Winter Sports of Sorts

Winter Sports are full speed ahead now that Christmas break is over. So if I miss a blog there's a 95% chance it's because I was already up way past my bedtime editing photos.

Such was the case yesterday.

I first have to report that my Extreme Hooking paid off and I finished that blanket. Yay me! I don't know if I'd push myself to get one done in just two days again. But it did prove I have the cardio stamina to do so.

After work yesterday, I shot the 7th- and 8th-grade Lady Royals basketball games. They don't have a ton of home game so I figured since the weather was OK and the roads were decent enough, I might as well check that off my Winter Sports list.

I can't believe that some of the "baby sisters" of seniors I took pictures of years ago are already in middle school. Somebody here is getting old!

Today was a busy work day. About 3 p.m. I realized it was 39 degrees out! I had no idea we were in for such a thaw before we begin a deep freeze in 48 hours. So I told hubby, "I'm going to run into town to get my car washed. I should be back in 25 minutes or so."

He's like, "You think you're the only one getting their car washed today?"

I responded that I had the upper hand since it was mid-afternoon and people had to work.

Boy was I wrong.

Since the closest Kwik Trip had a line around the building, I headed to the new on off Lincoln Street since that has 2 bays and surely the line would be quicker. Wrong again.

You can't tell but after this line goes straight, cars turn right toward the wash. My hour in the car allowed me to make a serious dent in my current audio book. And made me realize I was too hasty in a judgmental comment a few months back. So I posted:

Dear Wisconsin Rapids: I apologize that a few months back when I saw new construction I sarcastically said, "Like we need another flippin' car wash in this town?!" The answer is yes. We surely do. #WarmSpell #DontBeSalty

 Shame on me, right?

Well at least I got done just in time to get home, grab my camera and head to the boys game with hubby. It was a close game agains Wausau Newman, but we pulled ahead in the last 5 minutes thanks to their foul trouble. So night to get another win. They're not dominating like our Lady Royals, but they are on a hot streak so we'll take it.

Of course this means I have plenty of photos to edit tonight. But guess what? No alarm tomorrow.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the mild weather before the Arctic Tundra visits!

Quick Touch Point

Pretty sure most folks are watching some football game this evening so I really don't have to blog.

Just wanted a shoutout to my secret santa at work. The above photo was yesterday's gift. And this was today's...

My Secret Santa knows me well! Of course, just about everyone on my team would agree about this!

I've been having fun gifting my person, too, but since we have 3 more days in the office next week, I'll be quiet about that!

My other excitement for the day was shooting hoops again. This time pictures of the middle school 7th-grade team. Of course, I found out we have two Royals 7th-grade teams so I'll have to free up another evening for that. 

I'll have to check my Hallmark movie schedule. I mean nothing else is on TV on a Thursday night, right?

Stay-cation Day 1

Today was the official start to my Stay-cation. And I had low expectations as I do the rest of this week. 

I did get a little de-cluttering done in my office, but still have quite a ways to go. 

First of all, I was confused about it being Thanksgiving week when huge Christmas like flakes were falling. This happened for hours.

So I started making some treats for my family Christmas cookie exchange in a few weeks. Ended up being 100+ treats that I now will keep frozen until the second weekend in December. I also will add another kind of cookie or treat, too.

Tonight was my intro into the winter sports season. Seems like it's a shorter break each year. Tonight was Assumption Middle School hoops. I only got to shoot the 8th grade game at 4:30 p.m. because I had Book Club at 5:30 p.m. at Ida's.

We discussed my book tonight – Where Butterflies Wander – and it was nice. If you want to borrow my copy (it was 4.3+ out of 5 stars), let me know. A tragic but heartwarming story. 

The rest of the evening was editing those pictures (since we have high school hoops tomorrow). And now I may watch The Voice since I'm on stay-cation and can sleep in if it gets too late. We'll see.

October Hump Day Headlines

Wicked Mother Nature

Rarely – as a landlocked girl in the Midwest – do tropical storms or hurricanes impact my life. Helene changed that a bit. 

