Creativity

While I'm away at camp getting my creative juices flowing, I thought I'd share one of Carter's creative endeavours from this week. They did quite the artsy self-portrait!


Very creative! Good thing to know Carter inherited something from me besides my sarcasm and love for ice cream! Though, there's nothing wrong with either of those, is there?

Happy Camper

Well my bags are packed, I'm ready to go. Am I forgetting anything?

Scrapbooks? Check.
Photos? Check.
Paper? Check.
Sleeping Bag? Check.
Slippers? Check.
Diet Dew? Check.
Chocolate? Check.
Red Licorice? Check.

That's about all a girl needs to survive a scrapbooking weekend!

I'm looking forward to attending my 8th Camp Crop-A-Lot, held at the Wisconsin Lions Camp near Rosholt. The only part of this that really feels like "camp" is that it is held at one -- plus we eat all kinds of fun junk food like a person normally would camping.

My twin sister is on her way. So she'll meet me there in the early afternoon. It'll be nice spending some one-on-one time with her -- among 50 other women -- while we scrap our favorite family memories.

My goal is to finish my 2008 album (with such memorable highlights as snuggling with Erik Estrada) and get a good start on 2009. We'll see how it goes. They extended camp an extra day this year so I will not be dragging my tired keester home until Monday. Whoo-hoo!

I'll likely be away from any type of computer, so I probably won't blog. It's not because what happens at camp, stays at camp. It's really not that wild!

I do wonder how the "boys weekend" will be at home. Sounds like there's a fish fry with Jim and all 3 boys tonight then a birthday party for Colin sometime this weekend, too. They won't even have a chance to miss me! And I will be looking at pictures of all of them all weekend so it'll feel like they are right there with me.

Next to my large Diet Dew and my bag of red licorice!

Medal-some

I've been too busy with other stuff this week to dedicate much couch time for Vancouver. But I catch up on all the news about it -- especially the juicy controversies.

I'm trying to decide which is worse -- not getting the gold because the officials made a bad call or not getting it because your coach did. Ouch! How terrible to think you've won it all, only to have it stripped away. I can't even imagine that roller coaster.

I was hoping that the women's hockey team (with a "girl" from Siren, near my childhood stomping grounds) would take the gold. At least they fought for it. I was quite upset our new cable provider did not have the station carrying these last, very important women's hockey games. Probably not as disappointed as the team, coming home with a silver instead of a gold.

But I say, any athlete should be proud to medal. This means they are among the top 3 in the world. Based on their skill -- not their popularity or some sweet deal brokered by a greedy agent. Just hard work and dedication paying off. I think that's what I love about the Olympics.

I couldn't believe the Canadian figure skater who performed the other night just 2 days after her mother died unexpectedly. I couldn't believe it -- at first. But then when they talked about the Olympics as a dream they shared, I could see why she wanted to skate. For her mom, for her country and for herself. That takes heart.

Since I have tomorrow off and get to sleep in (right), I got to stay up tonight and watch the finals for the women's free skate. Oh how wish I looked that graceful just once in my life! Forget about a vertical leap of any kind. I am way too old for that. But I'm pretty sure I can handle a spin on the ice. Most likely followed by a face plant or pain in my butt.

Yup. It's a good thing they don't give medals for everything. I'd probably have it stripped away anyway for an illegal expletive dropped after my backside landing. Those darn judges!

Nice Recovery

I managed to make a nice recovery and improve my sports picks today. I even got a winning streak of 3 going! So, thankfully, hubby still loves me. That and I picked him up at the airport.

We both had concerns this morning about his travel. On his end it was cold and rainy and Chicago (his connection) had sort of sleety rain. On my end, we had snow and I passed an accident 5 minutes from home where 2 cars were in opposite ditches and 3 squad cars were on the scene. Not sure what happened there but it convinced me to take my sweet time getting to work.

Thankfully, by this afternoon the skies had cleared -- and so had the roads -- so Jim had a nice flight up from New Orleans. And I had no trouble getting to Mosinee.

As much as we missed him, Carter had to get to reading a book for school tonight and I had to pack up more scrap stuff, so Jim was on his own. Carter has a long way to go yet but I have everything I need packed. Now, tomorrow night I'll have to throw in the "extras" I might need. I'll worry about the clothes and sleeping bag type stuff on Friday morning. Gotta stretch this out, ya know. It's a process. Plus it helps build the excitement for my 8th year going!

OK, back to Jim. I'm excited he's home, too. Just a different kind of excitement that doesn't involve pictures, pages and tape runners.

Of course, I've lost control of the remote now...

Not Missing Much

It's funny how our "highlights of the day" sound when hubby and I are apart and talking on the phone.

What's new? Not much, really. Honest, you are not missing much.

In his absence, I was tasked with one thing. I had to keep making his "picks" in that ESPN Streak for Cash competition. I was doing this last year at this time. Participants log onto the Web site and pick a winner, say in hockey. When that game is done, they have a streak of 1 loss or 1 win. Then they can pick again. Let's say soccer is going on. The pick might not be just who wins but will there be 2 goals or less scored or 3 or more. All sorts of different scenarios. All day long. Every day.

It got too addicting and time consuming for me so I gave it up. Hubby's got an active wager going, though, for the month of February. All I had to do was get enough wins so he can maintain his lead over his friend. Well, unfortunately, the margin is shrinking. I have been right on about every other pick until today. Now I'm at a losing streak of 2 and really don't think I know enough about college hoops to pull off a win.

Oh well, he'll still come home to me. He has to. I'm the one driving from the airport!

