Close Encounters of the Fun Kind

The 9-foot inflatable alien lurking outside my office door probably would've scared me on any other day. But not during our annual "success week celebration" and the theme is Out of This World. That's what all of us employees are – out of this world!

So as usual, we got all out with theme-related fun.

Fun graphics. Fun food like SUN chips and MOON pies and COSMIC brownies. And games.

And this is all day one of three of in-person festivities. 

My only hope is that I will still get some actual work done and that our alien friend won't suck my brains out!

I'll keep you posted! And if you don't hear from me, well, you know what happened.

Be careful out there!

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!

Will History Repeat Itself?

This popped up on my Facebook memories today. Three years ago today was the Super Bowl between the Chiefs and the Bucs. I liked the scrappy young Patrick Mahomes so really wanted him to entertain me on his way to victory.

Final score: Tampa Bay 31, Kansas City 9

What will this year's matchup bring? I'm a closet Swiftie – even though I don't know single song on her Grammy awarding-winning album – so I'll probably lean toward the Chiefs. Plus, I loved last year's match-up when the Kelce brothers were up against each other. Their mom was so sweet. It endeared me to them both.

But likely this year, bottom line, I'll cheer for what "numbers" may or may not match the score each quarter. In fact, it wasn't until yesterday on my way to work that I realized it's Super Bowl weekend and I better get my "investment board" ready for my office mates. 

So yep, there'll be a few reasons to watch. But I do have plenty of DVR'd Hallmark movies as a backup plan. Plus, they're releasing non-Christmas new ones every weekend.

You could say I've already won.

So Taxing

I love when I overestimate my ability and underestimate the time it takes to compensate for lack of that ability.

In other words, I volunteered to do our boy's taxes. I mean what could be so hard about easy or EZ filing? Ugh.

Actually filing the federal part electronically was easy. And I did it for free. Bonus. But for some reason filing his Wisconsin ones electronically would not work on my computer. They kept alluding to some "submit" button that never appeared on the form.

So after a wasted hour of trying and resaving and reloading and ... reminding myself why I'm a writer, not a tax-istician, I gave up, printed it out and will mail it in.

At least Carter should get his federal refund sometime soon. They head to their new home in North Carolina tomorrow and it would be nice if they could buy a bed and kitchen table or at least one chair right away.

From now on, I best stick in my non-taxing lane... writing, photography, crocheting and trifles!

Trick or Treat?

Even though we got zero trick-or-treaters here tonight, I do hope there are lots of zeroes after a Halloween treat that may or may not be headed our way.

I did say may OR may not.

To be honest, it's been so long since I purchased a lottery ticket, I still thought Powerball was only drawn Wednesdays and Saturdays. When did Mondays become a thing?

Thankfully my neighbor said something. I suppose if I win, I should give him a twenty, at least.

For now I'll distract myself by watching The Voice, tending to my patient (who improves daily), and finishing a Christmas book. 

Hey, I may not have millions in the bank (yet), but I rank pretty high at multi-tasking.

Happy Halloween! Here's hoping for more treats than tricks this year!

Leftovers

Our friend's garage sale was a smashing success last weekend, despite un-garage-sale-like weather. At lunch today, Jim and I went to pick up the tables we loaned plus the leftover items and, oh yeah, some cash!

For simplicity, every item out of the this house had R.A. for the initials on it. But Carter and Mamie used a a black Sharpee and I used red – because I knew from past experience we'd get all our tags back as part of our friend's diligent accounting system! 

The kids didn't quite make enough to fill a tank of gas, but they'll be happy with anything. Thanks to a few items priced over $20, my profit jumped up to triple digits for the first time in a long time. So that was cool. And we really didn't have a ton of leftovers.

Thankfully things like golf clubs and some weird round chair sold. So no big items came back. Just a few boxes that I had to decide what to do with. Donate them or hold them to see if they'll see at another sale? I know what superstar organizer and declutterer Marie Kondo would say, but I wasn't inviting her to the conversation. Instead I reached out to friends on Facebook – just in case someone was having a sale in the very very near future.

