Royal Treatment

One look at the picture and I'm pretty sure you know how I spent my day! As much as I could, anyway.

After two nearly sleepless nights, I went to bed last night and did not set an alarm. Turns out, this ol' bag needed just about 12 hours of sleep to recover. Whoa. That is unheard of for me. But it sure was refreshing for my body and soul.

Today was Assumption's annual big fundraiser called the Royal Event. You get the royal treatment there. Just buy as many food and drink tickets as you can and they'll feed you. Just try to make a decision on what to eat. It was all good. Hubby had some cabbage roll type thing and a fajita. Carter and I both savored our pulled pork sandwiches.

For dessert, well we supported our German booth with the black forest cherry cake (or something like that) and something that asted like meringue angel food cake with whipped cream and toffee bits on top. Was light as air so I assumed no calories and also got a piece of cheesecake to go!

Got home and paid my penance with a 3-mile run/walk. Then did a little landscaping-type work. Just a little. Then it was time for some deck chair action.

Was plenty cloudy but warmer than yesterday so I could put up with it. Enjoyed reading a book and smelling fresh-cut grass.

It was like the royal treatment... until I remembered I had to go grocery shopping and do some work indoors.

Good while it lasted. Thanks, Mother Nature!

Making Tracks

It was only 33 degrees out when hubby and I rolled out of bed at sunrise. He was driving to Eau Claire for Casey's graduation and would be fine with any temperature. I was driving to the school and hoping the chilly temps wouldn't scare people away from our fundraising 5K.

It didn't.

In fact we had more than a dozen people signing up on site. And the temperatures warmed up to comfortable walking and running weather. It was a beautiful, crisp morning for a walk to honor the memory of Tina Livernash AND make a difference in students' lives through her scholarship fund!

I did not do the actual walk (or run), but ran around helping so my friend and organizer Christine could do it with her (and Tina's) family. Since all my design work was done ahead of time, I helped with registration, photographing the event and distributing post-race goody bags and water.

A few photos...

First year with the option for a timed event. Had 25 runners do that and some 50 walkers.

I don't know these people but thought it was adorable. A family that runs together stays together!

And the finish!

We did it! Nice work, Christine and family!

After the event, I came home, uploaded photos on the Tracks for Tina website, did some design work for a baseball project, then made my way down to the Port Edwards villagewide garage sale.

As God is my witness, I did not stop at any sales. I went straight to our German fundraiser sale and picked up my leftover stuff. It was tempting, though! I guess we sold nearly $700 worth of "great buys" and that all will go toward the trip fund. Another "Yay!" today.

When I got home after 4, the Weather Channel said it was 60 degrees out. It must have been the wind, but I was not feeling the spring warmth. I sat out on Mr. Deck Chair and had to throw a sweatshirt over me when the sun sneaked behind a cloud. But I am not a quitter!

About the time Jim got home from Eau Claire, probably 20 minutes later, it was time for me and now purple toes to head inside. Tomorrow, Mr. Deck Chair, we may get another chance.

Not that Sunday will be a day of rest. But more on that tomorrow.

For now, I have to get my creative juices flowing for another little project... or make some popcorn for supper, get comfy and catch up on Glee.

Me thinks I'll be making tracks for the couch.

May Day! May Day!

Technically, as I type this, we are closer to June than we are to April. Why is it, then, that we awoke to a white front yard (frost only, thankfully) and could practically see our breath at tonight's baseball game???

Grrrr, says the Mama Bear who obviously came out of hibernation too soon!

I took a half day off today so I could help set up this morning for our German trip fundraising garage sale down in Port Edwards. Plenty to do so that helped keep us moving and warm. Sun was out so that helped balance the chilling power of the wind.

A bit.

The important thing was that we had traffic. A buying traffic. Hopefully it was a good day today and tomorrow – the official "villagewide sale" day – will be, too! Every little bit helps.

I only helped there until 10:30 then headed home to get some work done before traveling up to Stevens Point to pick up t-shirts for tomorrow's scholarship fundraising 5K at the school. I have been helping my friend Christine (the main organizer) with this special event, designing the logo, posters, t-shirts, etc. We are hoping for a successful (and maybe spring-like?) day tomorrow!

After t-shirt duty, I hunkered down at the computer and got work done until 4:30, then headed into town for Carter's double-header baseball game against Pittsville. When gametime temp is 52 degrees and falling, you probably have an idea how we had to dress. AGAIN!

Ridiculous, right? I tried to put a springtime frame around the picture, but there is no denying it was a wintry setting at the ballpark. AGAIN! Winter coats, gloves, hats and blankets. AGAIN!

By the end of the second game (and second loss) we could just about see our breath. Wind was still blowing. Temps were still falling. And it is supposed to get down to 33 degrees tonight.