In other "news," I'm still getting things ready for camp. The cat hasn't dared set foot in our bed without "Daddy" home. The computer is acting up. And our nephew Colin, the race car driver, got his driver's license! Now he can make right-hand turns, too! (That's a racing joke.)

That's about it. I was going to watch some Olympics. Saw the poor U.S. figure skater get a bloody nose, and now I'm not in the mood. Probably just read in bed and nod off.

I don't know why anyone would want to spend a few days in the Bayou with all this excitement going on here, do you?

Blessings in Disguise

With hubby gone, I had no one to gently nudge me out of bed this morning. So I just kept hitting that snooze and, when I did wake up for real, I promptly let out quite the energetic expletive, jumped out of bed and hit the shower, thinking "Great. This is going to be one of those days."

But then, as usual, God put some people, places and things in my path and I realize I am having a wonderful day. A fabulous day. An "I wouldn't want to be in anyone else's shoes" kind of day. Why?

Here are some sure "Signs I am Blessed" (subtitle: Reasons I have no right to complain today):

• My nephew Tony, who is serving in Iraq, had to deal with their first dust storm of the "season" yesterday. He said visibility was something like 30 feet. I will not complain about my commute with "flurries" today. ( I am thankful, too, for my safety as an American -- thanks to men and women like Tony!)
  
• Carter has been dumped by yet another fickle 6th-grade girl. They were together just long enough to celebrate Valentine's Day. Now, just like the last one, she didn't tell Carter directly but had a friend do it. "I wish they would just tell 'Hey, I don't like you anymore' instead of playing Telephone." Someday, Carter, you'll be blessed with a soul mate for life. I'm so grateful I am!
• One of my sisters is dealing with some health concerns. Apparently, we hit a certain age and our bodies start to go to Hell, much like the elastic in our underwear. I pray that she finds the answers she needs. And, despite my routine griping about exercise and trying to get those darn 10,000 steps per day, I am so blessed that (for today at least) I can!
• There is visitation tonight and a funeral tomorrow for the 43-year-old father of one of Carter's classmates. He had leukemia. Carter and I had a good talk about this and how fortunate he is that he still has healthy parents and relatively healthy grandparents. Carter said he could not imagine life without Dad and listed several reasons why, including, "he buys me treats and introduces me to all these people he knows!" Then said, "Mom, I just don't know what you'd do without him." I don't either.

Yup. I am so very, very blessed.

The Big Easy

My husband left me today. I've been assured it's only temporary -- as long as I remember to pick him up at the airport Wednesday night.

He's heading to New Orleans for work. Ahh, New Orleans. The Big Easy. I wonder why they call it that. Is it because of their easy living, their laid-back lifestyle? It could be because it's really easy there to crush the Vikings' hopes and dreams.

I know it's not called that because it's easy to get to. I dropped hubby off at the airport at 3:30 and by the time I got home, there was a message that his flight had been delayed and, as a result, he'll miss his connection in Chicago. So he could be spending the overnight on a hard bench at O'Hare. Not so easy on the back or neck, that's for sure.

This week works out sort of interesting for Carter and his "single" parents. He'll have Mom from Sunday to Wednesday, both of us Thursday, then just Dad from Friday to Monday while I'm at camp.

We were joking yesterday about who's going to spoil Carter more. I got a head start on the way home from the airport. I had to stop in at Michael's just in case they had a few things I needed. Carter stayed in the car and kept reading his book he has to test on tomorrow. He had been dropping hints about getting ribs tonight. So, of course, I said it was OK since he did well in school last week and behaved this weekend and gave me the "you can't resist your adorable son" look. Actually, I think he may have even said that out loud. There's no shame when he begs. (At least I said no to dessert. Yep, I'm one tough momma.)

I'm starting to think New Orleans shouldn't have the market on the Big Easy moniker. I'd say Carter could definitely win rights to it for describing his ability to get us to spoil him. Divide and conquer. Perhaps, it's just Too Easy.

The Weak End

My body is so tense from trying to make our speed skaters go faster that I need to take a break and blog. I feel exhausted!

Today is Saturday. It's supposed to be the day I sleep in after finally catching up on sleep. But I had to go and have my usual batch of psychotic dreams again (one being captured by vampires, the other being forced to fly into space), so I did not sleep well.

I always feel guilty about sleeping in, anyway. Saturday morning is my time to dust, vacuum, sweep and clean off the kitchen counter -- which gets lost every single week without fail under little piles of mail and other important papers.

Today I was on a roll so I had hubby go sign Carter up for soccer. So now he is signed up for his spring sport and his summer sport, which end up overlapping in May but only for practices. Sorry, no candy bars to sell for soccer. But I do have 5 of his baseball ones left. I had 6 but Carter wanted to buy one. (Oh yes, I am shameless about sales!)

This afternoon Carter had a friend over. I took them to open gym at the YMCA. Right before we were going to leave, 2 other boys their age showed up and wanted to play 2-on-2. They didn't know them so didn't know if they were great basketball players or not. They were just cocky enough to say sure, let's play. Somehow Carter and his friend smoked 'em. I mean really. They beat them 18-0. I just shook my head and wondered where this talent was during the regular basketball season! Oh well, at least we know it's lurking beneath the surface, right?

After we got home, I made my way over to Wal-Mart to get groceries for supper. I was wearing one of my Vikings jackets and this woman approaches me and asks me what I thought of the season. I'm so used to going on the defense from people who want to kick me and my purple pride when I'm down. But then she said she's a fan, too. So we had a nice conversation about what it's like to be losers once again and how next year, we'll still cheer them on. Who knew I could even get cheap therapy at Wal-Mart? Wow, they have everything!

