The Sun Sets on August

With the sun setting earlier each night, there aren't many opportunities left to kayak after work. Not for a few hours at a time anyway.

Tonight, as the sun set on the month of August, we got out with the neighbors. We put the 'yaks in by the Biron dam but decided against paddling around the big island. Typically, we don't have to worry about the sun setting on us. This time of year we do. And we don't want to get caught on the river in the dark when boats without lights may speed by. So we didn't go as far, but still had a great time and saw a few things....

All summer I complained I hadn't seen any turtles napping on logs in the sun. Finally see our first one and that bugger jumps (or gracefully falls) off the log before I can float close enough to take a picture.

I also tried stealth moves to sneak up on the crane, but he took off as soon as my bright green kayak was in sight.

I was somewhat prepared so at least I got a photo of him escaping. Or is it pterodactyl?

Saw this big ol' bee hive, too. And yes, it was active. And yes, I made sure my deathly allergic hubby steered clear of it. Wow.

The cool thing about beating the sunset back to the boat landing is obvious. You get to see the sun set! It sort of altered between yellows and pinks, then both.

Pretty calm tonight, so got this reflective shot as we neared the boat landing by the Biron dam and paper mill.

Ball of fire!

Final view of August! Where did the summer go? I am sure we'll have some more paddling time, just on the weekends in the daytime. Not that I want to rush summer, but am looking forward to seeing autumn colors from the water. If the leaves are anything like the colorful sunsets, we're in for a treat.

Thank you, August.

Nuts and Bolts

Since college boy is off to the Minnesota State Fair for a concert (you wouldn't know them if I told you), hubby and I decided to do something fun.

And by fun I mean finally installing the kayak carriers on top of the CRV. Nothing says fun like two people trying to assemble something with dozens of nuts and bolts – and both of them have their own idea of the right way to do it.

Now I'm not saying that his idea was better, but it just seemed to be more efficient. I'll give myself some credit for laying the groundwork with the installation of the car rack bar thingy on top a month ago. But figuring out the easy way to do these "J" stands was something else.

Naturally, after an hour or so of frustration and sweat, we get down the last set of nuts and bolts and the tread on the inside of the nut is stripped. We don't really keep spare parts around. I looked in the toolbox in the basement and the junk drawer in the kitchen to no avail. So I volunteered to go the hardware store. I felt somewhat responsible because, well, I contributed to the stress with my "strong belief" that I knew what I was doing. Some might call it "stubborn." I don't know. Either way I was trying to make up for it.

I decided to run into ACE Hardware since it might be a more manageable size to navigate compared to Home Depot. Plus, isn't ACE the place with the helpful hardware folks?

And they WERE helpful!

I quickly discovered when I walked in that even though it was a smaller store, it still had a ton of aisles of do-it-yourself stuff. True to form, a helpful young man offered assistance. Now this is where it gets fuzzy. Did I say, "I'm looking for your nuts." Or was it, "Where are your nuts?" I can't specifically recall, but it didn't come out sounding the best. Good thing I can play a dumb blond at the drop of a hat and giggle it off. He just showed me the aisle and quickly scampered off before I could ask another question.

I did find the right-sized nut but that brought on a whole new set of blond moments. There were little plastic bags that said to put down the quantity and price. Well I got the quantity part – one – but I couldn't find the price anywhere. Luckily there was another young man nearby. He was shopping but he was writing down a price on his own bag so I knew he was going to be one of those "helpful hardware folks" whether he wanted to be or not. After my "this is my first time doing this" spiel, I got my answer.

Thank goodness after all that, that when I got home, it was a perfect fit and we got the racks installed. We figured they might be a little tall for the garage, but hubby was able to back in with about an inch of clearance. Whew.

Too bad by the time we accomplished all that it was getting dark. Guess we'll have to go paddling another night.

Of course, we'll have to agree on how we want to securely tie on the kayaks. They did include several adjustable straps with the racks. Hopefully there is only one way to use them.

Peer-Spective

Sometimes when we are stuck in a rubber room, bouncing off the walls, we forget to check the door handle. Most times, it's unlocked, we can step out, steady our gait and walk away.

