The Final Alarm

Fireman’s Prayer

When I am called to duty, God
whenever flames may rage,
Give me the strength to save some life
Whatever be its age.

Help me to embrace a little child
Before it’s too late,
Or some older person
from the horror of that fate.

Enable me to be alert
And hear the weakest shout,
And quickly and efficiently
to put the fire out.

I want to fill my calling
and give the best in me,
To guard my neighbor
And protect his property.

And if according to Your will
I have to lose my life,
Please bless with Your protecting hand
My children and my wife

Every day, when emergency personnel report to work, they risk responding to their "final alarm." They lay their lives on the line for all of us -- just doing their job -- and sometimes they sacrifice it.

It is always tragic. No matter what the circumstances.

Today my cousin Chad was laid to rest by his "brothers" and "sisters" of a small town volunteer fire department, where he served as deputy chief. Even though his death did not occur on the job (he was struck and killed as a pedestrian by an intoxicated driver), personnel from another 9 or 10 departments in the area also responded to pay their last respects.

I hope you never have to go to a "firefighter funeral," but if you do, you'll find it quite moving. One can't help but tear up when wearing a red ribbon of support, reading the Fireman's Prayer (above), hearing the playing of bagpipes and seeing his "brothers" give their final, white-gloved salute at the grave site.

Then there are the surviving family members -- his wife, his children, his father and his mother (my cousin). How do they cope? How will they manage the pain?

All of my siblings except my sister in Texas were able to get off of work long enough today to attend the funeral. There we sat, the 7 of us in a row, each of us the parent of at least one son -- and one sister the mother of a firefighter as well. Each of us thinking the same thing. How would WE cope? How would WE manage the pain?

I pray we never have to, but I know if something like this ever did happen to any of us, we'd have much support like we saw today. This young 34-year-old man (who I mostly remember as a child) touched so many lives they needed to shuttle people in big school buses from a makeshift parking lot at the fire station over to the church, then out to the cemetery and back to the fire hall for lunch.

So many people with so many positive things to say. It made me proud of his public service and proud to call him family.

May God bless him and heal the broken hearts of those who mourn.

Thank you, Chad.

Me and My Big Mouth

While I was busy bad-mouthing the clueless drivers down South yesterday, I failed to pay attention to our own weather situation. I just knew it was going to be warmer temperatures. Oops...

You know you're from Wisconsin (or Minnesota) when you look at the morning temperature before leaving the house, see it's 26 degrees and debate if you need to wear a coat today.

I now am glad I opted to wear it.

I must say it was nice to stop for gas on the way to work and, since it was finally warm enough to loiter outside, I washed the salt off all the windows and headlights. Love me some Spring weather!

Fast forward 2 hours and hubby messages me from home that it is snowing like crazy in Rapids. Say what? I didn't know it was supposed to snow! Turns out we were set to get 3-4 inches or more.

Fast forward another 2 hours and I see I am going to pay for my comments about Atlanta...

Fast forward another hour and I am leaving work at 1 p.m. to make a snowy trek home. Good thing I have learned all those winter driving skills I mentioned yesterday. I needed them.

Robert Frost would love that I took the road less traveled. But that wasn't my intention. It just happened I had no tracks to follow on a state highway and often didn't know which lane I was in. No head-on collisions, thankfully. Just slow and slippery conditions. When I did finally reach the interstate, even that was slow. Saw one vehicle in my rear view mirror fish-tailing -- and I slowed it down even more.

Got home safely and shoveled while hubby manned the snowblower. All's well that ends well, right?

Guess I learned a thing or two about Karma. If you can't say anything nice -- especially about the weather -- don't say anything at all!

Flaking Out

I would never poke fun of a community suffering from a natural disaster. But, I can't resist a few jabs at drivers in Atlanta who cannot handle a few inches of snow. They are literally flaking out!

One headline read: Atlanta descends into complete gridlock after 3 inches of snow

This is serious. Not something from the satirical publication The Onion.

The caption on this photo read: Abandoned cars are piled up on the median of ice-covered Cobb Parkway in Atlanta after a winter snow storm slammed the city with over 2 inches of snow that turned highways into parking lots creating massive traffic jams.

I realize that I am a Northwoods girl, but I find this incredulous. When my sister (also a Northwoods gal) lived north of Atlanta and commuted there daily, she said that on the rare occasion they'd get ice or snow, she would stay home -- not because she couldn't handle it. She was afraid of the other drivers who couldn't!

I am almost relieved Carter is learning to drive during winter. He is forced to get the hang of braking, steering and accelerating on slippery streets -- without causing traffic gridlock.

I suppose we just take these skills for granted. Just like people who drive on 6-lane freeways to go to work and countries where drivers navigate on the "wrong" side of the road. A person gets used to what a person knows.

Still.... This was amusing...

OK, I am done poking fun now. I shouldn't throw stones or snowballs. I mean, if you ever saw me TRY to drive a stick, you'd have "Flaking Out -- The Sequel" in the making!

On the other hand, I used to be a rock star at whipping "doughnuts" on the ice! (You southerners just wouldn't understand.)

Winter ONE-derland

Numerologists might get a kick out of this...

It was back to work for me today. My car and I were reluctant to leave the garage when we saw it was -20 with wind chills in the negative god-awful category. But we made the slippery drive to Iola.

Since I did not go anywhere over lunch (fitness center was closed), my poor little Honda just sat out there in the parking lot shivering. The sunshine was deceiving. I knew better.

Feeling the pangs of guilt for sitting in a warm office for once, I looked up the temperature.

Doesn't it look ONE-derful? No. Not even close. There's no way to rearrange the numbers. It all comes out to equal COLD.

I almost have sympathy for my family in southern, southern Texas. They have a freeze warning tonight and could possibly see some snow for the first time since they lived there. As much as I would have loved to sneak into my mom's suitcase and join her for her long visit down there, I am now glad I didn't. I would be highly frustrated by now with the lack of progress on my tan lines!

