The Power of Un-Powered Tools

Full disclosure: This is all going to seem like it's coming out of left field... because it sort of is.

My main agenda item today besides getting through work was delivering two pair of arborist pants to my cousin's son. Have I lost you already. He's in Stevens Point (well-known for its DNR related programs and degrees) and saw these for sale through Facebook Marketplace – but in Wisconsin Rapids.

So I picked them up and yesterday I was like, "Dude, I have your pants in my car. When do you want them?" So it worked out that I could meet him and his fiancee for a dinner after work. 

So what exactly are "arborist pants"? Turns out that if you're using a chainsaw like the well-intentioned beaver above, they're chainsaw-resistant. A bullet-proof Kevlar protection layer from serious harm. I can see why he wanted to buy these 20-dollar pants that normally sell for almost $200. Good call. (Also note that according to my blog title they are un-powered tools.)

But who cares about arborist pants? Obviously it was most important to hear about their upcoming wedding plans in 2027. And perhaps dish about our families. Lol.

So after that meal I headed into Wisconsin Rapids to WalMart to find a replace my hair dryer – who died inconveniently, of course. RIP.

And I can't make this stuff up. First my TIRE PRESSURE IS LOW warning comes on. So I pull over knowing that I have to have it in park to "calibrate" or whatever. That happened again when I got WR WalMart. So I did recalibrate again but that wasn't my main concern.

I've recently attached my key fob to a lanyard because it sometimes can fall our of the very shallow pockets of work pants. Well when I parked, I realized the lanyard was there... out of my pocket... but no fob was attached.

So I knew it was in that deeply imbedded spot under the seat that is impossible to reach with human hands. What can I do?

You know, I suddenly realized that I still had scrapbooking tools in my vehicle that I've neglected to unpack that might include some sort of tweezers to grasp it from its secret hiding spot.

And the tweezer for tiny stickers or alphabet letters won the day! A powerful tool that requires no power.

So after that, of course, I wanted to tell my scrap sisters about our life-saving tools!

Well, it turns out my monthly Girls Night Out group was meeting and eating a Whoudini's and I still had time to catch them there. I zealously shared my story with my scrap sister Jenny and then they all asked me what "arborist pants" are and I could not understand how they knew this.

They said, "Well you texted your husband about your dinner plans." I'm like "Yeah, did I accidentally send that to this group too?" No, they said. He's here.

So here we were – my girls night and his last-minute three classmates from high school meeting at a bar we go to maybe once a year. (Including your hubby, A.P. my loyal blog reader. Not that I'm tattling!)

As Rick in Casablanca says: "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." Ope sorry.

Of course I really just wanted to show off a cute shirt I got at GW Boutique (yes, Good Will) the other day...

Random patterns and such a steal. I pointed out that I was fashionably late because I was so fashionable. Thank you to the person that donated it. You've added some POWER-ful spice to my life!!

Jolly Holiday

I'm so old school that when I hear of a new "holiday" each day I just go back to Mary Poppins and recall that it's a jolly holiday with Mary!

Today's new to me holiday was National Intern Day.

So of course I was compelled to make a card and buy some little treats for the 2 rock star interns on our marketing corporate communications team. They've been with us since May and I will miss them so much when they go. It's like mentoring people who still have 2 years of college to decide what they might want to do – and giving them real-work situations to help them decide. 

Back in the last century when I was in college, most internships weren't paid and I could not give up a summer of income to do one. So I really admire how forward-thinking our 2 writers are. It's a level of maturity I don't think I had heading into my junior year at college. 

But as I said to the golf "opponents" tonight, if you have a college aged kid interested in anything my company offers – from marketing to finance – let me know. We have a generous – very generous – program at Sentry that I'd recommend.

It could be a jolly holiday for someone next year!

The Short Life of Precious Blooms

As I mentioned last night, thanks to recent rain and heat, then more rain and more heat, all the blooms at SentryWorld are in peak condition. And so beautiful. It was amazing. 

As I also mentioned, before we had league, a handful of us took our 4 Marketing interns to the driving range so they would be more comfortable for their upcoming intern scramble. So fun!

But I share this picture because I want you to look at these young faces of 19- and 20-year-olds. This is basically how young two girls in southwest Wisconsin were when they lost their lives in the past few days. Both a 22-year-old from La Crosse (where I went to college) and one from Platteville (where Carter went) had disappeared – and both were found dead today. No causes of death have been confirmed.