After supper, I headed to my Scrap Cave to get more organized for camp, which is now less than a week away. I have much to do tomorrow, too, after Carter's sleepover friend leaves. I was just too tired to keep working on it.

Plus, I have to use what energy I have left to cheer on my man. Short track finals are coming up. Gotta go!

Chasing Our Tails

When I was Carter's age, we used to have a little dog named Pixie. I couldn't even tell you what kind she was. She reminded me of a wiener dog in a way, but her body and her nose weren't as long. Just a cute little house dog, mostly white with some large brown and black spots.

There are 2 things I remember distinctly about Pixie:

One, she loved popcorn and the challenge of catching pieces in the air. And she liked ice cream, too, now that I think about it, occasionally going on road trips to the drive-in with us.

Two, she was always trying to catch her tail. This provided endless entertainment. Sometimes you'd swear she was circling at 50 mph. It was crazy!

This week I was feeling a little bit like Pixie (and not just the ice cream part). I had a project at work that felt like I was chasing my tail. Just going around and round in a circle, sometimes even getting dizzy with the confusion of things.

The thing about chasing our tails is this: we don't really go anywhere do we? And, how do we stop it, anyway? I know for Pixie, she'd do one of two things. Either she'd tire out and give up. Or, even worse, she'd catch it. Ouch!

I came to the point by this afternoon that I had tired out. I'm not giving up, but hoping Monday brings a new way of finding answers. Something not as dizzying as the chase. And not as painful as bite in my backside.

'Til then, I'll do what Pixie would do. Possibly enjoy some popcorn or ice cream. Definitely find a comfy spot on the couch. Maybe even find someone to scratch my back (or at least massage it).

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good

• I sold more than 30 of my (I mean Carter's) 50 candy bars today. And I did not eat any of my profits!
• Our taxes are all done and, thanks to some "green" credits for the new windows, money should be traveling through cyberspace to our savings account as we speak. (By the way, if you need a good tax guy, we got one. Let us know.)

The Bad

• This lingering head cold business is making for some sleepless, cough-filled nights. This morning the cat was sneezing on me, too. Now Carter is the only one left to get it, I guess.
• I don't know if this is bad, good or sinful. I decided to give up "trying to be Catholic for Lent" for Lent. In other words, I'm 180% Lute-ran and did not grow up with this tradition of sacrifice during Lent. Not that I remember anyway. So this year for Lent, yes, I will still eat my ice cream but.... I also will do my best to take care of this body God gave me. And that will include making every effort to at least get those daily 10,000 steps on my pedometer.
  

The Ugly

• Since my mind has been so focused on the Olympics, when I packed my gym bag last night, I forgot socks. Didn't realize 'til I was getting dressed at the fitness center. Grr. So I wore my fushia dress socks, then, after my run, dried them with the wall-mounted hair dryer, coated my feet with tons of powder, then wore them for the rest of the day. No one complained about smelly feet. (At least within earshot.)
• Ugly could describe some of these sequined outfits the male skaters have been wearing. From feathers to bib overalls to argyle and, let's not forget the lucky sequined snake, it's been a fashion awakening. Ugly more aptly describes how I will be tomorrow (along with tired and cranky) after staying up late for the men's final. But the beauty is that there was some real talent to watch. And in the end, it was so worth it!!

Timing is Everything

If you are an Olymp-addict like me, you know how critical timing is. It doesn't matter if it's a qualification race for time, a battle with others on skates, skies or snowboards, or the bodily timing needed to land the perfect triple toe loop.

Timing is everything.

When it's good, it can mean a world record, a gold medal or an Olympic dream realized. When it's bad it means 4 more years until redemption... or $50 worth of candy bars.

Say what?

We signed Carter up for baseball tonight. Part of our parental penance is the cardboard briefcase we are sent home with -- containing 50 candy bars to be sold to friends, family and desperate choco-holics. If we sell all 50, we get our money back. (The youth sports association comes out ahead no matter what.) If we don't sell them out, we lose money -- but certainly not weight if we eat into profits.

Now I can be persuasive when I need to be. But it never fails, sign-up and selling season always falls during Lent. Do you know how many people pledge to give up chocolate for Lent? A lot. My goal, God forgive me, is to catch these people at a weak moment, or thinking positively, convince them to purchase now, reward themselves later -- say in 40 days.

Of course, if you gave something else up and have a bill burning a hole in your pocket, we're open for business 24/7. (Local deliveries only, please.) Last year, I guilted, I mean sold out, in less than 3 days. So don't delay.

Timing is everything, after all.

Fast Tuesday

The day went so quickly I feel like I need to type fast and keep it short, quick, to the point.

Felt better. Went to work. Everyone was blessed because I only had half a voice most of the day. Lucky them.

Had our weekly weigh-in to prove we are "engaging" in healthy activities. My weight went up and that's when I remembered today is Fat Tuesday. What? No one brought fat treats? What the heck? Does no one celebrate anything any more?

Although I was congested, I felt guilted into working out over my lunch hour. I survived OK except when my faucet turned on and I had to use my shirt as a Kleenex. (Hey, no one forces you to read this stuff.)

After work, we went to Assumption for the boys' last home game. The poor JV team got smoked but it was fun watching Colin for one more game. The varsity boys kept it close until halftime. They were down by 3 against the undefeated Marathon Red Raiders. But the second half... yikes. AHS only scored 9 points and lost by 19. I wonder if Marathon will meet my red-hot Luck Cardinals down the road... Hmm.

Home after 9 so it's time for bed. I noticed the Olympic men in sparkly spandex are skating tonight so I may have to stay up late.... Plus I haven't had anything really FAT yet. I'm guessing I have Peppermint Stick ice cream left.

