Tuesday Night Hoopla

It's not unusual to find me in the bleachers on Tuesday night in the winter. But this time the hoops action was at the Wisconsin Rapids public high school, not Assumption, and I was not cheering for the home team.

Was getting my "daughter fix" watching a friend's little girl (#40) tear up the court for Stevens Point.

Jim and I have known Brian since back in our newspaper days when they were both in sports for their respective papers. Eventually, we all ended up at the same publishing house in Iola and I worked side by side with him for the past several years before my departure in 2015. So we've known Brian before kids and have basically watched his first-born and only girl, Leah, grow up before our eyes.

She's been a natural at any sport she's tried, but basketball is her thing. Which she has proven this year as a 5'10" freshman starting on varsity for the huge high school. Since the Panthers were in town tonight visiting the Red Raiders, I made it a point to see her in person.

Plus visit and catch up with her parents, of course.

Not that I am biased, but she certainly seems to be the best and most well-rounded player on the team. Unfortunately, she got into a little foul trouble in the first half, but I still think she got at least 12 points tonight.
 

It was a close game in the second half but in the last few minutes, Rapids pulled away and ended up with the 67-55 win.

Since Jim had to bowl and Brian and his wife were not staying for the boys game that followed, I headed for home. Ran into several people I know on the way out. Of course, more than half of them were Assumption people (since we have no games tonight), but I did see others from work and church, so I do know people beyond my Royal blue circle!

Will have to make it a point to see #40 in another game this year if I can. If not, she's only a freshman and I see great things in her future! You go, baby girl!

Make You Wonder

Well the secret's out now. I. Am. Wonder. Woman.

As in, I do a lot of things that make you wonder!

Of course, it's fun to pretend I have super powers. Especially in kickboxing class when we are punching, kicking and deflecting our invisible attackers. I could save the world on a good day. Believe in me.

Since I was out of town this weekend so I missed the open house and demonstrations at my kickboxing place. I guess there was a great turnout and new people signed up for class. That's awesome. Tonight the veterans got the night off so our instructor could orientate the newbies. I figured I better get a workout in so I hopped on the treadmill after work.

Talk about things that make ME wonder! I wonder why I signed up for a 5-mile race in just a little over a month.

I am grateful that my WONDER-ful friend Chris is sort of in the same boat. We agreed we are eliminating the word "race" from our vocabulary. It's a 5-mile "fun run." We will be running it with plenty of walk & talk breaks – that will be the "fun" part. And when we finish – because, well, you have to finish – we will definitely feel like Wonder Women!

Right now, I am appreciating that we are gaining daylight so hopefully I can get some running done outside. I despise the boring "dreadmill," but it was too cold and snowy today. And since we'll be back to below zero later in the week, I suspect I better make friends with Mr. Treadmill.

Don't worry, Mr. Deck Chair. Even in the winter, nothing will come between us. Come spring, I just don't want you to wonder if I ate my way through your hibernation.

Not so Wonderful.

Southern Hospitality

We're back from the home of the Kringle! Had a fun-filled weekend in the southeast corner of Wisconsin! I would say "action packed" but at our age, our version of "action" probably differs from yours!

And we're fine with that.

Our friends Louie and Jeanne picked us up after work Friday, we swung by the Fox Cities to pick up Jeanne's son Korey on the way and got to the Greater Racine Area around 8 p.m.

Our first evening's entertainment could not even be described in a way that would do it justice. In a nutshell, we went to a bowling alley/bar and grill a few blocks from where our friends Mike and Christine live. Dinner was a disaster thanks to a clueless waitress but the karaoke participants soon made us forget that. Wow. I wish I had the self-confidence some people (who shouldn't) have. Funny stuff from no melody man to the "high" guy and a woman with a great voice who really went beyond the raunchy scale. Of course, the evening was capped off with a brilliant "Friends in Low Places" performance by Christine, Korey and backup singer Jeanne. I video recorded it but am holding it for a future blackmail opportunity. Ha.

Saturday was a game day. We had tickets to see Marquette University hosting Providence at the Bradley Center. Stopped off at a place called Sobelman's for pre-game lunch. Great food. They must be famous for their Bloody Mary selection because we saw somebody order one that had an entire fried chicken on top of it! I stuck with Diet Coke, trust me.

