Falling For It

I visited my neighborhood Pumpkin Shed after church... and this will be the extent of my fall decorations!

Oh, plus a plate of delicious pumpkin bars! Hubby has been golfing all afternoon so I'm just going to pretend I baked them up all by myself!

I had a few "fall vibe" options but I was not going to fight the mass of humanity at Warrens. So I stuck close to home, went to the pumpkin patch and finished wrapping up my raffle baskets.

Then, because the Packers played the other night, my Vikings were on TV finally.

Kinda ugly, but we got the win! When you only get to see your team on TV a few times a season, there's no way to really defend them – or figure out what they're doing wrong. Not that our fan opinions mean anything!

Still... it was nice to secure a 3-0 start to the season.

Hope you find peace and solace in the beautiful fall colors. And decide that serenity is worth fighting for!

Close Doesn't Count

The saying goes that "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades". It does not count in BINGO and doesn't count when we say it's almost a nice day.

For the last weekend of summer, we were robbed. Rain all day yesterday again forced us indoors. We racked up 2 1/8 inches between Friday and Saturday, according to my rain gauge tender. Yuck!

Today was church, a meeting with our new choir director (a talented college kid!), then onto BINGO.

I wore my mom's rings to try to channel her energy. She was always lucky – just like her mother (Grandma Flossie). I even have Royal Blue nails for Homecoming Week.

It did not work. Here I just needed that stinkin' B15 forever to form the A (for Assumption). Close does not count. Winless in everything today.

Oh except for my Vikings squeaking out a victory. Must be my purple dobber! 

Got home and bundled up and went for a walk. Did not get far. The cold wind was making my eyes water. And hubby was golfing all afternoon in this! Of course he said it was fine. No such thing as a bad golf day no matter what the score (or weather) is.

Since he and his buddy were eating at the golf course, I invented a little sandwich for myself. Pulled pork topped with Japanese BBQ sauce and honey goat cheese. Yum yum! 

Now I have to brave this "summer weather" (calendars lie) and get in a few more steps.

Hope you had a more enjoyable last weekend of summer!

In It For The Long Haul

Some things are worth waiting for. And some aren't. Hubby and I are in this dreamland together of a Viking Super Bowl victory some day "before we die." We don't invest much time in that, trust me!

What IS worth waiting for is the right partner in life. To love and support you unconditionally – and make you smile, laugh, and love yourself.

That's was I was blessed to find in Jim. And today marks 24 years of marriage. I won't say "wedded bliss" because people are lying if they say that after more than two decades with someone. There are ups and downs. But when I'm down, he pulls me up, and when he's down, I offer to help, but he usually helps himself! 

When you find THAT person, it makes it all worth it!

We didn't really get to celebrate today. Jim worked and I cleaned out a large box worth of clothes from my closet for donation. (Yay, stay-cation!) That's a start. Tonight he has golf league. 

But more wicked storms are coming, so he'll be lucky to finish. And I figured I better blog while we still have electricity.

Hug your blessings today – and tell them you love them!! 💜💜

Chance of Accumulation

Had to get up a bit early today since we had a short choir practice before church since we were off from practices during the holidays and wanted a great performance. Naturally! I was still a bit stuffed up – including my stinkin' ears – but went anyway since I also had to read in church today. 

No one fired me from these two volunteer positions so I guess I did OK.

Our last Vikings game of the season was on TV since, well, we were hosting the Packers. We won, but not an exciting game. And it would have been better for our Draft situation if we had lost. Oh well, SKOL!

After that I switched onto craft mode. Not crocheting today. My big project I INTENDED to attack on my week off was tackling my office a.k.a. Oh My God Room a.k.a Scrap Cave. Which I obviously was too sick and weak to do. But I did make some more progress today.

I have a pile of "to donate" scrapbooking paper that continues to accumulate. It there was something unique, I offered if for fellow scrap friends on Facebook and so far have most of that claimed for. Still have a ways to go.

Why get rid of it? First of all, I will never admit I have "enough" scrapbooking paper or that "I don't need more." But some of this I've had for 20-plus years – a lot were free samples when I edited scrapbooking magazines back in my "best job ever" days – and it's just sat there "in case" I needed it for this page or that. 

And that hasn't happened yet. LOL.

So next step it choosing which "organization" or whatever would really use this stuff. I've been given a few ideas, so I'll see what's the easiest for me. Because if this hoarder-in-the-making is willing to let something go, she better have an easy way to do it!

But speaking of accumulation...

In addition to those icicles hanging from our still sexy soffits (top photo), we have a chance for so much more. I love the color purple but it is never a good thing on radar. It's accumulating right now and we'll have another round Monday night into Tuesday morning – when I actually have to drive into work.

