Plate Spinner

 

In retrospect, I should've named my fantasy football team The Spinning Plates because that's what I was sort of doing during the draft.

It was a busy evening. Went to school straight from work so I could shoot pictures of middle school volleyball. It's hard to capture action when they often only hit the ball when they're serving and then there's two courts playing side by side. Too much activity.

I stuck around for high school JV action and only stayed for 15 minutes of the varsity game because that started at 7 p.m. and my fantasy football draft was at 7:30 p.m.

Got home just in time for the Swedish Chef Mafia to make their first pick. Don't ask who's on my team. While I was spinning the draft plate, the other spinning plates included:

• Watching the volleyball game live streamed on my phone.
• Uploading and editing volleyball pictures.
• Designing a poster and registration form for an upcoming 5K.
• Oh, and trying to eat a late supper.

Blogging came after all the plates came crashing down. Good thing they were just plastic.

Now my head is spinning. Good night!

Last Call

In case you didn't know, King Cone closes for the season tonight at 9 p.m. Our Wisconsin Rapids branch, not Plover. And yes, I'm serious. I never kid about ice cream.

Anyway, I had to stop by after date night pizza at Tri-City Golf Course. That was tasty and it just feels good to support small businesses, right? So really, it was my duty to swing by the Cone and stock up on 3 pints. Two Carrot Cake for me and one Pirates' Booty for hubby.

I'm still too full from the pizza to taste any, but I'm sure they all pass inspection! 

There were more highlights to this Labor Day – and not just cleaning my Scrap Cave and shooting senior pictures. But I'll share another time. I gotta publish this important public service announcement so you have time to get there!

Enjoy. Happy Labor Day to us all!

Learning from the Ladies

One thing I've learned from the ladies competing at the Solheim Cup is ... everyone has a bad day. And several of my fellow Americans fall into that category.

But not my friend Marigene and me. We always have a good day on the course! Because one, we're golfing and it's sort of free since it a Christmas present punch card of each of us. Two, the weather was absolutely gorgeous at sunny and 72. And three, when you don't keep score, you have nothing to stress about.

But I did keep score today because I had a halfway decent day. Maybe because I got pumped up watching the Solheim Cup before we headed out on the links today. Or maybe because I didn't have a single three-putt today. That's huge for me!

And we accomplished all that before noon. Then it was home and variety of projects intermixed with some golf watching – men's and women's – and some bonding with Mr. Deck Chair. Hubby was up in Marshfield visiting his aunt. And got home a little bit ago.

Now it's 7:45 p.m. and almost dark. Dang. Not ready for this transition! At least tomorrow is still the weekend.

Hope you all enjoy a day off!

Wait, We Still Have a Weekend Left

Our sunset view on the drive home tonight was reflective of the day. Mostly beautiful with some low-lying foggy parts.

Let's get the foggy parts out of the way first. What the heck, Badgers!? Sigh.

OK, now the good stuff...

My friend Cindy and I went down to Lake Arrowhead for their annual craft fair – every Labor Day weekend. Rain was done by midmorning so it was all good. We weren't there to buy anything. Just get ideas and say at least 38 times "I could make that." And we can!

Then we see signs like this and think, "You know, we should probably buy something to support these small businesses." We are nothing if not generous and big-hearted. But truthfully, we did get a lot of ideas for our Cricut Kingdom!

This afternoon after the Badgers stunk it up, I got a little sorting and organizing done in my Scrap Cave. I've got a scrapbooking weekend coming up next month so I better figure out what pictures I need printed for that. No rest for the wicked scrappers!

Didn't spend a ton of time in there since we were taking Cindy and Mike out to eat at Two Lakes for their anniversary. Well 2 months late, but better late than never. And it was soooooo tasty as always!

I swear for an incorporated area in the middle of Wisconsin, they have the best coconut shrimp on the planet! 

We were all so full. Then someone had to order dessert. And I had to help him. Obviously. I mean look at that! It was painful, but with my help, we powered through.

