, RAN back to our tailgate spot, threw them on the grill, chugged a bottle of beer each, grabbed a brat on the way to the stadium, and made it there for kick off! "

Julie and Lynn, of course, wanted to do something to repay Joe and Patty for the great time. "We had them over to watch an away game on our big screen TV.," Julie says. "Packer Parties turned into a regular tradition. Weather permitting, we grill. In playoff years, we grill at halftime, and after the victory, throw discarded Christmas trees in the fire pit out on our patio."

Aunt Julie wants to remind all you Brett Favre Fans that The Jets are playing New England today. Might even have a chance, considering Tom Brady's season-ending injury, and all. Yes, Aaron Rodgers played well last week against The Vikings, and Brett even praised him for his play. But some of us are still gonna follow The Jets this season.

Even Aunt Julie remains on the Brett Favre Bandwagon. "Hey, didn’t Brett have a great game against Miami?" We can see it now...a photo of Brett as a Jet as part of the shrine on her mantle!

Brett's a Winner, and You. Can. Be. Too!

Looks like the Green Bay Packers, the best team in football, BTW, have come to their senses and welcomed NFL MVP Brett Favre back to the fold. To say that Aunt Julie and Uncle Lynn are ecstatic would be putting it mildly. These die-hard Packer Fans have been on the waiting list for season tickets since they got married. In all those years, they've moved up 22,000 spots, give or take a seat or two. And they still have about 2,500 places to go!

As The Pop'r Family grew, Auntie J. and Uncle Lynn added their boys to the season ticket waiting list. But those guys have a pretty long way to go. The youngest, Soccer Boy, is now 30,866th on the waiting list. At this rate, Soccer Boy will be pretty darn old and Brett will be retired for real before the lad gets a seat at Lambeau Field!

But let's not let the real news get lost in all of this NFL chatter! Uncle Lynn has authorized me to run another Great Pop'rs Giveaway. And it couldn't be easier to win!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. You probably already know that my family will be joining The Pop'r Family for a little VAY-cay at the beach later this week. Well, we like to read. A lot. Please leave me a comment recommending a good beach read. That's all ya gotta do, and You. Too. Can. Be. A. Winner!

The Great Pop'rs Giveaway runs from today through Monday, August 11, at 8 p.m. EST. We will pick Two Grand Prize Winners by random drawing at that time. What do you win? Why, and entire box of Pop'rs--all eight flavors!--that delightful seasoning that's not only fun, but good for you, too!

Of course, we're adding a few extra incentives for you, too! For each comment you leave on one of my posts this week, I'll give you an extra entry in the contest. How sweet is that?

Now, before I get away today, I'd like to Share the Comment Love with five of my Bloggy Friends out there. These ladies are doing some really great stuff on their blogs, and you should take a look!

• Megan, who presides at Reed's Home for Our Savior, recently blogged about urgent needs for our troops in the Middle East. Please drop by Megan's blog to see how you can help!
• Does Anybody Hear Me? over at Don't Get Married...You Won't Like It! picked up the Saturday Six *Meme*. Check out her answers--they're a hoot-and-a-half!
• Melissa B., who scribbles away at The Scholastic Scribe, is running her first contest ever! She just returned from Asbury Park, NJ, and is giving away AP souvenirs from the home of Springsteen, Bon Jovi, and The Jersey Sound. Melissa B.'s got three prizes, so visit her today!
• Shannon, the boss at Eight Crazy, is doing a Countdown to The Olympics, with a giveaway on Friday!
• And last but not least, Angela, who resides at Memoirs of a Chaotic Mommy, has figured out a way for all of you Lovely Bloggers out there to Yearbook Yourself, with five different and very "attractive" hairstyles. It's so funny--you should try it!

Well, that's all, folks! Hope to hear from you soon, and don't forget to enter The Great Pop'rs Giveaway!