Packers and.....

We went to our first Packer game this past weekend.  It was a very cold day but we dressed for the chilly  weather and I am glad to say that I did not get cold at all. The outfit that I had to wear to accomplish this was not the most stylish outfit, but it did get the job done.  Chris has two hats, a coyote and a bobcat, that we wanted to wear and WOW did we ever get the looks and also some compliments.  They sure did help to keep the head warm. 

Before the game I was playing with the cameras settings and actually took this next picture totally by mistake but I think it came out kinda cool.  I had turned it on panoramic not really sure what it would do and this is what I got.  I love it when the planes fly over!!

Okay, now to the rest of the days story.

On the drive home we kinda got into a situation with a deer.  There was no avoiding this one!!

Of course I was not real happy with the result but at least no one was hurt and my car can be fixed.  It was quite an ending to a great weekend.  I have a vacation day today and my plan was to relax and start decorating the house for Christmas but now I get to go to town and see the insurance guy and then head to the garage to turn over my keys to the body repair man.

Idaho Hunt

Chris is finally home from his 2 week long elk hunt in Idaho.  No elk to bring home but he did get to see some beautiful country.  He didn't take too many pictures but this one did catch my eye.  They were walking one day and came across this skull and horns.  It is a 3x5 but that they figured it was killed by a wolf.  

He says he got close, within 25 yards three different times, but never had a shot.  If he had been hunting with his rifle he would have gotten it, but with the bow it was just not a good shot.  He is already talking about going next year. 

Happy Birthday to my Honey

Have you ever bought a new grill that you had to assemble?  Well that is what I got for Chris for his birthday this year and we were slightly intimidated when we laid out all of the pieces.  

This picture is only about half of the pieces.

We started out slow, having to take apart some of our steps after later realizing that they just did not look right.  I was reading the instructions and Chris was assembling.  We had some pretty good teamwork going.

After a while things moved along smoothly and we realized it was not going to be as bad as we had initially thought.  It was worth staying up past our bedtime to get it done.  I did not go to bed until after 9:30!!

 Here is my Grillmaster with his new toy.  The grill is half gas and half charcoal.  

Did I mention he loves to grill out for me.

Unwelcome Houseguest

I was woken up early Saturday morning by a noise in the bedroom.  As long as I was awake I got up to go to the bathroom.  After getting back in bed I started to ponder on what the noise was that woke me.  Was it Chris snoring or breathing?  If I heard it again now that I was more awake maybe I could figure out what it was.  Well, I did hear it again but I wish I hadn't.  I still did not know what it was though.  It was a flopping kind of noise.  I was wide awake now and had my ears and eyes on alert.  That is when it happened...something went right past my face and I could feel the brush of the air as it went by me!!  The room had just enough light that I could see, It was a bat!!!  What I did next was purely instinct, I took my hand and slammed it into Chris' back and screamed, "There is a bat in the room!!"  He woke with a loud grunt, I think I kinda hit him a little too hard.  Oops :(  At first he did not believe me.  He said I must have been dreaming.  After all we have lived in this house for over 13 years and never had a bat yet.  We laid there talking about it and if it had really happened.  Then it came back and Chris saw it fly over the bed.  He yelled out, "Holly Crap, it's a bat!!"  Now neither one of us wanted to get out from under the covers.  "What are we going to do?" we said.  All of the sudden Chris jumped out of bed like a flash of lightening, ran out of the room and slammed the bedroom door shut, leaving me in the room and not knowing if the bat was in the room or not.  I screamed and jumped up running for the door.  After we had decided that the bat was not in the bedroom we shut the door.  Next we went to the second bedroom and then the bathroom, checked it and then shut the doors.  We need to have a plan!!  How does one get a bat out of the house?  We armed ourselves with a towel and a pillowcase from the bathroom closet.  We bantered over who would go down the steps first and turn on the lights.  I lost that battle and ran down to turn on the lights then ran back up to my spot on the floor.  That is when we had our first view of the intruder.  He was circling around the room!!  Chris said it looked like the bat was doing hot laps.  Again, more talking back and forth..who would go in first?  Again up he jumped like that streak of lightning.  He crouched on the floor waiting for the bat to come around.  Up he jumped and took a swing with the towel, missed.  He did this over and over until he hit it a few times.  The bat would lay on the floor but then jump up and start the hot laps all over again.   This went on for a while as I laid on the floor of the upstairs hallway in my safe spot.  Then he yelled for me to come with the pillowcase.  I came running down and we brushed it into the pillowcase and Chris ran out the door with it.  He threw it out the door and into the lawn. 

