I Could've Made That

I am heading to Minnesota tomorrow afternoon and am excited to see my great-niece's dance recital on Sunday. All I was looking for after work was some card that said something like "Good job!" or "You're a rockstar!". But no, Walmart has apparently given up on keeping 70% of their cards in stock. So onto Walgreens I went. 

Nothing 100% applied. But I found something I could make up words with that a 10-year-old would understand.

Thank goodness hubby is out of town with some high school buddies for dinner or he'd say, "Well, you can make a card, can't you?"

Yes, I have the rubber stamps with the unfortunately dried-out ink pads and the actual blank paper cards and envelopes. Someday (in my free time) I may return to that hobby.

In the meantime, thank God and Amazon that there are "dance girl" gifts I can give her and a matching gift bag!

A few dance t-shirts will fit into this bag nicely. SHHH. Don't tell her!

I'm just excited to finally see my Kenlee dance. She has sort of invited me several times! 

Now I just have to figure out what to pack for 88 degrees vs A/C for the next three days. I am so up for the challenge!

Shop Local Saturday

There wasn't any random holiday today like "Shop local!" but that was how the day went. And frankly, I loved the opportunity to support these entrepreneurs. 

First, after assessing my gift certificates for Rustic Redefined, (on 8th St. in Wis. Rapids!) I needed to start my day with clothes shopping. Every woman's dream, right? 

Side note: I'm not really a fan of shopping ... but with $250+ in gift cards from hubby and friends, I walked into the place like Vivian from Pretty Woman with "I have money to spend!" How fun is it to not even look at the price tag? A very foreign concept for us middle class folks. 

But so enjoyable! Also.. GO THERE! They have such stylish and unique stuff.

I came away with a dress, two tops, a matching necklace, and cool summer handbag. And... still one more $100 gift card to spend. 

Unrelated: My fashion show at home made me realize my advanced lady choices are "aged" because hubby showed no enthusiasm.

Who cares? I like what I got!!

After I got home, my friend and neighbor Cindy across the street and I headed down to Adams for Independent Book Store day.

If you are a bookworm of any type, visit Books on Main!

I was excited to get the last copy (in the store) of my book choice for Book Club in June. And  2 "unplanned" bonus books. Whoops. Can you stop us or only hope to contain us??

The one take away today between some very different types of retail / transactional experiences is that we should all think shop local first. And recognize not only the value of your transaction but your ability to support a personal passion for succcess!

#BuyLocal

Weekend Yarns

 

Long before I became acquainted with yarn I though a yarn was a story or a tale, especially one that is incredible and probably made up.

But then a couple of years ago my friend Julie introduced me to crocheting and what the magic of yarn can do.

For awhile after that I was obsessed with making scarves of all kinds. But since then... baby blankets.

So we have 2 sets of young adults in our life who are expecting babies next month. Contrary to popular pre-parenting practices, neither is finding out the sex of their child.

With my self-imposed deadline looming, I commenced to hooking today. With a 50-50 chance I said, let me start with girly colors. Well that didn't last long because my stupid skein was somehow messed up and in knots. So, not that it will effect the outcome, I switched to some typically boyish blues. 

Got a good start... but do you know baseball is on TV now (yay, Twins) in addition to March Madness hoops? Yup. This might take me a day or two. Good thing it was cold and windy with no forecast of me doing anything outside today!

A Madness Most Discreet

Now that I've finished reading the Shakespeare-inspired fictional book and see the Oscar-nominated movie Hamnet, I feel I can throw Shakespeare words and phrases at will. "A madness most discreet" is from Romeo and Juliet. But I'm sure thou already knewest that!

So this was my moment of madness today. Bear with me. I'm over 50. We have earned the rights to daily rants of "madness." So I want to finish up this bridal shower gift and my silver wrapping paper at home falls short by a half inch. Any way I situate the box. 

So I go to Walmart since I needed ingredients for two upcoming trifles anyway to get either white or silver wrapping paper. Looking at this photo would you not see silver wrapping paper and two matching silver bows?

Turns out. No. It was just clear cellophane around a silver-colored rather than cardboard-colored tube. Grrr.

I'd already ripped the label off so that's how they getcha. And back to Walmart I went. 

Guess what? I just settled on red. A color I can count on seeing correctly. One that won't cause me madness. And matches the new family name I Cricuted onto the tub. Maybe that's how it was supposed to play out all along!

As for seeing red, though... Ugh. My bracket! We'll skip over that convo today. Definitely March madness.

But as for another episode of March gladness...

We had the most pleasant evening at the Sky Club supper club with our friends Jeff and Cathy. Jeff was Jim's college roommate and Cathy was Jim's high school classmate. You see how this story played out! They just moved to the Twin Cities so were back in Wisconsin and it worked out to connect. Just a great visit as always.

Make the time to make the connections so you don't regret it later!

Baby Border Hopping

With a wake-up temp below zero, I hit the road at 7:30 a.m. with one destination: SOUTH.

So maybe South is a stretch but I did end up in Iowa! Remember me crocheting that "Love's Baby Soft" blanket? Well today was the day to gift that to mother-to-be Hannah down in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. Never heard of it? Me neither. Thank the lord for GPS that last half hour. Turns out we were "this close" to the Iowa border!

