Krystal~ A workin momma

I totally forgot my camera last night when i went to work so I just pulled some pics off the good ole Internet of my work.  Which really do this place no justice, especially now when its all decked out for Christmas.
The building I work in was built in 1908 by a fellah named BJ Wentker and is located in the heart of Burlington, WI. He had a business here called BJ Wentkers Triangle Buffet back in the 1900's.
The Bar is AMAZING! It was bought in Chicago at the World Trade Fair in 1896 and stored until built in here. The building is restored to its original beauty by a previous owner that my boss used to work for. The bar, floors, walls and tin ceiling are all original and the previous owner won awards because of his work. We even have a cigar lighter from the 1900's screwed into the bar. Great conversational piece! My current boss took over the place 12 years ago.
We have a full bar and 3 dining rooms. One in the bar area with high top tables and another 2 in the back with the lower dining tables. We have a total of 19 tables for serving and our most popular night is Friday, for our fish frys! We have everything from Steak to Lobster on the menu and prices range from $16-34 a plate. Fish frys are AYCE and are only $10/12 Cod or Perch.
I love the ambiance here. Many think its haunted and I would agree. I have had my fair share of sightings. I have a little different out look on "ghosts" or spirits, if you must. There is definitely some energy here and I get a glimpse of some of it late at night, when I am all alone closing this place. Sounds exciting aeh?
I have been bar tending since I was about 19. I can everything from a sidecar, or vesper martini to a twisted funky monkey and every martini in the books and TONS of old fashioned drinks. I make lots of Manhattans here. I am a professional at wine and craft beers as well.  Total wine and beer snob!
 BJ's is one of the higher scaled dining establishments  in the area (aside from the Grand where Korin is, that is where i used to work until they screwed me over! or any other place in Lake Geneva.)
I have been here since March 2011 and am not sure how much longer I will be staying. My boss has an alcohol issue and hides his drinking from us, but not very well might I add. He lost his wife, kid, home and I imagine eventually this business. He is a phenomenal chef however and pretty laid back kinda hippie dude.
I usually work Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. 4/5pm-11/2am depending on the business. Its been slow this week, which is not helping my Christmas shopping! We are hosting a free dinner this Sunday for the needy of the area. We all volunteer our time and serve people all day. We have 408 people signed up for this years dinner!!!! I am bringing Brinan and having her help out with dishes and bussing. It is a non-alcohol event (besides the employees really) so I will be serving all day as well.
Here are some pics of the place.  (I may have to take more tonight if i remember, the Christmas decorations are just stunning.)

The Building

A Cool Painting some one did of the place, We have this hanging in one of the dining rooms.

Here is the bar i get to work behind and clean everyday. That is Josh on the phone over there. lol!

We have some of the BEST tappers in the area which we change out with seasons. We have 12 taps going at all times and not one is a domestic crap beer!

This is one of the strangest table in the whole building, I always seat it last unless I have a rude mean crappy 2 top that deserves nothing better, muahahahaha! I have the POWER!

Well I am off to finish my laundry and cleaning so I can head here for the night!

Krystal~ My Humble Abode

Welcome to our humble abode. Nestled on a lovely culdesac in the centre of Rochester WI just steps from the Burlington bike trail you will find the Kayes. We scored this place in September of 2009 for only $950 a month. ( I so hate throwing that much away on rent!!!) We planned on buying but DH has found it difficult to keep a job. So here we have what we throw about 11grand a year away on! Hey....at least we have some cool neighbours!

Please excuse the laundry baskets and messy house....I am not lazy...just highly motivated to do nothing lately..or just do it so slow, it only looks as though nothing was done cause the mess just caught up to me.

 The Man cave part 1. I love having this added space. We even have a space heater for the long drawn out winter months. Most will gather here to smoke, so it stinks like donkey a$$.

 Where I make all the magic! ;) This kitchen is cool, we have a pass through breakfast bar into the living room. I love the open concept of this place! DH is there helpin DS brush his teeth.....that is right man...WORK! ha ha ha, just kiddin'.....kinda. : P

 My dining area.

 Our living room and DHs flat screen TV. If it wasnt for black Friday sales last year I would never have bought such nannypoo. But DH now can not live with out it!

 The other half of the living area. This is where I am sitting now! And spend many hours chatting it up on FB with all you lovely mommas!