Still, 40 degrees down there is, well, at least 40 degrees warmer than here. That part I would enjoy.

Instead, we living in our Winter ONE-derland and anxious for this warm spell coming. In weatherman's speak, that means temps ABOVE zero.

That truly will be wonderful. We'll take it.

Cold Snap

You know why they call it a "cold snap"? Because some of us are so sick of the cold, we are about to snap!

Not kids, though. No, not kids.

After having two snow / cold days off of school right after Christmas break, Carter also starts this week with two more on the heels of a Friday record-keeping day off.  Nope, kids are not complaining.

Do they realize what it means that we are two days over our snow-day limit for the school year already?

I can see Carter's essay next fall on "How I spent my summer vacation" with the words: "Well, we went to school until July 4th to make up snow/cold days and then got a day off to see fireworks."

Let's hope we are done with these Polar Vortex Days from the Arctic Blasts (they don't even sugar coat it as a "cold snap").

The -55-degree wind chills definitely scared me into working in the warmth of my home office today. When I did have to run a quick errand in town, the roads were slick and I froze so fast in the 15-second spurts I was out of the vehicle. Not surprised I didn't see many people anywhere. Who would go anywhere unless they HAD to?

Tomorrow will be different, though. Carter will have to do the homework he didn't do Friday, Saturday, Sunday or today (since he had a friend over). I had a productive day but am heading back to the office -- even though the forecast is close to the same but just slightly "warmer," if you can call it that at this level. Hubby will be happy when Wednesday rolls around and he can finally have the house to himself!

Sometimes silence trumps body heat.

Sometimes.

Prayer Chain

When this morning's sermon at church focused on John 3:16, I had no idea there were more lessons of sons and sacrifice to be learned today...

I don't care how spiritual or religious or close to perfect anyone claims to be. None of us would willingly sacrifice our sons (or daughters), would we? I don't think so.

But I imagine it's not any easier to have them taken from us on God's terms, either.

Today I have two sons of God (and sons of cousins) who I am praying for and asking you to join me. One is on my mom's side of the family and the other on my dad's.

Shortly after church, I learned that my cousin's 34-year-old son (a father himself) was struck and killed by a car while he was walking alongside the road in the early morning darkness. Authorities reported, "It was snowing heavily at the time and poor visibility was a factor in the accident."

I don't know any further details. No matter what the circumstances, though, it is a terrible tragedy for his wife and daughter, his parents and family, and his fellow members of the volunteer fire department where he served as Deputy Chief.

The truly tragic irony is that my cousin and her sister have both lost sons now. And both by accident. I can tell you as a mother that it doesn't matter if he is 8 years old (like my cousin who died 30-some years ago) or 34 years old, losing a child would break my heart into a million pieces.

Please pray for Chad and all who knew and loved him.

On the other side of the world, another cousin's first grandchild was born today on a military base in the south Pacific. This struggling boy arrived 5 weeks early. He is in a military hospital without an NICU. His lungs weren't ready for this early arrival, so if they aren't able to help him in Guam, he may be sent to Japan for care.

Please pray for little Avery, his family and the medical professionals called to help him.

And, if you are able to hug your child today (or reach them via phone or email), please pray to God and thank Him!

I know there's one teenager on Blue Jay Drive feeling a bit smothered today. But I am just so grateful to have him. To hold him. To love him.

For today.

Souper Bowl

I'll give our South Wood County Humane Society a lot of credit. Despite chilly temps and wind, they drew a huge crowd of participants and "viewers" to their Souper Snow Sculpture Spectacular today.

I am on the planning committee for our upcoming South Wood County Empty Bowls fundraising event to fight hunger. For some reason, we signed up again this year to be a team and sculpt "something" to reflect our mission. Leaving the house this morning with the temperature at a mere 4 degrees, I wondered what we got ourselves into.

Did I say "we"? Oh yes, Carter was a reluctant "volunteer" as well.

By the time we got there -- an hour into it -- our big square block of icy snow was already starting to take shape. Can't you tell?

Carter did do some chiseling and chipping, but mostly whined about the cold. "Mom, what does it mean when I can't feel my hands and face?" Uhm, that you didn't dress warmly enough! Heaven forbid he wear long underwear and snow pants like I did. He got a free pass for most of it anyway. By the time he had some warm soup inside and changed out of his allegedly "warm" clothes, he had to go to driver's ed. behind-the-wheel training with his instructor for two hours.

Needless to say, by the time he was done, so were we. But not without a few challenges.

Our spoon in our "Empty Bowl" broke so we had to glue it (freeze it) together. Then after chiseling out letters about our event, we were going to spray colored water on them so they would stand out. Well the straw part on the inside of my spray bottle (our only team one on site) broke. So one person went to the dollar store and I went inside the mall. (This was conveniently held in the mall parking lot.)

I knew the only possible store in there that might have a squirt bottle was the Bethesda Thrift Shop. I told them what I needed and all we could track down was a BBQ baster and one of those blue, baby booger-sucker-outers. With no other alternatives, I brought them to the checkout counter, where the cashier said she also found a Windex bottle under the counter and it was mostly gone. She threw that in for free. I just cleaned it out, added water and food coloring and we were good to go!

The other person got a bottle, too, and away we started! Only had to make one run back into the building when our nozzles froze up. Yes, it was cold out there. Sunny and double digits but extremely windy and cold.

We got done right at 2 p.m.

Looks pretty good, eh? Nothing fancy. We were there to spread our message. But there were some pretty elaborate designs among the dozen teams out there.

I found a cupcake just my size! I was going to take a lick of it (I'm not twerking, I swear), but I figured I'd get my tongue stuck to it like Flick and the flagpole in A Christmas Story. I realized then it was too stinkin' cold to hang around and take pictures so I will stop by tomorrow and shoot some after church -- assuming it stays cold enough so they don't melt by then.

Ha.

It did happen one year! Not gonna this year.

Now I'm all tuckered out from all that fresh air! Carter is at a dance at school. I guess if you spend most of your "snow sculpturing" time indoors, you have energy to dance!