During the whole process we were screaming and laughing all at the same time.  I hope that this NEVER happens again but it sure is quite a story.

I had no time to grab a camera to take pictures of the intruder but I am sure you all would agree with me, I would not want to look at a picture of him anyway.  EEEEEWWWW!!

Sunday Canoe Ride

We decided to go for a canoe ride today.  The weather was perfect. 

The water was high so we could just stroll along down the river.

There was an eagle that was following us down the river.  We got a few good pictures of him.

I love this last picture that I got of the eagle just sitting at the top of this dead tree.

This is the last picture that my camera took.  Shortly after this picture we came upon some rapids.  We hit a rock and the canoe dumped me and Chris into the river.  It all happened so fast there was no time to react.  The next thing I knew I was in the water trying to stop myself from going down the river.  The water was only about waist deep but it was fast.  I stared grabbing things from the water the had come out of the canoe.  The first thing that came to my hands was a Ziploc bag with my camera and cell phone in it.  I knew immediately that the these things were never going to work again but I grabbed the bag anyway.  Next I started to grab oars that were floating by me.  I kept looking back at Chris to see if he was okay.  What a guy, he was fighting the fast water and trying to hang onto the canoe so it didn't go down the river.  By this time the canoe was completely full of water.  I will never know how he hung onto that thing but I'm sure glad he did. 

Of course the whole time this was going on we were laughing.  Our good friends Paul and Nellie were in another canoe and they made it through without a scratch.  

So we fell into the river but thank God that nothing bad happened.

We may have lost a few small items but we had a great time and will do it again soon.  Maybe I should invest in one of those waterproof bags.  Oh, and next time we will not take our shoes off, we lost those too.

Something

Just a little something so ya'll don't have to look at my toe anymore.

(Connie, do you remember this?  You took this picture with my camera.)

Garage Sale Mishap

If you have ever had a garage sale then you should know that they are quite interesting.

From people watching, my personal favorite, to broken bones??  

We had a garage sale this past week and it sure is a lot of work to get everything together.  We make some okay money and then get to purge all that stuff from the house that is just taking up space in the closets.

Now let me apoligize to all of you now for those people that hate to look at feet but I just had to show the result of our garage sale mishap.  

Here is the story....  The garage sale customers got a little crazy.  We had a special sale item and two women got into a little brawl over it.  Someone had to step in before things got too far out of hand and I just had to take care of it.  Before I knew what was happening I was thrown to the floor!!  A while later after things had settled down I noticed a throbbing feeling in my toe, took off my shoe and noticed that it had started to swell. 

Just kidding, the real story is that the garage sale was going so well that we had to reconfigure our setup.  

I had a little problem operating the appliance cart. 

A Great Weekend

We had a great weekend to kick off the summer season.  We drove north on Friday night.  On Saturday and Sunday morning Chris got up early and went fishing while I slept in.  I got a lot of reading done and then when Chris got back from fishing we walked to the neighbors cabin and went with them on a pontoon ride.

This is the closest thing to a sunset that I could get with my camera.  What a great day!!

On the drive home I decided to challenge myself with a bike ride so I asked Chris to take me on this trail that he had rode before.   We got home unpacked the truck and got a bite to eat, threw the bikes in the truck and went to the trail.  We met a friend there and he looked at me and asked one last time, "Are you sure you want to do this?"  I said of course and we took off.  A little ways down the trail I thought to myself, what was I thinking?  This ride was a little different than what I was used to.  We usually ride on the road and add a few hills.  This ride was VERY hilly and bumpy with lots of rocks.  It was what they call Extreme biking.  It was a challenge I put myself up to and I will not lie, I was not sure if I could finish it.  

