The Short Life of Precious Blooms

As I mentioned last night, thanks to recent rain and heat, then more rain and more heat, all the blooms at SentryWorld are in peak condition. And so beautiful. It was amazing. 

As I also mentioned, before we had league, a handful of us took our 4 Marketing interns to the driving range so they would be more comfortable for their upcoming intern scramble. So fun!

But I share this picture because I want you to look at these young faces of 19- and 20-year-olds. This is basically how young two girls in southwest Wisconsin were when they lost their lives in the past few days. Both a 22-year-old from La Crosse (where I went to college) and one from Platteville (where Carter went) had disappeared – and both were found dead today. No causes of death have been confirmed.

As I told my son, I'd just die (probably literally) if that happened at this young stage of life. Let's be honest, any age and any stage if our kids go before us. All of you parents KNOW this! So please pray for the families and friends of Eliotte and Emma, who weren't given a full season of life to bloom.

And think of them – and your current blessings – while you view a few more flowers.

Thank God for the colorful, beautiful people you are blessed to still have in your life today!

Deep Freeze Feelings

For most of today, I figured the worst thing I'd have to deal with is the sub-zero temperatures (and maybe the presidential inauguration). But that changed when a college friend messaged me today that another friend of ours had passed away.

Not to age myself, but back in college year 1988-1989 I was a resident assistant (RA) in Angell Hall at UW-La Crosse. Thanks to Facebook, more than a half-dozen of us "Angells" have kept in touch for years. I say "kept in touch" but mean loosely that we maintained at least a surface level contact via social.

Unfortunately, we can't rely on the current social media algorithm. 

In other words, we're fed so many ads that we actually have to purposely look up a friend to see what they're up to.

Right now the 7 of us Angells who are still "connected" don't know yet what happened to our 8th friend. But I told the 4 of us still in Wisconsin that we better quit TALKING about getting together and actually make plans to DO IT!

I also told Jim to quit "talking" about that darn softball/baseball reunion. Just plan it! 

We just don't know. Hug your loved ones and make that call!

By coincidence, our baby boy called us tonight and was pretty excited about his recent trip to New York City and the chance to personally connect with his work team there since he's one of the few non-NY remote employees. He had a great time. 

I was reminded how we rely on these virtual connections – and how nothing replaces face-to-face interactions. 

Don't take it for granted. Make personal connections IN PERSON!

Ice Cream (anti) Social

Woke to 44 degrees and one of the bedroom windows had been cracked open all night. I was basically cold all day!

I threatened to turn the heat on, but the guy in the office on the other side of the wall said he did just fine the last 2 cool days.

So I waited until he left the house to go see our nephew Colin race in La Crosse before I turned in on. I mean we should test it anyway before it really gets cold.

Anti-social me just stayed in tonight. I'm still cold! I put on my fuzzy robe and got a blanket and started watching a new Netflix show. I was hooked on Nobody Wants This immediately and binge-watched half the season already. It's hilarious.

At some point, I thought, "You know, ice cream sounds good." 

So whip off 3 layers of warmth and grab me some Mint Moose Tracks. That's how some of us roll.

Ice cream season is ending. But ice cream with a jacket (or robe or blankets) on is beginning. Enjoy! 🍦🍨

Just Call Us Angells

One of the perks of living in the middle of the state is that it's often the location for statewide conferences and meetings. Occasionally, I luck out and long-distance friends are suddenly in my neck of the woods. Today was one of those days.

My friend Sarge from college was in Stevens Point for a work conference. Love that she was wearing a UW-La Crosse shirt when I picked her up after work and we went to my stomping grounds (SentryWorld) to catch up for a bit.

We haven't changed a bit since we were RAs (resident assistants) together at Angell Hall at UW-L, have we? 

Obviously, it was in the '80s. The 1988-1989 school year to be exact. The amazing thing about that is not that we're OLD. We know! But that we've been friends and somehow stayed in touch for 35 years. Uhm, yes, that is older than most of my current co-workers. Ha.

It really was so awesome to catch up like no time was lost and hug out any stressors in our life. Love my Angell Squad!

I've said it before... Always make the time to see old friends when you can. If you can still laugh about things you did or said 3 decades ago, it's so worth it!