I'd rather have my green food-coloring fingers and know I did my little part.

TGIF (Thank God I'm Free)

Today's TGIF moment only refers to my temporary state of being. Thank God I'm Free... for now. I have been having homicidal thoughts lately.

Anyone else?

Saw this today and laughed right out loud. Then looked around to make sure no one heard me. I don't want anyone to think that if something were to happen to Ol' Man Winter it was premeditated!

I probably shouldn't say anymore about it. I don't want you to become an accessory to the crime. Not saying there will be one. But IF.

It's tough to brush the thoughts aside when we got snow again while we were sleeping and then again this evening. Then hearing about another Arctic Blast / Polar Vortex coming for next week... Just wonder when someone is going to snap!

At least I didn't let the weather prevent me from some enjoyment today. Our edit team did not go into the office today since we sort of have a "bye week" for our magazine. I have some editing and proofing to get done this weekend for another magazine, but I set that aside for a long lunch with my friend LuAnne.

We managed to get to two scrapbooking stores and eat at Chili's -- and stay within our budgets and time constraints. It was just nice to catch up with a friend who I see often at school athletic events but not "one on one" where we can actually visit. That was a nice treat.

Tonight Carter had to work so we dropped him off and headed over to Pittsville to watch our Assumption boys play.  This has been a good week for Royals hoops. The girls won twice, including giving their coach his 300th career win last night, and the boys earned a victory tonight.

I guess I can't complain about winter too much since it hasn't prevented us from doing what we want.

But just to be sure... hide the knives!

Dream Catcher

Dream catchers are a fascinating part of the culture of the Native Americans, originating from the Ojibwa (Chippewa) Nation, who believed that the dreamcatcher would alter a person’s dreams by protecting the sleeper from negative dreams by catching bad dreams inside its web and allowing good dreams to filter through the center hole and descend down the feathers to the dreamer. 

The slightest movement of the feathers would indicate the passage of another beautiful dream. Bad dreams, however, were trapped in the web and would be burned off by the morning sun.

If I had a dream catcher,  I'm pretty sure it would die of sheer exhaustion. There are too many psychotic dream factors to filter through any size "web." Trust me, as someone who remembers just about all of her dreams, this is true. 

In fact, Carter told me about an App for my phone that could help interpret dreams and their meanings. I think I broke the App today. I know I definitely stymied it, at the very least.

If I were to write a book about my "unique" dreams, today's chapter would be entitled: "A funny thing happened on the way to the Peter Frampton concert..." – starring an odd mix of characters: hubby, his high school classmate and friend Gregg, and our mutual friend and previous co-worker Jeff.  (With a significant cameo by Carter, who somehow scored a backstage pass). 

Yup. My mind is a mysterious thing!

And the App was not having anything to do with Peter Frampton. Even for me, that one is hard to interpret.

Typically, the only '70s stars of MY dreams are Erik Estrada and, yes, even more Erik Estrada.

May you have sweet dreams tonight! One of us has to!

Winter Travels

When you see a news alert that "10 million Texans are now under a winter storm watch," you kind of wonder if everything's "gone south," as the saying goes.

Here my mother is supposed to be enjoying some nice weather at my sister's in southern Texas, and it appears Ol' Man Winter is hot (er, cold) on her trail. What a stalker!

I suspect he wants the inside scoop on how she manages to win every card game she plays -- even the ones she allegedly just learned. If the weather is going to be cold, at least she's on a hot streak at the community card table down there!

We, on the other hand, cannot dodge the Ol' Man's tail. He is traveling all over the place. And somehow, overstaying his welcome. Either he is huge or he has cloned himself. Either way, he needs to go.

This morning, I opened the garage door and noticed another (yes, another) fresh coat of snow on the driveway. Turned out it was on the roads, too, and was of the slick variety. Saw one car in the median ditch on Highway 54 so decided to take the Interstate up to Point and over to Iola instead of the county road through Amherst (a.k.a. King Cone Land). I figured the four-lane should be in better condition (even after seeing that car in the ditch on the four lane I was on.)

I went north on I-39 and did not even make it that 3 miles to the Stevens Point exit before I saw another vehicle in the ditch. This time on my lane's side of the road, but facing us. It must have been one wicked spinout.

Needless to say, I drove slowly and carefully.

Got to work OK and was a bit nervous knowing I'd have to drive down to Waupaca later for my bi-monthly meeting with my gray-removal team. Apparently Ol' Man Winter doesn't realize that neither rain nor sleet nor snow will keep me from seeing my hair artist! The 14-mile drive almost gave me new gray hairs, but I prevailed!

Now our weather warnings Up North have switched from snow to wicked windchill advisories for the next 18 hours or so. Texas, on the other hand, is going to have a sloppy wintery-mix mess on its hands.

Apparently Ol' Man Winter doesn't know you don't mess with Texas!

(Or Mom and her card playing.)

Good luck, ya'll!

Things that Make you Say "Uff Da"

Uff da: A fun expression used by Norwegians and other nationalities. It's a polite expression generally referring to a mistake or an "oh darn" experience, or even a "whoops!" 

 Things that made me say "Uff da!" today..

Silent Alarm: Ever wake up and realize it was not because of your alarm clock, but rather an internal alarm screaming: "You overslept"? Apparently I forgot to turn my alarm on but I did wake up to hubby's. Thank goodness he still gets up early even though he works at home! That shock of looking at the clock and realizing I should be in the shower was Uff Da worthy!

Fashion Police: Want to know where I get one-fourth of my fashion sense? Meet Norway's Olympic curling team!

Oh my. This was an Uff Da and laugh-out-loud moment all in one. No one can claim we Norwegians are boring. Maybe not easy on the eyes either! I am afraid to see what the Swedish team is wearing. That makes up the other three-fourths of my fashion non-sense!

Boys will be Boys: Went to the Assumption boys hoops game tonight. They hosted Edgar, who came to play basketball -- and maybe football? They looked the part, too. I noted to another mother my age that boys in my high school were not "sculpted" like THAT back in the day. Uff da! I was paying attention to the game, too. Very physical contest. But we did win!