Nobody was having one soon enough for me. So I loaded all but the leftover books into my car and dropped it off at Goodwill.

I know there are other worthy donation organizations but this happens to be right next door to where I was working out so I had no excuse but to unload it all after class. 

The books, though, I will put on a friend's sale this summer and donate some to the various "little lending libraries" around town. I completely forgot about that option until someone mentioned it. Since some of the books were great book club reads, it only makes sense to get them out there where people who enjoy reading want them. How did I not think about this before?

For once I know what to do with leftovers. Besides wait for them to get old and toss them out!

Thanks for everyone's input!

The Weekend is Hare

We finally broke our streak of 90-degree days today. I think it was only 88, but still humid. So hot that even Mr. Rabbit from under his shed had to lay out in the sprinkling rain to cool off.

It's funny because, when it's hot inside the house, Sylvester will lay on the kitchen floor just like that or against the north wall to cool off. But with our working A/C cranked in the house, my heat-seeking sister was cold today and had to warm up on the heated bathroom floor. 

I think cats are part rabbit. I mean look at Sly's long back leg. Looks like Mr. Rabbit's. 

At least the humans of the house are comfortable. I haven't even turned on my electric mattress pad in a week now. Might cave tonight. We'll see. 

Last night I didn't turn it on because I was still hot from shooting pictures of baseball (they lost in their playoff game so they're done) and soccer (their game was suspended due to lightning but they won). Still ended up being a late night going through photos so I didn't blog. I figured you should get used to it anyway. I guess there won't be much cell phone service up in Alaska when we're near or between mountains. Which could be a lot.

After all this talk about the trip (3 days, 11 hours, and 43 minutes away), I finally got out the big suitcase tonight. That will fill fast since we will literally be dressing for 4 seasons! I actually had to measure our suitcases and will use our oldest one since it's 3 inches wider. Size matters for this trip!

Of course, part of my prep also includes getting some funds – and cashing in my Swear Jar. Which really is just a jar to deposit loose change for a good cause. And Alaska is it.

Any guesses how much was in there? It's a pretty big jar but only half full – even though my nephew says it should be overflowing if it's a real Swear Jar. "You golf," he said. That's a simple explanation! Anyway, I cashed out at $83.04. That should buy our first round of groceries up there! 

The next three days are gonna fly. Plenty going on. No time to lay around like lazy cats and rabbits, that's for sure.

Have a good weekend! It's finally hare!

Living on Love (and Heat)

Apparently I wasn't too confident that I'd win the lottery Saturday because I just checked my ticket now. Nope. Not a single number matched for that chance at $600 million or whatever. I didn't have time to get the Mega Millions tickets either so I don't have that going for me either.

I guess I'm still living on love. 

Next drawing is Wednesday and since someone I do not know won on Saturday, it's back down to $20 million. Yes, I said "down" to $20 million. I mean who can even live on that kind of jackpot? 

I would try.

On a positive note, the sun was back out again – and brilliant today. Even though it was maybe 20 degrees, I took a 2-mile walk at lunch and another one after work. Got my 10,000 steps and still have successfully avoided the treadmill.

I mean it was pretty nippy out there but check out this throwback picture from two years ago on this date....

Holy windchills, Batman! Wow. Negative 26 in Rapids. I must have turned my blanket on at 6 p.m. that night. In fact, I'm shivering now just thinking of that frigid weather we've escaped so far. Uff da. Gonna have to turn on my side of the bed.

Just kidding. It's been warming up for an hour. $weet dream$.

To the Bat Quarters!

Holy scary quarters, Batman! Have you seen the new 25-cent currency flying about the U.S. this spring? I'm not a fan. I'm so not a fan.

I blame the U.S. Mint for resurrecting my nightmares from childhood. Why a bat on a quarter?! Well, apparently it's one of five new quarter designs as part of its America the Beautiful Quarters Program this year. But like most trends, it's just reaching Wisconsin now.

And the bat image for the national park? I guess the National Park of American Samoa is the only park in the United States that is home to the Samoan fruit bat, which apparently is dying due to habitat loss and commercial hunting. Who would hunt them and why? So many questions.