Ooohm-Cha-Gow-Ah! Angells got the powah!

Hello, Summer

Nothing says "Hello, Summer" like memories of beach volleyball... replaced with new memories of beach football. Yup. Talking about Top Gun and the new Maverick sequel.

Since our hubbies had no interest in seeing it, my friend Jenny and I planned weeks ago that we'd go see it. Finally got it on the calendar and went tonight for $5 movie night. Very much worth it! How long have I liked Top Gun? Here's a clue...

This long! For you kids, that's called a cassette tape. And no, I don't have anything to play it on, but I can't part with it. 

The original movie came out in 1986. That fall, I believe the first weekend of college, a bunch of us from Angell Hall took the city bus out to the theater at the mall on the north side of La Crosse and saw the movie. 

And fell in love. With Tom Cruise and, frankly, all the guys playing beach volleyball! Even got a free movie poster that hung in my dorm room all year!

Tom Cruise has since turned into a bit of whack job, but I didn't hold that against him when contemplating going to see Top Gun :: Maverick. I didn't hear any negative reviews from the dozens of people I know who saw it. 

And we concur. Both Jenny and I gave it two thumbs up. I was crying 10 minutes into it. Good mix of emotion, humor, and action. Loved it! 

So now instead of snakes, I can have sweat, er sweet dreams of beach "anything" with Kenny Loggins singing Playing with the Boys in my head! 

Roger that. I'm out! 

Tapped Out

Now that my feet have stopped tapping, I can sit down and blog! Since Riverdance has been touring for 25 years, I may be among the last people to finally cross it off my Bucket List. But it was worth the wait.

Our foursome of Royals Class of 2016 moms left Rapids around 3 p.m. so we had time to eat dinner in La Crosse before the 7 p.m. show. After filling up on endless breadsticks at Olive Garden, we were ready to burn off the carbs with some serious toe tapping.

What an entertaining show!

I've always been impressed with tap-dancing when you see it high skill levels. And these Irish dancers were taking it to new levels. Just so cool to watch! Plus there were instrumental numbers with various Celtic instruments – pipes and drums I didn't quite recognize, plus a violin (or was it a fiddle) and more – along with a fantastic soloist.

Throughout it, there was the underlying story of being at one with the earth in Ireland and then emigrating to America and finding a home. You probably should just Google a video if you've never seen it. I'm not sure how the dancers are physically capable of some of the moves they did, but I'm pretty sure I won't try any of them at home!

I am pretty tapped out, though. (Pun intended.) Three late nights in a row and I need to sashay to bed. Slowly and carefully!

Name Changes

The Cleveland Indians announced this week that they're changing their name next season to the Cleveland Guardians. Close to the same name like they're trying to cover up a bad tattoo, but a different enough meaning to be politically correct. 

We went through the same thing way back when I was in college – kids, that was right after the Dark Ages. We were still considered the La Crosse Indians when I started college and had transitioned to the La Crosse Eagles by my graduation. 

Not to say how long ago that was, but you can tell by this yellowed sticker (and price) that it really was a short jump after the Stone Age. Not that that makes me old.

In fact, today I had coffee with two other UW-L Indians turned Eagles. Obviously, it's impossible we've known each other for 30-plus years since we're all still 29! And just like the UW-L Indians, we've all changed our names since then. 

It was mini-housing reunion of sorts since we'd all been on staff at the same time. Our coffee hour sort of fell together. Liz (blue) lives in New Jersey but has a sister in Wisconsin Rapids. Julie (pink) lives in Alabama but has parents in nearby Marshfield. They both just happened to be in my neck of the woods this weekend, so it was fate that we could meet up, chit chat for a few hours, both laughing and crying.

It was just so nice. Really. How blessed to enjoy time with people you've known for decades. A lot of fun memories, but a lot of wonderful things happening in our respective lives now.  

Friendships are a blessing, aren't they?

Go to college, kids. You'll meet the most amazing humans!

Ready to Go

Got my work done, my camera batteries charged, memory card cleared – even my scrapbooking stuff ready – let's get this weekend started!

