Uno de Mayo

Happy May Day!  Of course this day is always emotional because it's not my birthday, but it's my "I gave birth" day! To clarify, not to the cat in the picture. But our now 27-year-old baby Carter. I asked him "How am I supposed to convince people I'm only 29 when you're 27?!"

Uff da. 

I really just grabbed a random picture for Carter's birthday and realized she (Sylvester) is gone and he is so grown up and "basically gone" to adulthood and independence, too! Someone stop my momma tears!

Thank goodness there was a happy ending, of sorts, to my day.

Of course our Marketing Department "Fun Committee" has something lined up each month, so today was the Pre-Cinco de Mayo Guac and Salsa Showdown. I've never made traditional salsa, but thanks to my friend Brenda K., I was introduced to the concept of "fruit salsa" a few years back. A great summer potluck addition.

So last night after golf lessons and choir practice, I sliced and diced a bunch of fruit to make a salsa!

A blend of kiwi, apples, raspberries, strawberries and more. I figured why not offer an alternative to the spicy salsa I personally love to have!

Our Fun Committee did a great job of laying out all the Guac and Salsa options. Complete with numbers and heat indexes. They provided the usual tortilla chips for the dips, but I provided my own "cinnamon-sugar" pita chips and pretzel crisps for my Fruit Salsa.

Although I'm typically competitive, I honestly didn't think my non-traditional salsa stood a chance. I was just happy to introduce people to this summer alternative my friend introduced me to.

I was legitimately quite surprised to get a very cute second-place trophy! I will include my "prize winning" (what I used this time) recipe below, but keep in mind it's better with fresh summer fruit and you can add whatever you want.

Robyn’s Fruit Salsa

2 kiwis (peeled and diced)
2 Golden Delicious apples (peeled, cored, and diced)
8 ounces raspberries (diced)
16 ounces strawberries (diced)
2 T white sugar 
1 T brown sugar
3 T fruit preserves (I used seedless strawberry jam)

Serve with cinnamon-sugar chips (Stacey’s Pita Chips or Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps)

Side note: Best if served the same day you make it so it doesn’t get too runny. If it does, you can drain a bit before serving.

Look at you all set to summer potlucks now! In the meantime, help me cope with my baby being a super adult!

It's 5 a.m. Somewhere

Had a great time today celebrating the upcoming birth of our friend Brenda's first granddaughter. 

Macyn, the momma-to-be, is also a classmate of Carter's. Hard to believe all these little kiddos are adulting now. She was as adorable as ever!

Since we knew ahead of time that it's a girl, I got to bring out the pink yarn again and crochet a baby blanket. Yes, it's a soft as it looks! She got a ton of great baby shower gifts and so many cute outfits. 

The picture up top is the card I gave her. Pretty appropriate for two reasons. One, babies want to drink when they want to drink and mommy better wake up and serve.

And two, I gotta leave the house at 5 a.m. tomorrow to catch a flight out to San Diego for work this week. That means this girl is off to bed for a fast sleep. 

Too bad I don't have a soft pink blanket to snuggle with!

Hooked on Summer

Sitting outside under a hot blanket – even only 4 stitched rows of it – is a bit insane. But hey, I just came from my hair artist tonight and since I had nowhere to go to "run into" someone I knew, I had to take a selfie. 

And yes, it's 90 degrees and I'm crocheting. Babies don't follow my calendar. Or the heat index.

It's actually been an active month for hooking. That's crocheting for you folks with your minds in the gutter.

My new great-nephew Arlo in Minneapolis NEEDED a Vikings blanket!

Then my friend needed a pink and blue blanket for her young granddaughter's birthday in August. I realized since there are only 6 days in August without something on the calendar, I better get it done now. Don't act shocked. There were only 3 unmarked days in July.

So tonight I thought I'd get started on a baby girl blanket for a shower in late August. I fully admit that I didn't last on the swing more than hour. Then indoors and A/C and Netflix called my name. At least I can work on it at my own pace for the next month.

And appreciate Willis Carrier, the inventor of air-conditioning.

Be careful out there. And HYDRATE!

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?