Had a great time at the game. I borrowed some Marquette gear from Christine so I would fit in!

Marquette was coming off of a huge upset win over Villanova on Tuesday. So people were pretty excited. But they ended up losing to Providence by one point. Still just fun to be part of the atmosphere!

We knew a few people, too. Jim's cousin Jeff (in blue above) was at the game. As a graduate and former Marquette employee, he has season tickets. Didn't get to see him in person, but we knew where he was sitting. Also ran into a girl friend of Carter's while I was in line at the restroom. Small world!

After the game, we headed back to Racine for some entertainment. Not sure how I noticed it, but when we parked at a saloon, I saw this ice sculpture across the street about half a block away.

Leave it to me to find a lighthouse anywhere! Pretty cool, eh?

Stayed downtown there for a few hours before heading "home" to Mount Pleasant for pizza and visiting. After getting home after midnight on Friday, we were all sacked out by 11 p.m. last night. Yup, we were living it up!

Today was pretty low-key. There is a "Kringle store" nearby so we had some yummy breakfast and even brought a Wisconsin Flavored Kringle home with us.... cranberries, cherries and cream cheese. Yum.

Korey was the man of the morning helping our hosts mount their big TVs on the wall in their living room and basement. Basically one worker, three helpers and three supervisors! Got it done and we were on the road in the early afternoon, with hugs goodbye and promises to get together again soon.

Got home to Rapids about 4:30 p.m. I am already ready for bed. Non-stop socializing can take a lot out of a person.

Of a certain age, that is. And I'm fine with that.

TGIF (Thank God I'm Friended)

We're on the road and headed south! OK, not anywhere where the temperatures are warm, just the hugs.

Hubby and I are riding with another couple down to Mount Pleasant, a pleasant name for a town outside the Racine and Kenosha area that is now home to my BFF Christine and her husband Mike. We hatched a plan New Year's Eve that we would invade the pleasant little town and force them to hang out with us Rapids folks!

In public, even.

Our weekend plans include visiting, enjoying food and refreshments, going to a Marquette basketball game and more visiting and enjoyment of food and refreshments. Pretty sure there won't be need of a blog for that!

Am excited to see my longtime friends and their new house and check out the southeast sector of Wisconsin. Will be back on the grid Sunday. Have a great weekend!

Captured Moment

Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do. ~ Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

Have you ever heard of "Brush and Babble" paint parties? Basically, you hold a paint brush and babble with friends. They tout them as an avenue to socialize and be creative and, most importantly for me, "no paint skills necessary!"

I've been wanting to try it out once, since they offer them quite regularly in the area, but haven't had the chance. Until tonight.

My friend Cindy was planning to attend Palette Pleasers at The Mead Inn with her mom, but when her mom felt under the weather, I stepped in to take her brush and palette. Tonight's featured projected was called "Captured Moment." A winter scene with a deer. I won't show you the teachers' finished product because I don't need mine compared to it!

The event seats about 50 of us and we all start with a clean slate. A blank, white canvas, the two brushes and pencil above, and tonight, just a blob of three colors.

How can we create something with just 3 colors? Magic. And science, I guess.

Forgive the shadows from the light behind me. Was going to do a step by step, but got behind and too involved. The hardest part was mixing the paints to come up with the ideal color. We needed a blue-gray for the background and started with a lighter gray for the first trees.

Then we added a much darker gray for other trees. After that it was snowballs and snowflakes and a deer. We could trace a deer stencil but had to do our own horns. I had to let go of my perfectionism after the first crooked tree. Then it was just keeping pace and trying not to screw up too badly.

From where I was sitting – up close and personal with my canvas – it looked like a kindergartner's finger painting. But when it was done and we stepped back, it was like.... Wow. I did that?

Cindy and I with our finished masterpieces. Does that look like a "Captured Moment" to you? I think it'll pass.

Am I pleased with my Palette Pleasers palette? It'll do. Good enough to hang in my office with some of Carter's grade school masterpieces!

Good thing I put my initials on there to clear up any confusion in my gallery.

Making It After All

It's not necessarily a bad thing to have a life role model from a television sitcom. As a child growing up in the '70s and '80s – and living just an hour-plus outside of the Twin Cities – I found that role model in "Mary Richards."