Leaving the house by 8:30 a.m. to catch a ride on the "adults only" bus down to La Crosse for state hoops. Usually the girls play in Green Bay for state and only the boys play in Madison. Now, with COVID restrictions, they're dividing up at a few sites. Division 5 will play all their games tomorrow at the La Crosse Center. Assumption takes on Chippewa Falls McDonnell at 12:35 p.m. (Wisconsin ABC channels) and the winner plays the championship game at 7 p.m.

They had a sendoff at school today before the team headed down there. I couldn't go – work time, dang – but I was able to provide dozens of photos for them to use in a slide show and was definitely there in spirit. Tomorrow I'll be shooting under the baskets (photos, of course) and am excited to document their crowning achievement. 

Fingers crossed for the best.

Anticipating a late night Thursday, I'm making sure that I'm pretty much set to go for Camp Crop-A-Lot on Friday morning. Vacation time out of the office takes focus!

Camera pun intended. Yep. I better try to get some sleep for the Royally big day tomorrow!

Go Royals! #royalpride

A Little Hocus Pocus

It's kind of a freaky Halloween when you think about it. I mean we've got the full moon and we turn the clocks back... and the wind chimes outside my office window are going nuts. So I'll just think of it as a good night for flying for us witches. And not get freaked out that I'm home alone!

I think I'll be OK. I pre-emptively watched two Christmas movies to calm my nerves. And relax in general. It was a busy day.

I was fortunate enough to get one of the "golden tickets" to state cross country – well, the Division 3 part of it by La Crosse. I had mentioned that state was weird this year thanks to COVID-19. The three divisions were in three different places and each division broke up their day into three sessions to keep crowd sizes – both athletes and fans – to a minimum. 

It was also weird because there wasn't a clock at the finish line to see everyone's times. They didn't want to give the advantage to the last session of the day knowing what times they had to beat, etc. Strange.

Assumption girls raced at 12:30 p.m. A sunny day and in the 50s – and that might have been the wind mph too. Sure seemed like it! 

You can see it whipping the flag around during the National Anthem!

It was a tough day for our girls. They raced their hearts out, but some of them were struggling. After being undefeated as a team this season, I'm sure it was hard to not finish out on top. But I hope they realize what an accomplishment is was to get to state and run there and finish 9th. That means there's only 8 other D3 teams in the entire state of Wisconsin faster than them! Hopefully after the tears dry, they'll hold their heads high. It was such an amazing group of young ladies to follow this year!

I also was privileged to shoot the boys race during that same session – when it just happened an Up North school was running in that. You know me, Miss Shy. I see someone with a pirate on their hat and I'm like, "Are you from Grantsburg?" Yes, we are. "I was born there and went to school in Luck. You might know some of my sisters that live around there." Turns out they worked with one and were neighbors of the other. And knew some cousins as well. Small world, yes. But it always is in Wisconsin, isn't it?

Got home in the late afternoon and took care of pictures. Didn't have any trick-or-treaters. 

Hubby's hanging out with a high school buddy tonight so that's why kitty and I got to watch Hallmark. Plus I turned the clocks back at 9 p.m. so I felt I could stay up and watch a second movie!

Just a little hocus pocus mind game. Whatever works in 2020.

Happy Halloween!

Connecting Flights

While some people may hate on Facebook,  I love that it keeps me connected with old friends. Old as in my age (sorry) and old as in knowing each other a long-arse time.

I've been connected with my college buddy Dave forever. Well college was a long time ago! Knowing that he works for a certain airline,  I always text him when I'm flying it. Even though he's based in Atlanta,  you never know where he's pouring drinks in the sky. 

When I told him I had a very short layover in Minneapolis Tuesday on my way to Portland,  he said he'd be at the airport working that day. But we didn't know if our timing would work.

So while I'm busy getting pictures with Minnie and Paul, he was waiting at my departure gate, knowing for sure I'd get there eventually.

What an awesome treat and surprise to see him! The hug was definitely 25 years over due (at least)! Walka!

We just hugged and laughed and hugged some more. Twenty minutes is not enough time to re-live our UW-La Crosse memories (aka many shenanigans) and catch up on current  life too,  but we made the most of it.

It was so wonderful.  I felt like the best part of my trip was over before I even left!

