Super Sunday

Even before game time, I considered it a "Super Sunday" today.

Today was the first service with our new pastor at church. We have been led by a variety of interim and occasional substitutes for the past 18 months. Now we have Pastor Cheryl on board as our permanent, full-time leader. It's an exciting day for our church. We can start to move forward.

I won't base my entire opinion on one service, but can tell you I like her. She and her husband seem very down to earth and genuine. Looking forward to getting to know them!

After church, since it was honest-to-goodness mild out (30s!), I went for a 3-mile walk, knowing I would be couch or chair bound (with food in hand) for the big game later on.

In the early afternoon, we headed over to the annual party at our friend's in town. Have to get there early enough to get a good seat! At least that allowed me to catch up with my BFF since I don't see her in person much now that she works out of town. So that was a bonus.

The downside of a party with multiple games going on – football on TV, card game, dice – is that you can't hear the game or what are supposed to be the year's best commercials. I heard Lady Gaga sing the National Anthem and that was impressive. Commercials... not so much. Perhaps we've raised our standards?

Kind of wanted Broncos to win since I like my Manning boys. Wouldn't have minded Carolina since Jared Allen is on the team (ha, ha) and Cam Newton is an impressive athlete. Coin toss for me. I was not invested emotionally in the game, but did manage to double my monetary investment by halftime. Coincidentally, $50 for the 50th Super Bowl. Ha. Came home awhile to actually watch and hear the game a bit for the second half. Probably a good thing as I heard from both sides of our families on health issues that could use some super-sized prayers.

As much as is I love $50 burning a hole in my pocket, there's more to life than football, that's for sure.

Sometimes You're the Nail...

There's a phrase that goes something like: "Sometimes you're the nail and sometimes you're the hammer."

Today my nails were ready to rock some Assumption hoops. Unfortunately, our teams got hammered.

We traveled to the JustAGame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells to play a doubleheader against Barneveld. That's the team our girls have played for the state championship the past 3 years. Sometimes this February matchup serves as a pretty accurate preview.

Hopefully not this time.

The JV teams won and then it was time for the boys to take the spotlight. They didn't do too badly, but just couldn't pull off a win. I can't believe I didn't note the score for either game! When the girls played, they had a lead at halftime but ended up losing by 10 points, I think. It was tough.

Proudly, though, we had a great Royal fan turnout for the games. Love that we are willing to travel for support. From Rapids, the Dells is only an hour away. It helped it was a nice mild day for travel, too.

We came home right after the games. Did some grocery shopping and made some snacks for tomorrow's Super Bowl party at our friend Chet's house. I think Jim has gone like every year for 25 years or something crazy. Everybody contributes to the snack table, which has grown to 3 or 4 tables over time. Should be a great test of my willpower.

Hopefully the game is entertaining enough to keep me and my big mouth distracted. Unlike today, I don't have an emotional investment in the bowl. Not enough to change my nails. Those an hopefully bring some good luck over the next week.

Bring on the hammer!

Just A Little Tip or Two From Me

Tire Kicker: Ran an errand at lunch today and it was so warm (high 20s) I didn't even need my coat. FYI: Just because it's sunny and mild and SEEMS like a nice winter day doesn't mean that stubborn ice chunk is ready to be kicked off your car. Ouch. Just a little tip from me. Your toes will thank you later.

Blackhawk Birthday: I wanted to fulfill my duties as Birthday Fairy at work today but didn't have time to bake treats last night. Since I knew Tom, the birthday boy, was a Chicago Blackhawks fan, I went with that theme.

Treats, store bought. Signs, homemade. Just a little hockey party tip from me.

Men Are From Mars: After working a 10 1/2-hour day, I decided I would relax tonight and watch a movie. Since I have seen nothing nominated for Academy Awards, I figured I better get started on my Oscar list. Rented The Martian, starring Matt Damon. I really liked it. Sort of like MacGyver on Mars. I was more than halfway through and I said to Carter, "I wish I knew if this was going to be a sad ending or a happy one." Just a little tip from me... I'm not telling.

Supper Star

Nope, the blog title is not a typo. I am not a super star, but rather a supper star, hoping to lose enough of the supper to turn it into super.

After 2 weeks on Weight Watchers I received my 5-pound star sticker! Who knew a simple sticker – not even a glittery one like this one – could motivate someone? I'm not known for being the sharpest knife in the drawer. More like the biggest spoon for eating ice cream!

But whatever the motivation, I am keeping on track. So far.

What have a I learned so far? The program is easy to follow, especially with an app on my phone. Just so easy. I don't have to labor over a handwritten journal (because we know that's hard work). Instead I can just punch a button or two or even scan the bar code on the product to determine its Smart Points value.

Secondly, I've learned that I don't feel deprived. I don't feel hungry. I can eat just about anything. Just have to be mindful of the points so I don't overindulge all day that way or at least all weekend. We do have "cushion points" that can be spread out over the week. I am trying not to use ALL of them, but just in time for the real Fat Tuesday next week, it's about to get tempting.

Dairy Queen in Wisconsin Rapids opens back up for the season tomorrow. Did they have to email a buy one-get one coupon today? I'd hate to see that expire.

Then I saw these in Walmart tonight. You know I absolutely love carrot cake. I have it so rarely that it is a huge treat when I do.

I just wanted to buy a package and lick out the frosting center on the spot. But, for the record, I walked away from them.