Nope, I'm not giving that up for Lent!

Thank you, Mr. President

A few years ago, my employer decided to add Presidents' Day to our list of annual holidays (read: paid day off). Mostly, I think it's not needed, coming so soon after the "Christmas break." But this year, I was glad for it -- for several reasons.

One, it snowed all day. Lightly, but still enough to accumulate a bit. But I didn't mind, hubby handled the shoveling and we didn't have to drive 45 miles in any direction. Days off in the winter are under-rated!

Two, I didn't have to use a sick day. I am entering Hour 23 of what I hope is just a 24-Hour Bug. If I go by hubby's recovery time, I should be well enough to go to work tomorrow -- but won't see a full return of energy until Wednesday. I hated to waste a day off, but there's not much you can do about it when you have no energy, your body aches and your head is stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey. I guess I was lucky to have that "extra " day with nothing planned.

Three, it gave Carter an opportunity to check out his new school. The public schools were off for Presidents' Day, so Carter "shadowed" a student at Assumption for the day. Sort of a sneak peek into school life next year. As a bonus, he basically got to meet all of his new classmates. In a word, it was "Awesome!" He's feeling more confident about the change, and so are Mommy and Daddy.

Fourth and final, the Olympics are on all day -- even when normal people are working! Did you know that? For the 2 hours I was not in bed today, I watched some cross-country skiing and some snowboard cross. Not enough to hold my interest when a nap was beckoning. Tonight, though, I hope I can sit up long enough to see plenty of skating.

Daddy and Carter are at a basketball game so, technically, the remote is mine for the night. I have a feeling, though, I'll be in bed early and that rare opportunity will be wasted, too.

Oh well. Thanks for trying, Mr. President.

True Love

Hey, Valentines: I hope you were able to spend the day (or at least connect) with loved ones. I feel blessed that I was able to!

But oh how quickly the day of "having no plans" flew by. Got to sleep in a bit. Carter and I went to late church because the Sunday School kids sang in the second service. That was nice.

We also learned a little bit about St. Valentine, whom most of us forget about on this special day of love. We are more inclined to think Cupid is St. Valentine instead of a man who loved God so much, he was more willing to die for Him than deny it. Now that is true love at its finest.

After lunch, I got to open Valentines with my true loves. Now, we don't normally consider this a gift exchange day. However, right after Christmas, hubby and I found out about a Web site where you can order just about any type of pro sports jersey for 20 bucks. We've had them hidden for awhile and figured we'd give them at Valentine's.

Unfortunately, hubby's Pete Rose jersey is on back order so I had to get him something else. I got to open my Joe Mauer jersey. Yes, I got flowers, too, so I am spoiled. But Carter wins the gold in that category. He got a KG Celtics jersey, a very cool black Adrian Peterson jersey (mine is on back order) and a PS2 game he wanted -- that I found cheap online (also right after Christmas).

So it was like Christmas all over again. Good thing I didn't have to be good to get it. Just had to share the love!

This afternoon, we let Daddy continue to mend from his cold and Carter and I went to open gym at the YMCA. We shot hoops awhile and then I wisely quit. Sadly, this old lady's back can only handle so much. I did get some more exercise, though, dribbling the ball around the court. I'd switch hands to work out both arms and, you just know I'm going to be regretting this tomorrow. Who cares, right? It's the first Sunday I've logged 10,000 steps!

When we got home, I attempted to make my mom's Tater Tot Casserole for the first time. Someone at work had something like that recently so I thought I should give it a try. I got the ingredients and gave it a whirl. You know me and cooking. We go together like rain and the winter Olympics. Not a good combo. But because my guys love me. They ate it and said "thanks for a good supper." Now that's true love!

As soon as supper was done, I started getting the symptoms of Jim's lovely cold. Nothing says love like giving germs! It hit so suddenly. I just hope it exits as quickly!

At least I had an excuse to sit on the couch and catch some of the winter games. I was actually excited for the Canadian to win a gold in the men's moguls. Crazy that they haven't won a gold as the host country. Good for them! Of course, I also got sucked into figure skating. (Who doesn't love a Russian skater named Smirnov? Yikes.)

Now, I need to grab a box of Kleenex and get some rest. It's a good thing we have tomorrow off. While I truly love my job, I truly love sleeping in even more! While that's not the kind of love that gives you flowers. It's right up there.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Oh, Canada!

We had a deceptively sunny day here in central Wisconsin. The kind that looks like it'll be a melter -- where the temps are warm, the snow melts, the roads clear. It looked like it.

Even Daddy opened the window for kitty to sunbathe a bit. In reality, though, it wasn't that warm. We still have plenty of snow. I was thinking we could be nice and send it to Vancouver to replace the rain -- and get things back on schedule. But why be selfish? I have friends in Texas, Georgia and out East who should have first dibs on getting rid of some of their "extra" white stuff!

Although I had quite the lazy day, I did not spend it all watching the Olympics. I'm sure that will happen, though, when the figure skating comes on. Yup, I'm all girl.

I caught some of the speedskating and short-track action tonight -- and will watch some more in a few minutes. Let me just say one thing. I'm not crushing on Apolo Anton Ohno like a lot of women are, but now I know why I like watching him. Tonight, seeing him come from the back of the pack and pass everyone to win a heat race. It sounds just like our nephew Colin, doesn't it? I guess I like all kinds of racing! It's thrilling to watch.

Speaking of racing... This is Daytona weekend to start another NASCAR season. I did not catch but 5 minutes of the race today so I missed Danica Patrick, since she (and a whole bunch of drivers) crashed out. I did see my man Tony Stewart win, though. Well not my man. I do like other drivers, too, and Danica, of course. Girl power!