Not fun. Be smart and stay safe, everyone!

Pre-Merry Christmas

We had sort of an unconventional Christmas Day – for us anyway. Since the boys (and rest of the in-laws) are coming to celebrate tomorrow, today it was just us old folks. 

I decided right away that even though Santa had stockings filled for everyone, we shouldn't have to wait until tomorrow. It's officially Christmas after all! I was thrilled Jim got us a couple's membership to our golf course again. And a gift certificate to one of my favorite locally owned businesses. If I can adhere to some New Year's resolutions, I see some wardrobe changes courtesy of Rustic Redefined. 💗

In addition to missing the boys, but grateful we're just a day away from seeing them, we missed our angels – my mom and dad...

And Jim's mom. But these ornaments always remind us they are close in our thoughts and hearts. We did have dinner at Jim's dad's this evening, so that was nice!

Otherwise, today was also just busy – getting the house ready for company, some food prep, doing a family photo shoot (for hire) and now that I have those two trifle bowls, make them tonight for a customer.

Andes Mint Chocolate Avalanche Trifle (Does Culvers have that trademarked?).

And Peanut Butter and Chocolate Trifle – with both Nutty Buddy bars and various Reese's PB cups. I think she'll be pleased.

And Santa also brought us a Vikings victory today. Yes, we're well aware this win over the Lions helps the Packers, but we're just happy to have this one small Christmas gift with our third- maybe fourth-string QB this season! Pretty sure we'll still be in a good place for the draft! 💜💛

Be Christmas nice and let us have our joy! 😁

Hope all of you had one or many Christmas blessings go celebrate today!!

Solstice Shopping and Singing

 

Happy Winter Solstice! Although officially today, I'd almost argue that yesterday and today seemed equally short when it comes to the "to do" and "tis done" lists.

Yesterday was a shopping whirlwhind. I went to the farmer's market/winter's market in Stevens Point in the morning because a new coworker was exhibiting his woodworking there – including something on my final list. 

Then I heard from the woman who successfully won a trifle of mine in a silent auction earlier this year. She'd like that plus an extra one she'll pay for. This coming weekend. Since my 2nd trifle bowl is MIA, I went to Goodwill in Point/Plover, Walmart, Kohl's and Target to see if I could find one. No luck.

Got home in early afternoon and showered (finally, ha) and got myself ready for an afternoon and evening of music.

First stop was the 4 p.m. mass at St. Philip's in Rudolph where a few of us (well hubby mainly and me by default) sang along during the service. Then it was off to Wausau to hear our friend Kat sing with STEEM and fun accompaniment by the Neenah high school symphony group.

A group of us went last year and it was so enjoyable to listen to – especially when you know one of the rockstars.

Jim's high school classmate Kat (Kathy) is pictured 3rd from the left.

Great to see/hear her solo performance. And since we've seen/heard her perform in several bands over the years, we could pick out and appreciate her beautiful voice throughout! A great concert for sure.

As a bonus, I ran into one my former co-workers at my current company. He has since moved onto TV only and is loving his gig in Salt Lake City, Utah. My work "sons" are all growing up!

Today was another day of shopping and singing.

Sang in choir and church and then went shopping to prepare (the best I could) for hosting Austin family Christmas later this week. I think I got most things. Shopping among thousands, I swear. Will have to reevaluate on Monday.

In the mean time, we got a Vikings win but I'm just hanging on for my fabulous fantasy football team to advance to our finals. We'll see if Santa grants one or both of those pending wishes or not.

Snowy Advent Prep

After all those over-the-top forecasts on Saturday, we ended up with about 5 inches of snow in the Rapids area. A nice backdrop to the Christmas decorations I already have in place as Advent begins.

Since hubby was up at the crack of dawn removing snow here and at his dad's, I had no issues getting to church this morning.

Of course, I had to take a few record-keeping photos before I left.

Our wreath is in a new locale this year. When we got it delivered, we realized we didn't want to pound a nail hole in our brand-new siding. Duh! Looks quite festive on the deck.

As the sun was rising, I tried to catch in our solar lighthouse. My mind saw it better than it turned out, but oh well.

After church, it was a quick day with the kiddos who understandably wanted to get on the road so they could get back to Dubuque in daylight. Especially since they got twice as much snow as we did.

Then it was just trying to relax and watch football. The Vikings are sucking and my fantasy football team is logging its first loss. So yes, before 6 p.m. I am throwing in the surrender towel and going in the basement to watch a Hallmark Christmas movie or two.

This is how I do my snowy Advent prep. May we all have a blessed season!

Weekend Wins and Losses

A mix of wins and losses over the weekend, that's for sure!

Saturday morning started with a win when I got to join the St. Philip's church group for a private showing of Soul on Fire – a full box of Kleenex tearfully inspiring movie!

