Snowy Advent Prep

After all those over-the-top forecasts on Saturday, we ended up with about 5 inches of snow in the Rapids area. A nice backdrop to the Christmas decorations I already have in place as Advent begins.

Since hubby was up at the crack of dawn removing snow here and at his dad's, I had no issues getting to church this morning.

Of course, I had to take a few record-keeping photos before I left.

Our wreath is in a new locale this year. When we got it delivered, we realized we didn't want to pound a nail hole in our brand-new siding. Duh! Looks quite festive on the deck.

As the sun was rising, I tried to catch in our solar lighthouse. My mind saw it better than it turned out, but oh well.

After church, it was a quick day with the kiddos who understandably wanted to get on the road so they could get back to Dubuque in daylight. Especially since they got twice as much snow as we did.

Then it was just trying to relax and watch football. The Vikings are sucking and my fantasy football team is logging its first loss. So yes, before 6 p.m. I am throwing in the surrender towel and going in the basement to watch a Hallmark Christmas movie or two.

This is how I do my snowy Advent prep. May we all have a blessed season!

Tuesday Randomness

Tuesday mornings are hard after being home and away from the office Friday through Monday. Add in cold air temps and darkness – and I wonder why I live here and why I can't win a lottery that equals early retirement. Ugh.

Of course, seeing that my Swedish Chef Mafia fantasy football team won again to remain the only undefeated status in our two Marketing Department leagues gives me reason to smile. I've got injuries and a very shallowly qualified bench so this status could change any week. Still it's kind of a fun as a "girl" to be kicking ass!

This Tuesday in particular also meant it was Veterans Day, so thank you to all of you who have served! Something I don't take for granted because I know I am too selfish to ever consider putting my life on the line for anything other than my hubby, kids and family. God bless you all!

This Tuesday in particular was also our monthly Girls' Night Out. We had 8 of us tonight at Ida's. So nice to catch up. And no, we're not girls anymore. Our conversations are around health issues and grand-babies and challenging Millennials at work (ha). As always, though, good food and great company!

I'm excited that this Tuesday also calls for a great chance to see the Northern Lights! 

Unfortunately, we have a cloud cover here in Wood County, Wisconsin. As of 8 p.m. failed photo shoot. I'll try again later. Or tomorrow night. 

Happy Tuesday to you all – and let's hit Hump Day with some attitude (and energy, please!).

One of These Seasons Doesn't Belong

Mr. Deck Chair and I are headed to couples' therapy after what he had to endure during the night while I was sleeping. I mean I honestly wouldn't have known the white stuff was a possibility until I had Up North sisters text me asking if it was snowing here yet. I guess it was on some Wisconsin or Minnesota weather dude's radar. Just not mine.

But sure enough there was a late-night deck shot and one this morning when the sun wasn't even up. Both shots so ugly if you ask me. It it is time one of these seasons stepped aside for a minute (or month!).

Naturally, I was like, maybe I could take some picture so this juxtaposition (oh my high school English teacher would be proud of that!)

So the park above and my church yard here were great photo ops to show that again, one of these seasons doesn't belong.

I honestly didn't pay much attention to the white stuff since I had church then BINGO. But apparently even a high of 30 degrees (below freezing in my mind) means the snow can melt if the sun is out. Either way, it's fine with me since the roads were clear all day.

I just hoped the "Nordic Fever" would blanket our Vikings with good vibes today. Ugh. I don't have a defensive reason for our loss since I was getting scoring updates at BINGO. 

But dang, I wish my fave NFL team could align with my currently undefeated fantasy team! Who knows? When I said one of these seasons doesn't belong, maybe football and BINGO don't mix. Then again... that means one of us deserves a big WIN!!

Very soon, please.

Close Doesn't Count

The good news is that both hubby and I made it to church and sung in our choirs and coughing wasn't an issue! About time.

The bad news is that some things didn't go quite as we wanted after that.