Funny, career-minded and in journalism, Mary Tyler Moore brought a face to a dream for a young wanna-be news reporter. Plus, she (or her character at least) liked the Vikings and Twins? Winner.

The photo above was shared on the Minnesota Twins Facebook page today as a tribute to MTM, who died today at the age of 80. That's her, tossing her hat in the air like she did in the opening credits of the Mary Tyler Moore show, while the theme song said, "You're gonna make it after all."

The sad irony in the show was that other characters would often mistake Mary as Lou Grant's secretary instead of on the producing team. That brought laughs but as Mr. Grant pointed out, the secretary actually made more money. When I say "sad irony" it's because that's probably not far from the truth, based on my life working in media and publishing.

The other sad irony – and I am not getting on a women's rights rant here – is that people still made that mistake/assumption 20 years later when I started my career as a newspaper reporter. I can't count how many times a male member of the city council or county board called me "sweetheart" or "honey." Would they say that to my male counterparts from the other newspapers and radio stations? Not likely.

My editor was a woman named Teri. Now granted, Teri/Terry could be a man or woman's name. However, I am sure I had called her a "she" or a "her" often enough when talking to my family. Maybe not.  

She, though, was a little miffed when she received a letter from my mother asking her to place an ad for a happy birthday message to me. Nice gesture, Mom, but you shouldn't have started the letter with a "Dear Sir" salutation. Took me awhile to live it down with my self-proclaimed feminist boss. And how can I chastise my mom for trying to do something sweet?

All that aside, I was and always have been serious about having a career and, like Mary, putting up with grief, dishing it out and having some fun along the way.

Thanks for turning the world on with your smile. And igniting my ambition with your grit and grace.

Top Mid-Season Form

After 4 consecutive seasons with trips to state for our girls' hoops team, it is so great to see the boys get their turn in the spotlight. With tonight's win over Auburndale, the Royals sit atop their division and remain undefeated in conference play this year!

Yes, there is still about half the season to go, but that usually means they mostly play everyone a second time, doesn't it?

Tonight's match-up of royal blue vs. Royal Blue shouldn't have been as close – if you just look at records. In fact, we trailed a few times. Not that I know anything about basketball, but I think what is working great for our team is that they are playing as a team. There is not just one shooter. No one is selfish with the ball. There are a lot of assists and some really crazy ability across the board to hit the 3-point shot! That makes it fun to watch.

Just love high school basketball. So much heart!

Jim's dad and uncle were also at the game tonight. That's reassuring that we'll never be too old to watch our Royals. When it fits our Empty Nest schedule, that is. It was nice the boys played at home tonight since the girls traveled to Neillsville. We could watch the game and get home before the dreaded "mixed precipitation" followed by snow starts.

Yup. I knew we didn't have much time to get that driveway cleared! Jim finished that off today and now we could get 4-7 inches of snow in the next 24 hours.

Now do you understand why we enjoy a few hours of bleacher butt each week?

Wood County Choppers

If you are wondering why we actually prefer snow in Wisconsin to, say, mixed precipitation, this photo illustration should give you a clue.

Had we gotten 8 or 10 or even 12 inches of snow a week ago instead of one measly inch of ice, it would be gone by now. No matter what the temperature, it would have at least been removed from the driveways, sidewalks and roadways and placed somewhere else.

Instead, over the course of the week, more rain and drizzle and sleet added to the base layer and all outdoor surfaces became ice skating rinks.

So even though I showed you a picture of the driveway partially clear the other day, it has been a slow process to clear the rest. All of us able-bodied adults in the house have taken turns with the ice scraper chopper thing. It's not as fun or easy as it looks.

Yesterday, since the temps were mild, I took a swing at it. First I had gone out for a run since the main roads were finally clear enough. But, due to the lake-like driveway and road, it took me 5-6 minutes to shuffle out of the subdivision and onto Deer Road. When I got back home, I figured I might as well take a turn since I was already warmed up and sweating.

After chopping and then shoveling the heavy, wet ice after chopping, I was convinced that scraper thing must weigh 20 pounds. (Tony says I'm exaggerating.) I could feel it in my triceps, though. And, I got 10,000 steps yesterday with most of those coming from my arm movements, I think!

All that work and hubby didn't notice. Ha. I made sure to point it out.