Until the next time we open the door and let ourselves back in.

Wait. Back in? Why would we do that?

Take it from me. A little time in the bouncy house does not mean we're crazy. It means we care. We care about people. We care about situations. We just care. Maybe too much sometimes.

Of course, that means we are more susceptible to emotion when those things we care about go off on a path we don't like, we don't know or we aren't ready for. Then we bounce around a bit until we can cope.

Or a peer puts the situation in perspective.

At church yesterday, the woman in the pew behind me must have heard me talking before the service to one of the other ladies who wanted to know when Carter was leaving for college and how I was holding up. At the conclusion of the service, when we were waiting to file out, this older woman, who I don't know, says, "So you have someone going off to college?" And I gave my typical reply of "Yeah, my baby's leaving next weekend." She says, "Oh I know how you feel. But you know what's harder?"

And she went on to tell me about her two sons both serving in Iraq, one of them for two tours of duty. She expressed how difficult it was to not know where they were, what they were doing and, most importantly, if they were safe. She kindly reminded me that we will always be moms, always care, always be worried, but at least at college I will know where my son is. I still might not know what he is doing and if he is completely safe, but it is nowhere near the level of worry over a child who has gone off to war.

What a reality check, eh?

As the poem above reminds us all, no matter our complaints or emotional struggles, there is always someone who would feel blessed to have those same complains or struggles instead of what they are dealing with in their own lives.

So thank you, God, that our baby is grown up enough to want to continue schooling and make a career and future for himself. Thank you that he will be a mere 3 hours from home instead of half a globe away. And thank you that we switched to Verizon so he has no excuse not to call his mom every night to say "I love you."

OK, well, thanks for most of that anyway. Hopefully it will keep me out of the rubber room awhile.

Kid Napping

Don't tell the authorities by I kinda, sorta kidnapped my son today. Hey, when your nest is close to emptying, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Somehow I ended up being the one paying the ransom, though. So at least you know I am not cut out to be a career criminal.

The premise of a roadtrip was that Carter still needed school supplies – mainly 5 notebooks and a backpack that will hold his new laptop. Could we have gotten that in Rapids or even Stevens Point? Maybe. But that wouldn't be much time in the car.

Let's go to Appleton!

Actually, the attraction for the Little Apple was the Jansport outlet store. I had it on good authority from my dental hygienist last week that they have discounted UW-Platteville items there. She was correct! Carter got some sweatpants. I got a hoodie (because that's just what I do). Then he got a bunch of other deep discounted, non-Platteville items. All totaled, the ransom, er bill, was $100 for 8 items of clothing. Not bad!

We did end up finding a backpack and those notebooks at the Wal-Mart in Appleton, too. Scout's honor we could not find a correct-sized backpack at the Wal-Mart here. I swear!

After shopping, it was time for the mother-son hot wings challenge at B-Dubs!

I sort of made that up as an excuse for a selfie together. When you're a kidnapper, you've gotta be manipulative that way! I did finish all my boneless wings – mango haberno and Asian zing – and Carter made pretty good progress on his 3 flavors. I had a small order so that's why I could finish mine. Not claiming I won the challenge, but I was smart enough to order milk with the meal. That's what tames the heat, in case you didn't know that trick.

We were both full enough that there was no need or desire to stop at King Cone on the way home – even though we passed 2 of their locations! So I could not prolong the captivity. Plus he had to get home for a fantasy football draft.

For the record, my kid napped on the way home so it was a legitimate heist. I managed to steal him and a few hours of his time today.

In return, he stole my heart from Day One.

Bogeys to Brides

Had quite the action-packed Saturday!  This was the fourth-annual golf outing to benefit the Assumption football program. The first year, hubby golfed and I joined him for the dinner afterward. I thought, why don't I golf, too? So I golfed with mixed groups the last two years and this year on an all-girl power team.

I never trust the forecast anymore. All week it was calling for 60% of rain. It rained overnight and in the morning even. You can see in the pictures how cloudy it was for our noon shotgun start, but we got lucky. It never rain on us all afternoon!

