Sunday Drive

We took a Sunday drive today like the old days. Who would do that on a rainy, cold day? Well people that need to get home from 3 hours away! That's who.

Stayed with our friends last night and had brunch before hitting the road around noonish. Since we were in the area, hubby wanted to stop at Holy Hill. He hadn't been there in some four decades. I had never been there. Hadn't even heard about it until Carter went there for a field trip probably 8 or 9 years ago. Maybe we Lutherans need to branch out more once in awhile!

Although people often visit to see the view from up on top of the hill, it was too misty and overcast to see the building, let alone any fall color. From the parking lot, I had no idea what it was, anyway...

But thanks to the internet, I can tell you about it:

Holy Hill was declared a Shrine with "Portiuncula privilege" by Pope Leo XIII in 1903. And, as a result of the increasing number of pilgrims, the Discalced Carmelites of Bavaria were invited to staff the Shrine in 1906. On November 19, 2006, the Shrine was elevated to the status of Basilica.

This was on display, but more than 500,000 people from all over the world visit the REAL Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, at Holy Hill each year. (It's north of Milwaukee off I-41 near Hubertus, if that helps you.) Some come to admire the beautiful architecture of the neo-Romanesque church built in 1926.

Others make a pilgrimage to Holy Hill to worship, to meditate or to pray for healing.

Look at the crutches outside the chapel left by those who were healed! Wow.

And even thought we didn't see much outside, the inside was amazing. Look at these windows (made in Germany, by the way).

A very scenic Sunday drive, indeed! Now we're home sweet home and, yes, we have the heat on!

Have a blessed week!

Chillin' Out With Friends

Waking up to this freezing temp today, I'm glad we were heading south. Less than 3 hours, but still... south!

Had a long overdue visit with our friends Mike and Christine in the Racine area. But first, we met up for lunch in Waukesha. Christine's brother Craig and his family joined us, too, after a campus visit in the area.

Great pizza lunch!

After heading down to Mount Pleasant, got to see some sights in the nearby big cities of Racine and Kenosha. I only had one request: see a lighthouse since we're right by Lake Michigan.

Request granted. A few photos from the Wind Point Lighthouse beach...

Looks warmer than it was. Not sure it got above 56 or so. But we're all snuggled in for the night now... watching a very important baseball game.  For Brewers fans!

And Mike and Christine have definitely invested a lot of time in Miller Park this summer to cheer them onto this point. Pretty exciting.

Not gonna jinx it so I'll sign off. Forgive any typos. Typing on my phone. Can't leave my good luck spot on the couch.

Go crew!

Wild Friday Night

Had to laugh when I saw this because I didn't even get THIS wild tonight. Never made it to the recliner. Ha.

This week was so busy at work that I am drained. Just wanted to unwind a bit tonight. But am not quite there. Had important stops after work – Feltz Dairy for that Pumpkin Spice Eggnog (yum) and my friend Cathy's for Pumpkin Spice Cookies (do you see a pattern?).

Naturally, that meant I needed to get out for a run to preemptively burn off some calories. Did 3 miles and ran a good chunk of it for once. So far, my pinky toe says that was OK to do.

Hubby was gone tonight for a presentation at the high school so I worked on some freelance stuff. Now my eyes really can't look at the screen anymore so I am heading off to bed. Plus, we have an exciting weekend coming up. If I don't blog tomorrow night it's because I'm having too much fun to get to the computer.

More wild than my Friday night, I'm guessing. TGIF!

Thursday Night Lights ... and Action!

Love this cartoon! Vikes are in LA tonight and the Austins are having a recliner date night!

Papa Murphy's Hawaiian Pizza, beer (Point Root Beer), and football! It's a shootout. Tons of offense and still more than a quarter to go. Gotta get back to my chair to keep the mojo on the go-go.

Have a wonder-SKOL night!

The Perfect Union

Dearly Beloved, we're gathered here today to join together two of my favorites...