Today, I could see he hacked away at some. When I got home from kickboxing, I chopped a little but mostly took the shovel to the whole driveway to clear off the top layer of slush. Yes, slush can be heavy. I thought it would only take 20 minutes but it was twice that. I don't know if I'll be capable of lifting my arm and hitting the snooze in the morning!

Hopefully, with 3 more days of temps predicted to be above freezing, we can chop the rest of this mess away.

Just in time for the next blizzard probably.

Who loves winter? Raise your hand! (If you are physically able, that is.)

Possessed

Our church is going to expand its community ministry with visits to the elderly at one of the area nursing homes. Yesterday, a dozen of us were "trained" on how to do this effectively and positively. Basically, we had to understand where these residents were coming from – mentally and emotionally – so we can connect with them.

One of the activities we had to do dealt grief and loss. We had to make some lists like 5 most important people, 5 activities we enjoy, 5 body parts, etc, and the exercise had us eliminating items one by one. I only struggled with making one of the lists: 5 of your most prized possessions.

I listed my scrapbooks as No. 1 because they contain the most photos and records of memories and... what else? I couldn't even think of anything else to list.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Bells going off and red flags waving.

If I don't have any possessions that are "must have" possessions in my life, then why is my house filled with them? And possessions is a nice word. Clutter and crap are more appropriate labels for much of it.

I realize we hold onto things for a variety of reasons:

• Sentimental — a loved one gave it to us, or it holds memories.
• Security — we’re worried we might need it someday.
• Procrastination — it’s too difficult to even consider tackling all that clutter.
• Value — we don’t want to waste what we’ve paid good money for by getting rid of it.

Guilty of all. I would add lazy to my procrastination, too, because I have no ambition to tackle it all and think about sorting or tagging things for a garage sale, etc. I am a fan of donating but since I am guilty of the value mindset, too, I hate to just get rid of it if it's worth money.

Today, I compromised and that empowered me to take the first step. I decided if I can't use it or haven't used it, maybe somebody I know could. So I posted the following status on Facebook:

ISO good home for my clutter! Anyone want PartyLite candle holders and candles (quite the variety, like new)? How about arts and craft supplies of every nature (from stamping to calligraphy to needlepoint)? Kids books, anyone? Popcorn tins? Games? I have no energy to price things. Just need things to get gone! I'll take them to Goodwill but wanted to check with friends first. #CluttersLastStand #FreeStuff

Wow. Did I get the response!

I feel so good that friends need or want it and can use it!! I got rid of two bags of candles and candle holders (and that's not all of them). Have more than a dozen kids board games divvied up, mostly among teachers. And have a lot of Carter's old books – that we (me) never priced for a garage sale – that are going to a combination of teachers and friends. It's all going to be out of my house in the next 48 hours!

Additionally, now that I know there's interest for some of my arts and craft stuff, I will have to sort that a bit so I can pair up the right types of items with my crafty friends. That's going to be a bigger thing to tackle but I must do it this week to keep the momentum going!

Granted this is just a start, but it's a process I will keep doing in the next few weeks. Why is this method of de-cluttering working for me? I think it's because other people are making the tough decisions for me. If I am willing to put it out there that I might part with something, it turns out I will if someone needs it and claims it. Then I have to follow through.

Of course, I think hubby is anxious to see how far I will take this. For example, he asked, "OK, within 10, how many hoodies do you have?"

Good grief. Let's not get carried away here.

One step at a time...

29 Again

As our baby boy headed back to Platteville this afternoon, I realized why I am not a big fan of math. According to my calculations, it has been three decades – yes, decades – since I was in college. Ouch.

Some days, though, I feel like it was yesterday. Today was one of those days.

Thanks to social media, I have been able to reconnect or stay connected with several friends from UW-La Crosse. A half dozen were RAs with me at Angell Hall and another half dozen were friends, roommates, fellow newspaper nerds and more. While many of us still reside in the Dairy State, we just don't see each other. Why is that? I don't know. We're all so busy parenting that our time is taken up with weekend tournaments, school events and the like.

The benefit of living in central Wisconsin – and the hour-drive radius around me – is that it is the go-to location for events and conferences. So sometimes when the calendars, stars and planets align, I get to see an old friend.