That was as far as the "luck" went. We may look like a fearsome foursome, but we are not ready for the LPGA tour – unless LPGA stands for Ladies, Please Go Away. We definitely had more Trump-style hair divots than pars. In fact, bogeys were the word of the day. That and FUN.

We really had a great time and managed to earn the Bronze! Whoo-hoo! Do I have to mention there were only 4 women's teams? Nah. I'll skip over that part and let you be suitably impressed.

After the outing and dinner, hubby and I rushed home to change clothes and head up to Marshfield for a wedding reception and dance. Well, mainly dance since we were leaving our house after 8 p.m.

The wedding was for the daughter of a cousin on the Austin side. Yup. An unusual streak of Austin weddings this summer. And one more coming up in October. Had a blast dancing with cousins and soon-to-be cousin (through marriage this fall)! After all those swings with my arms all afternoon, it felt good to do something with my legs!

Of course, getting home after midnight, I'll be feeling it Sunday!

From bogeys to brides to bed...

Roller Coaster

Hop aboard the emotional roller coaster! Tickets are free! But I'll take payments in hugs and kind "there, there" words of support.

My blog last night accidentally opened up a dam. I was going to say faucet, but dam is much more applicable. The more I was thinking about the end of the school era and the impending empty nest, the more I struggled to hold back the dam gates.

I failed. I was a sobbing, melting mess in no time.

Poor hubby. I come out to the living room with a mascara and tear-stained face and he probably thought something tragic happened. As I hiccupped through the "our baby's leaving for college soon," he had the courtesy to pause the TV show he was watching and restrain from rolling his eyes. I appreciate that. But I probably wouldn't have seen it through my tears anyway.

And I couldn't close up that damn dam.

Needless to say, when you cry yourself to sleep, you wake up with your eyes just about stuck together and pretty darn puffy. I imagine I looked like a hot mess when I arrived at work, too, but no one dared point it out. I'm guessing I look as unstable as I feel.

Why do moms cry when their babies are ready to leave the nest?

Because this is the boy I see as he packs up his essentials for college – like bluetooth speakers and shaving cream – and leaves his Little League trophies behind.

A boy who is probably on his own roller coaster ride right now, and I have to remember that. As much as I hate heights, you know this isn't a thrill ride for me. Probably time I keep an eye on the little guy, be sure he's strapped in safely and surviving his own ups and downs.

Am I brave enough to let go of the safety bar with one hand so I can at least grab a Kleenex?

Old Habits...

Just because old habits die hard doesn't mean all old habits are bad.

Today was the start of the Assumption Royals cross country season. Nope, don't have a kid on the team anymore. Nope, don't have time to be away from work. Nope, still wouldn't miss it.

The Pittsville meet last year marked the first time our boys won a meet. They then went onto a successful season and return to state. So it's an exciting launching point for the season. And, since it's only 20 minutes away, why not go, cheer the boys and girls on (it's not like I don't know them all)? Plus, I can take a few pictures (old habit) and show some new parents the ropes.

At the starting gun, I was glad I was there. Got to see the boys cruise to victory (6 runners in the top 15) and encourage the girls to keep working hard. By the time our boys hoisted the winning trophy over their heads 2 hours later, though, I was ready to cry.

This isn't my place anymore.

Life is moving on. School sports are moving on. Graduated seniors are moving on.

I am no longer a Royal parent. I am now just a Royal fan. That is a startling transition!

I don't need to take photos at meets. I don't need to organize the snack schedule. There are new Royal parents (and veteran ones) to take on those roles. I need to let them do that. I need to let go. And that is hard. I miss being needed.

Of course, I won't miss hounding you to buy Royal cards, butter braids and Advent calendars. And you probably won't miss that either.

But when I look out at the starting line for a race or at the marching band on the football sidelines, I am going to miss the hell out of seeing my favorite Royal. That's an old habit that's going to cause me quite a few tears before it goes away.

Dang.

Birthday Becky Home-Ec-y

Thank goodness for air conditioning or there's no way I could get any baking done in the summer. (Without causing a fight, that is.)