Here's a popular question on Google though: Are the bats that are pictured on the reverse of a U.S. quarter issued in 2020 an indicator that COVID-19 is connected to a government plot?

Well, there was the bat in Wuhan and there is the virus and it is 2020. According to Snopes, though, no, it's not part of a conspiracy.

So why am I batty over this topic? Well I grew up in a house out in the country, where bats were plentiful and people who weren't me appreciated them for eating mosquitoes. Catching the skeeters is all well and good, but why do you need to come in the house afterward and torment the sleeping children?!

Seriously, summer was the worst. We'd hear bats in our bedroom at least every other week, it seemed. I distinctly recall we'd bury our heads under the blankets and scream for Dad and Mom to come save us. Sometimes it took awhile to awaken them in the next room, but one of them or both would open our door with a broom in hand, ready to start swinging. None of us played tennis, so the broom was the best weapon available.

Mom and Dad had a system, though. They'd manage to hit the bat – somehow without ever breaking a lamp or the ceiling light – and stun it. When it fell, they'd scoop it up on a dustpan then dump it in an empty coffee can to suffocate and die. There was no catch and release. Mosquitoes be damned.

Of course, we always knew how active the bats were by the pile of coffee can accumulating by the back steps all summer long. Needless to say, I have wicked flashbacks whenever I see a big red Folgers can. Not even kidding a bit. Must be why I like my Keurig and my little K-cups so much.

I'm not batty. You're batty!

Shopping Stimulation

I need to note this for the future when I look back on this weird year. Stimulus checks from the government started arriving in bank accounts today. I didn't pay attention to details, but couples get $2,400 and qualifying individuals get $1,200.

Even college boy.

I warned him to spend wisely. Considering his campus job this semester has disappeared, he needs to think food and necessities first! No large-screen TV or 1,200 tacos or anything!

As for hubby and I, it went right into savings. We agreed long ago "There's no such thing as extra money!" For today, we're both employed and able to work from home. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Pretty sure when many of us joked on New Year's Eve that we had 2020 vision, we didn't see this coming. Any of this.

Be careful and smart out there!!

Golfing Shark Doo Doo Doo

If you have kids, you have the insanely annoying Baby Shark song in your head. And now, thanks to me, it's your earworm before bed. Just change the momma shark to golf shark, doo doo doo doo doo...

Recognize me in my shark costume? No, I don't dress like this every day for work. But anything goes (just about) during our company's two-week United Way campaign.

Every department is doing what it can to raise money. We're talking bake sales and lunches and raffle baskets and crazy stuff like a miniature golf course. Hey, we're the Marketing Department. We had to be creative. And we are!

We divided our department into 9 teams and each team created a hole with a unique theme. Ours was a cross between Happy Gilmore and the San Jose Sharks since their center (Joe Pavelski) is from Stevens Point. And we have an autographed shirt we're raffling off. Thus the shark theme. (Thanks to my hockey mom friend Michelle for most of the hockey props!)

Two days this week and two days next week, co-workers can pay to play our Mini Tournament of Champions – named for our big Sentry TOC on Maui in January – and earn a chance to win Packer tickets and other prizes.

Here's a hole-by-hole view of our creativity in action...

 Hole 1: Under Construction

Hole 2: Under the Sea. ( I got a 6 on this one. Couldn't get the ball up the last ramp. Ha.)

Hole 3: Maui (Hole-in-one!)

Hole 4: The Nineties (Pac-Man meets New Kids on the Block)

No clubs here. Had to use a slingshot to get the ball in the hole on the NKOTB poster. I got it in 3 tries!

Hole 5: The Black Hole (pretty cool. Another hole-in-one for me)!

Hole 6: Surf's Up! (Loved the Beach Boys music here!)

Hole 7: Our United Way Shark Week!

Hole 8: Packers hole. I was the perfect Viking kicker and could not get the ball through the uprights. Need I say more?

Hole 9: Curling! We had to use a curling brush (official one) for the golf club. I got a 2 on this hole after I used the brush handle as a pool stick for my second shot.