I've been batting a thousand at BINGO this fall. Two wins in two sessions. But today this was the closest I got with one to go during Ring Around The Free Space.

There goes my streak! The only saving grace (besides having fun with my BINGO babes) is that no one won the Progressive Jackpot in the last coverall game so that'll be up to close to $4,000 in November! I'll just keep crossing my fingers!

The other negative, of course, is that while I was betting the odds, my Vikings were just odd. Ugh. I hate losing by one score! But since I didn't watch it personally, maybe the dirty Eagle were just stinkin' good. I have no excuse.

Unrelated... My undefeated Swedish Chef Mafia fantasy football team is sitting at a 99% chance to win. So there's that.

The WIN though is that I took a few pictures of fall colors yesterday. Because today we had so much wind the trees are quickly turning naked!!

And Jim was on the mission to bag them up! We may need one more round in about a week, but that's fine. This is the only case today where "close to being done" actually counts.

Do What You Love

School has started for people like Assumption students who don't have to wait until the after-Labor Day start date like public schools. This also means fall sports immediately kicked into gear this week.

Since I know I'll be out of town all next week, I figured I better hit one fall sport at a time – beginning with Royals tennis.

First of all, I didn't realize it was going to be so warm this afternoon. So I sweated through a good hour-plus to take pictures of our talented girls.

Knowing I had to get home for another priority – my fantasy football draft through work. For the record, I have had the traveling trophy at my desk. But also full disclosure, it's been a hot minute. I want it back!

Tonight's draft when freakishly fast as I assume we all had the "next best player" strategy.

But I think the Swedish Chef Mafia did OK. Once I examine the roster I actually ended up with in such a fast-paced draft, I'll let you know.

Frankly, the best part was that my boy called in the middle of it just to check in and see how I'm doing. Since he had to do his fantasy draft in the middle of last weekend's wedding, he understood why I couldn't give him 100% attention.

Hopefully the stupidity of all this random actions makes it worth it in the end! 

PAR-allel Seasons

I'm starting to experience when two seasons collide. Tonight was our penultimate night of Ladies Golf League – and we were definitely borrowing daylight – and the kickoff of the NFL season and, thus, our fantasy football season.

As luck would have it, my partner Marigene and I had the latest tee time tonight for league – 5:20 p.m. Based on our league's track record of slow play this season, we wondered if we'd finish before dark.

Especially when this was the typical scene on many tee boxes.

After the 7th hole, Mr. Fox was enjoying the sunset views but was hoping we'd have light to finish. We did.

Got done at 7:40 p.m. when our official Wisconsin Rapids sunset was 7:27 p.m. No worries. We all found our balls – even in the rough!

When I got home, I was reminded that it was the first night of NFL football. I thankfully remembered to set my fantasy lineup earlier today. But my famous QB – Taylor Swift's boyfriend's teammate – isn't doing so hot, I got concerned.

Do I finish my golf season strong or start my fantasy football season strong?

Based on my skill set, I'd say just sit back and watch. Good luck out there!

Mafia Redemption

Oh yes. The Swedish Chef Mafia is back! After a winning our fantasy football league 3 years ago then finishing 2nd last year, it's time.

Naturally, I didn't spend a single minute preparing for tonight's draft. Sadly, we do it all online so we can only interact via messaging trash talk. But after having to auto draft last year since I was on a plane, this should have been a better situation.

Only now I can only blame me, not the computer, for my choices. Ugh.

Anyway, it's a work league with no money involved – just a glamorous trophy and bragging rights for a year. But I do want that trophy back, so badly. A side note: We have 16 teams I think so it's the "top" 256 players!

I did get Patrick Maholmes for my QB, so we'll see what how the other 15 picks pan out!

Go, Swedish Chef Mafia! Show no mercy just because they're your co-workers!

Well That Stinks

Sometimes Mondays just stink for being Mondays. But today there are added reasons...