Not that I HAVE to bake. I just happen to love it and will jump at any excuse to do so. Usually it involves a potluck or, in many cases, my side job as the self-appointed Birthday Fairy at work.

Now that I have been on the job a year, we are coming into Round 2 of birthdays. I hate to make the same thing twice even if it's good. (That's why I often turn to my trifle bowl because I just make it up as I go, combining some of the flavors the birthday boy or girl likes.)

When I can't fulfill my duties for some reason, I have a backup BF (Birthday Fairy). Tomorrow is HER birthday, though, so I GET to make something. It didn't take me long to think of what she likes. I just had to find a way to incorporate it into a treat for everyone.

What does she like? Nutella. Yummers.

What did I make? A Nutella cake, sort of, that smells soooooo good. And well, after licking the spoons, I think it will taste good, too!

Gosh I love the Internet! I can get the basic idea for something and go my own way with it. I think I'll be frosting this one with cream cheese frosting and sprinkling on some chopped hazelnuts to stick with the Nutella theme.

Is your mouth watering yet? I'll let you know how it tastes.


September is the hot month for birthdays in our department. Lots of baking on the agenda. Might have to alternate cakes, bars and trifle bowl creations just to keep it fresh.

I sure hope everyone likes pumpkin and cranberries as much as me. I don't think I want to share my Nutella again!

(When you're the head BF you make the rules!)

Early Bird Specials

Not only do early birds get the worms. They also get first dibs on back-to-school sales in the neighborhood!

Went for a run before work this morning and came across these gems on the side of the road. Holy flashback!

If you are looking for a microwave or TV for your college kid, there are still bargains to be had – if you know where to look. I would have grabbed these but Carter's roommate is bringing the TV this year (hopefully bigger than this one) and there are microwaves on every floor of the residence hall. Otherwise, for sure, it would have been a screaming deal!

The only TV I had for college (and after) was a 13-inch black-and-white that I must have convinced my dad I needed. It used to sit in the basement at home but I somehow got it. Maybe because I was paying my way through college, it was my bonus??

Finally got a colored TV a few years into my single-hood when someone was going to junk theirs. It was heavy as heck and it had a remote that stuck in the TV. And it was stuck. Ha. Couldn't afford cable either, but I had a colored TV. Yay. Don't think I had a microwave for a long, long time after college. That would have been convenient, especially when I was renting a place where the stove rarely worked.

I know. I had it rough!

Thankfully we don't have any big-ticket items for Carter's first year. Yet, that is. I'm sure something will come up. For now he has has sheets and towels and laundry soap and more. I keep reminding him he needs actual back-to-school supplies, like a notebook for each class would be good. They're only 97 cents on sale right now.

Just think. For $6 you can cover your classes and the neighbor will throw in a free TV!

Love those Early Bird Specials, don't you?

Sugar and Spice

It used to be (when Carter was little, that is) I'd buy a watermelon and take special care in serving it up as a real summer treat.

And by special care I mean using my little yellow Tupperware melon-baller (I am not sure if that is the correct name) and make tons of little melon "balls" (again on the terminology!) that could be eaten with a toothpick. Carter just thought that was the neatest thing, eating with a toothpick. I, on the other hand, realized it took twice as long to cut up the melon that way than by normal methods a la square chunks.

Now that Carter has more sophisticated ways of being entertained, I just slice and dice so I can bring it to work with me. He is welcome to have some of the boring old squares, of course. And hubby, well, he has other summer fruits of choice – namely raspberries.

Tonight as I was slicing away, I suddenly remembered that we used to sprinkle salt on our watermelon when we were kids. That's what my parents did so that's what we did. I know. It does sound strange. Like why would you ruin a perfectly good piece of summer with salt?

Not sure since I know even less about gardening than I do about cooking!

So I decided to experiment. If you sprinkle a little, it really does bring out the flavor. Seriously! But if you sprinkle more than a little, it tastes like crappy, salty fruit. So if you are trying this at home, know that there is a fine line between just right and too much.