Like I said, just about anything goes during United Way weeks! Ha. It IS a lot of crazy fun. And in the end, our company ends up raising over a million dollars for them. Now that is crazy amazing.

Sing about that! Money shark, doo doo doo doo doo...

You're welcome.

Money Doesn't Grow on Trees, But...

Apparently we don't have a money tree in our yard but we do have a money weed.

I just got home from church today when I see two little boys on bikes pull into our driveway, park, hop off and head to are yard. "Hey! What are you doing?"

They said they wanted to pick some dandelions and – since I caught them trespassing – they asked if they could. "What are you going to do with them, eat them?" No, they said. "We're going to sell them to people and get rich!"

Oh boy. Pick away.

While they were picking, I heard one boy say, "Let's sing a song about this." Then I heard them making up a song while picking – something about having all the money in the world to buy Pokemon cards and what sounded like "hover boards" and other good stuff. It was the cutest thing. they didn't long, though.

And did yell a thank you and "Goodbye, Cat!" since Sylvester was keeping an eye on things through the screen door. I yelled back, "Good luck!"

I know firsthand that pulling weeds can be a lucrative business.

I want to say my twin and I were something like 8 or 9 years old when our dad said he'd pay us to pull thistles in the yard. A nickel for regular-sized ones and a dime for the big ones. We lived on an acre lot so you can imagine the dollar signs in our eyes!

But then reality hit, too. Thistles are prickly business. And an acre is a lot, a lot of ground to cover!

We were on an honor system. I'm sure Dad didn't want to handle them all. So we had to keep a running total in our heads. No sure how long we were at it, but the money sure was adding up slowly. That's when we eyed up those thistles as tall as we were, growing just on the other side of the fence. So we went off-property to get some of those. Money-hungry kids!

There were some big ones by our back shed, too, that we dug up legitimately, but in all honesty, I guess we scammed you, Dad. If you're watching from heaven, please don't read this blog! I can give Mom the $1.80 I probably "earned" that day. Promise.

Let me just pick some of these leftover dandelions in my yard so I can pay her.

Norse Gods Keep Smiling

If bad things happen in threes, I hope that means good things happen in at least tens or twenties... or maybe hundreds.

The Norse Gods are smiling on this Vikings fan this week and it would be awesome if it could keep going a few more weeks at least.

Sunday the Vikings won.

Monday I got to and from work safely despite the crap-tastic commute.

Today our Royals beat Stratford to move a game ahead of them in the conference. And this Viking fan won the 50-50 raffle at the game.

Usually hubby and I each kick in 5 bucks so we get like 35 tickets. Tonight he said he didn't have any money so I just bought $5 worth. That's 6 tickets and the winning number was on the 5th one. A $122 jackpot. Whoo-hoo! Or do I say, SKOL!? First time I've won. And believe me, we've invested in a lot of them.

Back to important things...

Basketball. So Assumption boys were part of a 4-way tie for first in the Marawood South Conference going into tonight. Their opponent, Stratford, also had a 6-2 record. With the Royal victory, Assumption is now just tied with 2 other schools for first, since both Marathon and Auburndale also won. Looks like there's going to be some very good games in the next month!

Fortunately, the boys rely on skill.

But me... I hope my luck holds.

Keep smiling, Norse Gods.

Playing Fair

I think I am going to quit my job and retire because looky here.... I got my big payout check from the Central Wisconsin State Fair!

Twelve Dollars and Fifty Cents.

It's a major award!

Honestly, since I am a fair newbie and it's been so long since the event (only a month, I guess), I didn't think they even paid ribbon winners. But they do. Wow. And since this doesn't quite cover my entry fee, I'd need to go back next year and be sure I earn more blue ribbons!

That's how they hook you, isn't it?

Actually, it IS pretty cool. I imagine it's a thrill for those 4-H kids who get a check in the mail with their name on it. Heck, it's cool for me. This might pay for a meal at my upcoming sister weekend. Or at least the gas to get there.

That's worth the price of admission.

Energized

Is it only Wednesday? Dang. It's been a long week already. I may not be energized, but at least my car finally is!