Today, my college friend Carrie ("Sarge") from Milwaukee area was in Wausau with her family to watch her oldest son wrestle. Thanks to the 70 mph speed limit on I-39, Wausau is less than an hour from here. Unfortunately, I had a training day at church so I couldn't make it up there to watch him. In fact, right when I arrived home after the meetings, she let me know Ben was done wrestling for the day after his second loss and they were headed home.

Since we hadn't seen each other in 7 years (we calculated it), I said I could meet them on their way home to Milwaukee, depending which way there were going. "I can just meet you at a gas station on your route, just for a drive-by hug!"

Turns out we did better than that and met by Stevens Point and Plover to have a quick cup of frozen yogurt at Sweet Frog, accompanied by hugs (of course) and quick catching up.

So great to see her! We had so much fun when we were Resident Assistants on the first floor of Angell Hall. And you know when that was? 29 years ago! Yup, we were celebrating our 29th, I guess. Not birthday, just anniversary of our friendship.

Sometimes when schedules aren't aligning, you gotta drive a few extra miles to make it happen! Totally worth it. Always totally worth it.

Felt more like 19 than 29... til we both realized our "little boys" are taller than us! They keep changing yet we stay the same. How does that work?

Must be our clean Wisconsin living highlighted with occasional trips down Memory Lane, real-life conversations and smiles, and extra long drive-by hugs.

Black Ice Matters

That whole business about your life changing in a split second has some merit.

Woke up to temperatures right around the freezing mark so it felt mild out. What I didn't realize heading out the door was that we were on the tail end of freezing rain. So the roads were sporadically slippery. And when I thought they were clear, I was met with some black ice.

As I approached a typically busy intersection during commuting hours, I hit the brakes and kept right on going at full speed – granted, only 35-40 mph – toward the intersection. It was a very long patch of black ice. Long enough, I think, that I could see my life pass before my eyes, I could curse, and still get a prayer in.

Thank GOD someone was listening!

Amazingly and very uncharacteristically, there was no one coming from either direction as I slid through the stop. Whew. I felt like a human version of the video game Frogger where you have to dodge traffic just right to survive.

Needless to say, my heart was pumping pretty hard for awhile!

I guess God has more work for me to do so he spared me.

It sure made me appreciate some time with loved ones at supper – last meal before Carter heads back to college tomorrow – and friends at the Assumption basketball game. Even though today was a controversial big day in politics with Trump sworn in as president, no one talked about it beyond social media. I think there is plenty of uncertainty and wariness, so why not just not think about it awhile and have fun?

So we did. Enjoyed a close girls JV game, where the Royals lost by one point. Watched the varsity girls squeak out a 3-point win in a close, hard-fought game with Auburndale. Our boys team was up in Marathon tonight and they won, too, giving them a perfect record still in the conference.

Despite everything, these are exciting times, aren't they?

Just remember to be thankful for today. In one moment – especially on black ice – our lives most certainly could change.

SAD (Sylvester Affective Disorder)

Do the winter months get you down more than you think they should? If so, you might have seasonal depression, also known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Or, in our house, Sylvester affective disorder.

SAD is a kind of depression that tends to occur (and recur) as the hours of daylight grow shorter during the fall and winter months. In a nutshell, the disorder seems to be the result of inadequate exposure to bright light during the winter months.

There is a cure.

I'm not sure if I was a cat in a previous life or Sylvester was a Robyn in one. We both must have sunshine!

You can see from the photo above that her solution is to grab every drop of sunshine possible as often as possible. At this point in the winter, I am not opposed to getting down on the rug and sitting next to her either. We are solar sisters, after all.

With the snow, freezing rain and fog out of the way, we had some real sunshine finally. Temps got into the mid to upper 30s which meant three things: ice was melting, school was back in session and there was no need for a winter coat!

Yes, for real we are that brainwashed in the Midwest that temps reaching close to 40 mean no jacket required. Since I have a crazy cold and runny nose this week, however, I did wear a jacket! (No worries, Mom.)

The melting ice helped our hired hand make progress on the driveway, though.

Not hired hand, just ambitious nephew! We now have a good third of the driveway cleared and you see how much ice is left to get chipped and shoveled out or maybe just pushed aside as it melts. Sylvester and I are pleased to report the temperatures will be warm enough for a meltdown the next few days. Plus we are gaining 2 minutes of daylight every day this week!

