How Sweet

Pretty sweet day! This is the week at work each year when there are no shortage of calories – real (velow) or fake (above). We always celebrate the successes from the previous year around the beginning of March. Of course, the last time we did it in person was March 2020, so we were due for a big one.

And since the theme this year is "Sweet Success" it's only fitting a brought a sweet treat. Actually for a work friend's birthday. And even though there dozens of doughnuts in our department plus candy, there wasn't a spoonful of this Older than Dirt (Cake) Trifle! Dang. 'Cause it was good!

But the sweetest part of the day was...

One of our seniors getting his thousandth point tonight in the playoff game at Wild Rose. AND the Royals getting their first post-season win in 5 years. Yay, Royals!! Fun, fun, nerve-wracking game to watch, but so SWEET!!!!

Gotta do pictures now.

Sweet dreams!

Put Monday on Ice

It was a wise decision to close local schools for the day. Actually, they mostly do virtual learning these days instead of the old-fashioned snow days like we had. I was glad it was Monday today so I could work from home anyway. It would not have been a safe commute.

The Rapids area got a healthy layer of ice. The sleet stopped late morning and then changed to snow. Probably got an inch or so. I have not ventured outside to check. 

In fact, I took my ice pictures through the window!

A nice coating on everything. Glad we didn't lose power or cable or internet.

It's back to the office tomorrow. Our desks have been rearranged so we have to unpack in our new locations and talk about the weather and probably not get much work done. I'll have to hit the road early in the morning so I can allow extra time to get there on time. Don't want to miss out on doing nothing!

Be careful out there!

Camp Chop-A-Lot

Sleep deprived but survived scrapbooking weekend! Every year for Camp Crop-A-Lot we have a theme for dressing up, late-night games, and room decorations. This year was Camp Chop-A-Lot and the wardrobe of the weekend was Lumber Jill (aka Buffalo Plaid).

I didn't have a stitch of Buffalo Plaid in the house, but scored some deals at Goodwill. And I did have some Jamberries to do my nails appropriately!

You can tell by our group picture Saturday that we Lumber Jills –nearly 40 in number this year – took it seriously. Flannel abounds!

Of course this morning's picture featured lack of sleep for all of us and I was the only one wearing team colors. Hey, I gotta get my money's worth before I donate them back!

As far as productivity... I finished the Shutterfly cruise album – 80 pages! – and ordered one for both my sister Rayna and me. So glad they had that unlimited free pages deal going until midnight tonight! 

I was home by midafternoon today. Just like Friday when my internet connection was sketchy and I lost pages. Today was like that. I was 10 pages into another vacation album – Colorado 2014, ha – and I decided to quit while I was ahead. But turns out I wasn't.

It said it had been saving, but when I got home, none of my work had saved. Grrr. Am so not tackling that again any time soon.

Mainly I needed to shower, do my laundry, eat Italia's pizza for dinner with hubby, and count down to when it's "not too early" to go to bed in my super comfy king bed with a mattress that doesn't make crinkly noises when I turn over and is far deeper than 2 inches thick!

Just like any good Lumber Jill, I'll be sawing logs in my sleep tonight. That's for sure.

It Should Be Epic

Actually got up and was out of the house before 8:30 to head to Camp Crop-A-Lot. Helps when I just have to pack clothes, goodies, and grab my desktop computer – instead of all kinds of heavy totes of heavy paper, photos, etc.

Roads were thankfully plowed to the state Lions Camp in Rosholt. And it was subzero, so I guess I'll literally be chilling with Louie the camp lion this weekend. 

Which is why there were several space heaters going in our scrapping area. And why it blew a fuse. And why I lost hours of work on my computer – which would never happen if I was doing "normal" scrapbooking this weekend. I blame the sketchy internet more than anything. I thought my project was saving but it wasn't.

Trust me, I'm saving every 2 minutes now, whether I see the computer saving our not! I am through Wednesday of our cruise on the Norwegian EPIC, so if I keep cruising (pun intended), I should get this book done this weekend.

Of course, power outages aren't the only distractions. When I say our Lady Royals were down at halftime, I had to watch the livestream of the second half to be sure they're continuing on in the playoffs. It was an EPIC turnaround there, too, and they beat Pacelli by 20 in the end. Probably should plan to just take a break from scrapping Saturday night at 7 p.m. to watch the Regional Championship. 

Might require EPIC concentration!

And an EPIC night's sleep on the 2-inch mattress. Scrapbooking ain't for sissies!