First of all, super grateful Carter and Mamie live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, now and not North Carolina. That would have been overly stressful and maybe devastating. Secondly, we just had our 25 annual sisters' weekend a year ago in the Asheville area. And we visited the Biltmore estate! How devastating for them and the many, many shops and restaurants we patronized. Feel so bad for them!

Fall Sports

Oh gosh, I'm still trying to keep pace with fall sports. Last night I got to shoot pictures of the Royals middle school football team in action. Which took me to about an 11 p.m. bedtime after uploading (so I chose sleep over blogging). It was entertaining because just like when Carter was a shorter dude in middle school, there's such a variety of sizes at that age. See the very petite quarterback taking a snap from the super-sized (for middle school) center! Crazy. Our Royals lost but they were pretty aggressive and fun to watch!

It's October!

I'm crushed that my Twins were eliminated from the playoffs at the last minute! So, naturally, I'll be a good Wisconsin citizen and send my positive vibes to the Brewers. Based on my co-workers and friends attitude today, I gotta send mega-good vibes. I just checked and they are tied with the Mets tonight after a loss last night. I don't want to say anything to jinx them. So I'll just say go Brew Crew! NOW!

Cancer Sucks

It's true. Cancer is so non-discerning. It doesn't matter if you're old or young. It doesn't matter if you're the friendliest business owner in the community – like our friend D we lost this week – or a mother of 3 – like our friend J who has it everywhere after so many clean scans. We send prayers and hugs to all of you!

Pretty sure I should I should wrap up my blog before any other sad thoughts present themselves. As always, hug your loved ones and be careful out there!

Daily Dust Bowl

With high winds and very dry conditions today, it definitely seemed like some sort of Dust Bowl was happening on my ride home today.

And shooting some middle school baseball after work, you could definitely see both the dust and the wind billowing through their uniforms. Needless to say, I didn't stay long. It was one thing for my camera to get some dust, but then the light rain started. Not a good combo for me!

Got home and realized it was time to figure out how to face the real Dust Storm in our lives.

My sister Rachel had her 6th surgery in 16 days – this time to repair the broken right ankle. It went well as far as everyone can tell.

Then my mom, who is the special person we've been praying about, has had an up-and-down journey of her own in the hospital after a fall. 

I decided to take tomorrow off and head north to see Mom. Depending on timing and other things, I may swing over to the Twin Cities to visit my sister. Right now our clear answers are whirling around in the dust. Hopefully things will be clearer as I travel.

And hopefully, I'll be able to deliver a few personal hugs and prayers to family scattered here and there. And hopefully the thunder and lightning wrap up so it's a smooth drive. Trust me, I'll never take "safe travels" as seriously as we all are now!

Hope you survived the wind, dust, and rain OK! 

P.S. Please continue to pray for miracles! 

Hump Day Headlines, er Just Catching Up

A quick recap of my not-so-exciting life... I was pretty close on my Monday prediction about Trifle Tuesday.

Based on the "leftover" evidence presented, I'm still batting a thousand!

After that lovely "you should start a bakery" day, I shot hoops. Pictures of our Lady Royals middle-schoolers that is. Then got lost in editing last night and never got around to blogging. I'm sure you survived just fine.

Side note: I also had book club after that and based on our ratings, give The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany a try! On average, we rated it 4 out of 5.

Today was a pleasant last-day-of-January surprise. More spring-like temperatures than anything else. It was glorious!

Ironically, this was the day we finally had our Christmas party for the marketing department. We're so busy in December preparing for the January golf tournament we sponsor that this is the only time we can get most people available to attend.

It was fun (even though I didn't win any prizes) but it felt weird saying "Merry Christmas" while stepping outside and we didn't need a jacket!

I'll take that any day, won't you?

P.S. Hey! We survived what felt like the 642 days of January!! Be careful out there – and let's get through this!

A Not So Perfect Date

I always love this reminder from the Miss Congeniality movie that today. – April 25 – is the perfect date. I especially love this version of the meme because the end is edited to say: "All you need is a winter coat because this is Wisconsin."

So true.

I thought I was being smart and planned ahead to shoot pictures of middle school baseball after work. I brought my camera to work and even brought it up to my desk so it wouldn't get too cold in my car. After work, I headed straight to Mead Field to catch the first pitch at 4:30 p.m. It didn't take me long to realize I forget to pack something.