As I told my son, I'd just die (probably literally) if that happened at this young stage of life. Let's be honest, any age and any stage if our kids go before us. All of you parents KNOW this! So please pray for the families and friends of Eliotte and Emma, who weren't given a full season of life to bloom.

And think of them – and your current blessings – while you view a few more flowers.

Thank God for the colorful, beautiful people you are blessed to still have in your life today!

Jumpin' Around

Another weekend. Another jump around the state. Today's destination? We find ourselves back in Madison for the second time this week.

For an important reason. UW graduation at Camp Randall stadium! 

8,679 Badger graduates today and only ONE is our favorite! Carter's girlfriend Mamie. (Though we did know a few other special grads from Rapids.)

Dare I say there were more people there than on a Badger football game day?! Well if all the graduates were in the stands with the thousands of spectators, there certainly would be! And they kept it entertaining – for a few hours.

A couple fun surprises... The acapella group (and thousands of graduates) singing "Build Me Up, Buttercup" like they do during football games.

A good (and humorous) keynote speaker in Jason Gay, a '92 grad and current sportswriter for the Wall Street Journal.

And singing and dancing to "Jump Around" at about the 3/4 mark of the ceremony. It was warm, sunny, and we had plenty of reasons to sweat before we were jumpin'!

Oh and most entertaining... Mamie's "appetizer" of apparently super-sized nachos at the Vintage Brewing Co. in Cross Plains where we met up with her family after the ceremony. It was a good choice to meet a bit outside of Mad Town. Always a pleasure to see her parents and siblings.

Oh, and see our boy, too! 💖

Had a very nice visit with the family and one of their college friends – who manages to get a picture with Jimmy at this same brewery oh once every 5 years as it turns out. Yes, many of their college friends are like family. We're certainly blessed in so many ways. 

Especially to have sweet Mamie in our lives. Congrats, girl! 🎓

Cheering for a Green Bay Team... Wait, Wut?

You knew there'd come a day when the Austins would cheer for a Green Bay team. Spoiler alert: It ain't football!

The quick back story is that our friends' three little girls used to think there were referring to Jim and me as Mr. and Mrs. "Awesome" rather than Austin. So how could we not fall in love with them and consider them ours as they grew up through school years at Assumption, college years, and beyond.

All 3 played softball at their respective colleges. Ava, the youngest, was a star pitcher for the Royals and is in her sophomore year at UW-Green Bay throwing for the Phoenix. In past years, our spring road trip/travel time was limited when Jim was coaching baseball. This year, his freedom opened up a new freedom to leave town. (As you may have noticed on recent weekends!)

Ava's team had their last regular season home games today and tomorrow so we figured we'd go to Green Bay, now that all the NFL Draft enthusiasts were out of town. Unlike the MLB, they don't necessarily announce their starting pitchers until game time. So there was a chance she wouldn't be taking the mound today with 2 games today and 1 more tomorrow – all versus the University of Detroit Mercy. 

With a Phoenix as their school mascot, it was inspiring to see the uplifting messages on the drive in to the field.

It's Ava's place to continue to rise, for sure!

The good news is that the Phoenix won game 1.

And came back after a rough first inning to dominate game 2!

Unfortunately, our dear girl didn't get to pitch today. But she was still all smiles seeing us and her parents and one sister – and a few other fans who drove over from Wisconsin Rapids today. She deservedly has the biggest fan club! Now we know that next year we'll just have to get some earlier games. Like someplace further south maybe!

We did not let the chilly, windy weather or her lack of pitching time spoil our day. It was still great to see everyone – so not a wasted trip!

As a bonus, we stopped on our way home at a new BBQ joint in Waupaca that our friends recommended.

Located on Hwy QQ almost across the street from our fave Waupaca hangout – Clearwater Harbor – this place is just in its second year of operation.

 

Very cool vibe inside and the food... wow. This is Jim's ginormous Brisket Tacos. Two is all you need and might be one too many!

Meanwhile, even me and my big mouth could not bite into this tall Pulled Pork Sandwich. I tried 3 different BBQ sauces as I made my way down the pile – with a fork! Always fun to try new places. Highly recommend!

With all that fresh air and food, I think we'll sleep good tonight. And knowing that there's definitely only one Green Bay team we're cheering for, we should rest easy. 😃

Deep Freeze Feelings

For most of today, I figured the worst thing I'd have to deal with is the sub-zero temperatures (and maybe the presidential inauguration). But that changed when a college friend messaged me today that another friend of ours had passed away.