Before and After Olive

It makes sense that they named a winter storm after something I don't like anyway. Olives. The flakes are still coming down lightly here in Central Wisconsin but early reports indicate we probably are the 9-10 inches of snow line here by Rapids.

I was thinking ahead and took before and after pictures. Well, almost thinking ahead. It had snowed a bit Tuesday so the ground was even more bare earlier in the day.

To think this was late February is pretty unbelievable, isn't it?

And then now...

A little bit more on trend with typical Wisconsin winters. And the roads were still crappy-ish when I went into town after work. Ahhh, winter. You've returned. With bells on.

Since school was canceled again today there are no local sports tonight. So I have plenty of time to pack up for Camp Crop-A-Lot. This year I pretty much just have to unplug my computer and accessories, place them nicely in my vehicle and go.

Though of course the back seat will still be full of "stuff" I have to have with. This happens every year even though I know I'm wearing my same comfy outfit all weekend! Good intentions.

And my back feels better thanks to some extra special ointment. Hoping I get through the weekend OK. I got a free pass from shoveling anyway.

If you're out and about, be careful out there!

Break Dancing

The older you get, the more you worry about slips and falls and breaking some brittle bones you thought were strong due to a lifetime if ice cream intake. No, I didn't break anything. Just rearranged things. While break-dancing.

I noticed something wasn't right after the basketball game last night and my right hip and backside were hurting as I tried getting into hubby's truck. That pain and discomfort continued during the night when I'd try to roll over and when I grunted my way out of bed this morning.

Knowing I have a weekend of scrapbooking ahead, I knew I had to get this fixed. Managed to get an appointment at the chiropractor at the end of the work day. 

She asked me if I had done anything new or unusual in the past week. I said I had a new bed but it was comfortable. Otherwise nothing new. "Oh, I fell on the ice Saturday..."

Well there you go!

So while were hauling the bunkbeds out the basement patio doors and onto the truck, I was concentrating on getting the frame onto the tailgate and during the 40-degree weather didn't even look down to notice there was ice.

Until I was down.

It was like slow motion and I got to swear at least twice before landing. Mostly on my right side. Surprise. Surprise.

My doc's best guess is that I rearranged things and they sat in the wrong place until I did something. Like stand 2 hours to take photos. Or hop off the stage when it was over. Probably a combination. 

Have I mentioned it stinks getting old?

Anyway, she adjusted me and hopefully that'll set things right for the weekend. I relaxed tonight since the state is in a snowstorm warning and there was no place to go. Ash Wednesday service was canceled at my church and most, I'm sure. And, since it's still snowing and blowing for the next 16 hours, tomorrow will be much of the same.

Bring on the healing, please!

Whether you're driving or waddling, be careful out there. 

Happy Fat Election Tip-Off Tuesday

Just an ordinary fluffy Tuesday around here today. Other than squeezing in multiple events that just happened to all fall on February 21 this year. 

First, I was working from home since they're rearranging our office at work this week. It works out well since the first of some 15 inches of predicted snow has fallen. No driving for this girl tomorrow. No school in the area either.

Today was also our spring election primary for state Supreme Court and area School Board. So I raced over to town hall at lunch and got that done. No lines, of course, since it's such a sparse ballot.

After work, hubby and I went to Assumption to watch the tip-off of the playoff season. Our #1 seed Lady Royals hosted Port Edwards tonight. I think they were winless this season. It's always so painful for the low seed in the bracket that first round.

But props to our girls for coming out strong. Yup, you read that final score correctly. Assumption 70, Port 13. Ouch.

It was good to see our whole bench play so they get more real-time practice. The depth of the bench is crucial when we get into foul trouble. That just seems to happen in the playoffs! Hoping we'll keep cruising down victory lane in the D5 bracket. I will out of town for Regional Rounds 2 and 3 this weekend (for Camp Crop-A-Lot) so they better keep winning so I can see them play again! 

I do have photos to edit yet, but I'm pretty exhausted observing all these special occasions today. Think I'll just head to my Mardi Gras King Cake, er king bed.

Happy Everything Tuesday! 

Well, Buy George!

This is so hilariously accurate. I mean the strange tradition had to start somewhere. And thank goodness it did. 

I woke up feeling so well-rested on Presidents Day. In fact, it's a bit more of a Monarch Day, thanks to that new king bed! And thanks to you, President George Washington, for getting that trend started. Great sale and great mattress!

Aside from that, it wasn't much of a holiday. We both worked per usual. And I shot middle school hoops after work. And uploaded pictures tonight.

