I Need More Days Like This!

Spending the afternoon with a friend was good for my soul & spirit. It was relaxing to sit and talk and not feel rushed to be somewhere.

I was able to share my knowledge and tips regarding beading and jewelry making. I'm no expert, but I do enjoy designing my own jewelry, so today my friend wanted me to take her to the local bead shop and explain how to purchase materials & design your own pieces.

Walking into a bead shop always reminds me of walking into a candy store! I think my friend was a little overwhelmed at the choices in front of her. Beads everywhere....ceramic, wood, semi precious stones, glass etc. Then you have the hundreds of seed beads, crystals, findings, spacers, ribbon, wires, and leather!!!! So many colors, textures and choices to choose from.

I let my friend experience her first time at picking out beads, stones & crystals to make a pair of earrings. The pair of earrings above is what she picked out, not bad for her first time.

Do you want to experience a stress-free afternoon? Invite a friend to spend the afternoon with you. It's priceless.

PS. My friend and I are already planning a "women's" bicycle day-trip along the beautiful Red Cedar River Trail. I love to encourage other women to get out and ride their bikes. Sometimes women my age just need a little encouragement to ride their bicycles.

Mom's Advice

I had a surprise this morning. Our daughter called right when I was walking out the door for work and wanted to talk to me...her mom! I was so honored that my daughter, Becca, wanted my advice on a big decision in her life. We talked for about 30 minutes, while I listened as Becca sorted out her choices for summer employment and a possible summer move to the Twin Cities area. It's days like today when you realized your child has grown up. All those years of parenting and loving and now you have to let your child make their own decisions. After four years of feeling my daughter didn't really need me any longer, I realized she still wants her momma's advice. I was really touched.

Once a mother....always a mother.

How Easily One Can Forget

Since I don't ride bike year round, I always have this awkward adjustment period of about 2-3 weeks when I get back into my biking mode for the spring and summer months. Today was a perfectly example of "oops" I should have known better.

On Thursday's, I work the later shift, so I don't have to be to work until noonish. Thursday's are a perfect day for me to ride bike and gain some extra miles during the week.

In the beginning of spring (like now) I have to readjust myself to what to wear, what to bring along on the ride and how to ride. Should be simple right? So Ted and I took off this morning on country roads, to county highways and then city riding. Well, this morning about 2 miles from home, I realized I forgot to wear my sunglasses, so I had no eye protection. Then with a temperature of 45 degrees with a 15-25 mph wind, I realized I should have worn my full gloves for warmth. That's not all, then I realized I should have worn my helmet liner to cut the wind coming through the helmet vents and to cover my ears Real dumb Lis! Lastly, my hair is longer this year so I soon realized my hair should have been pulled together in a ponytail, or possibly I should have worn a scull cap underneath my helmet to keep my hair from obstructing my view in my helmet mirror. I normally use my mirror to monitor the traffic from behind, but every time I tried to look for cars from behind me, my dang hair was in the way.

Then, there was the city traffic I had to ride through today. My husband is a real die hard when it comes to riding through traffic. He believes we have to set an example for vehicles.....he says bicycles are real vehicles too so we should ride with traffic. I understand that, but!!!! So, I had to ride along side two lanes of traffic instead of using the extra wide sidewalks near the university. Boy that makes me feel uneasy. I try, but I never feel comfortable. I'm not a traffic kind of rider, but I'm working at it however.

Anyway, I learned my lesson today. Before you take off riding, know the weather, the temperature, the wind speed and how long you will be out reading. The 25 mph wind gust were challenging today.

Preparing For Summer

This picture has nothing to do with how my day went, but I thought I would post it because this picture represents a big change for us. For many years, we would struggle to put all the dock sections into the water, and let me tell you, it would scare the "h" out of me! Well, last weekend the boys decided to move the boat lift and only use the one dock section instead of adding the other sections that were 10 feet and 8 feet long. Putting those dock sections in was terrifying for me, but after 15 years, it will be much more simpler. For some reason the guys always needed my help putting in the dock sections and I always suffered anxiety over this chore. Well, not any more.

Tonight was "virtual bike" workout at the fitness center and then bible study in a nearby city. I finally was home by late tonight. Long days....long nights! Tomorrow I'm planning on riding bike before work. Hopefully I can do a twentysomething ride.

Bucket of Crappies

Nice catch wouldn't you say?

The "L" men know how to catch fish, however, I was surprised when they came back with a whole bucket filled with crappies....lots of crappies.

The guys went fishing last Saturday when it was really nice outside, and then the weather turned cold and windy on Sunday. What a switch. I actually had to turn the heat back on in the house.

Today was still cool and windy, but the sunshine felt nice. Work schedule today was long and tiring so no biking or exercising at all. I received an email today from the fitness center saying that they will be suspending all classes (including my spin class) for June, July & August), whoo hoo! Finally the managment is seeing the decline of attendance at all classes. I'm excited because this means I won't have to worry about teaching cycling class and cordinating it with commuting to work by bicycle. After May 18th, I can commute without worrying about teaching my class.....thank you. Who wants to be stuck indoors cycling when you can take it outside. Right?

I Hate Surprises!

Yes, this is a bug....it's a very big bug! It's the type of bug that can scare you! I measured it and it's exactly 2 inches long.

While going through the courier boxes today at work, my staff member shrieked! She asked me to look down in the corner of the box and tell her what that was. At first I thought it was a big spider, but then I realized the bug was upside down and I was looking at it's fury legs. I assessed the situation (meaning I watched for any movement) and then I poked it with a ruler. After a few moments of hyperventilating, both "J" and I settled down because we realized the bug was DEAD!

So my first thought was this is a cock roach. Well, after showing off the bug to my handy-dandy Police Chief, he said "no, it's not a cockroach." I must have been having a blond moment, but he reminded me that I work in a library and why don't I look at an insect book to identify the bug...dah! Geeeeeez.

I took his suggestion and found my bug species within a couple minutes. I identified it as a "Giant Water Bug." Yes, that's what it's called. These bugs are found in ponds...they have a painful bite the description said!!!! They do leave the water and will fly around and are especially attracted to lights. Whoooooo. So how did it end up in a courier bin filled with library materials?

Good Day For Root Beer

Family picture time! Today we were all celebrating Grandma Winnie's 90th birthday, so it was a perfect opportunity to snap a picture of our little family....extended family that is! We have Ted's oldest son and daughter (in the back) and then we have the grandchildren (four grand kids) and our two children Becca & Chris.

The girls wanted to pose for a "womanly" picture! From left to right: Alex, Becca, Lena & Traci (T's oldest daughter). Thanks girls.

Grandma Winnie enjoyed a nice birthday party. Her birthday had a theme...a re-creation of a root beer stand! We all enjoyed hot beef sandwiches, french fries and fresh root beer. Lots of family and friends showed up this afternoon for the party. Even thought it was a cold and rainy day, everyone enjoyed themselves. At least it didn't snow!!!