Take my new co-worker, for example. I don't why there has been an influx of stink bugs around the house this winter, but I'm so over it!

Which brings me to another thing that stinks ... winter actually IS coming after all. We'll be in a winter storm warning from tonight until Wednesday morning. Our area is projected to get 5-8 inches of snow with high winds. Thus, school is already called off for tomorrow.

What doesn't stink is me getting to sleep in a bit and work from home tomorrow! Although I suppose more stink bugs will heading indoors for cover. Eww.

Football also stinks. Not talking about the Vikings. There were no surprises there. But may amazing 12-2 fantasy team bit the dust in the championship game. By almost 50 points. Grrrrr. Too many injuries and people with limited playing time. Dang. I really wanted our traveling trophy! 

The one thing that definitely didn't stink was our Lady Royals basketball team. The undefeated ladies had a tough matchup against Neillsville tonight, who was also undefeated in their conference. Assumption held on for the 52-45 win!

So yeah, even stinky days can end on a positive (clean smelling) note! Hope your week is fragrance-free!

In the Playoffs!

My real football team may stink, but my fantasy team kicked butt in round 1 of the playoffs and is headed for the championship. Let's go Swedish Chef Mafia!

Still have 2 more weeks of competition – and my players have been dropping left and right. Need a good core group to stay healthy and stick it out. I'll keep you posted.

Reveling in victory was pretty much the highlight of the day. It was a super lazy day after Christmas. Carter actually got up early to go to breakfast with some of our old friends who've known him since birth basically. But Jim and I slept in!

Got in a few Hallmark movies and actually did tackle my "Oh My God" Room, also known as my office and my Scrap Cave. I'm not done, but I gotta spread out the fun since I'm off all week! Jim had the most fun. He went golfing! Not kidding. Things to enjoy about a mild, brown Christmas!

Tonight the boy is visiting some buddies up in Stevens Point and I am chewing gum really hard so I quit eating all the treats around the house! Wish me luck.

Hope you can enjoy some relaxing time off – or at least some stressless hours – this week!

MNF

Oh I know our Packers friends are thinking MNF – Monday Night Football! But we're just thinking Monday Normal Festivities – which pretty much includes work and some grocery shopping!

Today was an exciting day, though, as we received a top secret delivery for our daughter-in-law and those someday hopefully will be daughter-in-laws.

Oh. Absolutely no pictures or hints right now.

Beyond that, it was normal work day and unpacking some of our weekend treasures.

I think my U.S. Senior Open fox from my twin looks perfect by our "almost ready to reveal" back splash!

But for the rest of the evening, we're consuming some leftovers (chips and cheese dip) while we see how our last fantasy football players perform! 

Go team! Go Monday!

Your Sports Updates

Oh gosh, I've been so busy with weddings and kitchen cabinets that I've neglected to celebrate my sports accomplishments with you!

I was actually in Minnesota Friday night when the Twins officially clinched the AL Central Division. That was sweet! Side note: I love that our new in-laws are Twins fans!

And not to be overlooked... my Swedish Chef Mafia fantasy football team is 3-0 and I've been the high scorer every week!

Now, why can't my REAL football team do that? We were actually IN Minnesota to give our good vibes on Sunday. But no good vibes were to be had. I mean, it was cool to celebrate with fellow Vikings fans when we did good things. But we were all disappointed once again. Gonna have to see what happens with that.

On the local front, our Royals football team got a homecoming victory Saturday while we were out of town – after 3 OTs, no less! I'm going to have to get busy and catch up on our fall sports now that the big stuff is out of the way. That said, I could've gone to volleyball tonight but I had to say goodbye to the kiddos, who are starting their Midwest family tour, and Sylvester and I have plans.

Gotta watch The Voice. Not quite the same type of competition, but we enjoy it!

Can't Win Everything

I thought after yesterday's luck with the Vikings' win, I'd get lucky everywhere. Not so. In essence, I was one corner short of a 4-corner BINGO. All day.