Oh, and filled up with gas while it was still mild out and we could still see our dead brown grass instead of snow. That's all about to change. Just going to have to see how accurate the weather dudes are.

Hopefully this meme is closer to reality than their forecast.

Happy Presidents' Day!

I Like Big Trucks and I Cannot Lie...

I had an unusual workout today after church. After hauling the bunkbeds out of the basement yesterday, today we had to haul the queen mattress, box spring, and frame down to the vacant spot in the basement.

Of course, the box spring didn't fit through the basement door frame, so that had to go in the truck and Jim had to drive it down to the back patio off the basement. Our yard is a muddy mess! By the time we go everything downstairs and reassembled, the windows were open on this 40+ degree day and we were sweating. And then I had vacuuming to do!

We forgot that all when the big truck came in the driveway and two very helpful young men brought in our new king bed frame and set that up. And then the mattress! After putting on the new heated mattress pad (or course!!) plus new sheets and comforter, I can't to go to bed tonight! I'm hoping it's as comfortable as it was in the store!

I'll report out tomorrow.

Not much else new today. When I did finally take a break, I started watching season 5 of The Crown. Somehow that escaped me and I didn't get to it when it first came out. At least I'll have something to do when this hits this week.

A little early for April fools, doncha think? Oh, I hope they are wrong. So very, very wrong.

Wake me up when this king-sized nightmare is over!

Weekending Right

When the snow is melting and the sunset reflects off ice in the fields, you know we're having a mild February. 

When you step out of a saloon and there's a horse tied up to a dumpster, you know you're from Wisconsin. Or a few other places.

Last night, Jim and I picked up our friends Craig and Sara to go to the Assumption boys game up at Auburndale. Along the way we stopped for a fish fry at the infamous Sherri Land Ballroom. Or I should say bar and ballroom. No one was dancing. We were just eating. I've never been there but it's the hotspot of activity for Sunday polka bands!

To continue my weekending vibe, I did not even take my camera to the game. Just took the night off and spectated. And our boys lost. I guess they do better when I'm courtside!

Afterwards, we stopped at Patsy's bar and bowling alley in Rudolph for a few hours. I was really seeing the highlights of Wood County! Late night, slept fast.

Had book club first thing this morning. Then my friend Cindy and I went from there to the Empty Bowls soup and raffle fund-raiser. Pretty bowls, delicious soup and yes, I am a basket winner. Keeping that streak alive!

The rest of the day was cleaning out some "old stuff" from our bedroom – things we decorated with 20 years ago just have to go – as we prepped for the Empty Nest Shuffle. We got Carter's bunkbeds and mattresses up to the garage. A friend is picking them up Sunday evening. We'll move our queen bed down after one more night's sleep on it. And our king will be delivered tomorrow afternoon! 

We both realized we have a pile of books by our sides of the bed so I guess I should get reading before I think I need to buy more books! I also realize I could use about a week off just to keep this "out with the old" streak going, too! 

For now though... I'm weekending. And learning how to do it right.

You Humans Need to Rest

I think sometimes Sylvester looks at us and thinks, "You humans need to sit still once in awhile. Maybe even nap." We wish. It's just been a busy week for both of us.

Last night was a late night because hubby was gone to indoor golf league (yay, Mr New Knees!) and I had choir practice, followed by editing tons of pictures from the boys basketball game the night before.

Tonight after work, we went to the JV and varsity girls hoops game. It was senior night for our Lady Royals this time. And just like the boys, they soundly defeated their opponent – 59-33 over Marathon. 

The games have been so fun this week. I think I've mentioned that winning is fun. But it's so cool to see the students supporting each other and getting especially excited when players who don't get much varsity playing time make big plays during the varsity game. Yay for Royal Pride!

Tonight was the last regular season game for the girls, who starts playoffs at home Tuesday. I have plenty of photos to go through the games tonight. But I think I'll take a cue from kitty and get some rest.

She pretty smart for her old age!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you could feel the love today from someone! I did. It was a sweet day!

Got some sweet gifts from hubby. Heard from that sweet child of mine. Heard from my sweet momma and my sweet siblings. Had that sweet trifle at work today. And tonight took pictures at senior night when our boys got a sweet 87-53 victory!

Sweet!

Now I have some photos to edit and am hoping for a sweet 8 hours of sleep!

Love and all that mushy stuff, friends! XOXO

Giving Spirit

I've been in the giving spirit lately. Must be a holdover from Christmas! So I whipped together this blanket for my work friend's mom, whose undergoing chemo right now.

