Typical October Vibes

Well it’s the first week of October and you know what that really means. Nope, I mean beyond the new season of The Voice and Pumpkin Spice explosion time. It means if you’re lucky enough, you have a baseball team to cheer on in the playoffs.

That’s what 90% of Wisconsin and the Brew Crew fans can feel like right now.

Jim and I are on the sidelines with our loser teams, but we do wish the Brewers well. (Maybe not too loudly since Jim’s dad is a Cubs fan).

But we still have our fantasy football teams, of course. 

And yes, I purposely buried the lead here so I could brag about going 5-0 so far and getting 196+ points this week. I mean, I think it’s a work league record! And no, unfortunately there is no money on the line here. Just competitive Robyn trash talking and bragging. Ha.

So now we can change subjects. LOL.

As the weather dudes warned us, temperatures were “plunging” today. In other words, it’s 60 degrees and raining and feels like, well, October! Not concerned. Especially since I’ve got all my outdoor fall sports photographed – at least once.

Of course that prompted me indoors evening. 

I mean it just happened I was in town for my monthly chiropractor appointment after work so why not shoot a little volleyball afterwards? It was actually an "away" game for middle school volleyball. At one of the Lutheran schools in town. When I saw my next-door neighbor's Royals daughter and one of the little Lutherans from my church on the "opposing" side, I was glad I went. Hopefully I got some decent images of them both!

I'll check those out before the good (hopefully) TV starts in Wisconsin tonight! Let's cross our fingers!

Happy Summer Solstice

For the longest day of sunshine, I certainly didn't spend much of it outside. Darn work!

Still, the way the forecast is looking, I might want to purposely stay indoors for the days after the solstice, too.

Looks like a majority of my family will have it even worse. Stay hydrated and be smart! 

I'm pretty sure I'll limit my post-solstice outdoor activities to a required photo shoot late Saturday and 9-hole round of golf on Sunday. Otherwise, I could hang out indoors and watch my Twins on TV – but after seeing the beat-down from the Brewers tonight, that's not top on my list either.

Happy Summer Solstice! Be careful out there!

You're Not Alone, Brew Crew Fans

As I sit here cheering for the Brewers because, well, no team in this household is in the playoffs, I found this graphic interesting. 

While the Cubs are usually the hated team of choice in Wisconsin, look at all these states who allegedly hate the New York Mets. These are your people, Brewers fans! You are not alone!

I do hope they do well. In fact, I am committed to watching this game. While perhaps multi-tasking with a bit of baby blanket crocheting. But still, know that you are not alone and we all wish you a happy ending.

Like last night.

You know what I mean. Good luck!!!

#BrewCrew💙💛

October Hump Day Headlines

Wicked Mother Nature

Rarely – as a landlocked girl in the Midwest – do tropical storms or hurricanes impact my life. Helene changed that a bit. 

First of all, super grateful Carter and Mamie live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, now and not North Carolina. That would have been overly stressful and maybe devastating. Secondly, we just had our 25 annual sisters' weekend a year ago in the Asheville area. And we visited the Biltmore estate! How devastating for them and the many, many shops and restaurants we patronized. Feel so bad for them!

Fall Sports

Oh gosh, I'm still trying to keep pace with fall sports. Last night I got to shoot pictures of the Royals middle school football team in action. Which took me to about an 11 p.m. bedtime after uploading (so I chose sleep over blogging). It was entertaining because just like when Carter was a shorter dude in middle school, there's such a variety of sizes at that age. See the very petite quarterback taking a snap from the super-sized (for middle school) center! Crazy. Our Royals lost but they were pretty aggressive and fun to watch!

It's October!

I'm crushed that my Twins were eliminated from the playoffs at the last minute! So, naturally, I'll be a good Wisconsin citizen and send my positive vibes to the Brewers. Based on my co-workers and friends attitude today, I gotta send mega-good vibes. I just checked and they are tied with the Mets tonight after a loss last night. I don't want to say anything to jinx them. So I'll just say go Brew Crew! NOW!

Cancer Sucks

It's true. Cancer is so non-discerning. It doesn't matter if you're old or young. It doesn't matter if you're the friendliest business owner in the community – like our friend D we lost this week – or a mother of 3 – like our friend J who has it everywhere after so many clean scans. We send prayers and hugs to all of you!

Pretty sure I should I should wrap up my blog before any other sad thoughts present themselves. As always, hug your loved ones and be careful out there!

A Different Kind of Day at the Office

It was a completely unproductive day at work today. And none of us cared. Our writing team hopped on a bus and headed to Milwaukee this morning to see one of our PR agencies. From there, they hopped on our bus and we all went to what I still call "Miller Park" for the 1:10 p.m. game vs the Texas Rangers.