Saturday Night Lights

My Saturday night lights definitely had a different vibe from Friday night lights. Not as much action and certainly no yelling or cowbell from spectators!

It rained all day until about 3 p.m. Thankfully the first half of the day was indoors.

Went to a baby shower for our neighborhood grandma-to-be's daughter-in-law. The grandma graduated with Jim so I saw a few of his other classmates there, too. Was at a new event space of sorts called Rooted in Red – you guessed it, cranberry country. It's a nice place. And it was a fun time!

Also, I won a give-away basket, which brings my total to three baskets this week! Here's my pile of goodies that I haven't had time to go through yet! Just when I thought "I never win anything!"

Tonight I was hired to take pictures at a 100-year anniversary party for a local golf course. Was so glad the rain stopped before the 5 p.m. start since I wanted to take some of the pictures outside. Rain held off and we even got fireworks off and stayed dry. This time I could actually see them from our river view!

Now it's definitely past bedtime and I need to say special prayers for NO RAIN just between the hours of 11-1 and 5-7 tomorrow! Amen.

Showers Of Blessings

I love spending time with family. And it's even more fun when we're celebrating the upcoming addition of a new member! Looking forward to welcoming a great-niece in August. Actually, based on the enthusiasm at the baby shower yesterday, quite a few are excited about my nephew Travis and Michelle's blessing.

Special occasions always call for a trifle, of course! And pretty in pink!

My sister RoAnn and I had so much creative fun planning this. Our food had a baby theme with wraps. Grab a blanket to get started...

Add some clothes... Baby shower tip: Use cookie cutters to cut your cheese slices! 

Had other "stations" too, ending with a chance to fill up a bottle (or cup) with punch or coffee. Also played Baby BINGO and a game I made up where you draw a name, that person draws a lollipop from the centerpiece and reads or does what the note on it says.

We never did get to the one asking who will spoil the baby more – Mommy, Daddy, or Big Sister. I think it'll be a tie!

They all helped with opening gifts. So many cute baby girl things!!!!

Got my blanket finished. It's big sister-approved! She loved a LOT of the gifts!

Very nice afternoon! I hit the road around 4 p.m. And then again after turning around 5 miles down the road to go back and get my suitcase. Duh me! Just wanted to get back to Rapids before dark.

Because of deer, you know! What are the odds I'd see two white ones when I was 9/10 of the way through the drive? Wow. I had to stop and takes some pictures. No surprise.

Met up with Jim at Homestead Golf Course to celebrate our friends' retirement. They sold the golf course and are moving onto the next chapter of their lives. Saw a lot of people we knew. That was fun. Got home too late to think about blogging, but tonight will be even later. 

Heading down to La Crosse to see Riverdance with some girlfriends. Very excited! Gonna toe-tap that right off my bucket list! 

Have a great Sunday.

Strong Hold

I demonstrated my power today. Well my growing power. As in strength. Been taking some strength-building classes and while my body isn't reflecting changes yet, I have graduated from my starting 3-pound dumbbell to a 15-pounder!

Part of today's challenge was pushing this sled...

This is pushing 320 pounds – or the equivalent of Sean Rhyan pictured above, the offensive lineman the Packers drafted in the 3rd round a few weeks ago. Sit down, Sean. I can push you around! Not very far. But I can do it!

And there you have my accomplishment of the day. 

Well, that and getting half a baby blanket crocheted tonight. Because even though I've been planning for a baby shower I'm co-hosting Saturday, I forgot about the gift part. Gonna have to use my newfound strength for some power hooking tomorrow night!

With great power comes great responsibility.

May Day Wishes

As a child, May Day was all about making, filling, and hanging May baskets. But for the past 24 years, it's been about one thing. Our baby boy.

Yup, Carter is 24 today! And I am feeling major Mom Guilt about not being able to make it a special day. #stupidcovid So I had Jim pick up a "cake" on the way home from church...

For the record, the birthday boy does love Glazers from Kwik Trip, so he was happy at least.

And I'm pretty sure his wish was for a Celtics win today. But the Bucks took them in game one of this playoff series. So the wish isn't unfulfilled just yet.