It was a good reminder to make those connecting flights or visits with people you care about. No matter how brief. Think quality not quantity.

As much as I like Facebook, it doesn't hug me back.

Heart Strings

It's a good thing the "strings" that tie our hearts to others are unlimited in their reach. It is an amazingly resilient bond that only gains strength over time. That's why we can see a friend after a long absence and still feel just as close.

Today I got to pull strings, so to speak, in three different directions.

This morning, I met up with my college friend Carrie, whose son was wrestling in a state tournament up in Wausau. Although she and her family live in the Milwaukee area, we just don't get to that neck of the state that often. And when we do, it's usually tied to some event and we are on a schedule. So we do what we can to get together, even it's a wrestling date far from either of our homes.

Since I am now officially "experienced" in wrestling photography, I brought my camera to take pictures of her son Ben and, well, yes, his 3 teammates that also made it to the state JV tournament. It was actually a fun time. I felt pretty official.

Wow! Look at me with a Floor Pass... I can go anywhere. Even sit with the coach at the edge of the mat to get really good pictures! That was admittedly pretty stinkin' cool. Especially since there were matches going on simultaneously on 8 different mats so the chances of seeing everything from the bleachers were minimal.

Here's Ben in one of his matches.

And the proud momma – my fellow RA on the first floor of Angell Hall at UW-La Crosse back in 19XX. You don't really need to know that, do you?

Anyway, we were having fun watching and catching up on life when I got a text from College Boy that his ride back to Platteville was leaving today instead of tomorrow, just to get ahead of the projected winter weather.

That threw me for a loop because I wasn't mentally or emotionally ready to say goodbye. I mean, we really didn't get any one-on-one time with him. Our last family meal was Christmas morning. And so on. So I raced home to get there in time to see him off.

"Can I at least get a picture so I can look at it each day?" I said. Yup, he was accommodating. Probably had some guilt, says wishful-thinking momma. Either way, it was definitely tugging at those tough but tender heart strings. Empty nest equals empty heart.

Didn't have much time to lament since we had dinner plans over in Waupaca. We met up with our friends Scott and Sandy from Green Bay.

Sandy and I decided that when our hubbies make silly bets over college bowl games that require one of them to buy dinner for the other couple, we are the winners. We didn't have to know anything, watch anything. Just order food and drink and be happy.

It was great to see our favorite golf partners in the off-season. Maybe Jim and Scott can bet on something else to bring us together before spring. We'll see.

In the meantime, my heart will remain securely connected to my baby and these special ladies.

Christmas Angells

Back in the fall of 1988, these two "Angells" met when they were on staff at Angell Hall at UW-La Crosse. I was a resident assistant (RA) and Liz was the assistant hall director, living a few doors down.

How can that be 29 years ago when we don't look a day over 29?

Ha. Play along, kids.

Although Liz lives in New Jersey and grew up in Milwaukee, she has ties to Wisconsin Rapids since her sister and family live here. She gets to the area once every few years. We just realized the last time we saw each other was actually seven years ago when our boys were much younger. Carter was 12 and her son was 7. Time flies.

This week, since she's staying with her sister for the holidays, we made sure to connect. Tonight I picked her up and we enjoyed a typical Wisconsin Friday night fish fry and much conversation. It was so awesome to see her and catch up.

And, thanks to social media, we could reach out to five other Angells we're still in touch with and let them know we were thinking about them (and maybe talking about them, too).

Yup, just two college girls out on the town. Both home by 8:30 p.m. and likely in bed by 10 p.m.

Not that we're old. Angells need their rest, that's all.

SKOL-er Power

When you haven't seen the sun in 5 days, you have to rely on other sources to bring light to your life.

First source was 4 days with my 6 sisters. Despite cold and wind and rain, rain, rain, we had a great time for our 19th annual Wild Women's Weekend near La Crosse.

Since today was our BIG game day, most of us wore our team colors for our drives home. For the record, I am not the only Vikings fan. My sister RoAnn in the front left is also of the Purple Persuasion. So it's 5 Packer Backers against 2 Skol Sisters.

We believe in quality not quantity.

I can say that now that sister weekend is over and I don't have to be nice!