This picture was taken a little over half way thru the trail.  Chris tells me the ride was about 8 miles. 

We are planning to do this ride again with a group of people.  If you would like to come along let me know.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow??

I know you all think I am nuts but I thought this snow was actually kind of cool. 

Let me tell you why...

I Love a snowstorm in May because I know that it is going to melt...really soon!!  

I Love the big huge wet flakes of snow that look like snowballs falling!!

I Love the way that it looks like the tree is trying to protect the grass from getting snow on it!!

I Love when it is cold out that my husband makes a roaring fire in the fireplace!!

Don't be mad at the snow it is just rain with a little pizzazz!!

Love and Hate

These are two very powerful words but here is my perspective on my Love and Hate of weekends.

First, the obvious, I Love that I have a day off of work!  But for me this is usually just another day of work but only it is at home.  Am I the only one that punishes myself this way?  Why do I insist on leaving all the household chores for the weekend?  My loving sister is always telling me that I should spread these chores out during the week so that I have my weekends free to do what I want, but do I listen to her, NO! 

Second, I love not waking up to the alarm clock and I can sleep in!  But, am I really sleeping in when I get up at 6 a.m.?  For me I don’t think this is so bad, who wants to sleep away the best part of the day when I can get up early and start my household chores, well on second thought, this is kind of going back to the my first love and hate. 

To sum up this story I really do not have any hate for the weekend at all!  I just started it that way to get you to read this story.  Okay, enough playing, I’ve got work to do.

So Wrong!!!

I know this was wrong on so many levels but you know what, it sure did taste good. 

Chris decided that he wanted to have some chicken wings so we did some research on the internet and this was the recipe we found, "Sweet and Spicy Wings."  Of course since there was a little bit of kick we had to have a side dish of a great Old Fashion.  I guess some of you will be seeing me in the gym some extra hours after this meal. 

Yikes!!

Forgotten Closet Treasures

I have been doing some cleaning and came across a few boxes of what I like to call "Closet Treasures."

There were 4 boxes of stories and art projects from Megan's school days.  It seems like it was yesterday that  she was getting off the school bus and running down the driveway with a new art project to show me and her Dad.  I thought I would share this one that I thought was a real treasure.

If your eyes are going bad, like mine, here is the story in a close up so you can read better. 

Megan is only 21 now so it's not that this was a real long time ago, but it still feels good to read her stories of what she was thinking back then.  

If you are a Mom or Dad with little kids, please make sure you save these treasures so you to look back at them some day.  These treasures and memories will last forever.

 Love ya Meg

XXOO

Sunday Morning

I love an early Sunday morning and the sun is shining and the clothesline full of towels and sheets.  

I can't help but thinking about going to bed tonight in those fresh smelling sheets.

Give Blood

Today there was a blood drive in town.  In the past year I have become a regular blood donor but today I decided to take this commitment a step further, I gave platelets.  I was a little nervous about it but I just told myself that I needed to do this to help someone else. 

Tonight when I got home I went online to find some more information about donating platelets, here is what I found:

Many lifesaving medical treatments require platelet transfusions. Cancer patients, those receiving organ or bone marrow transplants, victims of traumatic injuries, and patients undergoing open heart surgery require platelet transfusions to survive.

Because platelets can be stored for only five days, the need for platelet donations is vast and continuous.

Platelet transfusions are needed each year by thousands of patients like these:

• Heart Surgery Patient, 6 units
• Burn Patient, 20 units
• Organ Transplant Patient, 30 units
• Bone Marrow Transplant Patient, 120 units

After reading this, what I did today seams like such a small part.

During my donation I was feeling light headed and cold.  