A winter jacket. Or at least gloves.

Game time temperature was around 46 degrees, I think. Thankfully I had some fans in the crowd and one of the baseball moms at least loaned me some gloves for a bit! 

Think it through, Robyn.

Got a few decent pictures and when my camera was slowing down, I figured it was time to get it out of the cold and head home. All for the camera, you realize, right? (They ended up losing to Pacelli by 1 run, dang.)

Coach Austin and the varsity boys were on the road to Edgar. Was able to catch the final score on the much-appreciated Game Changer app. The final score (a 10+ run loss) was not so appreciated.

I'm starting to think April 25 is not such a perfect date after all. C'mon, Royals. Plenty of season left to grab some W's – no matter what the date!

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! 

A Hot One for the Record

Not even 2 weeks ago some of the spring sports were canceled due to cold temperatures. Today was quite flipflop. It's been warming up the past few days. We literally switched our button from Heat to AC in one day. And today was a very summer-like record-setting high temperature!

You read that right. 94 degrees here in Wisconsin Rapids! Crazy. 

And then central Wisconsin compared to the rest of the US. We are the hotbed!

Almost too hot for spring sports, but they went on! The high school softball and baseball teams were up in Wausau. Both won. Yup, baseball notched their 3rd win of the season! Yay! I stayed close to home and finally got to a middle school baseball game to snap picks. Very hot and windy! And our young Royals beat Port Edwards 15-3. So thankful for a shorter game!

I just finished going through pictures and it's late, but I figured I better add the temperature record to my journal.

Be careful out there!

Just Hoopin' it Up

Had to show some love to the Middle School basketball teams since our high school teams were not home tonight. This picture cracks me up because it shows the size difference in middle schoolers. Now granted our No. 4 is jumping high for a lay-up, but the 7th-grader in the lower left corner looks like a really little kid.

They all worked hard no matter their size. It was a close game throughout and our boys won by basket.

I stayed for half the 8th-grade game. They just keep scoring. So that was entertaining. 

Left at halftime to go meet hubby and drop off his truck for an oil change tomorrow. The roads were a bit slick tonight. Snowed all day. I guess that's a daily thing for December now. Don't recall that one.

So I'm glad I got home at a decent hour. And had plenty of time for my bed to warm up! Time to hoop it up in my dreams.

Stop and Remember

Been a busy bee the last few days. Well my camera's been busy anyway. After shooting middle school football Thursday, I did high school football last night up in Stevens Point, then up and at 'em today to get to the start of cross country at 9 a.m. at Standing Rock Park (just east of Plover).

Although I got well over 10,000 steps today hustling back and forth between places on the course and the finish line, I took time to stop and smell the flowers. Or at least capture a bee smelling (or doing something) to a flower.

After sorting through photos and then ensuring the Badgers had things in hand, I also took time to stop and remember.

Today is the 20th anniversary already of the September 11th tragedy. And tragedy still isn't a strong enough word. 

I was flipping back and forth between several shows tonight and again was struck by how surreal it was. How much we witnessed on live television. How many stories we've seen and heard about not only those who died, but survivors. One gentleman pointed out tonight that anyone who woke up on September 12, 2001, is a survivor. 

It's true. And we all have stories. And we all remember. 

Well those of us old enough to remember the day. Who watched the events unfold. And re-watched all day. Internet was somewhat in its infancy. We all just stayed glued to the TV, watching again and again as the plane flew into the tower and then how each tower crumbled to the ground. 

Ground Zero.

Working at a newspaper had a whole host of extra memories. Special editions. Two newspapers a day. And we still couldn't keep up with how much was being discovered those first few days – Trade Center, Pentagon, Flight 93 – and how it all tied together. So surreal.

And still is. 

Feeling blessed today. Hope you are, too!

The Rear View

Caught this view in my rearview mirror on the way home tonight and had to capture it!

It's a good reminder that sometimes when we look at our past, we only see the mistakes. But if you catch the right angle, you'll realize there good parts too. Beautiful moments, in fact.

Don't beat yourself up. I think you're a good person. And I don't even know you.