Spoiler alert for those who didn't have the insider intel: They're having a girl!

Random fact: Carter has lived with all three of these women – including the mom-to-be. To clarify: He and 2 other guys were roommates with Hannah (center), who is BFFs with his girlfriend Mamie, who has a friend Halayna (right) who is marrying Mamie's brother in May. Not confusing at all.

In a nutshell, they've all felt like extended family to Jim and me for years!

So it was nice to drive 3 hours to celebrate Hannah and Hunter's upcoming daughter. She loved the blanket, by the way.

 Then, after the shower, head down to Dubuque for a coffee date with Mamie, Halayna, and MY BOY!

We had coffee at Charlotte's where we had it maybe 5 years ago. Still tasty! But it was good to catch up with Carter and deliver a couple dozen cookies!

How do I get shorter every picture with him?

Anyway, I managed to get home safely before it was completely dark (encouraging) and in time to catch the "delayed" recap of Olympics coverage today. Worth it. 100%.

Doing My Things

Starting your Saturday with Book Club at the coffee shop sets the tone for a really nice day! Glad to see 3 of my girlfriends at least as we discussed a tough book – The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb. A really tough story but a good read. 

Ran some errands and when I got home I started organizing my scrapbooking stuff for camp – a whole 5 weeks in advance. Who am I?!

Then it was time to watch football playoffs. The Bills-Bronco was very exciting. Dang Broncos pulled it off in OT. But my win was almost finishing the rest of the blanket I'm making for a wedding shower. Based on how boring the Seattle-49ers game is so far, I might just finish by halftime.

Feels good to do MY things. And make progress!

Hope you had a good day, too. Bundle up tomorrow!

Solstice Shopping and Singing

 

Happy Winter Solstice! Although officially today, I'd almost argue that yesterday and today seemed equally short when it comes to the "to do" and "tis done" lists.

Yesterday was a shopping whirlwhind. I went to the farmer's market/winter's market in Stevens Point in the morning because a new coworker was exhibiting his woodworking there – including something on my final list. 

Then I heard from the woman who successfully won a trifle of mine in a silent auction earlier this year. She'd like that plus an extra one she'll pay for. This coming weekend. Since my 2nd trifle bowl is MIA, I went to Goodwill in Point/Plover, Walmart, Kohl's and Target to see if I could find one. No luck.

Got home in early afternoon and showered (finally, ha) and got myself ready for an afternoon and evening of music.

First stop was the 4 p.m. mass at St. Philip's in Rudolph where a few of us (well hubby mainly and me by default) sang along during the service. Then it was off to Wausau to hear our friend Kat sing with STEEM and fun accompaniment by the Neenah high school symphony group.

A group of us went last year and it was so enjoyable to listen to – especially when you know one of the rockstars.

Jim's high school classmate Kat (Kathy) is pictured 3rd from the left.

Great to see/hear her solo performance. And since we've seen/heard her perform in several bands over the years, we could pick out and appreciate her beautiful voice throughout! A great concert for sure.

As a bonus, I ran into one my former co-workers at my current company. He has since moved onto TV only and is loving his gig in Salt Lake City, Utah. My work "sons" are all growing up!

Today was another day of shopping and singing.

Sang in choir and church and then went shopping to prepare (the best I could) for hosting Austin family Christmas later this week. I think I got most things. Shopping among thousands, I swear. Will have to reevaluate on Monday.

In the mean time, we got a Vikings win but I'm just hanging on for my fabulous fantasy football team to advance to our finals. We'll see if Santa grants one or both of those pending wishes or not.

It's Beginning to FEEL a Lot Like Christmas

What a Christmas weekend! I mean, 3 weeks ahead of time. After Carter and Mamie arrived Friday night, we headed out early Saturday morning for my Hedberg family Christmas. Unlike last year, it was clear roads and pretty much smooth sailing over to Lake Elmo, Minnesota!

After a great meal – mostly provided by our amazing next generation – we had our annual program, which I hope never dies in this next generation. Usually each R family has to (or offers to) do a number of some sort. Late Friday, my twin and I texted through a routine that would leave most of our micro-families off the hook.

We did a "Broadway production" or way OFF Broadway of "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." And via text at few hours before, we worked out a short song and dance. Let me know if you want the video link!

Rayna talked true love with her Christmas Gnomes!'

Romey and her kids played and sung Feliz Navidad with their foreign exchange student Bianca.

Renell's multigenerational family was totally into Alvin and the Chipmunks... with Kazoos!

Then Beth's son Nils (right) decided he really needed to sing "We Wish You A Very Christmas" with RoAnn's granddaughter Khloe or just by himself. Either way, it was so entertaining!

Brother Ron had words of inspiration with song lyrics to back up our memories.

Rachel showed off her teacher skills by reading through a book about winter and pre-Christmas.

I love that now our No. 1 son and his wife are in Minneapolis, they can attend my random MN/WI family gatherings!

Also was grateful for these 2 GREAT-nieces!

As for my niece Caryn. I've known her since I was 10+ years old. If she just happened to break her middle finger. I am the last person to say she shouldn't take advantage of that "signal" in her holiday (or realistic) greetings!
 

It's beginning to FEEL like Christmas, indeed!