As a Twins fan, I don't know a lot of Brewers players. To be honest, I only knew Yelich going into today. But still, nothing beats a live baseball game, no matter who is playing. 

My day was made immediately when I spotted the parents of one of my college friends. I got to spend some quality time with her dad last summer when he was at the U.S. Senior Open. So he recognized me. All because I took the long way to our section. Providence! 😊

We had great seats just 13 rows up. But anyone who goes to day games there knows there's a good chance we'll suffer if it's sunny and hot. No shade!

And yep, it was warm! You know me, I love the heat, but this was a little bit stifling. I lasted 3 innings and had to just chill in the concourse by a huge ceiling fan for an inning. Needless to say, expensive water was my friend today.

It was funny that we all cheered when this teeny tiny cloud gave us 15 seconds of relief from the sun! 

Group photos about the time we all started melting! 

See, we're still smiling anyway! Plus there was lots to smile about.

We had good seats. I could see Yellie in person. We witnessed a grand slam! And an in-the-park homerun.

Plus those adorable sausage races!

And with a 5-5 tie after 9 innings, extra innings! Rally Time!!

Thankfully, the Brewers had a walk-off single in the 10th inning. And thankfully, bigger sporadic clouds floated by to help us all cool off and enjoy the game.

Not a bad day at the "office" at all!

Proof I didn't completely melt! And of course, I had fun. And it wasn't hard to cheer for the Brewers since they're in the National League and those darn Rangers are in the American League with my Twins. 

By the time we dropped off our PR friends at their office, we got stuck in Milwaukee rush hour traffic and weren't really "out of town" until after 5 p.m. So it was really a long day by the time we got back to Stevens Point.

But when you're sitting in an "office" with a retractable roof, who cares? We'll bounce back. 

Tomorrow.

Back to Golf League Reality

When you have golf league the day after a United Way fundraiser, you realize a few things. Like this par 5 is a heckuva lot easier when you can "donate" to a pro to hit this par 5 drive right on the green. In other words, no albatross dance here for us today!

Still, we had a great time. And due to nearly 90-degree temps, we played our foursome league night as a scramble. We ended up one under par. 

And frankly, were just glad that there was a breeze to accompany our hot August night.

Got home in time to catch some of my Twins game via the Brewers. Great to see my team on TV for a change, but the way the game is going... not so great. 

Heck, I'm back indoors and in the A/C. I'll just count that as a win!

Score: Low, Fun: High

We don't often take bus trips to Brewers games. But when we do, they better be playing one of our teams. And we better be going with good people. 

Today was both. The Brew Crew hosted hubby's Cincinnati Reds for a 1:10 p.m. start. That meant the nice coach bus was leaving Assumption at 7:20 a.m. – totally worth it to not have to drive! If you haven't been to what we all still call "Miller Park," it's a pretty nice place to see a game. For any fan and any weather.

Our group of more than 60 Assumption and Rudolph friends consisted of approximately 56 Brewers fans, 1 Reds fan, and 3 neutral Twins fans.

I even wore black to prove that point. Just here for fun and good baseball.  

We could see pretty decently down the first base line. And we were thankfully in the shade all day. Even though it was only 76 degrees, I'm sure we would've melted in the sun! 

Although there were plenty of hits, a lot on both sides were left on base. Brewers ended up squeaking by with a 1-0 win.

Poor Jim. But at he pointed out, the Reds are still in first place over the Brewers in their division.

Meanwhile, my Twins got slaughtered by the Orioles today so we slipped a half game behind first in the American Central. Good thing it's early July. Lots of baseball left.

And hopefully lots more fun with friends this summer! Hope you had a great weekend.

Talk Less, Listen More

I'm cheating tonight. Since I finally get to see MY Twins play on TV (vs the Brewers, of course), I'll give you the column that I just whipped together for my church newsletter. 

Talk Less, Listen More.

I recently had the privilege of seeing the Hamilton musical in person for the second time. I stress “in person” since I purposely subscribed to the Disney+ streaming network quite some time ago to watch it whenever I want to be in the room where it happened. (If you know, you know.)

There is so much I love about the production, but I really admire the incredible talent behind each lyric. Each turn of phrase. Whenever Aaron Burr reminds Alexander Hamilton to “talk less, smile more,” I think, “I need to remember to talk less and listen more, too!” 

It’s not exactly second nature to my outgoing personality. And frankly, we’re all victims these days of having our heads filled with “noise.” The news. Gossip. Social media. You name it. 

How do we cut through the noise and let God’s voice in?