Cindy and I always get a picture at Two Lakes. For me, at least, it's the rare occasion I curl my hair. Ha.

And the anniversary couple! 44 years. Wow! Way to go, kids!

Now we're all in our houses and ready to fall asleep. Maybe there was tryptophan in that brownie. It seems like a post-Thanksgiving meal kind of feeling. Even my dessert compartment is full. And that doesn't happen often.

As a bonus to this beautiful day, we still have two days left of the weekend! Yay. Hopefully tomorrow is not quite as full. Unless we mean full of exercise. There's a potential I'll have some guilty feelings in the morning. When my tummy makes room for them, that is.

Keep enjoying this long weekend!

Fair-weathered-ness Wins

Being a fairweather fan is underrated. I mean, especially when weather is actually involved. 

Very cool overnight last night and it rained all day today. So when I had the option to sit home on my recliner under a cozy blanket and watch the Assumption Royals on TV, it was a no-brainer.

And I can tell you, fair weather wins. Didn't miss any action, all the snacks were free and, oh yeah, the Royals skunked Wild Rose 46-0. Of course, I only took one picture but at least my camera is dry! 

The one real positive about crappy wet weather is that we don't have major plans for this three-day weekend. Definitely not camping. And the rain should be done and long gone (hoepfully) before we do anything outdoors like golf or kayak or bond with Mr. Deck Chair.

Gonna be a low-key, no set-in-stone plans kind of weekend. Celebrating our break from labor and all that. Being an arm-chair fan to cheer on a Royal victory is a great place to start.

Have a safe and fun (and dry) weekend!

The Last Frontier Page

And this just in... With the creation of this map for the back cover, I am officially done with my 97-page Alaska scrapbook – with two pages to spare if Renell has more to add after "proofing."

Whew!

Of course, I haven't heard anything from Shutterfly about their usual holiday weekend sale of free extra pages – which in my case would be 77 extra pages (about a dollar each). Without the sale, I'm sitting at a $194.14. They better come through because I can knock off $77 plus 50% after that. Either way, it's done and ready to order when Shutterfly cooperates.

I'll share this page of randomness at the end...

And the fine print says:

Random fun facts about the trip.... 

Ed logged 1,186.7 miles after 8 full days in our hands. Nell did more driving and Robyn did more shooting. With camera, that is. No animals were harmed in the making of this vacay.

Only ate out 3 times (including the fresh halibut here) but ice cream and coffee were givens most days. And red licorice on road days. Otherwise had deli meat sandwiches and crunchy Cheeto's. 

Weather was like late spring. High 60s. Long pants and layers. At night, Ed's blanket kept us warm. Only time it rained a lot was Sunday. It was solstice time so typically sun shone 20 hours per day!

Lots of interesting town and river names. And license plate designs.

Yes, we played 3-13 every day. Yes, Nell won slightly more games. And yes, after 10 days, we're still talking!

Can't wait to share the whole book with you!

Sly and Seventeen

Somedays you're a teenager. Somedays you're an octogenarian. Somedays you're both.

Happy birthday to Sylvester (aka Sly aka Princess Poops-A-Lot aka Princess Pukes-A-Lot)! She's 17 in cat years and something like 84 in human equivalent years. Yup. She's old!

But still healthy as a kitten. Guess it helps when you sleep 20 hours a day and get daily spa-like treatment from your favorite human! (Spoiler alert: Not me.) 

At least she appreciated me today when I opened the front door and she could feel the breeze through the screen while soaking up the sun. I was just telling her how sweet she was for being 17. Then the Schwan's man showed up and while I was talking to him on the other side of the screen, she lived up to her Princess Pukes-A-Lot title. I used the Schwan's catalog to block the view, but we could both still hear it. I said, "On that note, have a nice day. I better get back to work!" And he was happy to get away from Blue Jay Drive, I'm sure.

Of course kitty's man stood up for her. "Don't tell me you haven't puked on your birthday before," he said. 

Well, maybe I am a princess after all!