TGIF: Trifle Gathering In Friend's (house)

Considering what a hot mess things are at in my life (mainly work life) right now, it was a very welcome distraction to get a call on my Trifle Hotline this morning.

OK. It's not a real thing. But now I'm wondering if it should be. Ha.

A friend was inquiring if I had a recipe for trifle that includes XYZ, her father-in-law's favorite candy bar. I told her I always make these things up on the fly, but recommended how she could make it work into the (what I consider required) trifle layers.

Side note: I can't go into specifics because I do not want to spoil the surprise... the image above is not what we worked on – it's just to get you trifle fans a reason to read this!

I also asked if she even had a trifle bowl. And when she said no she was just going to buy one, I had wicked flashbacks to Christmastime and my focus to find just one bowl! Now that I have 3 of them and one was fresh out of the dishwasher, I said, "Let me loan you a trifle bowl, stop by your house over lunch and give you a Trifle 101 tutorial."

So that's what I did.

I gave her the Trifle 101 basics. Cake-like layer on bottom, then pudding layer, then crunchy layer, repeat all 3, and add a whipped cream topping and "fancy/decorative" cover.

I saw the final result later today and think some birthday boy is going to be pretty happy tomorrow.

Of course this also got me thinking, since no less than a dozen people have urged me to hold a workshop/tutorial of some sort, should I do that? Would you come? Would I need to just pick the flavors, charge for the ingredients and the bowl so you can take that home and understand the basics of building a trifle... and the etiquette of serving/eating it? There really is a lot involved.

Or should I just do a video (very amateur quality) demonstrating it?

For those who have asked me or wondered, I welcome the feedback. I can either do a Trifle on Demand type Hotline to make them, or I could empower you to do them and keep your family and co-workers happy for life. Ha.

I appreciate feedback since trifles can appear intimidating. 

At the same time, I'm a nice and honest lady. They are NOT that hard to do. Y'all can handle this.

The Staying Power of Sisterhood

As a very amateur photographer, I sometimes wonder what draws me to the amazing young women participating in high school sports.

I am really starting to get it now.

1. I have 6 sisters so I'm keenly aware of the power of supportive sisterhood.
2. My high school was too small to offer all of the girls' sports opportunities.
3. I'm a boy mom and thetr was never an opportunity/option to raise a girl in this atmosphere.
4. As I age, I realize that once we "outgrow" the instinctively "catty years," many of us sisters end up supporting each other.

Why does this matter today? Well, first, I took the picture at a softball game tonight that was not going our way and I love how our catcher went out to calm down our pitcher and assure her she has this and she's doing great.

And .... This was following a crap day at work and (sorry Mom in heaven) a recent shit-show of several weeks at work.

The negative things I have discovered (and bear with this 50+ lady) is that after surviving the first decade of my career as a newspaper reporter and talked down to by city and county officials as "sweetheart" as if "bless you for trying." Then into the bigger publishing world where a female publisher had to act extra tough and aggressive to match her male counterparts – and us worker bees suffering as a result. And now (as a female obviously and at that special age) feeling undervalued and fighting for what I desire and, more importantly deserve, it's been a ... crap spring.

While hubby and I should be looking forward to retirement on the horizon... his way closer than mine... I am in a negative mindset. So negative with recent things at work. (Though I still absolutely love the company and its benefits.)

But the positive, as always since forever, is that there is this random network of sisters at work who get it and are willing to give me a hug and try to convince me to not feel "undervalued," but recognize how valued I am!

I'm sharing because I want high school girls to latch onto this. Don't be a "Mean Girl." Extend the support to your "sisters" (on a sports team or wherever) and they'll extend it back.

College girls, same thing but also stand firm that you've learned things and deserve a job.

Early career girls... prove your worth through your work quality first before getting cocky. 

And the rest of us... if you are a great sister (aka supporter), I think you'll find women who return the favor.

Not to say men can't do this ... because a male co-worker took me lunch today to talk me off the ledge... but just lean into the opportunity to support (and hopefully enjoy) the potential staying power of sisterhood.

End note: I'll be OK. I just have things to think about. And I did get a few of the best hugs this week!

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!!

Embracing Mother Earth

 

Well Mother, Mother Earth is having her annual spotlight in the sun! Happy Earth Day!