Boys will be Boys - Part 2: I learned tonight via another mother that Carter plans to go to some dance on Saturday night. I swear, boys do not know how to communicate anything! And he's not even sure where the dance is. At least I found out 4 days in advance and not late Saturday afternoon when it's  suddenly time to iron something or find camera batteries. Uff da!

Polar Vortex - Part 2 or 3 or ... : We mostly hovered in the negative temps AGAIN today. I realize we are in Wisconsin and it is January, but this it getting old already. Old Man Winter, I think you should take a vacation. You've been working far too hard already. Brrr. And Uff Da!

Time to get in my warm bed. Hopefully I won't have any dizzying visions of curlers or basketball players dancing in my head. But if it's good, I may end up sleeping through another alarm.

Uff da :)

Light and Love

Since today was the Martin Luther King holiday, my friend and I decided to get together to actually observe our day off in a fitting manner. We watched the movie The Butler.

The 2013 movie tells the life story of Cecil Gaines, who serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House. Based on a true story, it illustrates how the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam and other major events affect this man's life, family and American society.

And for my friend Christine and me, it was a shameful reminder of how humans can sometimes act like animals when they are filled with hate.

There were times in my life I thought maybe I hated something or someone, but never, ever to the magnitude we witnessed in the Civil Rights Movement, the Holocaust and probably more examples than I care to recall.

How does one hate another human being so deeply -- for their skin color or religious beliefs or sexual preferences or age and more -- to feel no remorse about abusing them verbally and physically?

It makes me sick. And watching it happen in the movie made me feel quite fortunate that even though I was born when this Civil Rights violence was happening, I did not have to live it. I treasure Dr. King's quote above and feel so blessed that I was taught at a young age to respect others.

All others.

Doesn't mean I'm perfect. Not by far. While I try to be a loving and kind person, I still get judgmental now and then. Let the wrong characteristic impact my opinion of a person. But I don't ever hate. There's no place for that.

Not on MLK Day or any day.

My Overtime

Watched both the football conference championships today, not really caring who won so much as I was striving to have a lazy day since my weekend is going into overtime.

Tomorrow is MLK Day and a company holiday. Why am I glad? Take a look...

It would have been a crappy commute anyway! We'll see if I leave the house tomorrow. Today I did go out for 8 a.m. church and then stopped quickly at Wal-Mart on my way home. After that, there wasn't much happening.

It got to 30-something degrees but I never even got outside. Instead, I put away a bunch of "stuff" I don't need but think I can sell rather than give away. (Heard that one before, haven't you?) Then I organized my "portfolio" of my creative stuff I do in my spare time -- and worked on a new project.

Somewhere in there, I did watch Mr. Manning and the Broncos beat poor Tom Brady and the Pats. I also watched plenty of the Seattle-San Fran game but really didn't care who won. Of the four teams, I cheer for the Broncos only because I have always liked Manning.

Plus, I love the color orange.

So, go Broncos. And more importantly, go "my numbers" on the Super Bowl pool!

Plenty of time to get that in order. I better hit the hay now, though, since my laziest is going into overtime.

Love me a long weekend!

S.O.S. (Saturday Over Saturday)

A sign of a good (or bad) weekend can be measured by your first waking moments on Saturday morning.

Last Saturday morning, for example, one of my first sights was cat puke -- not only on the kitchen counter but on my purse sitting there. Beyond disgusting.

This Saturday morning, however, we heard a quiet knock on the front door and by the time we got there, we saw a secret messenger had left a package of pumpkin bars. Beyond delicious and delightful!

Comparing Saturday over Saturday, do you have to guess which one was better??

There actually were a few similarities. I lost to hubby in cards both weekends. And we spent part of our evening in Stevens Point. Beyond that, today was better.

It was sort of my good deed day paired with productivity.

After doing a few Saturday chores (on Saturday for once), I went into town to drop of a few bags of old scrapbooking magazines at a new scrapping store. I figured they could use them for ideas when customers come to crop or spend a weekend retreat there. I just couldn't put them in recycling. They needed to go to a good home. (And now they are OUT of my house, too!)

After a nice visit with the owner and a shop tour, I headed over to the mall to the Bethesda Thrift Shop. I was on a mission to find some decent-quality baskets. I am on the planning committee for our second annual Empty Bowls soup luncheon event to fight hunger in south Wood County. Part of our expansion this year is adding raffle baskets. Since not everything will be donated to us in a nicely wrapped package, we need some baskets to lump themed items together. I managed to score 5 today just as a start and they have plenty more there if we need them. If I buy too many, I'll just donate them back.

Carter was up by the time I got home. (I would hope so since it was after noon.) His excitement this Saturday was learning how to upon the hood of the CRV and add windshield washer fluid. He did fine. Then, for him, it was off to work.

Hubby and I went to Stevens Point to watch our Assumption boys take on Pacelli, who out-heighted us and out-scored us ... especially the 3-pointers. Tough to watch. We lost something like 70-38. Big bummer.

By the end of the game, Carter was already done working so we hustled back to Rapids to pick him up.

Now, with no cat puke in sight but one pumpkin bar left, it's time to hit the hay and hope the good weekend continues.

Sweet, pumpkin-y dreams!

Finding Enjoy-Mint

In recent years, our company added some paid holidays. Now, shortly after many of us take a "Christmas break," we get Martin Luther King Day off in January and Presidents' Day in February. Who doesn't love a long weekend in winter??

I'd rather swap these days for May Day and Flag Day so I could golf. But I won't complain. Especially since the Friday before the Monday off, we get dismissed from the asylum early -- at 3 p.m.

Although, it was a busy week to get things done in order to be "out" on Monday, it was worth it.

I was out the door right on time!

For some reason today I started craving a Shamrock Shake. When I looked at the calendar and realized St. Patty's Day is exactly 2 months away, I knew I was craving much too soon. Dang.