Believe me, it takes a concerted effort. You have to remove yourself from the distractions. Whether that is kids, work, screen time, or other stressors, you know what occupies your mind the most. 

Just step away. Whenever it’s convenient (and safe, of course) to do so – and appreciate a moment of silence and a moment to listen for God’s voice.

Maybe take advantage of the early morning summer light to read a daily devotion on your front porch. Maybe at a stoplight say, “God, please silence my mind so I can hear You.” Maybe at church say, “Let’s just listen to Pastor Cheryl’s amazing sermon and not worry about how much we have to get done today at home.” Maybe when a friend needs help, you listen rather than plan your response.

As Job 33:14 reminds us: Although God speaks again and again, no one pays attention to what he says.

Let’s all make a collaborative effort to talk less and pay attention more!

Full Viewing Schedule

My viewing schedule is packed tonight. First, my friend Cindy and I went to the movie Where the Crawdads Sing. We read it for our book club 3 years ago and, as a group, gave it a 4.88 out of 5 rating. So we were excited to see the movie adaptation. Two thumbs up from us!

Got home in time to actually see my Twins on TV. That only happens when they play the Brewers so I better watch. They're tied up 6-6 in the middle of the 7th. So who knows if I'll be in the mood to blog when it's over.

Let's go, Twins! Hit the ball as far out as the crawdads sing! How's that for tying it all together?

Gotta go. Game's back on! 

Rain Delay in Your Favor

I feel like I'm playing Mother Nature Monopoly and I just drew the Community Chest card for: Rain delay in your favor. Collect 3 hours.

A majority of people not happy that the rain – accompanied by lightning (that's the clincher) – played havoc on Friday night sports. I honestly wanted to go to Assumption's home opening football game tonight. But then I got this gift of a free evening (thanks, lightning) and I got some things done.

Finished my crochet project of the week. Got my senior portrait session from last night sorted. Designed a t-shirt for an upcoming 5K. And popped some popcorn.

Well, of course! My Twins are hosting the Brewers so it's actually on TV here! 

So yep. Full disclosure: Some of the evening was productive. Some was just enjoyable. So far. Better get back to it.

Hope you made the most of your Friday night plans!

Four, Three, Two, One...

The astrology version of numbers people sure like special dates that appear to mean something. Today's date 4-3-21 looks like a countdown.

In my mind, I hear "4... 3... 2.. 1... Earth below us. Drifting, falling. Floating weightless. Calling, calling home..."

If you know '80s music at all, you'll recognize Major Tom. Here's my 45 of it to refresh your memory. Kids, we used to play smaller records on the phonograph at 45 RPMs so we called them "45s." There's your history lesson for the day.

Meanwhile in Vegas, I saw news reports that it was a popular – and potentially lucky – day today to get married. And meanwhile back in Wisconsin, it was a popular day to do yard work! 

Yup. That's real. A super springy day where we had windows open to clean inside, then commence to working or relaxing outside.

I decided to work on this little area of the backyard. Not so little, really. Every time I tried to rake it or trim things off last summer, I was met with either ground bees and wasps or snakes. So, no. Nothing got today.

Today I crossed my fingers that neither species was hibernating and now waking in that landscaping area. I survived unscathed. Well, except for feeling it in my arm and back muscles. I figured I better just do this area and leave the rest to another day or weekend. 

So maybe it IS a lucky day. No bees. No snakes. And tonight, no loss in Milwaukee for my Twins. Good to even that series up. Now will see what Easter brings... 

Besides peanut butter eggs, that is. Happy Easter! If you get to enjoy some family time, then tomorrow's lucky, too, no matter what the date!

Playing the Fool

It's a cruel trick to have the opening day of the baseball season on April Fools' Day. I mean look at last year. We got fooled into thinking we had a full season ahead. Then bam. Stupid pandemic and we were celebrating opening day in late July.

Today I was excited as the pre-pandemic photo above because it seemed "pretty sure" we'd be starting today. And doubly excited because my Twins were going to be on TV here since their first series is against the Brewers. Never mind that it was in the middle of the work day.

So I took a late lunch to watch the first inning on TV, then listened to most of the rest of the game on Sirius radio. Most is the key word here.

The Twins had a healthy lead after the 8th inning so I took a walk to go deliver some senior photos. I was listening to an audio book, oblivious in my Twins sweatshirt. Got home and hubby asked if I was OK. Then said the Brewers came back and won. 

I'm like, no, this is an April Fool's joke. I mean you know my husband! But nope. Jokes on me. Twins lost 6-5.

The bright spot is that IT'S BASEBALL SEASON! And we'll have a hundred more games than last year to win – or make fools of ourselves. 

