Clean Slate

Don't let your eyes deceive you. For once this is the winter view out my windshield and that is NOT snow. After my dental checkup, I got in line at a car wash because... drum roll...

Yup. Spring has sprung in central Wisconsin! At least for a day.

So I came home from lunch hour with clean teeth and clean car. What more could one ask for? Not much in February in the Midwest. Especially knowing reality will put us at subzero again within 24 hours. That's the nature of the Mother Nature business.

To keep our spirits up, my friend Cindy and I had a movie night. I forced Jim to go golfing (indoor league) so she could use his recliner as we enjoyed popcorn and a new movie (to us) on Disney-Plus.

Encanto came out last year and we've heard such positive things, we thought, why not watch it even if we don't have little kids anymore? So we did. And it was really, really good! A story line that seemed maybe too deep for littles, but who knows? Kids are smart these days.

Just as long we don't talk about Bruno, right? (If you know, you know.)

So now I can't stop singing that and I might skip my way to bed tonight. Alone, I guess, since I never told hubby to come back home. Yet. 

Shakin' Things Up

Just like Wal-Mart wasted no time switching up from Valentine's Day merch to Easter (and those darn good peanut eggs), Mickey D's followed suit. Thankfully, they didn't skip past St. Patty's Day.

It just happened that Carter had errands to run in to town during his lunch hour. So he did the right thing at McDonald's and ordered a small Shamrock Shake for his mama. Yep. I may have the best son ever. Just sayin'.

Will that be my ONE for the season? We'll see. It was a small after all.

I did my best to work it off after work. We'll also see if that worked! I came home and sorted through pictures from last night's girls games against Manawa. Both JV and varsity dominated. Then I decided to watch some Olympics and never made it to the boys game tonight. But they won. By a lot. Yay! 

So not to shake things up too much, I'll probably head back to my recliner per usual and catch some "live" women's figure skating. Since it's not for the medal tonight, I will also not shake up my bedtime either! 

Shake me if I become too predictable!

Love Wins

I was excited to share my lovely Valentine gift from hubby but then I realized how much this holiday is not just sad for some people, but heartbreakingly painful, too. 

As I look upon this faded rose from my brother-in-law's funeral, I'm reminded that not everyone who's "single" on Valentines Day is the victim of poor dating choices. Some are suffering from broken hearts that may never mend. 

Like my sister and a few friends who lost their spouses just this year. Not to mention those who lost a loved one 2021 and are facing this first heart holiday alone.

Just remember – it's about love today. Not just the romantic kind, but family, and your friends, and even your pets. 

If you're feeling an empty space in your heart today, think about those people. Even if one person is gone, love is still there. Love is still HERE, I mean. Love always wins over heartbreak. Sometimes it takes a while to see that. To feel that. And I'm so sorry.

Sending love to my sister and all of you who need a loving hug today! 

Cheers to a Close Game and Stuff

It was a blue ribbon day for a few people today! First, they announced the seedings for Wisconsin girls basketball teams. Assumption got the No. 1 seed in our bracket so that's wayyyy cool! Cheers!

Then we went to our friend's house for a Super Bowl party. Yes, based on the photo you might be able to tell this is the party that Jim's attended in the same basement with same paneling and now-vintage beer signs since 1986. Only missed last year when the lovely pandemic overruled the gathering.

The only downer of the day was that on the way to the party, my crockpot of Crockpot Crack Chicken fell over on the floor of the back seat when Jim turned a corner. No 10-second rule could save it. So I dropped him off and went to the store to find an unworthy replacement. While there, Jim realized he left his quarters at home on his dresser. Those are essential to coin flips... and dice. So I went home and Lysol wiped my backseat floor while I was there. Then it was time to party.

I stayed until 5 and came home to watch the game on the large TV and in my comfy recliner. And with Carter and Mamie – who were pretty excited about the halftime show. I liked it, too, but I don't think I could say that out loud to my kid without getting an eyeroll.