Fortunately, things have a way of working out when it comes to me and my enjoy-mint of cool treats.

As I hit the road in Iola, my BFF happened to call and she was en route to Rapids from Appleton. When I realized we'd both hit Plover around the same time, a plan quickly formed in my mind. "Meet me at SweetFrog," I said.

Sweet what?

Once in a great while during the King Cone "off season," I frequent SweetFrog -- home to some delicious frozen yogurt. At SweetFrog, you take a cup and fill it with as many flavors as you want, then choose from roughly 48 toppings. Then you hand it to the cashier and she charges based on the weight of your treat.

I went with a combination of Irish Mint, topped with a bit of Brownie Batter and then Cake flavor on top -- with a just a few cheesecake bits for sprinkles.

How sweet to sit down and have a treat with my friend! Not only did Christine and I have a nice visit, we both survived some brain freeze not caused by the Polar Vortex for a change.

Now that's enjoy-mint! Hope my long holiday weekend has a few other treats in store.

That's where you come in, McDonald's. It's time to go GREEN!

The Call of Nature

When I hear Nature calling, I don't head for the nearest restroom. I answer by picking up my camera and seeing what Nature has to say.

Well, in today's instance, my "camera" phone.

We have a couple of enclosed courtyards at work that are great places to sit outside for a nice lunch in the summer time. Anyone care to join me for an "iced" coffee break today?

You can see the 10 inches of snow they got Tuesday just piled up nicely, like icing on a cake. It probably tastes like cake and ice cream all rolled into one. Needless to say, I did not venture closer to find out. Did not have my hip boots with today!

I noticed a few times on my way to the fitness center during lunch hours that there is brood of big ol' turkeys right by the road on our work grounds or across the street. Today, since there was no traffic coming either way and the birds were joined by "deer" friends, I pulled out onto the highway, put down the window and snapped a few shots.

It must be 5 o'clock somewhere 'cause things are getting WILD in Iola! Isn't that crazy? Totally tops having the tractors slowing up traffic on Main Street during the summer.

I was in such a jovial mood about winter scenery, I neglected to see what was heading our way this afternoon. So without any choice, I had to venture home in snow, wind and freezing drizzle. Took me an hour and 15 minutes to get to Rapids, where I had to make a quick stop at school. Normally 55 minutes to an hour will do.

Went home and got hubby and we went back to school for a meeting tonight for sophomore parents needing to register their children for junior year classes. I am still in denial about words like "ACT tests" and "college credits." But they are becoming more real and more important.

This week is Finals Week so the whole testing and grade business has already been top of mind. Yesterday, Carter didn't have any finals but still went to school to study all day during normal school hours. Today he knocked off 3 finals -- and got to go to Rocky's for lunch -- and will have his final 3 tomorrow. So far, he's only felt really good about one of them. But you never know with that kid.

At the meeting tonight, the principal, who is also Carter's religion teacher, made a point of telling us that Carter wrote a very good essay on "Wisdom." Since he used my computer to write it, I found it when we got home. He'd kill me if I shared any of it. But let's just say there are days he acts like an irresponsible little kid -- and there are days when he is wise beyond his years.

If he truly believes half of what he is writing, Nature (a.k.a. God) will call him to do good things. That will be more fun to watch than turkeys and deer!

Good Goofs

Not to tarnish my perfect Betty Crocker reputation, but sometimes I goof.

Oh, I'm not talking about cooking. I don't know enough about it to try anything hard enough to screw up.

Baking, on the other hand, is a joy for me. I love mixing things up and creating my own "new" recipes. Then sharing the good stuff -- and hopefully bringing some joy to others. Or at least spreading out the calories.

Sometimes I goof, though. And I have learned that there are people in this world -- two under this roof -- who will eat those goofs. And like 'em!

Tonight was a stretch, though.

I got this urge in my apron to make those tasty Monster Cookies again that went over so well at Christmas. You know, the recipe that made 17.4 dozen and I thought those would last until Easter? Not sure where they all went but I wanted to make some more. This time, though, I halfed the recipe so I could stir it up in one big bowl and get them baked in a timely fashion.

I got the ingredients but in the back of my mind did not think I needed a huge container of oatmeal since I was cutting the recipe in half. I didn't even bother looking at the container to see how many cups were in there. When I was almost done mixing up the cookies and it was time to add 9 cups of oatmeal, that is when I realized I was going to be short. Not just a little short where it wouldn't matter. But 2 1/2 cups short.... Where I hoped it wouldn't matter.

Turns out, it mattered.

The recipe has no flour so the oatmeal is the "glue" that sticks the ingredients together and adds some bulk. After my first pan turned out to be liquidated Monsters, I did the logical thing I usually do to avoid the 8-mile round trip to Wal-Mart. I ask my neighbors.

I am so lucky that whether I need a cup of sugar or 2 cups of oatmeal that someone comes through! Tonight, Cindy across the street had enough on hand to salvage my goof. (Thank you!)

The rest of the cookies were still a bit "off" from the perfect first attempt back in November, but they are edible. Good enough for my guys at home -- not like they don't deserve the good stuff, too -- and probably good enough for my guys at work -- who also deserve better but take what I give!

So what did I learn from this?

One, some recipes are meant to be followed. Two, read the labels so you can follow it. Three, I'm human. And Four, thank goodness my life in the kitchen is a cross between Disney World and Sesame Street -- where I can be Goofy and the Cookie Monster!

Happy eating!

Winter WARN-derland

Since I had a church committee meeting over my lunch hour, I had already planned to work from my home office today. That was a good call.

Turns out, the snow and icy drizzle that began while we were sleeping led to some treacherous road conditions for my co-workers (and I'm sure thousands of people I don't know). At some point, it turned into a Winter Storm Warning, which means, yup, it's gonna happen. No escaping.

So in a rare move, they closed my work office and sent everyone home by noon -- but encouraged anyone who can work from home to do so.

