Summer Scenes

It started out on the cloudy and cool side today so I figured I should try to be as productive as possible indoors.

Got my housework done, then buzzed Carter's hair (new look to go with no glasses, I guess), baked cranberry bars and cookies. When the sun decided to stay out, I ran 4 miles, tossed the football to Carter a few times and educated him on soaking up the sun.

I also had time to upload a few recent photos and some that I magically captured today!

This is our friend Sandy and me in our golf outing in Green Bay last Friday -- when the girls beat the boys!

There was no shortage of 'Vettes in the car show in Rapids last weekend. Carter definitely had a hard time choosing! Wouldn't you?

We hate bees! Went out on the front deck today and noticed busy bees in two little hives off the front of the house. They are doomed to die tonight by the hand of Jim the Bee Slayer and his weapon of Deadly Foam.

My excitement today is that after months, yes months, of trying to capture a hummingbird at our feeder, I finally got a photo IN FOCUS! Those birds are too fast for me and my camera. One shot out of probably 2 dozen tries will just have to do!

I captured this cool dude, too! What's funny was that Top Gun is on last night -- a movie made waaaaay before his time -- but he looks like he could fit in. I doubt I'll start calling him Maverick, but I should start warning the girls!

For now, I need to get off the computer. Carter has a Fantasy Football draft tonight with several of his cousins on my side of the family. After doing a league with me and the Austin boys last year, he's a pro now. If you recall his obsession with it, you know he can handle teams in 2 leagues this year.

Maybe I should warn my nieces and nephew! Nah, with a Rocky-related team name like "I Pity the Fool," I think they'll find out soon enough!

Shark Week

Last year at this time, we were vacationing in Fort Lauderdale and I was a little more than concerned about sharks during a certain TV channel's "Shark Week." You don't want to go to bed with visions of sharks in your head, then wake up and head down to the beach. A bit unnerving to say the least.

This year, we are land-lubbers facing a different kind of shark altogether. Yup, it appears Mother Nature has her claws out and wants to wreak havoc on the very few vacation plans we made.

Today was hot and muggy and cloudy. Hardly worth hanging around outside so I got some indoor work done -- like downloading photos and cleaning off our desk. Carter was babysitting for the day so hubby and I went up to Marshfield to visit Jim's aunt and uncle this afternoon. Had a nice visit and enjoyed seeing all the pretty flowers she has grown this summer. (Some day when my black thumbs turn green, I am going to do that, too!)

Got home in the late afternoon and enjoyed some more corn on the cob for supper. Then Carter and I wrapped up our Rocky marathon and watched Rocky IV -- pretty much my favorite after the original. Now Carter's convinced he's going to join the Rapids boxing club (if there is such a thing) and I, after seeing all that blood and gore, am convinced he shouldn't. We'll see.

Tried to do my own Rocky workout tonight and run but it was just too heavy out. Yes, heavy. The air was heavy and not easy to breathe in and out. So I capped it off at 3 miles and will have to do my long run later this week.

I didn't want to overdo it tonight because we were (emphasis on were) supposed to get up early tomorrow and meet friends in Green Bay to go golfing. Now that Mother Nature is giving us 80% chance of rain and strong storms over there, we already have to take a rain check and hope for something better on Friday.

In a domino effect, this screws up a potential overnight trip we had pondered -- but hadn't confirmed -- doing on Thursday. So now we really might not do anything at all. Sort of like we originally planned.

But I still say Mother Nature is as vicious as a shark. Without the teeth but quite capable of messing with my beach-like sun-bathing time!

Racin'!

Talk about a day of one extreme of racing to another.

Woke up and decided that I was going to do the 5K in town associated with our Betty Boop Festival. Yes, there is a festival for everything imaginable in the world. And yes, Wisconsin Rapids holds one for Betty Boop in honor of her artistic creator at Disney -- Grimm Natwick -- who hailed from Rapids.

The 5K is a fundraiser to help provide vaccines for polio. Now that's something we don't think about every day. But we got a good reminder. The woman who started the race today with a "on your mark, get set, go," stood there with crutches and told her story of having polio since she was 5 years old. She thanked us today for running because we can.

That's about the only thing that kept me going, too! I swear, it was already 80-some degrees by the time the race started and my next-door neighbor Niki and I had a heckuva time with the heat. I had a slow time and felt plain yucky with the humidity. I wisely decided not to push it and make myself sick or something. I sure hope it's not like this for my "big race" in 2 months!

Oh well, we got cool shirts as usual and we did our little part to fight polio.

This afternoon, the temps just kept climbing so I stayed indoors. Jim had a golfing engagement with some guys over in Green Bay for the afternoon/evening so Carter and I hooked up our new surround sound and watched a movie -- Rocky II. He loved the first one and now we have the 2nd through 4th ones rented for the hot-must-stay-indoors days coming up. (Don't be surprised if you hear about Carter boxing in the near future!)

Our nephew Colin was racing in a special two-night event at the speedway in Wausau so Carter and I went up there. They had some wicked rain in the late afternoon so everything was delayed -- which is why I am blogging at midnight!

Anyway, Colin was in a 150-lap special and ended up finishing 8th. It was an exciting, close race and he had to fight to keep that spot. Great racing. Had a good time.

We got home just before the stroke of midnight and I am ready to go turn into a pumpkin now.

Carter already has.