The story in a nutshell: A tragic accident leaves 9-year-old John O'Leary with burns covering 100% of his body. He soon embarks on a miraculous road to recovery with support from family, the community, and baseball announcer Jack Buck. Grateful for the gift of life, John becomes a motivational speaker who inspires millions of people to make the world a better place.

Lots of tears. But you can't go wrong with popcorn for breakfast!

From there I headed to another fundraiser for the Best Christmas Ever organization – this one held at Ryder's Roadhouse. I was hoping my raffle basket luck from the previous weekend would spill over. But I was a loser.

I did have a win with those new Hershey's Snickerdoodle kisses I discovered. Instead of flat cookies, roll the Snickerdoodle dough in a ball and roll that in cinnamon-sugar and place in mini muffin pan. When the come out, immediately insert an upside-down kiss into the center and press down. It will melt itself into place just enough.

And also.... so yummy!! Winning.

Sunday was all Loser-ville...

Even though I purpled up for church and wore the Vikings bracelet my niece Kenlee made me, nothing could help my team at Lambeau. Uff da. My plan was to go to BINGO and watch the game later. I skipped that ugliness altogether!

And BINGO was no better. Had about 200 there and someone actually did win the progressive coverall jackpot of $4,400! 

That someone was not me. Nor anyone I knew. The closest I came was 3 space left on 3 of my 15 cards! Close does not count in BINGO. Loser.

My win today was that we had Book Club after work. We went to that new Tex Mex Rodeo Grill that I've gone to twice already on girls nights. Yummy food and great company. The book we discussed was really good too. If you get a chance, read The Ladies Midnight Swimming Club. You may need a tissue at times for this one, too. I listened through audible and enjoyed the Irish accent of the reader as well as the unique storyline.

Now it's time to see if any of my favorites on The Voice can win their knockout rounds and move on! And see if my undefeated fantasy football team can pull off a come-from-behind-win!

Hope you have more wins than losses this week!

One of These Seasons Doesn't Belong

Mr. Deck Chair and I are headed to couples' therapy after what he had to endure during the night while I was sleeping. I mean I honestly wouldn't have known the white stuff was a possibility until I had Up North sisters text me asking if it was snowing here yet. I guess it was on some Wisconsin or Minnesota weather dude's radar. Just not mine.

But sure enough there was a late-night deck shot and one this morning when the sun wasn't even up. Both shots so ugly if you ask me. It it is time one of these seasons stepped aside for a minute (or month!).

Naturally, I was like, maybe I could take some picture so this juxtaposition (oh my high school English teacher would be proud of that!)

So the park above and my church yard here were great photo ops to show that again, one of these seasons doesn't belong.

I honestly didn't pay much attention to the white stuff since I had church then BINGO. But apparently even a high of 30 degrees (below freezing in my mind) means the snow can melt if the sun is out. Either way, it's fine with me since the roads were clear all day.

I just hoped the "Nordic Fever" would blanket our Vikings with good vibes today. Ugh. I don't have a defensive reason for our loss since I was getting scoring updates at BINGO. 

But dang, I wish my fave NFL team could align with my currently undefeated fantasy team! Who knows? When I said one of these seasons doesn't belong, maybe football and BINGO don't mix. Then again... that means one of us deserves a big WIN!!

Very soon, please.

Close Doesn't Count

The good news is that both hubby and I made it to church and sung in our choirs and coughing wasn't an issue! About time.

The bad news is that some things didn't go quite as we wanted after that.

I've been batting a thousand at BINGO this fall. Two wins in two sessions. But today this was the closest I got with one to go during Ring Around The Free Space.

There goes my streak! The only saving grace (besides having fun with my BINGO babes) is that no one won the Progressive Jackpot in the last coverall game so that'll be up to close to $4,000 in November! I'll just keep crossing my fingers!

The other negative, of course, is that while I was betting the odds, my Vikings were just odd. Ugh. I hate losing by one score! But since I didn't watch it personally, maybe the dirty Eagle were just stinkin' good. I have no excuse.

Unrelated... My undefeated Swedish Chef Mafia fantasy football team is sitting at a 99% chance to win. So there's that.

The WIN though is that I took a few pictures of fall colors yesterday. Because today we had so much wind the trees are quickly turning naked!!

And Jim was on the mission to bag them up! We may need one more round in about a week, but that's fine. This is the only case today where "close to being done" actually counts.

Succe$$ful $unday

I won't even share a picture until I admit that I did not set an alarm this morning (even though our Vikings were kicking off at 8:30 a.m. central time) but awoke at 8:46 a.m.