Some years my friend and I pick up trash from the ditches, some years I completely let it pass by without thought, and this year there was too much going on for me to give the day the full honor and observance it deserves.

But...

I did connect with some "solar power" on the swing while working quite awhile after hours ... on my swing. That counts, right?

Then I bonded with the Earth when I trimmed down our Pampas Ass Grass. Which according to multiple sources (since I have 2 black thumbs) you should do in late April or early May when you KNOW there won't be another frost.

Well, when I got home from work and saw hubby brought up the fan to the bedroom window to replace the wintertime vaporizer/humidifier, I figured he must know something. Like maybe Mother Earth told her mentally disturbed sister Mother Nature to chill out and move onto spring already.

I hope that's the case!

But since my hubby stores the wheelbarrow in his One-Key-for-Jimmy-Only Shed, he'll have to do part 2 tomorrow as it will be dark when he gets home from golf tonight!

What habits have you picked up to help preserve the planet?

I admit Jim and I are so accustomed to recycling EVERYTHING, that I feel guilty when I'm in a situation where the vibe is "Just throw everything in the trash." 

But I did attempt to give up Aqua Net hairspray to save the Ozone in the '90s. I admit the liquid-type stuff didn't work the same. So I relapsed to aerosol spray and I hope some Earth-loving big hair fan picked up where I left off.

And don't get me started on how we deal with keeping volume in our thinning hair after we turn... ahem... 40? Sorry, Mother Earth, you are millions of years older than that. Please understand and forgive.

Enjoy Earth Day every day!

Define Precious Cargo

So what defines a "precious cargo"? This weekend meant our neighbors transporting their newborn son home. Yesterday was our son driving his and Mamie's belongings from Dubuque to Duluth for their new start. Today was me and this birthday trifle.

I will say having this tasty bugger strapped in was a good idea since I had to slam my brakes for deer just 5 minutes into my commute! (Side note: It arrived in beautiful status and was 98% snarfed down before I took the bowl home today!)

But what about invisible precious cargo?

Think about who you are carrying around in your hearts – especially those with needs for additional prayers right now.

Like when our son called me tonight and said they quickly traveled from Duluth to southern Wisconsin because his girlfriend's best friend's dad died this morning from pancreatic cancer. His call was partly to share the sad news and also him saying how grateful he is he has both his amazing parents.

Yes, I'm ugly crying now! 

I'll confess, when I was in my 20s, I can't imagine I'd ever have made that call to my parents. So who's more grateful now?

Just think about what precious things you are trying to keep safe. If you need extra prayers, ask for them! And if a friend or loved one needs prayers, share that. 

There's a pretty good group of people around here who will pray and care about your precious cargo!

Sunday, SumDay and Mon(ey) Day!

Well as it turns out, I don't really have that much luck at BINGO per se, but for the second time in the past month I won the 50/50 raffle associated with it. Last month it was $300+ and Sunday (Sum-Day) it was $600+. 

So yeah. $1,000-ish to me!

I guess you can take the girl out of Luck... but you can't take the Luck out of the girl!

Me... I'm that GIRL!

I obviously had a moment yesterday when I questioned why ESPN covered card games and corn hole... when BINGO would be so entertaining? I mean, I have a pretty mean "I just won $621" happy dance!

Also, I just have to caution the "young 'uns:" etc that they should never mocketh a "middle-aged" lady and her BINGO dobber. You could use a surprising $600+ right+?

Short answer: BINGO!

A Tale of Twisters and Monsters

What a strange two days! I took Friday afternoon off to head up to Hodag Country to meet my sister Nell. Not a local? Rhinelander is the home of the Hodag pictured above.

This mythical, mischievous creature was first “discovered” in Rhinelander in the late 19th century but may have been roaming the Northwoods for eons before that. I can't confirm or deny! Today, the Hodag has become the official symbol of Rhinelander – it’s even the mascot for the local high school and can be seen pretty much anywhere visitors go in Rhinelander.

That is not the reason we were going to Rhinelander. We swear. But it you can believe it, for me, meeting up with one on my sisters up there is twice as close (less than 2 hours) to driving 4 hours to see them in our Up North back home towns.