Went back to the party to pick up hubby and catch the last minute of the game. Pretty exciting. Glad it was close so it was worth watching. I was bummed Joe Burrow and the Bengals didn't get the win, but I guess if Matthew Stafford had to suffer for years with the lowly Lions, he deserves a Super Bowl ring!

And I may have appreciated the numbers that one of the quarters ended with.

Plenty to cheer about. Everybody wins – except the crockpot. And we avid Olympics watchers who don't have the stamina to start watching coverage this late at night! 

Celebrations

We've joined quite the mix of celebrations in the past 36 hours. Some fun, some miraculous, some heart-happy. And some heart-breaking.

First and most somber, was celebrating the life of my brother-in-law Paul at a memorial service in Hudson yesterday. We got to town early so us siblings could all join our sister Rayna for lunch – since she flew in from Phoenix and hadn't seen us yet. It felt so good to see her and finally hug her. Couldn't hug away the hurt of losing her soul mate. But we tried.

After lunch, we headed to the church and had a nice memorial service. Lots of family, relatives, and friends were there to support her. I know we call these things celebrations of life, but it didn't feel that way until after when we gathered for a reception at a bar/grill downtown, then later went to a saloon right next to where Rayna and Paul lived when they were in Hudson.

We raised our glasses with everything from water to whiskey and toasted a life well-lived. After tears, we could finally smile. And feel grateful we all had each other at that moment.

A few other celebrations were more positive. We've been praying diligently for a loved one who's been hospitalized and under intensive care since January 3. We learned that they're improving and could go home in a few weeks. Praise the Lord for that miracle!

We also got to see my niece Caryn and her newly adopted kiddos...

How fun to officially welcome these goofballs into the family! Love them dearly and so glad my new great-niece and great-nephews now permanently belong in a loving home. With a loving family. That's a blessing!

And you know me, I had to bring my Cricut into the celebration. They're worth it!

We stayed overnight in Hudson and said our goodbyes after breakfast. I'll see Rayna in a few weeks when I go out to visit her. And we'll all be gathering next month for my mom's 90th birthday. So goodbyes were easier. 

Tonight we got to celebrate a friend's 50th birthday. Her husband put on a quite a party with food, drinks, and a live band!

Pretty much knew 98% of the guests so that was fun. And so nice to celebrate something joyful!

Even got a slow dance out of it with my valentine! So that's worth celebrating, in my book.

Like the quote above says: Life is what you celebrate. All of it.

Find something to celebrate today.

If You Kn-O, You Kn-O

Not your ordinary Olympic rings, are these? Well, if you know, you know. If you don't, well, you're missing out.

Tonight I replaced my Olympic O's with the O's of Ozark. Finally hubby and I were home on the same night at the same time and we could get started on season 4 of this dark but addicting drama on Netflix. 

We knocked off two episodes tonight and now I need to watch some funny or uplifting so I don't dream about murder and mayhem in Arkansas! 

Perhaps I could rewatch Nathan Chen's performance from last night. It was a very late night but worth it. Worth its wait, er weight, in gold actually. He did an amazing routine to Elton John's Rocket Man and I hope that becomes his new nickname. Ha. In fact, Sir Elton gave him a shout out today....

Pretty sure that's worth its weight in gold, too! At least something shiny and sparkly akin to Elton's taste. How fun. 

Maybe I'll just listen to Rocket Man or Bennie and the Jets before going to dreamland. Did you know happy thoughts are always at our fingertips? If you know, you know. 

And now we all know. Take care out there. And smile.

On a Time Out

Going forward, I'd appreciate it if all the Olympics were held in the Central Time Zone. I'm sure we can find enough snow here!

As it is, I'm blogging quickly now so I don't miss the men's figure skating final with Nathan Chen going for the gold. If it's anything like the other night, it'll start at 10:30 p.m. Central Time. I might need a quick time out and nap. 

Did few projects after work that I'll have to tell you about after I gift them. Also baked some cookies for the in-laws. Full day. No time time learn the quad or triple toe-loop, but I'm betting on Nathan! 

Ope, disclaimer, not actually betting, but cheering him on with high hopes.

Go, Team USA!