Not to age myself, but back in college year 1988-1989 I was a resident assistant (RA) in Angell Hall at UW-La Crosse. Thanks to Facebook, more than a half-dozen of us "Angells" have kept in touch for years. I say "kept in touch" but mean loosely that we maintained at least a surface level contact via social.

Unfortunately, we can't rely on the current social media algorithm. 

In other words, we're fed so many ads that we actually have to purposely look up a friend to see what they're up to.

Right now the 7 of us Angells who are still "connected" don't know yet what happened to our 8th friend. But I told the 4 of us still in Wisconsin that we better quit TALKING about getting together and actually make plans to DO IT!

I also told Jim to quit "talking" about that darn softball/baseball reunion. Just plan it! 

We just don't know. Hug your loved ones and make that call!

By coincidence, our baby boy called us tonight and was pretty excited about his recent trip to New York City and the chance to personally connect with his work team there since he's one of the few non-NY remote employees. He had a great time. 

I was reminded how we rely on these virtual connections – and how nothing replaces face-to-face interactions. 

Don't take it for granted. Make personal connections IN PERSON!

Royally Fast Weekend Vibes

This weekend is flying. Which means it's action-packed. Not just with the dusting and vacuuming I got around to at 7 o'clock Saturday night. But actual good times.

Last night I headed into Witter Field after work and shot photos of the Royals game against Pacelli. We hung with them for the first inning or 3 then lost it big time with a Pacelli 9-run half inning. The only reason I enjoyed it was because I got to see my former co-worker and friend from Pacelli – will be my co-worker again next week. Love that! 

But obviously sorry for the Royal's 10-run loss.

Today I had two things on the agenda: Attend UW-Stevens Point graduation and pick up my "volunteer packet" for the upcoming U.S. Senior Open.

Had to leave the house before 8 a.m. (I know – it's a Saturday!) to get to campus at 8:30 and meet up with my cousins who had the tickets.

Four years ago, my cousin Luke (or as my hubby would say, first cousin twice removed0 started at UWSP and I thought I'd see him pretty often since my office is only a few blocks from campus. Then that pesky pandemic hit so I didn't get to see him much until the past year. Mainly when he was playing in the pep band for the university and our local River Kings hockey team. Was great to see him and his girlfriend graduate.

So this is how we're related. My dad's sister had a son Gene (left) who had two daughters, Rachael and Sara, and then Rachael had Luke. If you look closely, you can see we all have those tiny Hedberg eyes! Ha. 

Anyway, it was great to see Luke move on to his new College of Conservation related job.

And match purples with his little brother Ty. I joked we could be prom dates.

And see my sister cousins! Time always goes so fast but I'm glad I got some hugs and laughs in.

After that I headed to Sentry to pick up U.S. Senior Open packets for me and my neighbor and two cousins. I think it was about 90 minutes in line. But I'm so excited for this, I didn't care.

Came home and spend 20 minutes with Mr. Deck Chair – yes, finally 70+ degrees again – then got my Saturday chores done. Jim is singing with the guitar choir up in Rudolph this evening. So I might just relax in Mr. Recliner.

Guess what's on? Yep. Never seen it from start to finish so I'm popping the popcorn and calling it a Robyn night. Hope you're having an amazing weekend!!

Just Call Us Angells

One of the perks of living in the middle of the state is that it's often the location for statewide conferences and meetings. Occasionally, I luck out and long-distance friends are suddenly in my neck of the woods. Today was one of those days.

My friend Sarge from college was in Stevens Point for a work conference. Love that she was wearing a UW-La Crosse shirt when I picked her up after work and we went to my stomping grounds (SentryWorld) to catch up for a bit.

We haven't changed a bit since we were RAs (resident assistants) together at Angell Hall at UW-L, have we? 

Obviously, it was in the '80s. The 1988-1989 school year to be exact. The amazing thing about that is not that we're OLD. We know! But that we've been friends and somehow stayed in touch for 35 years. Uhm, yes, that is older than most of my current co-workers. Ha.

It really was so awesome to catch up like no time was lost and hug out any stressors in our life. Love my Angell Squad!

I've said it before... Always make the time to see old friends when you can. If you can still laugh about things you did or said 3 decades ago, it's so worth it!

Ooohm-Cha-Gow-Ah! Angells got the powah!

Name Changes

The Cleveland Indians announced this week that they're changing their name next season to the Cleveland Guardians. Close to the same name like they're trying to cover up a bad tattoo, but a different enough meaning to be politically correct. 