I had to drive College Boy's wheels one more day while my battery arrived at the shop and was installed. I wouldn't be surprised if it was just an Energizer D-cell battery for as little get up and go as my hybrid has. Granted, a very expensive D-cell battery!

I'm just glad to have my fresh car back. And by fresh, I mean it doesn't smell like a cross between a locker room and an Axe factory. I may have to freshen that up before Carter gets home from college in a few weeks.

And yes, he will be home this summer. Some job plans down in P-town fell through so he is going to work somewhere here. Looking, applying and crossing his fingers. If anyone has a good lead on anything, please let me know. He will do just about anything (except flip burgers and check out Wal-Mart shoppers).

Not sure he has the energy to keep going and going all summer. But if he doesn't, our money will be going and going.

Definitely pulling the power plug on that.

Holy Jackpot, Batman!

If you thought Powerball fever was crazy last week, this week it is off the charts.

I had to laugh when someone posted some graphic on Facebook that pointed out that if we divided the projected $1.3 billion jackpot by the U.S. population of 300 million, then each person would get $4.33 million and our poverty problem would be solved.

Actually, if you do the math correctly, each person would only get $4.33, just enough to buy another ticket and an order of fries. (Maybe even a medium order since the jackpot is now up to $1.5 billion.)

Whoops. Nice sentiment, though. Your heart's in the right place but making everyone a millionaire would kill the economy. Who would want or need to work? Who would heal the sick if the doctors and nurses don't work? Who would protect us if the police and firefighters don't need a paycheck? How can I get gas if no one delivers it to the station and no one opens it? Who will watch over my piles of money if there are no bankers' hours?

The odds against me (well each individual buyer) are staggering. I mean there was no place to park when I got my tickets at KwikTrip tonight. Every single person in all 3 lines was getting Powerball tickets!

Still, you can't help but wonder if hubby and I will get to share it. Or if I'll be splitting with the group of 17 at work. Or if a family member or friend  will win it. Have I told you lately I love you all dearly??? Don't forget your favorite blogger!

I wasn't going to announce this yet, but Jim and I actually won last week... matching the Powerball on two tickets. That's just enough to cover our investment. I guess if we keep it reasonable, Batman won't have any excuse to slap some sense into this Robyn.

But $1.5 billion... Holy jackpot, Batman!

Against All (or Most) Odds

I don't always wear my pajamas in public, but when I do it's because I had to run out an get Powerball tickets before it was too late.

When hubby and I were weekly purchasers of "chance," we hated it when everyone and their mother would come out of the woodwork and buy tickets just because the jackpot was big. Like $5 or $6 million wouldn't be enough.

Now we've become "those people."

We just fell out of the routine. Quite some time ago. Still, I've been hearing rumblings of a big pot for Powerball so I intended to get tickets before or after kickboxing. I forgot.

Got home and showered and got the jammies on when hubby says, "Did you buy Powerball tickets?" Whoops.

At least in the winter, you can throw on boots and big ol' jacket and no one is the wiser about what you're wearing underneath. Just add some lipstick and your good to go. Of course, since there are different or more numbers than there used to be, I had to fill out a new card. Great. Let me just keep my beautiful, makeup-less self on the surveillance cameras a little longer. And heck, why not have my sister-in-law stop in to buy tickets so she can see me at my finest?

I could probably buy her silence after tonight. Heck with $500 million or even $100 million, I could probably sponsor her son's race car this year.

But don't get me started on the wish list. The guy at the gas station is pretty sure they've sold $500 in tickets just tonight. So it would be against a LOT of odds.

I'm game.

Why, Oh Why-Fi

Sometime in the middle of the night – I think around 4 a.m. – the power went out. Not sure why. It wasn't storming or anything. We only noticed because our fan (aka white noise machine) stopped. It was suddenly very quiet.

And you know what we heard? Coyotes. Lots of them. Somewhere. I guess near enough for us to hear them. Yikes.

The power came back on after an hour, I think. So waking up meant fixing all the electric clocks in the house and more. The "more" part was not fun. First, the cable television signal was out. I had to reset and restart all kinds of things before that got going. Then it was onto the Internet.