So while we were avoiding Daddy's germs and not watching TV, Carter and I returned to the Scrap Cave. He worked on a 3-D project for school and I started getting stuff organized for Camp. I've got 2 weeks to get it together and I am more than halfway there, so that will not be a stressor. Plus, we have no concrete plans tomorrow and we have Monday off for Presidents' Day. This could be a productive weekend.

But I find that unlikely. Gotta go watch another race!

Oh, Canada...

Let the Germs, er Games, Begin...

Today offered quite a mixed bag of emotions, feelings and... chocolate.

The only thing constant was hubby's nose. It just ran and ran and ran... Not good. My poor Valentine. He went through one box of Kleenex at work. Then we stopped on the way home for more -- plus some drugs we hope will help. The only positive is that, so far, he doesn't have a cough or sore throat with this. Just the unfortunate faucet.

Carter probably had the best day. He loved the field trip movie, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and he assured me he did not sit by any girl. He did, however, get a whole bag --yes, a whole gift bag (not huge, more like a hardcover book size) -- of treats from his Valentine.

We also learned that this girl is not in his classroom. There are 3 sixth-grade classes at Grant Elementary so, at one time or another, he's been in the same class as everyone. But I suppose it's easier on the teasing scale if she's not in the same room. Who knows? Let's not knock happiness (or the gift of chocolate).

We had hoped the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics would be a happy and exciting event to watch as a family this evening. However, the death on the luge run added some unwelcome shock and sadness. How tragic. And really, I did not need to see the replay. I covered my eyes, but not in time. Awful, awful, awful.

The entertainment and special effects of the Ceremony itself were pretty cool to see though. It's always a fun way to learn about a country's heritage and culture. I was just glad I knew a few of their homeland's "famous" people. Ha.

Now that the torch is lit, the humidifier is on and the mattress pad is heating, I say: Let the games begin!

Puppy Love

Part of the fun of grade school was celebrating the holidays (back when we were allowed to) in our classrooms. For Valentine's Day, that meant creating a special card box to serve as your receptacle for sweet wishes.

Since Valentine's Day is still politically correct -- in our school district anyway -- Carter has been able to enjoy this tradition since kindergarten. The basic rule, though, is that you give a Valentine to everyone in your classroom, not just the ones your sweet on. I think that's a good, fair rule. No one gets left out.

I was trying to plan ahead this year so last weekend I bought a bag of assorted Valentine-size candy bars for his classmates. Then I find out 2 days ago that his class isn't having a party. Instead they are going to a movie as a field trip. If they want, they can bring treats in during the week and distribute them. Carter didn't really want to do that (in case he was the only boy to do that) so I took the chocolate to work, where it is getting devoured by people in love -- with chocolate anyway.

I thought that was the end of that. Tonight, though, after we picked Carter up he asks if I have any Valentine stuff at home. I told him I got rid of it all already. Why?

Well, it was like pulling teeth to get a few facts out of him. But we concluded he wanted to get a special valentine for a certain girl we hadn't heard of previously. So we stopped at Wal-Mart. I grabbed a jug of milk for us and Carter picked out a small heart-shaped box of chocolate that said "Puppy Love" on it. Yikes.

When he was done with his homework, he asked me to get one of his school pictures to give to this new gal pal. Then, he wanted to make a card. Of course, I have supplies and Valentine ones at that. "To the Scrap Cave!"

So he made a nice card with some stickers and his picture on it. I don't know what he wrote. And I don't think I want to know. I just hope he doesn't plan on holding hands with her in a dark movie theater tomorrow!

By the way, we're never too old for puppy love, are we? I got some beautiful red and blue tulips delivered to me from my Valentine today. Who knew Valentine's Day was now expanded to a whole weekend -- and one that starts on Thursday even? Gotta love that ... and that hubby of mine.

Getting to Know You

Once in awhile I get an email from someone labeled something like "Getting to Know You." It goes on to list 10 to 50 questions so your "friends" know all the silly details of your life from your favorite song, snack and movie to your dream vacation destination.

Makes me wonder if I shouldn't fill out something like that on this blog somewhere. But I have a feeling you already know I love ice cream -- but not nearly as much as the 2 guys I'm living with. That's about all you need to know...

If I had given it more thought 3 years ago when I started this blog, I might have called it Tongue in Cheek instead of the On the Light Side. Then, at least, readers would be a little bit more prepared for my sarcastic nature.

It's just part of who I am. While I focused much of my childhood trying to capture attention by being funny and sassy. I certainly spent a good portion of my teen years getting scolded for it. Well, mainly the sassy part.

Some things we never outgrow.

I just want to set the record straight that even though I say things that lead you to believe I think I am perfect, I am anything but. I have many flaws -- which I do try to make light of here. And I certainly don't think I am better than everyone else -- only a few people. (Hint: That was sarcasm. Maybe.)

While I can't turn the sarcasm switch off completely (mainly due to a lack of trying), there are a few things I am sincere about. Always.

• I love my family more than anything -- from my immediate clan of hubby and brown-eyed boys to my birth family and in-laws.
• I have a strong faith in God and believe, beyond a doubt, this spirituality saved my life.
• I have been to Hell and back due to circumstances both beyond my control and in my control. As a result, I want to help people who have suffered or struggled as I did or are facing something completely different. If I can give someone a ray of hope with some encouraging words or lift someone's spirit by sharing a "light" moment in my life, then I am making progress.

I may say, tongue in cheek, than I am perfect. But I am merely striving for progress, not perfection. And, thanks to the support of family and friends, I am getting there... one step at a time, one day at a time.