Yes! This exists! My pumpkin spice AND eggnog. Together as ONE!!

Oh my gosh. I have to make sure I stop at the Feltz Family Farms and Dairy Store in Plover. They had this on their Facebook page and I will probably have to make a lunchtime trip there tomorrow. I just don't know how long I can stay away.

And I know there are haters of both of those flavors on their own. Sorry, folks. I think this could be a good one. I mean I'm drinking Pumpkin Spice protein shakes for breakfast so this has to be just as healthy, right? It has the word Dairy on the label, I see.

For the record, the Feltz Dairy Store has never steered us wrong before. Lots of great stuff there – and wonderful owners, of course. Stop in. Even if pumpkin is not your thing, they have great cheese, brats and all those Wisconsin favorites! Did I mention ice cream?

Any of those things and my tummy are a perfect union. Until weigh-in day.

But let's live for today! Cheers.

Autumn Winds of Change

My column for this past Sunday's church bulletin...

Autumn Winds of Change

Driving up north (4 hours one way) to see my mother last weekend, one of the first things hubby and I noticed along the highway were green trees with brilliant patches of colored leaves. Small, but noticeable.

“Noooo,” I lamented. “I’m not ready!”

Eventually, I acknowledged that, well, it is mid-September and fall officially is coming (today, in fact). Still, since I love summer, I wanted to bury my head in the sand and deny autumn’s arrival.

You know what happens when we bury our head in the sand? We don’t see anything. And as much as I am a sun worshipper, I can’t get enough of the colors of autumn. (Or the flavors, says this Pumpkin Spice Girl.) I’d hate to miss out on either by clinging to last season.

I’ve heard it said that autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.

We notice the spectacular beauty of the trees, but often forget that the next step involves the trees letting those leaves go. There’s no hesitation. They just do it. It’s how the trees prepare for winter, knowing there’s rebirth again in the spring. It’s an annual cycle. And the trees don’t doubt their spring will come.

Sometimes we forget we are natural beings, too, and our lives also have cycles. There are times we hold on, and there are the times that we have to learn to let go. From my experience, it’s rarely an easy process. While change can be a good thing, it can be intimidating as well. Most people say change is one of their biggest fears. That is completely understandable. Usually, in order to change, something new has to replace something old. Something within your comfort zone has to go.

We know from our book study of If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat (John Ortberg), letting go, stepping out of our comfort zone, or closing a chapter of our lives can be challenging. If we can learn anything from trees, it’s that we have to let chapters end if we're to move on to the next chapter. We have to let seasons run their course if the next season is to come on time. Spring can't make its way into our worlds if we're still trying desperately to hold on to the previous summer. (Sorry, Mr. Deck Chair).

God knows exactly what He’s asking when He says to, “Throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” (Hebrews 12:1) He’s got plans for us. And he’ll support us during our barren “winter.” But in order to experience the full depth of all He has, we must let go. So a better, deeper, and more beautiful version of us can grow.

Ready to fly, my fellow leaves?

My Kind of Monday

As Mondays go, it wasn't bad. Work is work. But there were positives interspersed in my day...

Got to "meet" my new great-nephew Linus, courtesy of a photo shared by the new parents – my nephew David and his wife, Sara. Yay for them!!

King Cone announced their new Pumpkin Pie flavor. Yum. A yum. Yum. Didn't go yet, but that's my prediction!

Hallmark Channel announced their Christmas movie lineup for the Robyn Couch Potato Season.

I had a hilarious photo shoot of some football players after work. Then an enjoyable Book Club with the girls.

And got home just in time to watch the season premiere of The Voice. My guilty pleasure. It's the most fun watching during the auditions since we here the back stories of the contestants. And the coaches are crazy funny. Love it.

That's about it. Hubby bowled and I am getting to bed on time. Might even read a bit.

My Monday. My fun.

Don't We Have a Deal with Squirrels?

Everything I know about the behavior of wild animals, I learned on Seinfeld. OK, not everything. And not about every animal. But definitely pigeons and squirrels.