I was grateful I didn't have the hour commute. Going into church at 11 was a little messy but not bad. But the hour we were in our meeting, it turned to super snowy and windy. Roads were snow covered and slippery with winds causing brief but scary whiteout conditions. Even though hubby had snow blown the driveway before I went to town, when I got home, I couldn't tell the difference.

It just would not stop!

It looked pretty. But some 7 or 9 inches later and it was a heckuva removal process. Glad Jim and Carter could handle it without me.

I do not know what our grand total is since it is still floating down. What I do know is that they got more in Iola than here. So even if the roads are plowed, the wind is going to be causing some drifting overnight and those dreaded whiteout conditions. Haven't decided yet if I am making the commute in the morning or just continuing my work from here. I was on a roll today so I should be OK either way.

All I can say is my mom picked a good day to go to Texas. She'll be with my sister and brother-in-law for the next 6 weeks. I hope she has fun but misses me terribly and demands I come down there and join them.

One can dream, can't they? It sure worked for the folks who wanted a stinkin' white Christmas this year!

A Girls Night Out

I finally had a free night -- and some freedom from coughing to go with it -- so I could go see our Assumption girls basketball team play.

Hubby stayed home since his cough is still lingering. Carter had to play in Pep Band between the JV and Varsity games so I opted to get there for the JV game so we could watch some of his classmates play.

Going into tonight's varsity matchup with Auburndale, we had one loss so far on our overall record this season. Giving our defeatist Barneveld the top ranking in the state and holding us at #2.. not bad for the hundreds of Division 5 girls basketball teams in Wisconsin!

The JV game proved to be exciting. We were down 21-10 at halftime, then rallied to win by 9 points. Really nice job, girls!

The varsity game was a typical quick start for us with a sizable lead at halftime. Apparently our opponents' adjustments in the locker room had more of an impact than hours. We were slowly watching our lead slip away in the third quarter and my "daughter" got into foul trouble and eventually fouled out! She wasn't the only one on our team to do so.

Somehow we managed to hang on for another win, hopefully holding our current state ranking.

Since this is Finals Weeks, we're not going to see any more hoops action for the rest of the week. Probably best. Carter needs to study, hubby needs to recover some more and I have to adhere to my bedtime schedule better on "school nights."

Easier on my conscience when we win, of course.

Keep up the great work, Lady Royals!!

Defrosting at Forty

You know what brings a smile to my face after another night of coughing? Seeing the sun shine... and feeling it!

Forty degrees in January is like no-jacket-required weather. Not quite warm enough to bring out Mr. Deck Chair from hibernation, but mild enough for a major outdoor project.

And I mean major.

At a glance, can you guess how many Diet Cokes exploded in our garage refrigerator during the recent Polar Vortex?

What a stinking -- or sticky, I should say -- mess. Somehow I drew the short straw for this one. In a moment of weakness, I agreed when hubby asked yesterday, "So, do you want to clean toilets or the fridge out in the garage?" I hadn't seen the fridge, only knew of the explosions, so I said yes to that.

Silly.

Thankfully, I wasn't freezing my butt off because it did take awhile! Now it's good to go until the next Polar Vortex swoops down from the North Pole.

Since it was so nice out, I did get a pleasant non-treadmill, outdoor walk in as well. For indoor fun, we watched some of the football games, played cards and did some work.

Still have to turn on my blanket tonight. The warm spell is over and we'll be getting some freezing drizzle in time for my morning commute. More slushy mess.

At least this time it's outside of the garage!

Qualifying Rounds

I'm sitting here in the basement flipping back and forth between football playoffs and U.S. figure skating. So pardon me if I get my third-down conversion confused with my triple lutz!

Contestants in both competitions just want to win their qualifying rounds so they can move onto the big games. While I am pretty sure I know the football players well enough, I do not follow figure skating in the off season. And by "off season" I mean the entire season between winter Olympics. Now that the 2014 games are some 3 weeks away, it's time to reacquaint myself with the sequined and Spandexed U.S. representatives.

Yes, I do enjoy football, but I am somewhat of an Olympics junkie.And if I can watch some of these Americans in action now, I will feel a better connection in a few weeks.

Plus, I am so full from supper, I can't move my butt off the couch.

We decided to take Carter out to eat after his long, rough week -- between tons of homework, getting sick and then having to work last night. Poor kid.

He chose Buffalo Wild Wings so off to Stevens Point we went for some hot and spicy food. And it was very hot and spicy and did not disappoint. Cleaned out all our sinuses!

We watched to end of the Seahwks-Saints game there and got home before the Patriots-Colts game. Looks like New England got out to an early lead so I might just stick with the double axle excitement.

Go USA!

Sw-Heat Deal!

For the record, today was the first time this year I didn't have to wear long underwear!

Maybe too much information, but most definitely a sign that one, the temps are above zero and two, the heat is sort of fixed at work.

Just to be on the safe side, I still bundled up per usual with the longjohns, extra thick socks and extra long-sleeved shirt layers. I had my hat and gloves nearby but did not have to don them in the office.

At noon, after a quick run over to the fitness center, I decided to keep the union suit off after my shower.

And I survived.

And no, it wasn't a funky ol' union suit. They make women's long underwear to look almost like running tights. Still, I almost felt naked going back to work. My pants felt so loose and light!

Don't worry. My euphoria didn't last long. Just because it was warmer doesn't mean winter was out of the picture. In fact, it was just warm enough for snow and freezing rain on my drive home. Yay, winter. It never gets old, does it?

Mainly because of our sick entry to the new year, we're all tired of winter at our house. Poor Carter, our most recent germ victim, had to work tonight. I know that's not enjoyable. At least we all can sleep in tomorrow.

And yes, I still have my heated mattress pad turned on. My skivvies may be on hiatus, but winter is here to stay.

For much, much too long.

Stay safe and warm out there!

Infirmary Recap

Just a quick update from the infirmary....

The crud has passed from me to hubby to Carter. Officially.

Carter woke up after a rough night of coughing, feeling weak and hurting. So he went straight back to bed for an 8-hour nap. Not kidding!