This time.

Temptations are everywhere. I just need to stay strong and choose my treats wisely. If I completely deny myself I will be that shopper eating her way through a container of Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies on the way out to the parking lot. Too much denial equals a binge for me.

I need to stay focused on the end goal. I want to change the supper to super. And I sure as heck don't want a binge video of me going viral on the Internet!

Just keeping it real, one day, er meal, at at time.

Senior Moments :: Committing

Today's senior moment is brought to you by the letter P.

P as in Platteville. P as in Pioneers. P as in Pete the mascot. P as in Parents turned Empty Nesters!

Yup, Carter has now committed to going to University of Wisconsin-Platteville this fall! We're all pretty excited! We liked the school. We liked the size. And we liked its stellar reputation for its engineering programs.

And I love ORANGE! (But don't let that influence your opinion.)

In case you didn't know where Platteville is located. It's almost to Iowa and Illinois. It's a bit of a hike, but less than 3 hours so a shorter drive than heading Up North to see my family. For Carter's benefit, it is just far enough away Mom and Dad can't just "drop in" unannounced to see him. (As far as he knows.)

So as of this evening, he is enrolled, has housing reserved, has his college placement exams (for math, English and German) scheduled, and is set to register for fall classes on June 13!

Somewhere between now and then he'll be graduating from high school, too. And then there's the other P word: PARTY!

As they say at UW-P, "It's a good day to be a Pioneer." But as we say at home, "It's a great day to be a Royal... and our baby!"

Pass the Puffs tissues, Please.

And Spring is Right Around the Corner

It's always ironic when the famous groundhog Punxatawney Phil calls for an early spring while we have a "snow day" in Wisconsin. Not that I believe the furry forecaster. In fact, I didn't totally believe the non-furry ones.

Still, just to play it safe, I had hubby give me a ride to work so I wouldn't have to worry about the drive home. When it was 10 a.m. and we still hadn't seen a snowflake in Wisconsin Rapids, I voiced an opinion or two about why they needed to call off school. Certainly, even if the "storm" started at 10 or 11 the buses could manage to get the kids home in the early afternoon, couldn't they?

When it started, I decided to take pictures at 1 hour or so intervals to prove my point. Here is the view of our parking at 10:15 a.m.

Then, at 11:30 a.m., I still wasn't convinced they needed a snow day. I mean, even Carter could handle driving home in this.

 Around 12:45 p.m. I ate my words for lunch...

Crazy, huh? Two thoughts came to mind. 1) Darn weather guys were right. 2) "Can we go home?"

Actually, they did let us out early because the visibility was low, mainly due to the wind. So I got a bonus 2 hours to my day!

Not long after we got home, Jim started snowblowing and I shoveled off the decks. Carter accidentally forgot his boots at a friend's house this weekend, so he was off the hook. Besides, he has a crappy cold and probably didn't need to be outside.

I took a picture when Jim was making progress on the driveway. Next time I checked, there was an extra neighbor guy – holding a beer. Next time I checked, there was another one – holding a beer. How many guys does it take to operate ONE snowblower? Well, 3 buds and 12 Buds!

All fingers and toes are accounted for and the driveway is done so they apparently make a great team!

For that round.

I thought maybe we got off easy but it still "sounds" like we're getting several more inches overnight – or freezing drizzle. Yay. Not sure if I believe them or should consult the nearest rodent.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Base Coat

The secret to a good manicure is 3 steps: Apply Base Coat, then Polish (or Jamberry), then Top Coat.

Apparently our driveway is taking a cue. I noticed this morning – after a crunchy walk out to the mailbox – that we have a nice base coat of ice ALL OVER it. Just waiting for a layer of snow – about 8 inches high – topped with freezing drizzle perhaps. Lovely.

Actually a few photos do look lovely, in that artsy, let's pretend we like winter, way...

It was warm (Wisconsin warm) and sunny today so some of it is gone now. Hubby tried to shovel as much to the side as he could so he doesn't have to break the snowblower on ice chunks tomorrow. If, in fact, he needs it.

I'm still not sure I'm convinced the storm is coming. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but it doesn't even have a name, does it? How come Goliath counted because it was hitting America's midsection but we get diddly because, well, we're used to snow? Hmm.

I was quite surprised, staring at out the sunny window at the office, that area schools were already declaring a snow day tomorrow. I mean 3 p.m. Monday and they are calling it. I hope for their sake the weather forecasters are right. I was thinking districts would be looking at Wednesday, when we all have to shovel or snowblow out. But I guess they're onto something.

Naturally, OUR school district was last in line. Typically, because of their size, Rapids and Stevens Point are the hold-outs. But Point called school off by mid-afternoon. I couldn't believe it! Rapids just made the call a few minutes ago – in time for a certain teenager in our house to shut off his alarm. Lucky.

I was figuring we wouldn't cancel because the latest forecast downsized us from the 8-12 inches to just 7-11 inches. And I do say "just 7-11" because, well, we are used to it, after all. And here's one forecast that is just vague enough to be correct...

Can't go wrong predicting "sizeable" snow and slippery roads. Duh.

And I can't wrong planning for somebody to drive me to work in the morning just so I can avoid the drive home later. With the alarm already off downstairs, I'm guessing the somebody sleeps right next to me.

I better lay on the charm like a thick layer of base coat!