One of my Recliner Blankets (aka large lap blankets). Love, love, love the colors. I hated to give it away. But she was thrilled to be on the receiving end and hopefully it keeps her warm after her treatments.

I also whipped together this baby blanket for a fellow Vikings fan. I love, love, love the colors on this one, too. NATURALLY!!

I haven't tied up the loose ends yet. But it should look fine. For those of us into that sort of thing.

And last but not least, I whipped this together today...

My boss is taking a new position in the company and won't be my fearless leader anymore. So I made a trifle with his favorite flavor – butterscotch! – that we can enjoy tomorrow on what's an almost weekly Trifle Tuesday! And those butterscotch flakes on top? That's me grating little butterscotch chips. (And trying not to hurt myself.) Oh I am nothing if not putzy when it comes to my trifles.

Actually I've made one similar to this before. I use my Hornet's Nest Cake as the bottom and middle layers topped with butterscotch pudding. Oh man, I hope it tastes as good as it sounds.

It's fun to give, isn't it?

Super Sunday

When my team isn't playing in the Super Bowl, this is my kind of game. Tied when the clock strikes 2-minute warning. Fun to watch.

The pregame party started at 11:30 a.m. when my friend Cindy picked me up and our friend Brenda and we went to an adult book fair. Not adult because the titles were x-rated. But adult as in it was at District 1 brewery in Stevens Point.

There were tons of people there! Probably 95% women – with a lot of husbands and boyfriends at the bar. That's why it was called the Boozy Book Fair. We got special crafts too. I tried N/A IPA. It paired well with shopping. We each scored a few books and socks. 

Yes, socks! Rather appropriate ones, too! (OK, fine. We're book nerds and not afraid to show it.)

Got home by 2 p.m. for party number 2. Our friend had his 39th annual Super Bowl party in his basement. We went there in the early afternoon. I stayed until almost game time – so I could make some investments first – then came home and watched while multi-tasking a couple projects. Then went back after what I thought was a lame halftime show. (No offense to Rhianna since I like some of her songs, but don't pretend to sing if you're lip-synching.)

KC ended up with the 38-35 win and Robyn ended up with no winnings.

Still, it was a fun Super Sunday all around. Just let me know when they're circulating the petition to make the Monday after the Super Bowl a national holiday. This is way past bedtime on a "school night."

Super dreams!

Goldilocks and the Three Beds

Nothing potentially strains a relationship like a major domestic buying decision. Whether it's paint colors or carpet or furniture, there's bound to be some opposing opinions and preferences. 

Then there's mattress buying decisions with Mr. Firm and Mrs. Princess and the Pea.

We've been pondering sizing up from our queen bed to a king bed for some time. And it became evident after hubby's knee surgeries that things that go bump in the night can be painful. Must toss and turn with care!

So thanks to the weird tradition of mattress sales around Presidents Day, we took the plunge today.

It was easier than expected. The salesman treated us like Goldilocks and we got to try out three types of every mattress – the much too firm, the much too soft, and the just right medium. 

We actually found one that was firm enough for him and soft enough for me. I think we'll like it! I hope we do! Of course, since we got to bed so late last night, I was tired and could've slept in any of them. In fact, the test pillows were so comfortable we bought those, too!

So next Sunday it will be delivered. That gives us one week to shuffle things around. We'll move our queen bed down to Carter's room since he flew the nest. But we first need to get rid of the bunkbeds in there. 

Any takers?

Seriously, they are sort of black iron looking and have a twin on top and full bed/folding futon on the bottom. Very good condition. If you or anyone you know is looking, we'll gladly give them away if you'll haul them away. Let us know. First come, first served! 

I also have to order some king bedding and, of course, a dual-controlled heated mattress pad. There's a reason I'm the Princess and the Pea instead of the Crabby Lady Complaining About A Lump in The Mattress!

Sweet dreams!

Fun Friday Night Lights

You know what's fun? Winning. It sure makes it a lot more fun to play a game when you're ahead by enough you can relax and actually enjoy it. I mean, that's what un-athletic me believes anyway. And I saw it through the lens tonight.

Our Assumption boys were at home tonight. Even though they technically have a "losing" record at 6-8, they have shown so much improvement since the last time I got to see them in person. 

Tonight Flyin' Ryan (pictured above) was on fire and ended racking up 32 points! Crazy amazing! 

The Royals ended up winning 74-43. Something I've never seen them do. They just played well and had fun. So we fans did too.

Which is why I'm posting this after midnight. Ha. Gotta celebrate, right? 