As long as I was thinking about salt on summer fruit, I remembered sugar on summer vegetables. Wait, a tomato is still a vegetable, isn't it? Anyway. Mom (and I know at least one sister) would pour sugar on sliced tomatoes. Even with sugar, I am not a fan of tomatoes at all. Nope, nope, no.

I am guessing it also brings out the flavor – even though I would use it to cover it up – because Jim has noticed that with another vegetable: corn. He found a "secret" recipe online where you add up to a cup of sugar to the water when boiling the cobs. It sure makes the sweet corn taste sweeter! Yum.

And you can still slather on butter, salt AND pepper. Whatever it takes to spice things up!

What do YOU do to bring out the taste of summer? Am I missing any more sugar or salt tricks? They don't have to make sense. They just have to make flavor.

Fully Armed

Between 6.25 miles of kayaking and 9 holes of golf, hubby and I may not be able to move our arms tomorrow. But, of course, it was worth it!

Weather was cool today – like low 60s – and it seemed rain was inevitable. Somehow, though, the neighborhood kayak crew escaped. We had a hearty breakfast at Misty's Menu to give us energy. OK, maybe carb-loading on homemade toast and Eggs Benedict isn't the normal plan, but it worked for us.

We ended up traveling to get into the river up in the Stevens Point and Junction City area. Basically put in at a boat landing and made our way around islands and up and down tributaries – and fought some healthy winds.

Every time we've gone kayaking, I have seen lily pads and no white flowers, but today I hit the jackpot! So that was my big photo thrill for awhile. I'll just let the pictures do the talking. My arms are too tired to type. (Just a side note: All these were taken with my phone, which I thankfully did not drop in the river!)

Calm and reflective up in the tributaries.

You can even see Mike and Cindy's faces in the water!

We started out with long sleeves but were quickly warmed up with all the paddling. And the sun!

A little lagoon to check out.

Remember those damsel flies I told you about? They were paying a visit. First landing on Jim, then me. This damsel posed long enough for me to freak out at her face!

I warned you!

But that wasn't the only winged wonder we saw. Thankfully, I did have my "real" camera with because I couldn't exactly sneak up on this eagle. Oh I tried to get close but was so busy looking at him that I didn't realize I was in shallow water. Trying to get myself unstuck from the sand bar can't be done quietly. Luckily I got a few pictures before he flew off...

Pretty darn cool, eh? It was quite the worthwhile excursion!

When we got home, Jim's sister and dad were planning to golf so we joined them at Homestead Golf Course and played 9 holes. We walked it so we finally got some steps. But I didn't really need any more moves with my arms.

I think we'll both sleep pretty well tonight. Carter is having a fire with friends in the back yard and I probably won't even hear them over my own snoring... or grunts of pain when I lay on my arms too long!

August Showers Bring Yellow Flowers

I'm so glad my friend Christine and I decided two years ago to share our love for reading by starting a book club.

It's a manageable size of 8 women. While I know all of them from my various worlds, they all didn't know each other. Now it's like we've all known each other forever. When we meet at the coffee house one Saturday a month, we end up talking about the book, but definitely take time to catch up on each other's lives since it's rare all 8 of us can make it.

After a good night of showers, this morning there were 7 of us talking about the book Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibraim. This book follows two characters, Mattie and Lisbeth, and is set in the mid-1800s in Virginia. Mattie is a slave woman for Lisbeth's family and is called in to be a wet nurse to young Elizabeth (Lisbeth). Forced to leave her own son just a few months old, Mattie is moved into the house and raises the young girl, almost as her own, for several years and loves her like her own.

While some of the plot centered around slavery in the south before the Civil War, there were themes about the importance of family and loving children who are not your own. It was appropriate then that after the meeting I headed over to Black River Falls to visit my nephew Tony – not my flesh and blood, but he holds a very special place in my heart.

In the book, the "yellow crocus" flower symbolized spring and a period of rebirth and renewal. Tony is experiencing his yellow crocus now as he prepares for a new life of sorts in less than two months. Like the season of spring, there is always a chance to start fresh. Start over.

We had a good visit and I look forward to watching him bloom, while loving and supporting him as if he were my own. That's what family does.