I realize it's not the first of May. But I feel like shouting: May Day! May Day!

Somebody save us from winter! Please!!

Cheating

It was such a packed day. Endless, endless list of things to do at work. Then back-to-back meetings all evening. Get home at 9:30 and Carter needs my computer to create a PowerPoint for school.

It's been such a long day, I don't know my left from my right. So I am cheating and putting up a cartoon to sum up what would be my blog if I had energy to type it...

I know that's cheating, but I'm beat. And I have to get up early to get the German trip fundraising garage sale going down in Port Edwards.

No rest for the wicked.

And I am pretty wicked. In a good way. (If there is such a thing.)

Pizza! Pizza!

The countdown has begun. Just 13 months from today and Carter is heading to Germany. Now all we need is the cash to send him there. (And back home, of course.)

Ha.

We had two successful fundraisers this fall/winter – selling the Advent Calendars and collecting broken Christmas lights for copper recycling. We plan to repeat those this fall. In the meantime, we have a garage sale this Friday and Saturday in Port Edwards and a brat fry coming up in June.

And today... Pizza! Pizza!

Yup, this is totally a commercial plug to raise dough (pun intended) for Carter and the German-American Partnership Program (GAPP) 2015 trip to Germany.

We (or Carter and his helpful parents) are selling Little Caesars Pizza Kits. If you have never heard of these, trust me, they are awesome.

A typical Pepperoni Pizza Kit, for example, includes all the ingredients to make a 3 family-size Little Caesars Pizzas. Just spread the sauce on the crust, add cheese, then your favorite toppings and bake. Easy! Easy!

A "Personal" Kit makes 9 pizzas! And have you ever heard of a "Pizza Cone"? Me neither but they look yummy. Like a pizza ice cream cone. Only the cone is more of a crust and the rest is a hot, tasty snack on the go! We also have boneless chicken wings and cookie dough kits.

See me in person for a look at the catalog. Or check out all the products on this webpage: http://www.pizzakit.com/fundraising-products! Pretty much everything there can be ordered through Carter.

Tentatively, deadline for ordering (and payment) is June 5, with product pickup on June 12.

Will you help support Carter's trip? It's a Win! Win! for all.

Danke! Danke!

A is for Apple; Z is for Zombies?

It felt like a typical Monday today the way I was buried at work and all the computer systems were running slow.

I love technology but we expect it to work FOR us. At Warp Speed. All the time.

And it doesn't.

My computer locked up a few times and I restarted it. The second time I restarted it, I couldn't log in. It no longer recognized me or my password. Of course two thoughts come immediately to mind:

1) Do I still work here?
2) Are aliens taking over my computer?

After calling the "help desk," I was assured the answer to No. 1 was yes. Whew. But No. 2? Who knows? Refresh my memory... Do we prepare for an Alien Invasion the same way we do a Zombie Apocalypse? And are Twinkies needed?

You know where you can find the official answer? The U.S. Government.

Not kidding.

Did you know that on the Center for Disease Control's website the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response has a plan for Zombies? I kid you not. You can check here or just read below:

Wonder why Zombies, Zombie Apocalypse, and Zombie Preparedness continue to live or walk dead on a CDC web site? 

As it turns out what first began as a tongue in cheek campaign to engage new audiences with preparedness messages has proven to be a very effective platform. We continue to reach and engage a wide variety of audiences on all hazards preparedness via Zombie Preparedness; and as our own director, Dr. Ali Khan, notes, "If you are generally well equipped to deal with a zombie apocalypse you will be prepared for a hurricane, pandemic, earthquake, or terrorist attack." 

So please log on, get a kit, make a plan, and be prepared!

I will point out that I do not troll the Internet for Zombie sites. A friend just pointed this out to me when I was determining whether I needed to buy some Twinkies.

Thank goodness those are back in stores – now with an even longer shelf life. I'm pretty sure they'll outlast my computer at work. And I don't think they'll tempt the taste palates of either aliens OR zombies.

Do you?

I better check with the CDC.

Sounds of Spring

It was a night of Fine Arts at Assumption High School with student art displayed in the lobby and the band performing its Spring Concert.

They had numbers by the Combined Middle & High School Jazz Band, the Middle School Band, the Handbell Choir and the High School Band.

I'm helping you find Carter here. Ha. Or, as usual, just click on image to make it larger.

Besides music, they acknowledged all the State Solo & Ensemble participants. Turns out Carter earned a first in both of his ensembles! Awesome!

At the end of the concert, the middle and high school bands combined for two numbers, including this one called "Pop Culture," which features various popular song and TV theme song snippets from the '60s and '70s. Turn up the volume. I think you'll enjoy.

(Just pardon my shaky camera work. I was using my phone for video. Not sure how to get the focus right, the sound is great. As is expected with this group!)





Happy Sounds of Spring!