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!! 💜💜

Love Favorite Feelings

Our nephew Colin's wife does an amazing job each Christmas of creating a family calendar of sorts for the next year. 

So when Endless January did indeed finally end, it was nice to see cute pictures of him with his family at the racetrack, with his mom at the awards ceremony, and just a random shot of his favorite uncle and aunt at the Nashville Music Hall of Fame Museum.

I like the title: You are my favorite feeling.

What's your favorite feeling? Does it involve a person, place, or object?

I can tell you I love goodbye kisses in the morning from my husband... but also loved the feeling of eating that Andes Mint Chocolate Cupcake at work 2 hours later today (Bless you, 2 1/2 Cups Bakery in Marshfield!)

I also love when people drool over my trifles, genuinely appreciate my photography, and give me the best hugs ever (usually my sisters – there's no holding back!).

But it depends on the day, doesn't it? 

On many Sundays my favorite feeling is nailing our choir song in church. Then later hanging out with BINGO friends I didn't even know a year ago – whether we win or lose.

On Mondays, my favorite feeling is sleeping until the last possible minute to just cross the hallway into my office to work! No shower. Maybe comb my hair.

On Tuesdays, it's going into the office and seeing the people I sincerely like and respect, who care if I had a decent weekend and days out of the office.

Wednesdays typically mean my monthly Girls' Night Out dinner then church choir squad. (Yes, a squad. We're that cool.)

On Thursdays, my favorite feeling only applies in the summer when I have my Foxy Ladies Night golf league.

Friday it's ditto of Monday with an occasional fish fry sprinkled in.

On Saturdays, my favorite feeling is no alarm and no plans. 

So yes our favorite feeling can vary by the calendar. But mine, no matter what, is just feeling loved, respected, and appreciated – no matter who or what prompts that feeling! 

Hope you all have some favorites that never let you down!

Non-Hunter's Widow Weekend

Today marks the beginning of gun-deer season in Wisconsin. And what I love about that is even though my hubby doesn't hunt, I can still participate in all the "hunters' widow" fun. I can. They don't check I.D.s for that sort of thing!

So I managed to get to a few holiday open houses, the indoor farmers' market, and the Best Christmas Ever fundraiser out at Wildhorse Saloon (called something else now). That's where they no only had various vendors but also raffle baskets – some top tier ones for special prices and a few dozen others. For once, I just put tickets in for baskets I wanted to win instead of thinking about winning baskets to pay it forward at my sister's benefit.

So I was extremely thrill-i-fied (to use a WICKED type word) at the end of the day to get a phone call that I won one of the bigger items – an 18-hole round of golf for 4 at Bullseye Country Club! Definitely worth the day's investments!

Yes, I'll take my non-hunting hubby. Don't worry.

The other win for the day was that we got to go out to dinner with our friend and former co-worker Toni (we're talking since Carter was a toddler). Her husband had to work at the last minute so it was just the three of us. But we enjoyed good food at Chili's in Plover – and much-needed catching up conversation. 

We swore this spring over lunch that we'd get together more often. If you find yourself saying that, make it happen. Time goes so fast. You don't want to regret not seeing someone. So glad we had some time together before we all enter the busy holiday season. 

P.S. I did actually get a little holiday shopping done today. I wouldn't be a card-carrying fake hunter's widow it I hadn't. 

Happy Birthday a.k.a. Holiday Eve

Hubby often brags that he ALWAYS gets the day after his birthday off. And well, he does! 

When you're born on July 3rd (that's today, folks!), it's pretty much true for a least 90% of us, I imagine. So how are we celebrating the big day – er, July 4th Eve?

Well we both worked today – but I did manage to sneak some King Cone into the freezer last night. His favorite – Pirate's Booty – and of course, a small serving for me, too!

Tonight he had golf league so he was doing what he loves best. And I was shooting pictures at the waterski show. Probably a good thing we have the Day After Jimmy's Birthday Holiday tomorrow so we can just relax!

God, bless America! And my husband. And ice cream! 

Unexpected Grief

Grief is often unexpected. I mean today would have been my brother-in-law Paul's 80th birthday. But we continue to grieve, knowing it was his time after so many battles to keep his heart ticking. 