Unfortunately, it is also supposed to start raining tonight and rain every day in the foreseeable future. There goes the sun.

That makes us SAD. How about you?

College Boy Times 2

It is back-to-school time on Blue Jay Drive. We now have an equal number of college boys and college graduates in the house!

After two "ice days" to delay the start of the spring semester, our nephew Tony finally got to head to class today at Mid-State Technical College in Wisconsin Rapids.

Yes, of course I had to take a "first day of school" picture. This is a big deal for Tony. He is determined to turn his life around and is definitely on the right path to do so! Proud of him and hope he finds enjoyment – and a career – in their machine tool technician program!

This is also the week the other college boy prepares to go back to school – sometime this weekend. After nearly a month at home, Carter is quite ready to go back to UW-Platteville. Even though I can hear him down in the basement right now playing video games with his buddies, he's anxious to get back to his new "normal." He just found out today his roommate is not returning to school so he'll have a new roommate plus new spring semester classes to adjust to. He'll be fine.

Feel blessed that both our college boys are dedicated to sticking with their studies so – as Dr. Seuss points out – they can climb their mountain. Get on your way, boys.

Us old-timers are just along for the ride.

Ice, Ice, Baby

If you ever wondered what a quarter-inch of ice accumulation looks like, it's not pretty. Well, it sort of is pretty, but definitely not practical.

Having a slippery deck is one thing, but the driveway-turned-skating-rink is another. I called in "late" to work this morning in hopes that another 45 minutes of daylight would help melt the ice.

Since the temperature was right around the freezing mark, you could tell Ol' Man Winter was trying to rectify his behavior from last night. It was warmer but a constant mist remained through the day.

With my little delay, it was warm enough that I was able to back out of the garage without sliding and hitting either ice-covered vehicle parked in the driveway. I really didn't have any traction for the drive through the subdivision out to a main road. And that wasn't that great, either. So I drove around 30 mph to work and managed to stay out of the ditch.

It was a precarious walk from the car to the office door, though. Now I can see why schools and a lot of businesses were closed again today. What can be done with all these icy parking lots around town? Can salt and sand really do the trick or is that just to give us confidence that something is being done?

On the plus side, a lot of ice and snow melted today. On the negative side, the temperatures are back below freezing so tomorrow morning will bring a new layer of ice and fresh hell for commuters. And they've called off school AGAIN in Rapids already.

There are parts of the country that are dying for rain. They can have it in January! We'd actually rather have snow. You can plow it, blow it, move it out of the way. Ice is a nasty visitor overstaying its welcome!

For a reprieve, we apparently will see temps in the 40s this weekend. I would normally be excited about that. But the snowshoe trails will be in very poor condition after this rain and ice. And while 40s is good running weather, I would be foolish to attempt any movement beyond shuffling from my car to the office.

Take it slow, my friends. Be careful on that ice, ice, baby!

Purple Rain

I know when my feet are ice cold because my toes start to turn purple. Now I know the same applies to rain. See that beautiful swath of purple on the map? That would be freezing rain, aka falling ice.

It is not nice.

Our office was closed today for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. I know quite a few friends were looking forward to some alone time at home to clean or relax while the kiddos were at school. But then this ice storm started looking real, so the schools around here dismissed those lovely kiddos after lunch.

Personally, I thought it was going to be a false alarm. That's usually what happens when lay persons try to accurately predict weather. But, it turns out they were right. Around 4 p.m. when the buses would have been running, it was glare ice on roads already.

And the purple rain is still happening!

I was in town running errands and seeing my hair artist this morning, but was home by 11 a.m. Carter got back from the Twin Cities by 2 p.m. Tony had to run to Neillsville today and he got back late this afternoon when it was transitioning from green to purple. In fact, today was supposed to be his first day of school at Mid-State Technical College and they canceled classes as of 3 p.m.

As long as I was under "house arrest," I did get one of my Hallmark Christmas movies watched and off the DVR. I also got a few little "to do" projects done in my office and started thinking about what photos I'll need for Camp Crop-A-Lot. Only a month and a half away!

Now that we are all stuck here this evening and there are more people than TVs, I may just have to read awhile. Any time on the computer is too much on a day off!