Since we couldn't do much with him to celebrate, he and his girlfriend met up with his college roommate whose birthday was yesterday. I'm pretty sure they've celebrate at least 4 or 5 of their last birthdays together. Gotta keep the streak alive! They met up for a late lunch over in Oshkosh.

I laid low on my recliner – masked up as I have been for days – and Jim and I knocked out some more final Ozark episodes. Thanks to my house arrest, we only have 2 episodes left. Then it's done forever.

And really, that's about all I accomplished this weekend. Forcing myself to rest is harder than it sounds. But I did pretty good. Unfortunately, the deep coughing fits still visit during the night so I don't know if I'm tired from lack of sleep or tired as a symptom of the virus. Either way, I think the worst is over – all the miserable stuff I felt last week – and I'm hoping I'm on the road to recovery.

Haven't lost my sense of smell or taste yet so hopefully the birthday "cake" lasts a few days, too.

Thanks for all the well wishes for me and all the birthday wishes for Carter. It's going to be a good trip around the sun!

Hugs and Kisses

After years of holiday parties and bridal and baby showers in my family, I've honed my guessing-game skills. And today that paid off. In a sweet way.

How many kisses are in this jar? Make your guess before reading further. 

I was at a bridal shower brunch for Macyn, one of Carter's classmates. Being the competitive sort, I made sure to submit my guess of 333 kisses. I was only 5 off. If you guessed 338, then I guess I'll have to share with you!

Too bad I'm not back in the office yet. Will chocolate keep for 6 weeks? I've never worried about chocolate expiring before. Have you? Probably won't have to worry this time either. If hubby helps, we can each have 4 kisses a day and we're done come Labor Day. We'll see if we're up for the challenge. It's just fun to say Jim and I "share kisses" all the time! 

After getting home from the bridal shower with my chocolate kisses, we went over to our nephew's for real hugs and kisses.

Got to meet little Eli and he woke up just enough to blow Great-Aunt Robyn some kisses. Isn't he the cutest?! He was sleeping for the most part so I didn't want to disturb him. Just settled on "air" hugs and kisses for now. 

If I had to guess – and I'm good at that – I'd have to say we'll make up for it in no time! 

Lord, just keep this pandemic at bay so we can love on these kids!

Love My Littles

Back some 4,909 blogs ago – not kidding – I started writing so I could share our youngsters' growing-up years with my family. They grew. The nest is empty. But I'm still blogging. Lucky you.

Now, 14 years later, I have a new crop of youngsters to keep my eye on. After garnering parental consent, I can share a few more fun photos from the R Family Reunion this past weekend. I adore my great-nieces and great-nephews. You know. They're great!

Little T was climbing up everything. No fear for this girl!

For this one either. M does not mind heights or swinging or flipping. She's a gymnast in training. For real!

When South Dakota and Minnesota girls get together, they become instant besties!

So, so adorable!!!

L wants a turn at climbing, too! Based on his height at under 3 years old, he's going to reach that bar soon!

"Take my picture! I'm cute!"

Batman was here!

Concentrating on the climb!

"Let me show you a trick or two."

Keep trying, T3, er Batman!

So much courage and energy with these kiddos!

Q shows her girl power!

T2 is diggin' this park!

T1 talking about the old days with Grandpa Ken!

Q's turn to climb!

Why yes, that is a hot metal slide.

You're safe, N. Just go down fast!

Let's go fishin'!

Grandma Nell baiting the hook for A.

"I caught a snail without using a fishing pole!"

Any bites yet?

"Got one!" There's a lot of excitement when M catches a fish.

You can just hear Q saying: "Ewwww!"

The boys aren't sure it they should touch it or just look at it!

Now everyone's looking at the fish swimming below the dock, wondering how they only managed to catch ONE!

Relaxing with some yard games. Gotta capture that Hedberg competitive side! Don't worry, we all still loved each other at the end of the day. Just a blessing to see all the littles after at least a year.

And now there's one more little...

On Jim's side of the family! Little E joined the family yesterday! Congrats to our nephew Colin and his wife for bringing this guy into our hearts. I bet somebody's going to be a super big sister to him, too. How exciting.

Thanks for all of them (and the ones not pictured), God. I trust You to keep up with them. Lord knows I can't!