I went to work and he got up in the mid-afternoon and now is doing some homework, crossing his fingers he'll be fine tomorrow. A friend was going to drop off his homework but since I had a meeting in town and it got done before the Assumption hoops game was done, I stopped in there and picked it up for him.

The girls were playing against rival Wausau Newman. I would have loved to have stayed, but going straight from work to a 90-minute meeting was my longest day since I've been sick, too. So I opted to come home and hit the hay.

At some point sooner rather than later, I sure hope we put this behind us.

Until the next strain of crappy germy-ness hits our house. Gotta love the winter cold and flu season!

Stay healthy!

On the Rebound

After days in the clutches of the infamous Polar Vortex, we are now on the rebound to our normal winter days of highs in the single digits. Whoo-hoo!

Yes, we are brainwashed in the Midwest to get excited to see in the morning that the temperature is -15 and feels like -15! No windchill. Sort of like that desired "dry heat" in the summer!

Admittedly, it even felt warmer back at the office today. Of course, I kept my coat on all day but at least I didn't need my hat and gloves. We'll take it in baby steps if we have to.

Unfortunately, while I coughed only a handful of times today, hubby's "crud" is still in full swing and it seems Carter's may just be starting. I hope it's just a minor cold, but really, how does one not share germs among family? We tried to avoid each other and it still didn't work.

Perhaps our love is overpowering. Or it could be my need to beat hubby at cards. Take your pick.

I guess we'll continue to keep Carter quarantined in the basement, working on homework, while I try to put it behind me and try to support the guys. At least we should be able to get some fresh air now. Not necessarily open the house up, but step outside and actually be able to take a deep, cleansing breath without losing our breath!

Might kill a few germs. We'll see.

Stay tuned from the Sick Ward. Enjoy the nice warm weather for us all!

Sub-Zero Seclusion

This is the St. Joseph, Mich., lighthouse normally pictured on my blog page in a nice, warm setting. Ran across this recent photo and pretty much can't warm up after looking at it!

After seeing photos like this one, you really couldn't drag me out of seclusion today to face work in the Polar Vortex! So I worked at the toasty home office, listening to hubby cough in the office next door and Carter grumble (in every room) about homework. "Snow Days" are not the fun days they used to be!

I did get a lot of work done and even called into a meeting so it was just like I was there -- except warmer and less coughing. At about 4 p.m., though, I decided to take a break and lay on the couch. I was going to maybe watch TV and woke up an hour later. I flipped to the other side and, seriously, woke up another hour later! Apparently, I needed the rest. I was just thrilled I was horizontal for 120 minutes with no coughing!

Could there be an end in sight? Well, for me maybe. Not hubby, though. He is not encouraged that I am coughing after 5 days of this. He wants his bout with this to be done much sooner. I hope it is, too! I think our cat's going to start complaining soon about lack of sleep with all this coughing at night. Makes it hard for her to get a good rest snuggled between our pillows.

I feel bad for her. Don't you?

Knock on wood, Carter is still OK. Tomorrow we will all head off in our own directions for school and work. We should have an above-zero high of 4 degrees -- and laugh in the face of the Polar Vortex.

Ha ha.

Brrr.  Cough, cough!

Cold Cuts

Igloo-sive Coverage: Had to laugh when my nephew posted this on Facebook today. No, not at the temperature and windchill (that's serious business), but the igloo icon. I guess the weather app calculated that Wisconsin was now part of Alaska or the North Pole.

Chilling Details: It was seriously an arctic blast today as predicted. I hated to venture out, but Mondays are not an ideal day to miss work. It's our deadline day and our main magazine goes to print. So we need all hands on deck! Whether gloved or not. When I got to work, the outside temp was -22 and the windchill was -42. Inside our office it was a balmy 56 degrees. Trust me, the long underwear and extra layers plus stocking cap were a good call. I had them on all day.

Give and Take: The cold office (which will be fixed by the end of the week) was not a good environment for my bronchitis so I am working from home tomorrow just to give it one more day to hopefully disappear. I did figure out how to get rid of it. Give it to your spouse. Well that's what seems to have happened. And no, I did not do it on purpose. I tried to avoid him and Carter but I should have taken it one step further and slept on the couch or something. I feel bad every time I hear Jim cough.

Snow Days: We are hoping Carter does not get sick now, too. He had a snow day today and tomorrow they will have one, too. That takes care of the two built-in days. Any more and it extends the school year. I hope it isn't planning on snowing too much in the next 3 months. Right. While Carter is happy about getting to sleep in and stay home, he is a bit anxious that they are only going to have a 3-day school week to prepare for next week's semester 1 finals. Yeah, that didn't cross my mind either. Glad he's paying attention. And cares.

Nose Job: I have a new favorite find for fighting colds -- or their effects anyway. Puff's tissues with lotion AND Vicks! I just sniff the tissue all day to get my Vicks fix. It helps the sinuses, seriously. Yesterday, Jim said he couldn't stand the smell. I wonder if he'll change his tune now that he needs them! If I am willing to share, that is.

Stay healthy and warm, my friends!

Hearty Souls

Our high today was 8 degrees ... at 5 minutes after midnight. Temps have dropped slowly and steadily since and it's not going to be pretty when all is said and done. It's minus 5 now but FEELS like minus 30.

Since I had to read at 8 o'clock church, I got up and braved the elements -- against my hubby's wishes. After a much better night's sleep with less coughing than the previous two nights, I figured I might as well fulfill my obligation. He thought I should probably stay in bed.

Believe me, after going outside to start the car, I wanted to!

The church crowd was pretty thin compared to usual so I thanked the "hearty souls" for being there. After church, I stopped to get some groceries at Wal-Mart. From the time it took me to walk out with them and load them in my car, my ears were frozen. The wind was just harsh enough I could feel the cold steel of my earring posts in my ears. Ouch.

Since I smartly have a hat in the car, I put that on before I stopped to fill up the gas tank. I am glad I only needed half a tank. My fingers -- with gloves on -- were frozen by the time I was done!