Got home just in time for the kickoff at noon. My second source of skol-ar (or solar) power. Had a busy day between watching our sloppy victory and doing some freelance design projects plus baking. So right now my home-sweet-home bed is calling me. But tomorrow I will share some interesting facts and photos from the weekend.

What I am allowed to share, that is.

Remember: What happens with sisters, stays with sisters.

SKOL!

Cloud Control

It was race night in La Crosse for the Tundra Series our nephew is competing in this summer. So after work, hubby and I headed down to cheer on Colin.

We had been keeping an eye on the weather all day since they said "chance of storms" for the afternoon and evening. Although it as sunny for qualifying, by the time Colin ran his first heat race – where he took second, by the way – we could see the dark clouds approaching.

Stock car racing is one of those sports you can't do in the rain. No wipers on cars and the track surface can get pretty slippery. We were looking at the radar on our phones and figured there was no way they could get in the 35-lap feature for the truck race and the 50-lap super late model race Colin was running in.

The track organizers (bless them) ended up skipping a bunch of heat races to get the main events done before those clouds opened up on us. Miracle of miracles, they got the truck race done and Colin's feature only had some sprinkles going. Not enough to stop the race – there were enough cautions the way it was.

Colin was second for a few laps, then, after some contact was sent to the back of the pack of 24 cars. He ended up maneuvering his way toward the front and ended up with a 6th-place finish. That was good, hard work. And fun to see.

As a bonus, those dark rain clouds gave way to a spectacular sunset. Who knew Mother Nature had it in her?

Well done.

29 Again

As our baby boy headed back to Platteville this afternoon, I realized why I am not a big fan of math. According to my calculations, it has been three decades – yes, decades – since I was in college. Ouch.

Some days, though, I feel like it was yesterday. Today was one of those days.

Thanks to social media, I have been able to reconnect or stay connected with several friends from UW-La Crosse. A half dozen were RAs with me at Angell Hall and another half dozen were friends, roommates, fellow newspaper nerds and more. While many of us still reside in the Dairy State, we just don't see each other. Why is that? I don't know. We're all so busy parenting that our time is taken up with weekend tournaments, school events and the like.

The benefit of living in central Wisconsin – and the hour-drive radius around me – is that it is the go-to location for events and conferences. So sometimes when the calendars, stars and planets align, I get to see an old friend.

Today, my college friend Carrie ("Sarge") from Milwaukee area was in Wausau with her family to watch her oldest son wrestle. Thanks to the 70 mph speed limit on I-39, Wausau is less than an hour from here. Unfortunately, I had a training day at church so I couldn't make it up there to watch him. In fact, right when I arrived home after the meetings, she let me know Ben was done wrestling for the day after his second loss and they were headed home.

Since we hadn't seen each other in 7 years (we calculated it), I said I could meet them on their way home to Milwaukee, depending which way there were going. "I can just meet you at a gas station on your route, just for a drive-by hug!"

Turns out we did better than that and met by Stevens Point and Plover to have a quick cup of frozen yogurt at Sweet Frog, accompanied by hugs (of course) and quick catching up.

So great to see her! We had so much fun when we were Resident Assistants on the first floor of Angell Hall. And you know when that was? 29 years ago! Yup, we were celebrating our 29th, I guess. Not birthday, just anniversary of our friendship.

Sometimes when schedules aren't aligning, you gotta drive a few extra miles to make it happen! Totally worth it. Always totally worth it.

Felt more like 19 than 29... til we both realized our "little boys" are taller than us! They keep changing yet we stay the same. How does that work?

Must be our clean Wisconsin living highlighted with occasional trips down Memory Lane, real-life conversations and smiles, and extra long drive-by hugs.

Another Senior Moment :: Pictures

Not to age myself, but it was 30 years ago around this time of year when I, too, was planning for senior pictures. The main point "back then" was to have a nice enough portrait for the yearbook and one that could be an 8x10 to hang on the wall at home.

My twin and I wore the ONE outfit to the studio and took our turns. We had to sit on a stool, face left, face right, tilt head, then neck, and painfully smile while performing upper torso gymnastics. We picked one pose and got our wallet-sized photos for friends. Pretty simple.

And boring.