Thanks for taking time each day to get to know me and share this journey with me.

Slushies

Sometimes in the winter, it feels like we're living inside an Earth-sized snowglobe. That's when it's pretty and I'm not going anywhere. I don't mind those days.

Today, it was more like maneuvering inside one of those giant Slush Puppy machines we see at convenience stores and baseball concession stands. It was slippery, slushy and ugly. I don't like those days.

Thankfully, hubby was working today so I didn't have to drive. I just gripped the door handle and quietly engaged in my Lamaze breathing when we'd hit the slick spots. Uff da.

I did drive today when I went to workout over lunch hour. By the time I'd brushed off the snow and scraped the ice off the windshield, I was well on my way to burning calories. Now that's multi-tasking! It certainly helped my pedometer anyway. I had 10,000 steps before I headed for home today. (Notice I didn't brag about having only 2,000 steps on Sunday and Monday.)

When we got home, Jim had a great idea for supper. I set the table and he went into town to get Pizza Hut pasta. Never had it before, but I give it two thumbs up. I also got out of making dinner for the third night in a row. I give that two thumbs up, too!

Now we're all too full to move. Carter is going to attempt some shoveling, though. Daddy is going to attempt to work the remote. And I am heading down to the Scrap Cave. The countdown to camp has officially begun its final stages (17 days) and I have much to do to get ready. As a bonus, I can't see outside from the Cave so I don't see the heavy, wet snow falling. I can just crank a heater and put on some tunes and escape...

And, I suspect, tomorrow will be another rude awakening as we head back into the Slushie machine!

If...

"IF"... Such a teeny-tiny word, but it speaks volumes...

Carter still can't get over the Saints' Super Bowl win. There it is, staring us in the face. The underdog won. "If the Vikings had beat the Saints, we could have beat the Colts," he says. I agree. Indianapolis was favored. But proved to be stoppable. If only Favre hadn't thrown that interception! If...

I tell Carter we just have to get over that last game! But that's the pot calling the kettle black. If I can still get revved up over the stupid Gary Anderson field goal, then I am so not worthy of preaching about moving on. But I keep thinking: If only he would have made it! If...

We all have moments we regret. Some are of a much larger magnitude than cheering for a sports team. They can be life changing. If only I had taken that other job... If only I hadn't married that man... If only I hadn't taken one more drink... If only I hadn't hit my wife... If only I had listened to my mother... If...

Some are much smaller in importance. Like today, if only I would have taken the day off like hubby did, then I wouldn't have had the slippery, slushy drive in. If only I'd remembered to grab the right set of keys, I wouldn't have had to wait outside for someone to let me in at work once I finally got there. If...

On the contrary, if I hadn't brought leftover treats in today, our department wouldn't have been so happy (read: sugar high). If I would have stayed home like I felt like, hubby wouldn't have made us such a yummy supper. If I wasn't the least bit organized, I wouldn't have been able to whip our tax stuff together in such a short amount of time tonight. If Carter hadn't shown such an interest in band, this blog (my typing part anyway) would not be accompanied by trumpet music. If...

Obviously, there is so much out there that is beyond our control. But there are some parts, we can sort of control. Every day, we make hundreds of decisions that chart the course of our attitude, our day and, sometimes, our lives. Do we have to live with those decisions? Yes. Can we change them? Definitely.

If you're not happy where you are or where you're going, see if there is another alternative... See if maybe, just maybe, it's not too late to change direction.

Allow yourself to think: What if...

Super Sunday

Woke up this morning and it definitely did not feel like Super Sunday. I was feeling anything but super. (I swear it wasn't the Vikings Are Done blues either.) Then after a rare 2-hour nap, I felt a little bit better but still several notches under Super. Did that stop me from our Super Sunday festivities? Heck no!

Even without a favorite team in Miami this weekend, there are still a bunch of reasons to watch the game...

One is numbers. Between Jim, Carter and me, we were on at least a half-dozen pools. So you'd think that no matter what the scores were in any quarter, we'd have a darn good chance of winning something. It's not as easy as it sounds. Ah well, I guess I can't afford to sleep in on Monday! I did end up winning our fantasy football playoff challenge. With the 2-week break since playoffs, I had all but forgotten about it. Thank you, Saints defense for an interception return for a touchdown. I will now collect $10 from my 3 "opponents"!

Two is commercials. The Super Bowl has a long-standing history of airing the most memorable commercials from the ones that generate a lump in your throat to the laugh-out-loud funny. I did laugh out loud a few times. Not many. And after several of them, I said, "Huh? I don't get it." I must be getting old (just like the aging but stellar halftime shows the last several years.) My favorites this year were the talking babies of e-Trade, the Betty White commercial and of course, good OLD Brett Favre still weighing retirement in 2020!

Three is football, of course. You'd think I hate the Saints for sweeping our purple and yellow dreams right out from under us. But I don't. I didn't exactly cheer against them. I just happen to be a Manning fan. But really, I just wanted it to be a close, interesting game. It did not disappoint!

Four if food. I brought a couple kinds of bars to a Super Bowl party Jim has been going to for most of its 25-year tenure. I think I counted 7 crock pots there! Always good stuff we don't need. Unfortunately, with my feelings of health and wellness in limbo today, I bypassed most of it. But got enough to keep my tank full!

Fifth and final is friends. Most of the friends at the party were ones we hadn't seen since summer racing. We had a plan, though, that my friend Christine and I would ditch our hubbies before kickoff, then head back to her place so we'd each have a cushy seat, our own blankies and high-def TV to boot. Carter joined us there, too. I don't mind a nice, quiet party. Even if it keeps us up past bedtime!