Play ball!

#twinsterritory #wintwins

Extra Extra Innings

It's crazy to think that a year ago today I was having a ball (literally) with my team at work during our annual "bonus day." The theme was spring training and we really did have a ball. Walked out of there to get home and pack for Bellingham, and never went back.

Craziness!

As usual, a year can fly by so quickly – even during the boring parts where you got sick of seeing "stuff" and started decluttering like a mad woman. Or you were so bored you actually watched an episode or two (not counting) of Tiger King. Eek. What a year!

So to come full circle, this week is our celebration of successes again at work. This year, it's a different theme but I've had baseball on my brain all day. And not just because the real spring training is happening. But because I heard from one of my all-time faves. 

I'll give you a clue...

Not kidding, people! I did hear from Paul Molitor this morning! He had a special message for our writing team. Yes, you can pay people to say things. And yes, our director did. And yes, I'm thrilled about it.

So on an app called Cameo you can pay people to deliver your message to someone.  They talk and the person getting the video can share it with friends or family or co-workers and brighten their day. In this case, Paul congratulated us on a successful year of hard work. He said he understands there's a mix of Brewers and Twins (just me) fans on our team and hoped we all got along because both places hold a special place in heart.

So yeah, I'm pretty stinkin' special.

I mean, along with my teammates. I mean these no I in team unless I'm saying I love Paul Molitor! Play ball!

Victory Dance

 

There's par dances and home run dances and grand slam dances and tonight... a VICTORY DANCE! 

Even though it's a very brief baseball season, I'm glad the Twins got a play the Brewers a few times so I could see them on TV. After last night's mishap (can we call a 6-run loss a mishap?), my boys in red (this time) dominated and we beat the Brew Crew quite handily, 7-1.

I actually missed the first half of the game because they started early at 6:10 p.m. and I had book club at the park at 6 p.m. Followed by a quick trip to Walmart. As soon as I got home and turned the TV on, the Brewers scored. Thankfully that was the end of that so I didn't feel like I was jinxing them!

Hubby sat out in the back yard by the fire, listening to his Reds on the radio.

Hopefully this serves as a VICTORY FIRE for both our teams! Hey, you gotta celebrate the small stuff, right?

Throwing the Change-Up

 

Why do baseball teams change up their uniform style each game? Last night the Brewers had some dark blue with yellow electric company type font – and lost. My twins were wearing white or light gray – and won in extra extra innings.

Tonight, my Twins are in baby blue and playing like Little Leaguers. Down 7 runs! I'll concede to the Crew. And this way, I can go to bed and not have to stay up for a walk-off win at 11:42 p.m. Thank you.

And seriously guys, you could play in your underwear and we'd still watch. It's a very short season and we treasure any chance we can get to watch!

Tomorrow's another day, Twins! #wintwins #twinsterritory

Living Room With A View

 

Not that I wanted to rush along my church council meeting (via Zoom) tonight. But I had places to go and things to see.

The place was my recliner and the things were my Twins! On TV again! Love this view of Target Field.

I know the season is short this year, but I'm loving that we're playing the Brewers plenty so I can see my boys on TV more often. Not loving that Cruz just blew a grand slam opportunity – especially since my neighbor told me to come up with a Grand Slam Dance – but am liking that we lead 1-0 in the 6th.

So I guess you know the game's not over. Mr. Recliner is calling. And I hope I can SEE a victory tonight!

#twinsterritory #wintwins

Busy Like, You Know

 

Apparently, bees are busy folks. So if I'm comparing myself to a bee, it sure ain't because I'm sweet as honey. Though I have my moments.

Been busy week. Full work days, followed by senior photo shoots, followed by watching my Twins on TV. Smiling two out of three nights isn't bad. Especially tonight when my Twins were swarming around the bases like a hornet's nest and scoring runs! Nice!

I do have hundreds more photos to sort through before I sleep, so I better return to the hive!

Minnesota Welcomes Me

Worked this morning then headed to Minneapolis for a work conference.  And this is how Minnesota welcomed me. Dark clouds then driving rains, literally when I crossed the border.

Throw in some traffic jams and it was not my version of "Minnesota nice." Still, I arrived OK this evening, had an excellent Juicy Lucifer Burger at Hell's Kitchen downtown, and now...

Am enjoying some time in Twins Territory.  Figures I'm in Minnesota and they're playing in Milwaukee so I could've watched them on TV at home! Hopefully I can still bring good luck as long as I'm here.

Plus, I have a view of the Vikings stadium from my hotel room, so I'm finally feeling that Minnesota Nice vibe.

A Twinkie win tonight would be especially NICE. Just saying.