Just like our wonderful group of book club "sisters," we've got each other's back in all seasons.

Oh, Rain Man

A wise woman (who may or may not be my oldest sibling) reminded me recently that it is OK to relax. To not have all 1,440 minutes of the day accounted for. Oh, and to NOT feel guilty about it.

Why do we do that to ourselves?

I don't know. But I'm willing to try to fix it!

For the most part, I have gotten better about it this summer thanks to kayaking. Yes, something hubby and I can do together – and less expensive than golfing. Though I do enjoy that, too!

Tonight is the season opener for Assumption football. Jim is going to be one of the sideline statisticians this year so he will be going to every game. I would love to as well, but some of them are pretty far away and require leaving work early on Friday to get there.

Today's decision was easy. Game is way up in Thorp and the forecast called for 80% chance of rain today and 90% chance tonight. That's OK. You go. I'll stay home where I'll be warm and dry.

Stinkin' Rain Man was wrong!

Last reports from one of my friends up there, there has not been a drop of rain AND the Royals are kicking butt. Dang. That was the wrong call!

On the other hand, I had a good conversation with my twin on the phone and with a friend on a walk. Plus I got to see my boy a little bit before he jetted off to another social engagement. AND I finished a freelance project so my weekend can truly be free.

I am content with that. Yes, I have cleaning to do and all those other weekend "to do" items I carry over from week to week. But I guess as evidence has shown, they'll still be there next week!

Who knows if Rain Man will be right for Saturday or Sunday. I've got inside fun lined up to cover any forecast.

In the meantime, I can close my eyes tonight and know I did enough today. Not everything. But enough. And I'm OK with it.

Unexpected Scenes

Since the rain clouds were allegedly going to hold off until later tonight, we thought we'd try some paddling again without extra puddles. Still, we saw some scenes we weren't ready for...

Yes, this is real, folks. No, we didn't want to see it either. Thankfully, it was just this one tree that had decided to show its own colors. After that, we saw a few colors here and there on the river bank, but not whole trees like this one.

Whew. Still summer another day.

We dropped in at the Biron dam area again and headed around the big island. It was quite calm for the first half. Then suddenly we got to the end of the island to turn around and it was crazy waves. You can kind of tell from the picture above that the water was rolling.

That surprised us but it calmed down again as we began heading back to our starting point. 

No eagles tonight but we saw some heron, geese and ducks.

And these two sandhill cranes. I was very excited to see them in this cove and even more excited that they let me float close enough to take some pictures.

They never did fly off, but one walked away into a hiding spot.

And the other soon followed. Dang. Just as I was getting close.

I am amazed they didn't fly off but maybe they don't fly. What do I know? I just pretend to be a nature photographer!

We got back to shore as it was getting dark. That happens now at 8 o'clock. Yes, that and the colored leaves are sure signs of a changing season. We figure our post-work excursion days are numbered. Unless we keep them short.

Or stick to weekends.

Can't wait to see fall colors from the water – when the timing is appropriate – and perhaps some other feathered scenes we aren't ready for, but appreciate nonetheless.

Leap of Faith

What group of people do you think has the most faith? Nuns, monks and clergy? Innocent children? Maybe Green Bay Packers fans?

Nope.

I'd have to say skydivers. Jumping from thousands of feet in the air to plummet at extreme velocity, pulling a rip chord and praying, yes praying, it opens long before your feet touch the earth. What an act of faith. What a literal leap of faith.

Tonight we concluded our church book study on If You Want To Walk On Water You've Got To Get Out Of The Boat by John Ortberg. With the approach of summer's end, we wrapped up the last three chapters in one session, taking time to reflect on the book as a whole, too.

Appropriately, the "Focusing on Jesus" chapter reminds us "Don't look down." Remember when Peter was walking on water and got distracted by the storm and lost focus on Jesus? That's when he faltered. Much like a tightrope walker, we need to lead our lives in faith, one foot in front of the other, focusing on Jesus – and definitely not looking down!

Jumping out of plane? Uff da. Not sure where to look. Just trust God and the parachute!

And pray you don't have to wait too long for it to open... even though the next chapter had some advice on "Learning to Wait."