Although I felt a little discomfort and it definitely took a lot longer to donate, it was worth it in the end.

After reading what I found I now know that I will be going back to donate platelets again.

Reminders

I am writing this post for all of your support.  I know I am not the only one out there who does this.  We all write our little reminders for ourselves but how far do we go with it?  

Do you find yourself writing notes for things that you should be remembering? 

I keep this note in my glove box and whenever I get near 1/4 tank of gas I have to put this note out to remind myself to get gas.  (No, I have not run out gas yet so it must be working, but I have been really close)  When I fill up, the note goes back in the glove box for the next time.  I also have notes in there like, Stop at Megan's, Stop at the Grocery Store...  Then of course when you get to the grocery store you have to pull out yet another list.  

So I am looking for all of your comments to join me in the "Reminders Support Group." 

Let me know what is the craziest reminder you ever wrote for yourself?

I think I am going to go to my car right now and write myself a new note,

"Clean My CAR."

Today I got to meet Kristin!!

Today I went to hear Kristin Steede speak.  I was so looking forward to this all week.  I talked Tracy into going with me.  When I told her that I brought my camera she asked me why and I told her I wanted my picture taken with Kristin, she told my I was nuts!!  I had to recruit Connie to take the picture for me.   

Kristin's talk was amazing.  She talked allot about what her and her Mom went thru to get onto the show and then the first day that they were there she and her Mom were saying, "What did we get ourselves into?"

She had a question and answer thing afterwards and then gave away some free one month memberships to Medford Therapy and Fitness.  Tracy answered a question and won!!  

It was allot of fun and I am glad my best friend Tracy went with me. 
Thanks Tracy!!

Interesting Morning

I was woke up early this morning by an unfamiliar sound outside my bedroom window.  What could it be?  No, It can't be!!  It must be a dream.  Chris and I get out of bed a little while later and I ask him, "Did you hear a quacking sound outside the bedroom window this morning?"  If only I had gotten a picture of his expression right there, it would have been priceless.  Well we start going about our morning..coffee, breakfast and then I take a step outside on the back deck to see how warm it is and there it is, the Aflac duck!

I ran to get my camera and as soon as he saw me he took off in a run into the woods so I didn't get a good picture of him.  So where did he come from?  Turns out the neighbor, my brother, got a new pet and is having a hard time keeping him in the yard.  Have you ever had to call a neighbor to tell them that their pet duck is in your yard?  

Then I go out back to let my trusted friend off of his chain and I am worried that he is going to chase the duck around the yard.  What can I do to occupy the dogs attention.  AhHa, I have been saving a ham bone in the freezer for just this occasion.  YUM.

And then, the plot thicken.....

As I am in the house typing this blog entry, another guest arrives in my yard.  It's the neighbor, and he came with a net.  I found out that it is a girl duck and her name is Angel.

No luck on the duck search.  Maybe it will show up tomorrow morning again.

***********UPDATE*********
Several hours later.....Angel has been found!!!  

Snowshoe Day

A few days ago we spent the afternoon snowshoeing with some friends. We walked on the Ice Age Trail back into Lake Eleven.

The guys went in the day before and gathered some firewood for a small fire to get warm. They also brought back some refreshments and some food. We grilled out, drank some wine and talked up some tall tales. We stayed at our little fire until it was almost dark then put on our head lamps and walked out in the dark. It was fun to walk out in the dark but I wish the moon had been out a little. I only fell down once on the way out.
It is a little different walking in the dark.

We had beautiful weather and great company. I was a little sore the next day but definitely worth it. It is great to go out and enjoy the outdoors in Wisconsin but at the same time, I also am wishing for warmer weather. Spring where are you???

Winter Picture

Chris took this picture of a black squirrel in our bird feeder the other day. It is kinda fun to watch the squirrels and birds in the feeders.

What am I saying??!!!

This is just proof of the really boring life I have.

At this very moment, I have locked myself in a room with my computer cuz there is a bunch of men down in Manland watching a hunting video.

HELP!