As I stepped into an expected 2-minute shower, some thought in the back of my mind said "You're reading in church today!" Let me rush to the computer to read the emailed bulletin and try to print out my reading – only to realize I had no ink in my printer. So yeah. Just speeding to church to practice one time in a vacant classroom.

Thankfully no anxiety city or personal names so I got through it just fine. 

Meanwhile our Vikings game was happening and I got home just in time for the glorious final minutes. Why did it matter?

Mainly because son #1 Casey and our daughter-in-law were in London at the game and hoping for a great start to their delayed honeymoon. The stars and horns were aligned, kids! Enjoy the rest of your week! 

The rest of us state-side folks were just happy with a win. And selfishly my fantasy football player Addison produced in a big way, too!

I figured I'd try to carry on the Purple Pride luck to BINGO at Assumption this afternoon.

I realized I had to go there armed with both a seldom-worn Viking Purple ring and the new bracelet my grand-niece Kenlee made me. Guess what? It worked!

I ended up using my Viking Purple dobber to get a BINGO on the goalpost pattern of all things. Pretty sure that's a good sign for the rest of the season right? Let's just go with YES.

The rest of Sunday was both of us being stuffed up and hocking up lungs from random autumn cold season. At least with both our of baseball teams' in post season reviews, we had nothing to worry about.

But the REDS and TWNS are so awesome! Again both DANG and DARN. Let's keep on keeping on for a successful Sunday for all of us!

Winners for the Win

My lucky fox talisman is on fire this week! I mean I did get a win a BINGO Sunday and my Vikings got a victory, so I have to give somebody or something the credit!

As for central Wisconsin, both the Packers and my Vikings were playing at noon so I hoped that would increase my odds if I went to BINGO. Turns out it might have. There were more than 100 of us so the larger jackpots were in order. And here I am winning the "kite formation" BINGO for $70. Works for me!

While sitting there and dobbing my heart away I knew that my Vikings were somehow winning and my fantasy team was on fire, too. Maybe I should credit going to bed at 1 a.m.!

Got home after BINGO and took a picture of our flag at the end of the driveway before I even pulled into the garage. Gotta keep the good vibe going!

And it worked for once! A 5-star re-run, if I do say so myself. Jim enjoyed it too after his return from golfing in Minnesota this weekend. I'm like "thanks for leaving the good vibes there"!

Tonight, after some "winning" (I think tennis matches), I'm about to embark on the next season of The Voice. Where I will wait for quite sometime before I declare a winner!

It Worked Out In My Purple Favor

Last night I blogged before I had to address the Monday Night Football situation. I mean even you Packer fans don't like the Bears so we have some solidarity there.

But I was not convinced during the first half that our very VERY young QB could rise to the occasion. I am so glad I was proven wrong. Especially since our two-week United Way campaign began at work today and the dress-up theme was favorite team.

Yup, I wore the lovely bracelet above plus my now favorite shirt...

The one Jim and I wore to a game last year! We are still hoping for one Super Bowl win in our lifetimes.

Let me just clarify. There were a few more Viking fans at work and they commented on needing a shirt like mine. We all know the pain and struggles. Then, since I went straight from work to shoot middle school football, I was wearing the shirt and a guy from the opposing team (Iola-Scandinavia in this case) asked if he could take a picture of my shirt.

Maybe creepy but I trust he's been through the same pain. Maybe Purple Power will carry us all (well some of us) through the week!

Beauty and the Bling

I forgot to report out on the great bling I received and earned yesterday.

First of all, we all received a ring to wear (they're fake but pretty and I'll probably wear mine in real life). Then throughout the shower if someone said the word "bride," you could steal their ring. Obviously the goal is to see who has the most at the end. And obviously with my competitive family, it was vicious! I managed to "trap" two people (including the mother of the groom) and that earned me a nice prize! 

The other bling is that beautiful purple and yellow bracelet on my wrist! My great-niece Kenlee (who lives in Minnesota) knows I am the only aunt to cheer for the Vikings so she thought it was perfect for Auntie Robyn. And it is! Taking after my mother, I wrote and mailed her a cute thank you note today and promised to wear it every game day. 

More precious than jewels, I tell ya!

As for the "beauty" part of the blog, it's not me but my hair. Had my 6-week locks refresh after work today and I feel like a new woman-ish. She always does a great job and I can usually "sleep carefully" for 3 nights to hold the style. I told her we have a wedding to attend Friday and asked "Do you think I can go for a record and make this last through 4 sleeps?!"

Our conclusion is that I'd have to sleep in a chair with one of those airplane pillows around my neck so I couldn't possibly twist, turn, or lay my head back on a flat surface. 

Guess what? That ain't happening. So I guess I might lose the "beauty" by the end of the week, but I'll still have the "bling"! Still winning.