Then today I was slammed by a surprising need to grieve the death of my friend Cindy. It was a year ago I had shared a variety of pictures of us in advance of her funeral. Then today, her dear son shared those pictures and I was incapable of coping. Dang. I miss her so much!

I really hate crying and sobbing. At some point I realize I've had the most amazing people in my life! And my sister has, too. Thanks be to God.

Mr. Right

 I hope this video snippet below works because it's more dynamic than a still image!

If it doesn't, it shows a man's astonishment when his wife says he's right. If you're married, you know!

So Carter's former babysitter is having her annual garage sale. I was hoping to gather a few items (or more than a few) over the past week. But I was pretty sure the last, slim roll of masking tape in the house wouldn't be enough to price everything. I put masking tape on our white board grocery list on the fridge late last week.

On Saturday, Jim and I actually grocery shopped together, finishing at Wal-Mart. When I shop with him, I know there is no browsing. No dilly-dallying. No lolly-gagging. Just stick to list and push that cart as fast as you can. 

After we got some health and beauty items (from my list), I reminded him we needed masking tape. He said, "Isn't that in the paint department?" as we walked by the paint department. I confidently answer, "No, I'm sure it's in the office supply area."

We did not find it there, of course. And I said we could just forget about it. But he didn't. It's still on the grocery list. With a footnote of sorts...

I'm not even gonna buy tape. The sale starts tomorrow and I didn't gather many items for it so I still have tape remaining. Also, I just want to giggle at that every time I walk past the fridge. You're right, honey. And you're funny.

Today's admission of wrong was brought to you by AUDREY'S GARAGE SALE...

There is seriously something for everyone – from infant to adult clothes to game, golf clubs, and guy things. Not sure when I can help work it. But I can tell you it's worth a stop!!

Tell them Robyn sent you and you'll get a deal... the exact price on those masking tape tags!

The Sweetest Things

In case you didn't know... purple is one of the colors of fall! Ask Viking fans and we know this. But for everyone else, there's the magical combination of my favorite colors in the M&M's Halloween Ghoul Mix – purple, orange, and lime green! 

The perfect touch to the 10 dozen Little Monster Cookies I had baked before noon today. And that's a half-recipe! Just needed enough to send some with Jim for his boys weekend in Portland next week, plus some for my sister weekend next week, plus some for a few others. They do freeze well if I have any leftover for that nonsense.

But that wasn't the sweetest part of the day.

Hubby got me this sweatshirt for Sweetest Day plus some other goodies. Obviously after a quarter-century together, he knows me pretty well.

Tonight I returned the favor and took him to dinner. We decided to go somewhere new – for us anyway. We tried out Avocados, a relatively new Mexican restaurant in town, and it was so good! Super delicious so we'll definitely return.

Since we were already on Highway 54, we headed to Plover for dessert!

Oh yes, King Cone is open one more day for the season and then it'll be back open on the next romantic holiday – Valentine's Day. Go there Sunday if you can. I had the Pumpkin Pie ice cream and it was amazing.

What a sweet way to end the day with my sweetie! 

Love Wins

I was excited to share my lovely Valentine gift from hubby but then I realized how much this holiday is not just sad for some people, but heartbreakingly painful, too. 

As I look upon this faded rose from my brother-in-law's funeral, I'm reminded that not everyone who's "single" on Valentines Day is the victim of poor dating choices. Some are suffering from broken hearts that may never mend. 

Like my sister and a few friends who lost their spouses just this year. Not to mention those who lost a loved one 2021 and are facing this first heart holiday alone.

Just remember – it's about love today. Not just the romantic kind, but family, and your friends, and even your pets. 

If you're feeling an empty space in your heart today, think about those people. Even if one person is gone, love is still there. Love is still HERE, I mean. Love always wins over heartbreak. Sometimes it takes a while to see that. To feel that. And I'm so sorry.

Sending love to my sister and all of you who need a loving hug today! 

2021 Gratitude Challenge :: Day 1 - Someone

Happy November. Happy Gratitude Month! Remind me in 2022 to just consider every month Gratitude Month so I'll continue to count more blessings than challenges. 

Last November I did an alphabetical A to Z gratitude blog. This year, thanks to a suggestion from my former pastor, I'm doing this 25-day challenge. It'll mix things up. And you might even be surprised at some of the answers.