Which reminds me. Bedtime sounds pretty Super to me right now!

Pride and Joy

My husband is sooooo lucky. Not only does he have a trophy wife, he's got a trophy son now, too! (Stop laughing. Part of that sentence is true, honest!)

Today Carter participated in a Knights of Columbus math, spelling and free-throw competition for Wisconsin Rapids students. It was something he thought a few weeks ago that maybe he'd do and then decided last night before he went to bed that, yes, he'd do it.

I think he was a little nervous. He actually woke up at 5:15 this morning and then, so he wouldn't wake us up, he finished reading a book he has to test on on Monday. I know. Some days I wonder, too. Whose kid is this?!

Both the math and spelling competitions ended up being written tests. So there was no spelling bee, per se, just 50 groups of words where Carter had to identify which word (if any) was misspelled, then spell it correctly.

When they announced the winners, they started with math. "In second place for 6th-graders is Austin Carter!" OK, we knew who he meant! Carter got a medallion for that (pictured above).

When they announced spelling and someone else got second, I figured Carter was out of it. Math, after all, is his best subject. He says anyway. But then they said, "And first place in spelling goes to Austin Carter!" Whoo-hoo. Then one of the Knights (who knows Jim, 'cause everyone does) said to the announcer, "That should be Carter Austin. Austin is his last name." No biggie. Not like they were engraving the trophy or anything! We did find out that by placing first, he'll have to compete at the district level in March. Thankfully, that's being held in Plover, a town only 15 minutes or so away.


The free-throw competition was happening after lunch so we took a lunch break at Taco John's and headed back to the school. Unlike the first two parts, we actually got to watch the hoops action. Each contestant had to shoot 15 free throws -- 3 rounds of 5 attempts. When Carter started out 4 out of 5, we thought, are you kidding me? Is he going to win this, too???

Silly parents. You gotta wait until it all plays out. He got cocky in the second round and then choked in the third. But managed somehow to finish second among 11-year-old boys. So he got another medallion for that, too.

It was quite a day for our pride and joy! We hadn't even gotten out of the parking lot yet and Daddy says, "Now Momma's got something to blog about Carter!" Seriously, it's not all about the blog. Well, sort of. This is how I can send a message to my whole family without having Carter make 10 separate phone calls.

He did call all the grandparents, though. He says to my mom, who always excelled in language arts, "Well, my mom thought you'd be especially proud of me, Grandma, since you like spelling so much!" Of course, she was proud. They all were.

We are, too. Nice work, son!

Substitutions

I figure if sugar has a substitute in the form of Splenda, whipping cream has a non-dairy substitute in Cool Whip, and butter has a very non-dairy substitute in margarine, then perhaps Calgon has a substitute, too.

I found out today it does!

If you don't have enough Calgon on hand to take you far enough away, here are some things that work just as well:

• Getting re-aligned at the back-cracker first in the morning.
• Making it to work safely on the slippery-est day of the year.
• Developing plans to see your college roommate for the first time in 20 years.
• Reaching the half-way mark on an enormous project at work.
• Finding time to Shred during your lunch hour.
• Enjoying a Friday night fish fry with your son's favorite babysitting couple.
• Spending time with the in-laws (from sister to parents and uncle) at a basketball game.
• Hot tubbing with your baby boy on a mild winter's eve.

Ahhhh, something akin to Calgon did take me away... at last!

Calgon, Take Me...

Jumping the shark: A phrase used to denote the point in a television program's history where the plot spins off into absurd story lines or unlikely characterizations. These changes were often the result of efforts to revive interest in a show whose viewership has begun to decline, usually through the employment of different actors, writers or producers.

Some days there's just not enough Calgon to take me away far enough...

Hubby and I started off our day with a challenge. That's what I'll call it. Though I'd rather say we were embroiled in another dramatic episode of our least favorite "reality show" we like to call The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Longtime readers of my blog know what I'm talking about. We have an ongoing parental challenge with a certain teenager who lives outside our walls now and, therefore, outside the radius of our rules and outside the reach of our boots, poised to kick him in the...

You get the idea.

This morning, the "show" totally jumped the shark -- becoming so absurdly dramatic, it was almost laughable. Except we can't laugh. This is life. All we can do is shake our heads, roll our eyes and say the Serenity Prayer (over and over and over again).

I don't know why but I will protect the innocent and not go into details. But I can say, at minimum, it was an unwelcome distraction to the day.

So how did I cope? You know what they say. When the going gets tough, the tough go... get their hair done over lunch... and the tough go... to DQ across the street...

Isn't that what they say?

Since the drama is unfolding (still), I don't know how this episode will end. But we are finding that the more times we say the Serenity Prayer, the better we feel. Hubby even made supper and I heard Carter on the phone with a friend saying, "Hang on. That's my dad singing. I gotta talk in my room so I can hear you."

Gotta love "commercial breaks" on reality TV!

Gimme A Break

Hubby and I love the Monday night comedy line-up on CBS. I'd have to say our favorite sit-com is Big Bang Theory.

At first you wouldn't think a show about 2 physicists would produce many laughs. But you throw in a hot blond neighbor, a geeky friend and foreigner afraid to speak when women are around, and you have a lot of funny story lines. The main character, Sheldon, takes anal retentiveness to a whole new level. I know, coming from me, that must mean a lot. He makes my sometimes "over-structured" life seem normal.

In the episode the other night, he was really stuck on some equation. Two sleepless nights' stuck. So he figured he needed to walk away from it and do something menial to occupy his mind for awhile. That worked. The answer came to him suddenly. It had been there all along.