Nowadays, the kids – whether boy or girl – have a few wardrobe changes AND location changes. Crazy, right? But it's so worth it once you see the final results!

Hubby and I were in a bit of a conundrum in choosing a photographer. In our publishing background we have a lot of friends who are photographers and many still shoot portraits. Plus, we have friends who do it and some starting out. Didn't want to hurt any feelings, so we went with who we knew the longest (I went to college with Steve) and, by coincidence, could possibly be the best. (Of any photographers anywhere. He's a master.)

The only downside is that he lives in La Crosse, but it was a worthy road trip today for Carter and me. Dad didn't want to tag along for some reason!

We met them in a shopping center parking lot and jumped in their vehicle since they obviously knew where they were going. Here is the master at work – with the help of his lovely assistant and wife, Chris.

These were just quick shots with my phone. Nothing impressive for my quality. Just wanted to give you a sneak peek at some senior moments from his session.

Drove by this building then stopped and turned around. Steve got a variety of photos on all four sides.

Brick on two sides then battered tin on two, plus these beautifully aged red doors!

Spent an hour in the alleyways of downtown La Crosse. Pretty cool stuff and the type of settings Carter had in mind, too.

Fun on a fire escape. There was not enough room for me to stand up there. Despite my fear of heights, I did go up there, then realized it lacked space.

Wardrobe change for some more "formal" shots.

The serious model look.

That smirk we know and love!!

Final shot: The senior selfie!!

Carter had a blast, which is always a bonus. Can't wait to see what the master does with his hundreds of photos!

If you want to check out his work on other subjects, check out Aperture by Steve Davis on Facebook or on the web: www.aperturebystevedavis.com. Great stuff!!

Sweet Saturday

Such a perfectly gorgeous, fun and full day today! Almost midnight now so I am going to be brief since tomorrow promises the same!

Slept in past 8 a.m. so that was a good start. Since my exercise class was called off today I figured I'd go for a run. Even though it's been what, a month since I last pounded the pavement?

It didn't feel too bad at all, though. Just a typical run in the neighborhood... First I was running alongside horses (well, people riding on horses) on Townline Road. For the record, they are faster than me.

Then I saw the "Mile 12" sign on 64th Street and realized I was caught up in a triathlon. And they were passing me, too! To their credit, they were on bicycles – and surely not confused that an old lady had already moved on to the running leg of the race! My neighbor was parked at a corner on the route so I stopped to visit her and cheer on the cyclists awhile before taking that last half mile home. Nice day for the event.

Hubby and I hit the road a little after noon to go to Madison. We were heading to a graduation party south of Madison but our first stop was at the shopping center to pick out some clothes for my niece's upcoming wedding. I do have 2 summer dresses I adore, but they are quite used and Jim thought I could use something new. Hey, when your hubby suggests clothes shopping, you don't question it! We both found something at the first store we went to so we were on the road again in no time.

Next stop: Oregon, Wis.

Always a pleasure to see my high school BFF! Luck class of '86 represents! Some 25 years out of college and I finally get my Blue Gold buddy to wear a UW-La Crosse shirt! Either Julie loves me (and my alma mater)... or her daughter is going there this fall. Yep, she does love me but her daughter Shelbey (who we honored today) is headed to LAX. I thought it was cool that Julie, her husband and other daughter were all sporting UW-L shirts to support the graduate's next move. What an exciting time and sad, too, as their nest will be completely empty come September!

From there, we got on the freeway and headed to Wisconsin Dells, where our nephew Colin was racing this evening.

Crazy beautiful weather! Sunny and 75. Nice day to be at the track.

Date night in the Dells!

Colin didn't qualify for the main feature so had to finish in the top 4 of the semi-feature to advance. He not only finished well, but took the checkered flag! Whoo-hoo!

Here he is in victory lane. Sorry about the grainy pictures.  I was sitting way far away and tried zooming with my phone. Not bad but I would have brought my zoom camera if I would have known he was going to be winning. Ha. Wouldn't that be nice to know in advance?

The feature did not go as well but it was still a nice night to watch. Got home after 11:30 p.m. and we only saw a half-dozen deer or so. And that was all in the last 5 minutes of the drive. Figures.

Tired now because it was a full day and maybe, just maybe, I am getting old!