No matter how many times I reset and restarted any and every thing related to our Internet and wi-fi, I could not get a signal on our computers. I tried switching the wireless routers and everything. No success. To use the Internet on my computer, I had to use my smartphone as a hotspot. Now that's just a pain.

So I gave up and went shopping.

Well, first I ran 3 miles and got laundry going, then showered and went to Stevens Point shopping. But not for me, of course. For Carter. Just needed to get a shirt for his senior pictures tomorrow. But then, since there was no one home waiting for me – Carter was tubing and Jim was at a funeral in Green Bay – I decided to shop for myself. I had a $50 Kohl's gift card burning a hole in my pocket since my birthday. That was well spent. Ha.

Retail therapy is underrated.

When I got home, Carter was there there trying to figure out our darn wireless connection. How will we live without it?!? We were both frustrated so I got in touch with our Internet provider and no one else was having this problem since the power outage. Between the support guy and me, we determined it was our own wireless routers that must have gone to pot somehow, maybe a surge during the power outage. Who knows?

So after some time with Mr. Deck Chair and a dinner date with Carter, we picked up a new router... because I'm sure I had $70 burning a hole in my pocket! Got home and hooked it up and, I gotta tell ya, this new one works better than the two we had. My connection is faster and not slowed at all when we have two computers and three phones using it.

An expensive pain in the butt, but they don't make things to last. They know the consumers will fork over money for replacements because, well, we can't live without the Internet, can we?

I managed to most of today but I can't shop and go out to eat every day to fill the void! Not unless this new magical router is so good it prints money... or Kohl's cards.

Pounding the Pavement

I could never be one of those sports arena vendors hawking goods while yelling up and down the stairs of their assigned section. One, I think people would just plain ignore me or ask me to get out of the way. Two, it's just plain tiring.

Tonight, our cross country team got to sell 50-50 tickets at the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters baseball game. We haven't had a fundraiser for cross country before so we were excited to learn that tonight's crowd was to be the biggest of the season. Money, money, money!

I had designed t-shirts for the team (see above) and brought those with but we didn't have a whole lotta team members there. Carter was, thankfully. We had two pairs of boys, the coach went off by himself and I paired up with Sammy, our middle school runner.

What did we learn? Selling raffle tickets is easy when you've got the cuteness factor! The tickets are as tall as Sammy, but don't let her size fool you. She's the rock star of our girls cross country team!

The two of us did pretty well despite an unexpected challenge of having another organization sell tickets. This other group was there the wrong night but rather than start over, we decided we'd evenly split our earnings.

I think we cleared like $350, which is better than nothing. Not sure what it will be used for – maybe post-race waters for the season. Definitely don't need them for t-shirts since I got those for $7 a piece. Yes, I am a bargain shopper. Good thing, too, since there were 9 other designs voted on and I liked some of those even more. For $7 each, I can afford a few, even without winning the 50-50.

Right now my reward is just getting off my feet. Guess I am not cut out for pounding the pavement like a door-to-door salesman.

I can always bring my adorable sidekick, though...

Feeling Needed... Or Something

I was so excited to hear the Slim Shady ringtone at work. Was that my boy finally calling me? I mean we've chatted via messenger programs but not actually on the phone.

I was so excited and let out a big, "Hi there!" Only to hear, "My ATM card doesn't work and I only have about a half hour before we have to leave."

Some things never changed. Teenagers are definitely closest to their parents when they want money!

For our part, Jim had called the bank before Carter left so they knew he'd be making transactions overseas. With the latest "crisis," he called again and they said Carter had entered an incorrect PIN.

I recall vividly at the bank when we signed him up for his account that I urged him to pick an easy PIN that he would remember. He picked such an odd number combination, but he assured me, "Oh I won't forget that!"

Well I guess he did.

Lucky for the sanity of us  – and probably his travel-mates, too – he remembered the magical code in time. Would hate to run up yet another phone bill figuring that one out!

I have to admit it felt good to briefly be needed, no matter what the reason. Especially when I could actually hear him say, "Love you!"

Of course, he always says that after I give him money, but I'll pretend he misses me.