I mean, I'm sure I do. Somehow. 

Anyway, that's my inspiring thought. After sorting through hundreds of middle school football pictures, I'm taking myself off to bed – to dream about sunsets.

Plate Spinner

 

In retrospect, I should've named my fantasy football team The Spinning Plates because that's what I was sort of doing during the draft.

It was a busy evening. Went to school straight from work so I could shoot pictures of middle school volleyball. It's hard to capture action when they often only hit the ball when they're serving and then there's two courts playing side by side. Too much activity.

I stuck around for high school JV action and only stayed for 15 minutes of the varsity game because that started at 7 p.m. and my fantasy football draft was at 7:30 p.m.

Got home just in time for the Swedish Chef Mafia to make their first pick. Don't ask who's on my team. While I was spinning the draft plate, the other spinning plates included:

• Watching the volleyball game live streamed on my phone.
• Uploading and editing volleyball pictures.
• Designing a poster and registration form for an upcoming 5K.
• Oh, and trying to eat a late supper.

Blogging came after all the plates came crashing down. Good thing they were just plastic.

Now my head is spinning. Good night!

Uno Dos Doses

If you're wondering if you can go on a date in the middle of the work day, you can! Then celebrate like this:

Yup, we got our second doses today and are fully vaccinated! Now that's something to celebrate.

My friend Cindy made me this Hamilton musical-inspired vaccination day shirt: Not throwing away my shot! Love it!

Must be a bit of a lucky shirt. So far – knock on wood – the second shot hasn't knocked us on our butts. Yet. We've heard a lot people get reactions after 12 hours or the next day. So we'll hope for the best.

Right now my only side effect is a really sore arm. After the first dose, I could sleep on my left shoulder and arm no problem. This time... not so much. But if that's all we suffer through, it's 100% – or 95% – worth it.

Since I was feeling OK after work, I did something "normal" for me this time of year. I took pictures of the middle school softball game. I'm a little rusty after two years – remember, no spring sports when the pandemic kicked off last March – but I got at least one I'm giddy about. 

Got a little air time there. That's a pretty big windmill! 

I can't wait to get back into the swing of it – as in real life with some photography, too, ha – soon, too!

#getvaccinated

Awesome Sauce

When you have a hobby you enjoy and it makes other people happy, too, everybody wins! 

There was a small gathering this evening to honor the girls 8th-grade basketball team who, if I have this correct, haven't lost a league game since they started together in 3rd grade. Pretty commendable! I've been able to shoot pictures of them the last few years and cannot wait to see them take the court in high school next fall! 

In the meantime, we celebrated their accomplishment and gifted each with a poster I created. I was just expecting to be part of the free food and drink, but the appreciative moms got me this amazing mug (above) and some special treats. That's awesome! They're awesome. I was feeling the love.  

Here's the posters for your viewing pleasure. Ha. If you can't read the quote, it says: If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you.  ~ Les Brown

Go, young Lady Royals! You're AWESOME! 

Catching Moments

I can't believe it's Hump Day already. I was pretty sure it was only Tuesday yet. I suppose that explains why I've actually gotten a few things done around here! It happens when you can catch moments of time here and there.

Last evening I was catching moments of action on the middle school basketball court. Due to the COVID craziness, that was the only home sports action in town. Well, close to that. A lot of high school events called off or postponed while teams quarantine. 

I was glad that the middle school boys were at home so I could at least get one more shot at capturing images of each player. I think I have or am close. So I was up late futzing with those files and before I knew it, it was past my bedtime.

So with new focus on self-care and all that, I just went to bed and didn't blog. Catching moments of rest and relaxation. See, you obviously didn't miss a thing!

Tonight after work I baked some more goodies and then tackled the Christmas card list. 

Since we print our labels at home, I have the names and addresses in word label files. That's turned into a mess since we continually get changes or are adding new people since that rumor on the internet that says we KNOW EVERYBODY isn't true. So tonight I whipped it in order. Not exact order, but organized by groups like family, cousins, school and college friends, work friends from forever, neighbors, etc. Long overdue little project.