I'll have to go through all my pictures tomorrow because I am beat right now, but I know based on the few I did look at that I'll have some nice action ones. 

And maybe even some smiles! Keep up the great work, guys. And keep having fun!

Closing In

I set foot in the Assumption gym tonight for the first time in 2023. That felt odd. Where did January go?

I guess they played at home when I was gone on my cruise, then played on the road since I've been back. Tonight, our Lady Royals hosted Abbotsford. After winning in OT on Tuesday night, we just sneaked past Abby tonight for another win – this time a close 43-41 victory. Whew.

If I have my calculations correct, this means we've earned a share of the conference title. I believe if Auburndale loses Friday night then we win the conference outright. But don't take my word on that. Let the actual sports experts weigh in. I'm just the hired help.

Either way, it's been fun seeing our girls have another successful season, despite a key injury here and there. It was also good to shoot pictures of both JV and varsity tonight for the first time since the Cranberry Classic in November, I believe.

Feels like I have a lot of catching up to do. I did take plenty of photos of everyone tonight, including the halftime show featuring the Little Dribblers. Don't think I'll get through many more tonight. It is almost 11 p.m. after all. And a school night, no less.

Let's keep the momentum going, ladies! Finish strong! 

Punxsutawney Princess

When Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, it's 6 more weeks of winter. When Punxsutawney Princess has a window open, it's early spring. For one day, that is.

It's possible we reached even higher than our noontime temperature of 45 degrees in Wisconsin Rapids. But I don't know. I was in the office all day. But Jim did text me the picture of Sylvester in our open bedroom window with the caption: Summertime!

Hey. We're in the Midwest, it's at least a fake spring time. Or, as shown below, Fool's Spring.

Considering we've only had one full week of February, we might not even be that far down the seasonal totem pole. Especially since snow is predicted tomorrow. Again.

It was a nice dry drive – and daylight drive – to and from work, though. Loving that it's not dark-to-dark hours like late December. The only reason I got home in the dark tonight is that I worked late, then joined my monthly Girls Night Out crew for dinner at Ida's. Got home at 8 p.m. for the first time today. Glad our princess closed up all the windows since it's back down to 32 degrees. 

And glad hubby helped her do that before going off to play indoor golf. No wonder he has summertime on the mind! Not that it's a bad place to be. 😎  Lord knows I'm still clinging to my Caribbean tan lines. 

Find the real spring soon, Punxsutawney Princess!

As God is My Witness, Turkeys CAN Fly

It's one of the most classic lines in television history: "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."

It was uttered by befuddled station manager Arthur Carlson after a turkey giveaway gone awry during the "Turkeys Away" episode in the first season of "WKRP in Cincinnati." And on more than one occasion since, I've said, "I thought so too, Mr. Carlson!"

Case in point – hubbies co-workers today...

With temps in the mid-30s, the melting snow revealed some green grass goodies to gobble up.

As soon as Jim stepped close to the patio door, they must have spotted him and took off. And dare I say, flew off!

So yes, some turkeys CAN fly. As long as their wild.

Yup, Wiki-Robyn strikes again! This is what I learned: Wild turkeys can fly. The birds feed on the ground but sleep in trees, so while they aren't as prolific fliers as some of their other feathered brethren, they can fly, reaching speeds of up to 55 mph. They prefer to travel by walking or running though and can run up to 25 mph.

Also, unrelated... if one flies into the windshield of your car, it's like having a bowling ball drop out of the sky. Or the WKRP helicopter.

Be careful out there!

The Meltdown

When we met for dinner before the show on Saturday night, we saw these amazing ice sculptures around the popular 400 Block in Wausau.

So of course we had to peek our faces through the hole so we looked like Frosty. Lisa is taller and she knelt down for her picture.

I'm shorter so I just did a crouching squat thing and was holding my fingertips on the back of Frosty for balance. But when I saw the picture later, it looks like I'm inside Frosty and trying to tap my way out! I figured if I'm part snowman, I should be melting away some pounds in this warmer weather.

I mean, above freezing that is. And rainy.

Yup. It's 8:20 p.m. and it's raining. And we're at our warmest temperature of the day and it's climbing. So strange. So some of the snow will melt – and hopefully it stays above freezing through the night so I don't have a treacherous morning commute. 

Based on the week's forecast, I think Frosty or his friend Flaky are going to become pretty soft around the edges.

They sure were beautiful works of art, though. There's always a trade-off for "nice" weather, isn't there?

Be careful out there!