If you recall the Merv Griffin episode, George runs over a flock of pigeons. "Don't we have a deal with the pigeons?" George asks. And Jerry replies: "Of course we have a deal. They get out of the way of our cars, we look the other way on the statue defecation." Later, George runs over a squirrel. But it survives and his girlfriend at the time forces George to take the squirrel to the vet – who would have to send away for tiny surgical instruments to help it. So he had to take it home and nurse it back to health.

I was under the impression we had a deal with squirrels, too. They run out in the road with their pea-sized brain and we keep driving because they somehow always manage to dodge all the tires.

I guess not always.

This morning I was late for church because I stopped to let a brood of turkeys cross the road. OK, I was running late anyway but I took the time to demonstrate substantial kindness toward them (and my car).

I had just hit the gas when a squirrel ran out on the road and suddenly stopped. He did one of those crouching "don't hit me" poses. And. Well. I hit him. It wasn't even sitting in my tire line so maybe something from my undercarriage? I don't know. I just heard a thunk and, looking in the rearview mirror, I saw him laying there. His tail blowing in the wind.

Why didn't he keep running like every other stupid squirrel? I felt bad. For real. But I had to get to church, you know! When I was driving home later, I saw this...

OMG! He died so dramatically! It's like he was raising his arms and crying, "Save me, Jesus!" How awful. It looks like a cartoon character from of those Disney movies.

But he still hasn't moved. So definitely dead. Definitely not a cartoon. But at least no one has run over him again and, you know, flattened him.

Is it still the circle of life if I end a life? I mean I did save those 9 or 10 turkeys. And I cleaned up cat puke without hurting her – or breaking a toe. That's balance, right?

We had a deal!

You Can't Up-End Fun

Despite the fact Gilman (4-1) upended our chance of winning our homecoming game, it was still a lot of fun for most of the kids anyway. I assume.

I was just feeling blessed for a gorgeous day. Took hundreds of photos and didn't even get a chance to go through the actual game shots. Picked out a few for the newspaper and that was about it. The one above sort of tells it all.

They stopped almost all our efforts to move the ball. Thankfully we scored in the end so it was a complete blowout. Still, a loss of 42-6 is no fun. Glad they all got to shower, clean up good and go to dinner and the dance. That's something to smile about anyway.

After the game, I went for a run (walked) a bit. Then hubby and I met my BFF, her hubby, brother and sister-in-law at Anchor Bay for an early dinner. The freshman class (including her nephew) were eating dinner that before the dance, so we figured we would, too.

I did end up going to the Grand March later. Needed to get a picture of the full homecoming court and took a few others. Plenty to look through yet. But hey, it's my bedtime.

This homecoming Cinderella turns into a pumpkin long before midnight!

TGIF (Thank God it's Frost??)

Yes, it's true. It's on the Internet, so it has to be. We may get frost tonight! Figures. A Friday frost equals frigid football on Saturday!

It's homecoming week for Assumption. Kickoff is 11 a.m. tomorrow. So the good news is that we aren't freezing our backsides off watching the game tonight. However, I don't know how much it will warm up by late morning. At least there allegedly will be sun!

Tonight, to kick off things before the pep rally, the German Club held their annual Oktoberfest fundraiser.

Yummy brats and apple strudel. Wunderbar as usual! We didn't stay for the pep rally. I feel like a stalker sometimes, ha. So I'll save that for the sidelines tomorrow! Gotta pick and choose.

Plus hubby and I had a nice date at Wal-Mart followed by a quick walk and...

Gorgeous sunset! It's getting dark so early now but sometimes God has a pretty way of turning down the lights!

What's that saying... Red sky at night... Turn on the electric mattress pad all night?

Sounds right.

Just a Touch of Love

I know next to nothing about tennis. Or as they say in tennis scoring – I know love about it. I grunt like Serena Williams ... when I golf. But that's about it.