Since it was only 15 degrees out, my friend Cindy and I opted for BINGO at Assumption instead of snowshoeing. Just 5 more degrees, and I think we would've gone for it. Instead, we made our $20 investment last hours longer than it would have at some silly old casino.

Did we win? No. Were we close? Oh yeah. Lots of times. But close doe$n't count, ya know.

In the end, she should've gotten coverall BING but got distracted for a minute and missed a number.

Meanwhile I was 2 dobber spots away. But I bet so was everyone else! Still, it was a fun afternoon inside!

Hubby can't quite leave the house yet other than PT, so he stayed home and watched football games I no longer care about since my pathetic fantasy football team did not make the playoffs. His didn't either. Both Jim and I will not be keeping custody of our traveling trophies or champion titles from last year. Don't know where our minds have been!

So I guess we just take the wins where we get 'em. And apparently, that's NOT during Sunday BINGO! 

Let's try to have a good week anyway.

A Quart Low

My Swedish Chef Mafia is losing their power. For the third week in a row, we've lost by less than 2 points. And this week – just around a quarter of a point. A quart low. Ugh!

Or as we Swedes say: UFF DA!!

I'm not giving up yet, but it would take a miracle. Not from my team necessarily, but from me to put the right guys in my lineup. Bench one and they score big. Start one of the "good" ones and they tank. They're about as consistent as my golf game. 

Good thing there's not money on the line. Just a coveted traveling trophy that my team managers Ole and Sven are guarding at my desk.

They look like kind of sketchy so maybe they're the ones messing with my lineup. It couldn't be me, right?

Time to focus, boys. Let's SKOL!

Hail to the Chef

Well the Minnesota Vikings might not have a GM or coach as of today, but thank god the Swedish Chef Mafia do. That's right, you're not only looking at the GM and coach of this stellar fantasy football team, but the new Superbowl Champion!

Boom! I knew I had to have a bit of good news eventually in 2022. And here it is on Day 10. Finally.

Actually, after losing in the championship game last season, I didn't have high hopes of returning. But this time, through weird flukes of backup players picked up after injuries, I somehow kept plowing through. I even had a 7-game winning streak at one point.

So with an 11-3 record and playoff victories, I will claim the coveted traveling trophy. Just as soon as I get back to the office. Which may be awhile yet. Still, I look forward to taking it from the guy who beat me last year and who I beat in round one of the playoffs this year. 

Not that I have a competitive bone in my body.

So there's my good news for the day. Hopefully not for the whole week. Still waiting for God to answer prayers for the two loved ones in serious conditions. Good things come to those who wait.

She says as she hoists the invisible trophy over her head!

#SwedishChefMafiaRules

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!

A Surprise Sleeper

I thought for a minute when Sylvester stole my chair today that she was warning me not to watch the game or it would put her to sleep. While you might think of Sylvester as a sleeper, it means something else in football.

Sleeper is a term used mostly during the draft to refer to NFL players that a fantasy manager believes is set to have a breakout season. The word "sleeper" comes from the idea that most fantasy football guys (or gals) will "sleep" on this player or overlook their potential.

Guess I overlooked my Vikings as a sleeper today. Not bragging. I mean obviously with the win over the Packers, we'd still need to win 3 more in a row just to get to .500.

But I feel like the Great Pumpkin finally came and it was worth the wait. Oh please, let me have this moment.

Besides having a loser team, I am coping with the first day of non-Daylight Saving Time. You know, dark at 5:01 p.m. and all that. Uff da. Keep thinking it's almost bed time. Will I make it to 8 p.m. or will I be the next sleeper?

Maybe I should ask the Great Pumpkin!

#SKOL

As Summer Fades

 

Signs it's the last day of summer. Despite a shortened season, the baseball flags are almost faded beyond recognition. (That deserves a negative review on Amazon.) 