I also got my bajillion postage stamps. Now I just need the Christmas cards to arrive. Think I'll catch a few moments with my crochet hook and Hallmark until they do.

Hoops and Hair

 

After the stress of the OT game yesterday, I was grateful I had a hair appointment after work today. For awhile there, those gray hairs were sprouting by the minute!

On the way to my hair artist's, I stopped to shoot some hoops. Well, shoot photos of some middle school hoops. Today was the last home game for our boys teams. I know I didn't get a picture of every player for the yearbook, but between the game a month ago and today, I hope I got a majority of the younger ones anyway. Couldn't stay too long since I really needed that sparkly New Year's Eve glitter (aka STRESS grays) removed from my hair.

One of my faves from today. Dejected boy on right: "But I tried to make the basket so it's MY rebound." Boy on left is clearly saying: "No way. You can't have it!"

After I left, our 6th/7th grade team came from behind to win by one point. Yay!

And my sparkly hair is normal again. Yay!

Aren't Mondays awesome?

Blind Squirrel... or Butterfly

They say every once in a while even a blind squirrel finds a nut. Sometimes that's how it is with photography. You accidentally get lucky.

And this has nothing to do with a stellar image or anything but just timing. So here are the boys at the middle school football game today...

Now look even closer...

Did you notice the butterfly? I thought it was kind of cool! It's kind of blue, too, to match the Royals.

Maybe it's a drone of some kind, zooming in to get better pictures! I'll let him/her/it keep shooting while I get to bed.

Gotta save my wings for tomorrow to have a productive Friday.

Spring Really Has Sprung

In an attempt to keep my blog positive this week... there is this arrival today of, gasp, NORMAL spring temperatures!

This week will likely be our first week in 7 1/2 months that we don't have a high temp in the 40s or colder! Can you tell me again why we live here! Wow. That's just a long time to ask for a stretch of mild temperatures.

Could it be that spring has sprung finally? Hope so. We still have a whole lotta spring sports to squeeze in the two weeks time.

A few faves from this evening's middle school softball...

Love this one because Macie (Macy or Macey?) looks too cool.

And this one because Claire is just so beautiful. Only a 6th-grader but those eyes!

There are 19 girls on the middle school team. Granted it is grads 6-8 so not everyone jumps up to high school, but still. That's a lot of girls. Glad I got to see a few in action anyway.

Any time it's nice, sunny and no rain, it's a win. Even in a scrimmage!

Have Sun, Will Shoot

Took advantage of the sunny – most importantly, DRY – day Tuesday to shoot some spring sports. Since the varsity teams were up north in Edgar, I did a two-for-one shoot and got both Assumption Middle School softball and baseball. (And stayed up too late messing with photos to blog!)

You know me, love getting my "daughter fix" at softball games. It is just so fun to see them try so hard. And, of course, it was good to talk to my mom friends again, too!

As usual, it takes a few games to adjust to shooting through the fence. Then there was dust to deal with. Dust? After flooding two days ago? Yes. We're Wisconsin and we're weird. I still managed to get some decent action shots so I was pleased.

Fun watching this girl run past her dad, the coach. No special treatment needed, she's good!

It was even more fun watching the girls in the dugout, up on their feet, cheering on their teammate. There's so much support. It's encouraging to see that.

One thing I couldn't get over at both softball and baseball, was how young some of the players look. Well, middle school is 6th through 8th grades, so there are size and age differences. I just want to squeeze her little cheeks!

After managing to get photos of each starter at bat and in the field, I headed across town to the baseball game.

I love shooting pitchers because their face is so expressive when they are trying to heave that ball over the plate – at a fast speed. This kiddo did well and had great form. He'll be an asset in high school next year, that's for sure.

This one is funny because he seems to have overrun the base and is saying, "Whoop, oop, oop... gotta get back!"

Needless to say, there are always Bad News Bears type errors at games (any age) and it's best not to laugh. It was a close game but the boys lost by 1. The girls pulled out a victory.

Same story for high school. Girls smoked Edgar 14-0 and Asst Coach Austin and the boys are still looking for their first win. I hope tomorrow is the day. Stay tuned. You'll hear it here first if the sound doesn't carry from Witter Field.

Go Royals!