I'm sure those of us lower on the intelligence scale than Sheldon have experienced this. Have you ever been working on a puzzle, can't find the piece, keep looking, can't find the piece. You step away from it for a bit, sit back down and it's right in front of you!

That's how this family tree project has been for me. For years I was looking at a connection between 2 families one way -- two guys being brothers -- when I never considered it could be something different -- say a brother and sister that connected the 2. It took some time away from the project and the endless Internet searches for me to see the light. That and some help from a couple of strangers who had a different angle. And information to back it up!

No, this isn't some mind-boggling scientific equation (fiction or otherwise) that can save the world. But it could open some new windows in my research. And it definitely will erase some headaches!

Sometimes we just need a break.

Groundhog Daze

Despite the white-knuckle ride to work this morning, I was kind of glad it was snowing. That meant no sunshine and, especially important today, no shadows.

That's right. Jimmy the Groundhog (Wisconsin's version of Punxsutawney Phil) did not see his shadow! So, if you believe the accuracy of our furry friend as much as our 50-50 forecasters, we are in store for an early spring! After days of doing the "grandma shuffle" across icy parking lots, I for one am looking forward to it.

I have a feeling most people don't care about Groundhog Day. I don't buy into it much myself, but I look forward to when they air Bill Murray's Groundhog movie -- one of my old favorites. In the movie, the main character keeps waking up in Punxsutawney to find that it is Groundhog Day. Again. He is frustrated at first, but then takes advantage of re-living the same day to learn some new skills (mainly to impress a woman) and fix some mistakes (again, mainly to impress a woman).

If you could re-live one day of your life over (and over) again, what would it be? Does one quickly come to mind?

I have a feeling my hubby would re-live a ball tournament weekend from "way back when" when his bat was hot and his glove was golden. I'd probably pick something sentimental like our wedding day but I can't overlook my 35th birthday when we had an awesome time at Mall of America and the Twins game (where I got my picture taken with the mascot!). It was a great weekend and one of the increasingly rare ones where we had all 5 of us together.

I suspect Carter would want to re-live yesterday. Oh sure the pizza party was good and the report card was great, but something even better happened after I blogged...

The doorbell rings at 8 p.m. There stands two of the neighbor girls who are in Carter's class. "We've got to see Carter!" Since one of them was wearing shorts (and a basketball jersey), I urged them to come inside to wait. Suddenly, they are looking towards a car in the driveway and signaling for some other girls to join them.

I go get Carter in the basement and say, "There are 4 6th-grade girls upstairs who want to see you!" I get the old, "Yeah, right." But when he gets upstairs, he is stunned. "Oh my gosh, this is not good," he says, while smiling of course. I swear his face turned as red as his Badgers sweatshirt, but he just kept smiling.

It didn't take them long to state their business. "We want to take you on!" they said. As in they are all on the 6th-grade girls basketball team at Grant and they want to play against the boys team. They were laying down the gauntlet and they're ready to fight!

At first I thought perhaps the girls got wind of the boys' reputation (re: losing record). But then the coach comes in the house (he's the dad of one of the girls) and says, "I just had to meet this Carter kid they're talking about."

As Carter's face turns redder, I suspect perhaps our boy has been talking a little smack at school. I explained to him that if he accepts the challenge, he is accepting on behalf of the team. That -- and the fact that all of these girls are taller than him -- did not deter him. There will be a game in the near future. I am sure of it.

Before the girls left, I offered to take a picture of them in our dining room to prove they were all there. I was half joking but one of the girls said, "I've got a camera on my phone!" Nope, Carter wanted none of that. Though I bet he's kicking himself now. He called one of his teammates later and he didn't believe Carter!

I don't think Carter believed it either. He had a hard time falling asleep last night. He'd alter between, "Man, I can't believe there were 4 girls here to see me" and "We're going to have to kick some butt!"

Perhaps it's just the girl in me, but I don't think those boys stand a chance. Unless, like the movie, they get to keep playing the game over ... and over... and over ... until they win!

Happy Groundhog Day!

All's Well that Ends... with Pizza

Carter's inaugural basketball season ended how it started -- with plenty of optimism despite a blowout loss. You couldn't ask for more than that.

But wait. There WAS more. There was a season wrap-up pizza party! Whoo-hoo. Gotta love a sport that ends with a full belly and already talk of playing next year.

Carter's team ended up 1-6. And other than the win, only one game was actually close. Usually, they were just put in their place. But, I have been thrilled to observe, it's a happy place. For all the moaning and groaning and pity parties that followed losses in the baseball season last summer, I expected major drama. I was relieved to be proven wrong.

I was hoping to be proven right, however, when we thought in the pre-season that Carter, who loves shooting hoops in the driveway, might have a knack for this game. That didn't exactly play out that way. But this was his learning year and we are so glad he's just excited to be in the game. And he does want to play next year again. But let's not think about that just yet.

There were some other things worth celebrating, too -- not that we need a reason for pizza!

Carter brought his first-semester report card home tonight. We were very pleased to see all of his grades improved from the first quarter -- some quite a bit. At this rate, if he applies himself (famous teacher words) even more in the second semester, he could end up with all A's. But let's not think about that just yet, either.

The other reason I felt like celebrating was due to a letter I received today from one of my cousins who I have been doing "long distance" family tree work with for 10 years. She sent me some documents that finally extend our tree on our grandmother's side. Very exciting! By sheer coincidence and thanks to 2 helpers, bits and pieces of my grunt work are coming together in just a few days here. I'm amazed and very excited. Did I mention I was excited? Trust me, if you've ever done family tree work or just searched for the Holy Grail, you know what I'm feeling!

Definitely worth celebrating. Definitely worth pizza.

Hope you had a pizza-worthy day, too!