Considering our next company holiday is Memorial Day (ugh), I am sure there'll be plenty of computer time in my future.

Never thought I'd say it, but we could do with a little less purple rain, though.

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

Despite waking up to minus 6 degrees temperature, I realized it is never too cold – and we are never too old – for a new adventure!

Thankfully the mercury rose to a balmy 20 degrees so my friend Cindy and I could keep our very important appointment! Yup, today was the inaugural snowshoeing adventure. One small step for veteran Cindy and one giant leap for newbie Robyn.

We are so fortunate to live near a groomed snowshoeing trail! Nepco Lake is not even 10 minutes away and features separate trails for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiles. 

Decked out in our new boots, we put on the snowshoes and hit the trail!

The key was dressing in layers. Long underwear type tights and leggings on the bottom, wool "sports" socks, a shirt, fleece and sweatshirt on top, and a hat and gloves.

Besides looking good, haha, we discovered we had exactly enough layers. Not cold at all and not sweating. And we stayed dry because the trails were good and I did not fall on my face or backside as expected.

Honestly, the shoes were not too tough to get used to. Just had pretend I was walking and before I knew it, I did not have to concentrate on each step. I could just enjoy the view!

The trail took us around the park and near the "beach." You can see one ice shanty in the distance. There were lots of people on the lake today and on the trails.

The snow this week helped set the scene, that's for sure.

The loop we followed for an hour or so led us on some different levels, too. Here we are standing on the creek bed looking up to the ridge we had just walked across not 10 minutes before. So we were getting some decent exercise, that's for sure.

And if we needed someone to come pick us up, we just had to blow this whistle. Actually, we're not sure if that's why it was just hanging around. Thankfully we didn't need it.

Saw some pretty post-Christmas Christmas trees.

And every little branch doing its best to hold up the recent ice and snow.

This one was buckling under the weight a bit!

Just pretty archways and pathways.

It sure would have been an ugly, boring walk without the snow. Who am I kidding? I guess you kind of need snow to snowshoe anyway! But it had been icy on the trails a week ago. So we timed it right and now, I am sure, we have plenty of winter left to do it more!

It was fitting that we ran into some friends toward the end of our journey so we could get our picture taken! Still smiling when it was over. Will have to see what, if anything, hurts tomorrow!

Hoping nothing so I can find a reason to actually like winter.

Have some fun out there!

Sole Sisters

You'd think it was National Girlfriends Day or something. Got to spend some time today with some soul sisters and sole sisters.

Had early morning core and strength class with my sweet sweat sisters Teri and Gwen. From there I went to book club at the coffee shop downtown, where Brenda, Sharon, Cindy and I covered two books (December and January) and had to represent for the other half of the club that wasn't able to make it this month. Always a very nice visit (and discussion, of course).

After heading home, showering and making myself a bit more presentable, Cindy and I went to Stevens Point on a sole sister mission for shoes.

Now this was not frivolous shopping. We are going snowshoeing tomorrow and I do not have any waterproof hiking-type boots to wear with mine. Fleet Farm was having a sale, so that was our first shop. Initially, Cindy was "just along for the ride," but it's safe to say that between the two of us, we tried on about a dozen pair. A good half hour later (at least), Cinderellas 1 and 2 walked out with new sturdy glass slippers.

Second stop was Shippy Shoes. I need new running shoes. I suspected as much and after some slight blistering the other day after a long run, I knew I shouldn't wait much longer. I told my sole sister, "Now watch, I will be in and out of this store in a fraction of the time and spend twice as much money."

Truth.

Just walked in, told them brand, model and size. Tried them on to "be sure" and was done. When runners find a shoe that works for them – giving them support and no pain – they tend to stick with that shoe! Once you're sole mates, you are bonded for life. Or at least a few years.

While Cindy did browse, she behaved and we got out of the place with only one box.

Do you think I tested out either pair of new shoes when I got home? Well, no. Had to watch some football playoffs I didn't care about and start reading next month's book club book. Since Carter was gone to Minneapolis to visit big brother Casey and Tony was out for the afternoon I could have knocked off some Hallmark movies still in the DVR queue.

That sounded like too much work. I think I was exhausted from all that sole searching.

I'll let you know tomorrow if it was worth it!