I stayed warm this afternoon baking a cake and making chili -- plus playing cards and watching the Packer game.

I am so glad I did not have to go outside again. And so glad I did not have to entertain any thoughts whatsoever of sitting at an outdoor football game today. That must have been wicked. Then, after hours of suffering in the arctic air, to have your team lose in the end. Ouch.

I sincerely just hope everyone kept their fingers and toes -- and I guess cheeseheads -- intact. Nothing is worth that. I don't care who you are.

Be careful out there! Or better yet -- just don't go out there.

Chillax-ing

Apparently, when you are chilling out (literally or figuratively) and relaxing, you are chillaxing.

That was me today -- trying to rest but still doing my best to avoid the chilling part. After a rough night of coughing, it was just what I needed.

I really didn't strain myself today. I un-decked the halls and was grateful the Christmas decorating efforts this year were minimal. Got it all down and put away in record time. Then just relaxed watching TV and drinking lots of fluids for most of the day.

The guys went to the boys basketball games at school this afternoon. Then Jim dropped Carter off at work, came home and played a game of cards with me (I won!) and now is with a buddy at a hockey game. (Still sounds too cold to me!) They'll pick Carter up after the game so I can go to bed.

Now.

Like everyone else in the Midwest, we are not looking forward to what we are going to awaken to tomorrow and Monday. My sister in Texas -- spending the day at South Padre Island -- thought I would enjoy this pretty purple map since I am a Vikings fan:

Just how much are we going to be chilling out in the next few days? The image above shows the locations (in purple) that have a 90-100% chance of seeing surface temperatures at, or below, freezing at 7am EDT on Tuesday morning

In other words, my sister will be one of the few just chillax-ing while the rest of us in the country may quite literally freeze our butts off. I'm just hoping my germs will freeze to death or go into deep hibernation.

Is that too much to ask??

Liquid Diet

Where do you put someone who is dying of bronchitis?

In a cough-in!

Real funny when you are not experiencing it.

After a rough night, I wisely worked from home today so I wouldn't be spreading my germs. I even kept my distance from hubby in the office next door.

Until lunch. He went out and got me (us) some homemade Potato Dumpling Soup from the little cafe down the road. Good stuff. In fact, I was on a liquid diet most of the day, just to keep my throat hydrated.

One thing I have discovered: I hate the taste of salt water! But I am following doctor's orders and gargling often. Ick!

The combination of all that plus the anti-coughing pills seemed to help. I made it through the work day but wisely stayed home this evening instead of going with Jim to the boys basketball game. Carter had to work and I just stayed on the couch and got my DVR'd Christmas movie list down to six!

The hacking returned in full force when the sun went down. Maybe I am part vampire and should sleep in a cough-in! Either way, I am not going to whine since I know a ton of people are suffering through colds and flu and the general seasonal crud.

Hope you all feel better!

I can tell you that Christmas movies do make me feel better, but not as good as some extra-strength cough syrup!

McNightmare

First day back to the daily grind after 10 days or so out of the office. I had my new favorite "grind"-ing brew with me -- Dunkin' Donuts Pumpkin Spice Coffee -- so I was set.

I knew I'd need lots of liquids today after coughing up my left lung upon awakening today. By the end of the work day, it felt like I had coughed up the right one. Upon further review, they are both still there, but the persistent hacking cough was killing my throat. For once I did the non-LeRoy thing and went to the walk-in clinic on my way home from work.

As soon as they know you are coughing, they send you to the Wardrobe Department and you become an extra on the set of Grey's Anatomy.

There was a waiting room full of people like me -- but due to patient confidentially, I took a masked selfie. Am I sick or am I a superhero in disguise?

When all was quiet on the set, I was really hoping for Dr. McDreamy or McSteamy to tend to me. But all I got was a masked witch who shoved a cotton swab down my throat. Based on my past combative nature during throat cultures, I sat on my hands so I wouldn't push her. I still leaned way back. I hope she got enough of a sample because the strep test turned out to be negative. That better be the case.

After listening to my lungs, the McNasty replacement -- Dr. McNice -- told me I had some bronchitis and a virus going on (they always have to say that to cover their bases I think). After consultation with me -- the "extra" in the scene -- we believe we caught it early. So off to the pharmacy I went to get some anti-coughing pills.

Must be an active flu and crud season already. I think the line at the pharmacy was longer than the one at the Packer ticket office.

Sorry, had to get that dig in there.

Not really sorry. The drugs don't make me sleepy so I am typing with all my faculties intact. (At the questionable level they usually are.)

I am going to hit the hay, though. After gargling that disgusting, doctor-ordered salt water, though, I might need to have some Peppermint Stick ice cream to drown that taste. It will be cooling to the throat, too.

I should know. I may not be a real doctor, but I play one on TV.

Stay healthy my friends. Wash hands often and turn your head when you cough. (Or is that for something else?)

Time to go. I'm getting paged by my warm mattress pad!

I Don't Resolve...

New calendar is on the wall. And my New Year's Resolution list is blank. And will remain so.

Maybe it took me 4 decades (or so) to figure it out. But I am a work in progress. I will never be "done" with me. So I can never cross anything off the list. Not a real and honest list anyway.

Just because I helped a few more people this year does not mean I can cross "don't be so selfish" off my list. That is not cured.

Just because I work hard at some things does not mean I can cross "don't be so lazy" off my list.

Just because I write a blog and talk to people, trying to inspire them once in awhile does not mean I can cross "don't be so self-centered and self-serving" off my list.

So I will continue to work on improving myself so I can be a be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend.... person!! I will focus on progress, not perfection, and rejoice in the good that I see and feel and give and receive.

Saw this quote today and it sort of sums things up, reminding us to just enjoy life and all its moments, not questioning why something is happening or letting fear prevent us from experiencing it. Live a little!

And if you are a stickler for resolutions, good luck. I still hope somewhere in the next year we all surprise ourselves.

In a good way.

Happy New Year and cheers to "continued" resolve!