We went through the same thing way back when I was in college – kids, that was right after the Dark Ages. We were still considered the La Crosse Indians when I started college and had transitioned to the La Crosse Eagles by my graduation. 

Not to say how long ago that was, but you can tell by this yellowed sticker (and price) that it really was a short jump after the Stone Age. Not that that makes me old.

In fact, today I had coffee with two other UW-L Indians turned Eagles. Obviously, it's impossible we've known each other for 30-plus years since we're all still 29! And just like the UW-L Indians, we've all changed our names since then. 

It was mini-housing reunion of sorts since we'd all been on staff at the same time. Our coffee hour sort of fell together. Liz (blue) lives in New Jersey but has a sister in Wisconsin Rapids. Julie (pink) lives in Alabama but has parents in nearby Marshfield. They both just happened to be in my neck of the woods this weekend, so it was fate that we could meet up, chit chat for a few hours, both laughing and crying.

It was just so nice. Really. How blessed to enjoy time with people you've known for decades. A lot of fun memories, but a lot of wonderful things happening in our respective lives now.  

Friendships are a blessing, aren't they?

Go to college, kids. You'll meet the most amazing humans!

The Next Chapter

I guess two years can fly by in a heartbeat. Still, with that darn "lost year" in between, it seems like Carter's semester in Germany was forever ago! 

It's fitting that this popped up in my memories on Facebook because it was just one chapter, one journey in life. He had to move on and finish college (chapter closed in December), and then, start the real-life adulthood chapter – get a job.

And he did! I don't want to jinx anything until all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed, but yes, our baby found out today he has a grown-up job that will take him to Milwaukee to start his next chapter in the marketing field! And just like I wrote two years ago, we're so proud of him. 

He's got about a month here to transition from one chapter to the next. Pretty sure I'll probably be mentioning it here one more time as details firm up. 

We'll accept finger crossing and prayers at this time!

It's a Great Day to be Done

It was 5 years ago this fall that Mr. College (last time calling him that) applied and was accepted at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He looked like quite a young kids compared to know – with 4 1/2 years of schooling in him. Still, we remember that fall orientation – not just because he got to meet Pioneer Pete (above) – but because the chancellor (and all speakers) basically echoed the motto: "It's a great day to be a Pioneer!" 

So I had to have some fun with that for his graduation. Yup, it happened, folks.

It was so weird having a virtual graduation ceremony. They basically live-streamed it on YouTube and it included prerecorded speeches by the provost, chancellor, and a student speaker – all reminding the graduates to be Pioneers in life. Then they read off the names and we waited...

And there he is! Or Mr. Dual Degree Boy! If you can't make out the words, it's a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree in German. Right now it looks good on paper and hopefully soon it will look good to potential employers. First step is finishing finals this week. Then, since his lease runs through May, he'll stay in Platteville working until then or until he gets a "real life" job, which hopefully is sooner. For this weekend, though, it was just about celebrating this accomplishment! So we watched the ceremony online in the morning and then, since Carter worked until 4 p.m., we headed down to Platteville in the afternoon.

Before presenting him with this decorated box, I had to embarrass him with a little show-and-tell presentation to his friends. So I brought the big folding poster boards I made for his high school graduation party. They got to see little kindergarten cutie to Justin Bieber hair middle school to his super model senior pictures. They got a kick out of it. Carter got over it after opening his gift.

Yup, he finally earned his Austin's Pour House jacket! Jim's aunt and uncle ran this bar for years and years back in day. Jim, the big boys and I all got these jackets for Christmas of 2008. Carter was 10 at the time and we said it wouldn't be appropriate for a grade-schooler to wear jacket from a saloon. He wasn't happy.

Now he is! Since it was a 12-year wait, he was pretty surprised. I was just happy to give it to him. It's been hiding in my closet since summer. I'm not the best at keeping quiet about anything.

For the rest of our graduation "party" fun, we picked up pizzas and hung out at the house for the evening. Here's a picture of Carter with his two favorite girls. Well, to be honest, one's his favorite but they are the two girls who love him the most, I bet!

Since they got 4-6 inches of snow on Friday night and Saturday, we booked a hotel room down there. So this morning – late morning – we took Carter and Mamie our for brunch then hit the road since Carter had to work in the afternoon.

So long, Platteville. Even the M on the hill was covered in snow. Already erasing memories of the place.

Not that we won't be back down there in the spring sometime, but for now it's a great day to be a Pioneer grad and great day for that chapter to be done.

I know you don't read my blog, but congrats kiddo! We love you and are so very proud!

#classof2020 #greatdaytobeapioneer