In our society of immediacy, we're not the most patient lot, are we? Pretty sure I'm not just speaking for myself here. Raise your hand if you've honked at the car ahead of you when they didn't move the nano-second the light turned green. Or you've told your microwave to hurry up because it wasn't heating up your food fast enough. Or you've become an Amazon Prime member for that 2-day shipping since 5 days might as well be a Pony Express delivery.

Did you know that learning to wait well is a sign of maturity?

Ha. We'll skip that part. What hit home for me was that hope is really a form of waiting. Waiting means we give God the benefit of the doubt. We have faith that whatever it is we are waiting for – usually unanswered prayers – will be worth it. Often times positive. Or a least a life lesson to learn.

God is not about to call us out of the boat and set us up for failure. But when we lose focus and lose patience, we are saying we don't completely trust Him and His plans. We don't have faith and we don't have hope.

Is it because our God isn't big enough? Or because we forget that He is?

The final chapter asks: "How Big is Your God?" Every time someone gets out of the boat (or jumps out of the proverbial plane), their God gets a little bigger.

He's not just the safety net under us. He's the giant behind us, protecting us while gently nudging us in the right direction. He's the life jacket securely hugging us as we navigate the rough waters. He's the strong arms catching us when the wind picks up and we stumble. He's the hands reaching out to take our troubles from us... and we just have to release our grip and let Him. He's bigger than all the drops of water in the stormy sea combined.

Wow. I'd get out of my boat to meet Him at least halfway. Wouldn't you?

You've taken the walk with me this far. Might as well go out with a leap of faith!

Eeyore's Day Out

Just call me Eeyore. There's been a pesky rain cloud following me around today.

My gloom was a combination of some work stress, some concern over a loved one in the hospital and some frustration over an ungrateful teenager. It all had the makings of a major rain cloud.

Not good when you are going to go out kayaking for the evening. But the weather man did say only 15% chance of rain, so really, we were in the clear, right?

We went with our friends Mike and Cindy and decided to return to Nepco Lake, where we had some major whitecaps last time on the west side of the Highway 13 bridge but figured it would be calm tonight.

What's that saying about the calm before the storm?

You can't deny that when half the sky was a cloud and the other half clear that it didn't make for a pretty picture.

Don't ask me why we kept paddling to the "dark side," but we did. And it wasn't that dark. But we were a good distance from our starting point when we "parked" and just floated, sharing treats and listening to a thunder cloud. A thunder cloud I could not take credit for – even in my temporary role as Eeyore.

So Jim was sharing how much he loved storms and the others were agreeing. Why did we not think that rumble rumble would turn into pitter patter? I kind of thought the cloud was moving away from us, but obviously I don't know anything. Especially since I had a cloud following me all day.

The rain started and was pretty steady as we paddled as quickly as we could to shore, which was probably a good 15-20 minutes of steady strokes away – strokes that picked up speed every time we heard thunder. Doesn't lightning usually follow?

Needless to say, we were drenched. Too chilled and drenched to consider changing locations. Too chilled and drenched to consider King Cone even. That's some serious rain cloud Eeyore delivered!

Now we've got dry clothes on, the sky is magically clear and we are going to warm up by a fire.

Kayakers – and Eeyore – always have to have a Plan B, right?

Maniacal Monday

As I left the house for work this morning, I noticed my car's odometer was about to switch over to an interesting, if not evil, set of numbers. I got to a stop sign just after it turned and took this photo.

Leapin' Lucifer! It wasn't until I got to work that I noticed even the temperature matched up! Yowza. As if Monday in itself wasn't evil enough, I had this little devil of a thought sitting on my shoulder all day.

Luckily, the only "Hell" I experienced was a crazy-hard kickboxing class tonight. Oh, and we got our first-ever college tuition bill today! Now that is almost worthy of ice cream.

But no. After my "Don't Sit On Your Arse" angel made me go to class, I better not erase my minimal progress. Lead me not into temptation...

And deliver us from this evil Monday with a positive sign that this is going to be a great week. Just like my odometer, the bad can turn over to good in no time.