And hanging flower baskets are on their very, very last leg. But look: Still some flowers on there! This woman with two black thumbs actually kept flowers alive from pre-Mother's Day to post-Labor Day! Unreal. Only in a pandemic would this happen. Seriously, if I wasn't working at home and watering them at lunchtime when needed, they wouldn't have made it to July 4th. (As per usual.)

So I'll celebrate that. And basically cry that the official summer went way to fast and was way short on summer fun like parties and bonfires and other social non-distance events that have shaped my previous 50 summers.

But we're here. And healthy. Knock on wood.

And even though the flag is faded, my Twins are in the playoffs! YES!!!! Also yes, I know both my NFL and fantasy football teams are 0-2 to start. But let me have this baseball moment. I'll pay attention to those other losers sometime in October. Let's keep this part of summer going, boys!

And maybe I'll wait one more week to throw out those flowers. If they can survive coronavirus and last weekend's frost, they deserve another day in the sun. 

Mr. Deck Chair supports this message.

Busy as a Bee (or Me)

It was apparently a busy days for bees today. Like they all had to jump on sunflowers for their last meal!

I was busy, too. How unusual, I know. In fact wasn't home long enough to watch any TV. Yes, I know that both my fantasy football team and my nightmare football team both lost. The important thing is the Twins swept Cleveland! We need to make breathing room in the AL Central!

And while I was out, I spent a few hours with our Italian exchange student taking her senior photos. That was fun. And she's such a sweetie! I did save a picture to message to her parents (7 hours ahead) and get it to them before they went to bed (their time).

Her parents were appreciative! And Anna is such a sweetie.

I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening road-tripping to a resort, where I'll be shooting a wedding next Saturday. Glad I checked it out and got some additional photo ideas.

So yes, productive, successful day for me. Fun day for hubby as well, who was golfing by Waushara. Neither one of us wasted any time watching TV. I guess we're winners in that category anyway. 

I better sign off now. I have a busy week ahead. Not going to compete with those hungry bees. Just do what suits MY tastes.

Fantasy Food-Ball

While I am highly engrossed in the American Central Division battle right now – with my Twins sandwiched in 2nd place – I guess it's football season, too! 

So with the Thursday night kickoff comes the kickoff to my fantasy football season, too. Notice I did not report how the draft went for the Swedish Chef Mafia? Because, well, my team is meh. I do have the Texans' QB going to night and 2 other players I couldn't name off the top of my head, but I'd still rather be watching baseball.

If they aired it here. With MY team on, anyway.

So to embrace the 40-degree temps and frost watch, I made some fall comfort food for supper...

My version of chili and some homemade cheesy garlic bread, using fresh-baked bread from the neighbor! Yes, it was as tasty as it looks! And there are leftovers to keep the fall temperatures company.

In fact, based on my team's poor performance in the first half tonight, I better stock up on all kinds of comfort food this fall! Yikes.

Play ball!

The Heat is On

Our night of "good sleeping weather" turned into a morning endurance competition of "how long can we hold out before turning on the heat?" We lasted until just shy of noon.

The temps seriously plunged everywhere. At least we didn't have snow accompanying our drop. Just your usual back-to-school, day after Labor Day reminder from Mother Nature: "When I say Labor Day is the end of summer, I mean it!"

So the house is a warm 69 degrees and it's time for homework.

Nope, not going back to school. Just realized that if our fantasy football draft is in an hour, I should probably do a little homework. Thank you, Internet. I obviously am not that concerned since 10 minutes ago, hubby says, "You have a draft tonight and you're sitting here knitting?!"

OK, one, it's crocheting, not knitting. And two, yup, I have a draft at 8 p.m. and I'm not prepared. For the record, it's the work "fun league" so I'm not going to be out any money if I do poorly. And I'm not going to have a windfall if my team does great. Still, I guess I have a little time to Google up something special so the Swedish Chef Mafia can win a game or two this year!

Vare der ferk do I start? Vish me luck!