1. Someone you're thankful for

OK, not necessarily surprised the first day. A few dozen obvious answer here, but of course I need to kick off the month with gratitude for my much better half. And I mean Jim this time, not my twin sister. (Though I'm extremely grateful for her, too.)

So much to be thankful for with this guy. Not sure where to begin. Just know it's not an all-inclusive list here because that would take forever – and The Voice is on in half an hour.

One big thing today is that we've been working from home "together" for 606 days and we're still talking to each other. Even sleeping in the same bed, still! Obviously, he's got plenty of patience (mostly) and a high tolerance for ... well, me. Thank the Lord for that! On so many levels.

Pre-pandemic, while I worked out of the house and he at home, he'd manage to work laundry and dishwasher time into his work day. No worries, I have not interrupted his routine at all. But I'm seriously thankful he's attentive to it and has the work flexibility to do it. (See previous blogs about me being an undomestic goddess.)

Of course, I love his big brown eyes and dimples – and thankful he passed those along to the boys – but he does have a nice personality, too. Not in a bad way. 

He's Mr. Social. Everyone knows he's friendly and funny. But he also has good character. That becomes evident every time we run into people he's coached before. And that's a lot. And they range in age from 3 years younger than him down to current 15 years olds. What's special is these "kids" don't just remember him, he remembers them, too. And honest to god, they share a mutual story or memory each time. That's a good leader. A good influence. 

No wonder he's such a good father. And such a good husband. Coaching all those kids has prepared him to cope with me and my 8 million shortcomings. One of which is exaggerating, he'd point out. So I'll drop it down to 800. 

I can't thank God enough for making sure our paths crossed 25 years ago – yesterday, in fact. Definitely too many blessings to count. But I'm grateful for them all. 

Love you, hon! 

J is for Just Blessed

 

Our alphabetical gratitude month continues today with the letter J which means I am just so blessed!

A = Autumn, Austins, Assumption
B = Ballots, Books, Book Club, Bible
C = Casey, Clay, Carter, Church, Creativity, Camera
D = Dad, Daughters, Deck Chair, Dar, Design
E = Eggs, Election, Energy, Empty Nest
F = Family, Friends, Faith, Flu Shot, FastForward
G = Games, Golf, Guilty pleasures
H = Hugs, Hurricanes, Humor
I = Ice cream, Impromptu Invitations

Jim: You saw that one coming, too, didn't you? I would hope so. He's my much, much, much better half.  He does the laundry and cleans the toilets. And best of all, loves me for me. And that's a huge undertaking. I've obviously hit the jackpot! Did I mention his sense of humor? He's quite the jokester, in that sly funny way that makes me laugh or makes me mad when I don't realize he's just joking. But he has the biggest heart. Ever. 

And even after 23-plus years bothering each other, I still love him to the moon and back and even to Jupiter and back. Blessed doesn't cover it.

Jokes: Speaking of joking around, though. I do love the occasional clever pun. OK, as often as I can hear them, read them, think them, say them. I'm like my mom that way. In fact, Jim had emailed some pun-filled jokes recently to share with mom the next time I talked to her. So tonight when I called her I said, "Oh Mom, I have to tell you some jokes Jim sent me." She replies, "He sent you? Aren't you living together anymore?" Oh gosh. I forget my 88-year-old mother doesn't realize we say sent emails or sent texts. It's not send me a letter via USPS from some other house not on Blue Jay Drive. I had Jim talk to her a few minutes just to allay her concerns. Funny, not funny. Right? Jeez, Mom.

Job: I never thought I'd do anything other than being a newspaper reporter or editor. Then I got into magazines and online publishing. Then, after a brief stint in the ed-tech sector, I'm writing creatively (mostly) in a growing marketing department at an insurance company of all things. And I love it! I feel especially grateful in 2020, that I have a job and that I can do that job from my home office. Even though I may jest that this is Day 252 in captivity, I am beyond blessed to be in this situation!

Java: Finally, I couldn't handle any of these blessings today without my morning coffee! And anyone I come into contact with before noon is grateful for what my energy juice does for me. Yes, I am a princess and require tasty flavors in my Keurig (ope, a K word for tomorrow) or flavored creamer. Still, I drink it. I like it. Plus, once you're 50, you deserve to spoil your jolly self. And you don't have to explain yourself. Judge away.

#gratitudemonth #gratitudealphabet