 This is where I wish the magic happened! ;) J/K It sure does! We bought this bed set when we first moved in and broke it New Years Eve last year......cheap stuff I tell ya! You can see the frame cracked on the lower right of the pic. Don't shop at Colders, they have those "deals" that will lure you in, but really they just sell cheap stuff and mark it up so it LOOKS expensive then tell you that you get 1/2 off or the same amount back to buy other cheap crap! We totally fell for it and bought new bedroom sets AND a whole new living room when we moved here.

 DD's room. TOTAL pig stye! Just by looking at it you can smell the stench of teenage angst billowing out! PeeeeeeeeWeeeeee!

 Here is DS's Room. It is GINORMOUS!!! We have a full couch and over sized chair in here, a bed, a TV, a basketball hooop, train table and a rocking chair. This is where I lock all the children who dare enter my house.

 The other side of the ginormous play room/DS's room. Love the ledge, its where all the kids jump off of into piles of blankets on the floor. Hours and hours of fun! No broken bones as of yet.... FX!

 Here is DHs pride and joy. His Man cave pt 2. This is where he makes all the racket that leaves the neighbours banging on the walls and overdosing on ambien every night.

 And my drums just shoved into the corner...... we keep the music and fun all in the utility room! genius!

Here is our back yard off our deck. I wish I had stairs down from this deck. If a kid was to fall in the canal Id totally break my leg jumping off of this and could never save anyone. sigh....still trying to talk the land lords into letting us build one. Even that explanation didn't work! @_@ I love having the canal though. We have a canoe under this lovely deck that we spend many days in the summer drifting up and down this stinky green canal! Ahhhh the life!
We spent the last 2 years landscaping this back yard. It used to be so dense with weeds and crap you couldnt even see the canal. The garden in the center there used to be a glob of raspberry bushes with a pile of rocks in the middle. We cleared that out last year and added mulch. there is a Mulberry and Lilac bush in there too. WE also added 2 peonys and 2 ferns. It looks SO MUCH nicer in the spring and summer!
Well we are off to spend money we don't have on Christmas gifts in hopes I'll make at least a 1/4 of that back tonight in tips! Ill also be taking pics of work to share with you all tomorrow!! Chow for now~ <3

Krystal Kaye~ Little Bio

I totally forgot till today that its my go on the "Day In The Life" Blog! WOW time FLEW!
I will give you a little run down on my history and through out this week Ill also give you the grand tour of my humble abode and maybe even a video peek into my daily life later this week! YAY! Oh so exciting, I know! ;)

ME

Well, It started a long long time ago when two horny rabbit like hippies with 4 kids already popped a wee little one out in Jan 14th, 1983 at a whopping 5lbs 6ozs. Both my twin siblings weighed more than me at birth! I was and still am the runt of the litter of the 9 kids my parents raised. We grew up in a town called Waterford. We were infamous really. The trouble makers of the area and the slew of children, always in some kind of group with smoke billowing out of the centre of it. We grew up on a desolate peninsula off of the Fox River. It was a vacation type of area where 75% of the home owners were summer only residents and resided in Illinois. We had quite a hay day rummaging the homes during the winter months. :blush:

I still live in the same little ole town, well one over. An extension of the one I grew up in really. I now live in Rochester WI. A mere 5 miles from where I grew up and only a block from the home my husband grew up in.

My husband and I met in 1997 and have been together since. We did split however for a few years after HS while he experimented with drugs and I experimented with ...well, other men......
Here is a great vintage shot of my husband and I the summer of 99 with our 5 month old daughter Briana.

   Family in 1999

We got back together and had our little Eli in 2007 and decided to marry just a few weeks before we were due. Here is a couple shots of what looks like a whale and crack head getting married. ( I was severely preggo and DH was in the height of his graves disease and I WEIGHED MORE THEN HIM!)



We have came a long way since then..... Here is us now!

I met you lovely ladies not long after Eli was born when we conceived Stella, the first conceived with in our marriage. I spent that whole year and pregnancy getting to know you all and made some concrete strong friends.
Here is the last belly pic of my pregnancy with Stella and her, my darling little angel.

I now work at a fine dining establishment in Burlington, WI. Just a town over (our address is under Burlington because our town is that small we don't have a mail delivery out of our P.O.)

I will fill you in tomorrow on the work stuff. I have off tonight!!! WooT WooT!

I am planning on spending the evening helping my neighbor make cupcakes for her darling little boys 3rd B-day!

And for the last pic a wonderful shot of my family!