So when she said she was going to a conference Friday and Saturday and could use the company, I said sure!

In our routes up and over yesterday we were both more like the Storm Chased versus the Storm Chasers. We knew tornadoes and crazy stuff were predicted. In fact, on my route up I-39 they had already dismissed schools early for safety. We both had sunny skies and stayed ahead of it thankfully!

Me arriving to town: "Hey, sis, I found the Hodag!"

40 minutes later... clouds and high winds before we find a place to eat!

As we scarfed down our delicious Friday night burgers at a place called Bucketheads Sports Bar & Grill, we heard no less than three tornado warnings on the multiple TVs! We're like, should we take shelter? And... wait is that what county we're in? 

Who knew being a tourist in Hodag Country could be so dangerous?

We did make it back to the hotel fine and she beat me in two games of Five Crowns before we realized the twisters did destructively touch down between Rhinelander and Wisconsin Rapids. Uff da.

And this morning we woke up to 30 degrees and a "real feel" of 21 degrees. So Wisconsin had sunny and golfing Thursday, twister Friday, and winter Saturday.

*Checks calendar*

Oh right, it's spring.

Got home about 6 p.m. tonight and am grateful for at least a little sister time. And super grateful for our safe travels.

Prayers to all dealing with tornado/wind damage and flooding right now. Consider any way we all can support them!

Oh and keep an eye out for those sneaky little monsters among us!

The Power of Un-Powered Tools

Full disclosure: This is all going to seem like it's coming out of left field... because it sort of is.

My main agenda item today besides getting through work was delivering two pair of arborist pants to my cousin's son. Have I lost you already. He's in Stevens Point (well-known for its DNR related programs and degrees) and saw these for sale through Facebook Marketplace – but in Wisconsin Rapids.

So I picked them up and yesterday I was like, "Dude, I have your pants in my car. When do you want them?" So it worked out that I could meet him and his fiancee for a dinner after work. 

So what exactly are "arborist pants"? Turns out that if you're using a chainsaw like the well-intentioned beaver above, they're chainsaw-resistant. A bullet-proof Kevlar protection layer from serious harm. I can see why he wanted to buy these 20-dollar pants that normally sell for almost $200. Good call. (Also note that according to my blog title they are un-powered tools.)

But who cares about arborist pants? Obviously it was most important to hear about their upcoming wedding plans in 2027. And perhaps dish about our families. Lol.

So after that meal I headed into Wisconsin Rapids to WalMart to find a replace my hair dryer – who died inconveniently, of course. RIP.

And I can't make this stuff up. First my TIRE PRESSURE IS LOW warning comes on. So I pull over knowing that I have to have it in park to "calibrate" or whatever. That happened again when I got WR WalMart. So I did recalibrate again but that wasn't my main concern.

I've recently attached my key fob to a lanyard because it sometimes can fall our of the very shallow pockets of work pants. Well when I parked, I realized the lanyard was there... out of my pocket... but no fob was attached.

So I knew it was in that deeply imbedded spot under the seat that is impossible to reach with human hands. What can I do?

You know, I suddenly realized that I still had scrapbooking tools in my vehicle that I've neglected to unpack that might include some sort of tweezers to grasp it from its secret hiding spot.

And the tweezer for tiny stickers or alphabet letters won the day! A powerful tool that requires no power.

So after that, of course, I wanted to tell my scrap sisters about our life-saving tools!

Well, it turns out my monthly Girls Night Out group was meeting and eating a Whoudini's and I still had time to catch them there. I zealously shared my story with my scrap sister Jenny and then they all asked me what "arborist pants" are and I could not understand how they knew this.

They said, "Well you texted your husband about your dinner plans." I'm like "Yeah, did I accidentally send that to this group too?" No, they said. He's here.

So here we were – my girls night and his last-minute three classmates from high school meeting at a bar we go to maybe once a year. (Including your hubby, A.P. my loyal blog reader. Not that I'm tattling!)

As Rick in Casablanca says: "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." Ope sorry.

Of course I really just wanted to show off a cute shirt I got at GW Boutique (yes, Good Will) the other day...

Random patterns and such a steal. I pointed out that I was fashionably late because I was so fashionable. Thank you to the person that donated it. You've added some POWER-ful spice to my life!!