I did play (using term loosely) about 10 years back with a friend at work. We'd basically just rally back and forth for exercise. Hubby and I did that a few times around then, too. But I forgot how it goes. What's a game, set, match, etc.

But since Assumption was playing indoors at SentryWorld across the street from my office, I decided to pop in after work and maybe shoot a few pictures. OK. A hundred. But lighting stunk so it wasn't anything pretty. Still it was fun to watch. For a bit. (I only knew a few of the girls.)

Usually they play outside but because of rain, they managed to secure the popular indoor location. They played Black River Falls, which is in the opposite direction, but since some of the seasons are wrapping up – or booked – they had to get it in.

Don't know how they did since I was there to give them a touch of love, not a whole evening's worth. And it did rain during my drive home so it was good they had that great option!

As a good employee, I'll put in a plug for SentryWorld. It does have a lot more to offer than just golf (and indoor tennis). Volleyball leagues, PJ's – a great restaurant, banquet facilities, golf pro shop, and a Close the Course Race coming up in November. Let me know if you want a registration form. I've got connections.

I might not know anything about tennis (or a lot of things) but I know people who know people who know things!

Penalty Kicks

Did I mention that dressing like a shark is the easy part of our United Way campaign? The hard part... trying to resist all the bake sales.

"It's for a good cause!"

You know how I love to bake. Well, I love to eat the baked goods just as much! No willpower to be found this week. You pay for a plateful and spread it out over days. I was successful in getting four meals out of this. Yes, you can't afford any other calories so cookies for breakfast are the norm this week.

And I'm not the only one. Believe me.

But I did feel pretty guilty and glutenous by the end of today. So I penalized myself by going to kickboxing. I know. You haven't heard me mention it in months. Because I have been too busy, er lazy, to go.

It did feel good to be back. And the kicking won't bother my pinky toe since we don't ever lead with that when we use proper form. Still, I tried to take it easy tonight.

Still, I was sweating like a pig. And still, I'll be cursing our instructor tomorrow because I anticipate aches and pains. I'm 50 now. I can't jump in and start kicking without paying the price. But it's better than kicking my scale and breaking another toe!

If I could just kick that willpower into gear, too.

Golfing Shark Doo Doo Doo

If you have kids, you have the insanely annoying Baby Shark song in your head. And now, thanks to me, it's your earworm before bed. Just change the momma shark to golf shark, doo doo doo doo doo...

Recognize me in my shark costume? No, I don't dress like this every day for work. But anything goes (just about) during our company's two-week United Way campaign.

Every department is doing what it can to raise money. We're talking bake sales and lunches and raffle baskets and crazy stuff like a miniature golf course. Hey, we're the Marketing Department. We had to be creative. And we are!

We divided our department into 9 teams and each team created a hole with a unique theme. Ours was a cross between Happy Gilmore and the San Jose Sharks since their center (Joe Pavelski) is from Stevens Point. And we have an autographed shirt we're raffling off. Thus the shark theme. (Thanks to my hockey mom friend Michelle for most of the hockey props!)

Two days this week and two days next week, co-workers can pay to play our Mini Tournament of Champions – named for our big Sentry TOC on Maui in January – and earn a chance to win Packer tickets and other prizes.

Here's a hole-by-hole view of our creativity in action...

 Hole 1: Under Construction

Hole 2: Under the Sea. ( I got a 6 on this one. Couldn't get the ball up the last ramp. Ha.)

Hole 3: Maui (Hole-in-one!)

Hole 4: The Nineties (Pac-Man meets New Kids on the Block)

No clubs here. Had to use a slingshot to get the ball in the hole on the NKOTB poster. I got it in 3 tries!

Hole 5: The Black Hole (pretty cool. Another hole-in-one for me)!

Hole 6: Surf's Up! (Loved the Beach Boys music here!)

Hole 7: Our United Way Shark Week!

Hole 8: Packers hole. I was the perfect Viking kicker and could not get the ball through the uprights. Need I say more?

Hole 9: Curling! We had to use a curling brush (official one) for the golf club. I got a 2 on this hole after I used the brush handle as a pool stick for my second shot.

Like I said, just about anything goes during United Way weeks! Ha. It IS a lot of crazy fun. And in the end, our company ends up raising over a million dollars for them. Now that is crazy amazing.

Sing about that! Money shark, doo doo doo doo doo...

You're welcome.

What the Hail

Had my monthly back-crackin' appointment after work today. Was supposed to shoot photos of middle soccer right after that.

On my way into the chiropractor's office, it was sunny, hot and muggy out. When I came out, it was cloudy and sprinkling. By the time I got over to the soccer field... deluge! Players and coaches were running to their cars so that was that for that photo assignment!

I texted hubby and it was hailing at our house just 10 minutes away. That's because the storm on the radar picture above moved in. And quickly. In no time, the sirens were going off for the storm warning. And it was so windy, like 40-50 mph gusts, that I got pretty concerned.

But we our electricity stayed on. And didn't think we had any damage. That we could see in the dark.

The next-door neighbor's yard light pole blew over, though and is resting on the bushes between their house and ours. Hopefully, nothing dangerous or damaging happens with that over night.

I can't even imagine what people in the path of Hurricane Florence are dealing with. A hundred times worse than this, that's for sure.

Feeling grateful.

Around the World in a Day

Put on some miles and smiles this weekend. Left the house at 6:30 a.m. yesterday to head Up North to see my mom.

First stop, though, was the Siren National Golf Course. We had planned to golf on the way up, but realized we didn't want it too close to home or we'd have to drive hours afterward. This way, we got the 4 hours of driving in first, then golf, then just 15 minutes to Mom's in Grantsburg.
 

Tee'd off at 11 a.m.  and it was already 76 degrees. And the course was a wet mess. Apparently they got a major storm and downpour of more than 2 inches of rain that morning. We drove up with mostly sunny skies so we were oblivious.

 It was obvious once we started playing though. Standing water everywhere. Very wet rough, fairways, and greens.

 We both dug up some muddy divots on iron shots, that's for sure.

The temperature and humidity just kept rising so we were disgustingly hot and sweaty. And our game was suffering. I'm happy to report two pars. But I won't report all the 3-putts that jacked my score up. Still, a fun time!!

Had a nice visit with mom at her apartment. We took a trip to the other side of the world together when I talked and walked her through my scrapbook from Sweden. She really enjoyed it and was glad we "took her with."

Took her out to eat and for a beer (root beer) in Grantsburg. Also joined by sisters Renell, RoAnn and later Romey, plus brother Ron, two brothers-in-law, and a great-niece and great-nephew. Yes, it was a bit chaotic, per usual. Still very nice to see people visit.

From there we headed to my sister Rayna's in Hudson and stopped to see Dad's grave on the way. RoAnn told me to tell him hello from her. But when I told Dad, "Your two favorite Viking daughters say hello," he sent down a swarm of 10,000 mosquitoes to annoy me away. He still has a no sense of humor on Packer-Viking weekends!

We slept at Rayna and Paul's in Hudson and I went to church with them this morning. Jim found a Catholic one that he went to. Came home and it was game time.

Not need to act Christian any more. It was almost game time!

We left Rayna and Paul's and headed over to Boy #1's house. Casey lives in St. Paul and just a few minutes away from a sports bar we assumed would be all Viking fans. But someone let in some Packer fans. Grrrr.

What a blast, though, to watch it with two of my favorite Vikings fans – and dozens more. We were even doing the Skol chant during our comeback to keep our team fired up. Too cool. Crazy that the game eneded in a tie! Our kicker stinks (as usual). Dang.

As our granddog-daughter Rei Rae would say: Doggone it!

I guess my "fortune" mentioned in my chinese cookie on Friday is yet to come! Something to look forward this week to after our tiring trip around the world.

Time to go to bed and dream about what could have been.