Wee Bit Wimpy

Please cut me a little slack! At least I'm not 100% wimpy, just 95% wimpy! With winds whipping around 33 mph late this morning and an outdoor air temperature of 7 degrees, I made the decision not to ride my bike on the lake, however, decided to try out my studs by riding down my driveway to retrieve the newspaper. Well, no newspaper today.....forgot it's a holiday, but I did try out my tires on our driveway that is totally ice covered. Never slipped, not once. I'm so glad Bike man bought me studded tires last year!

It was actually a beautiful day today with a frosty haze in the air. The sun finally peaked out around 4 pm when I was outdoors doing some weekend chores. I remember myself saying over and over again.....it's brutal out there! Anytime you combine single digits with significant wind, you've got serious weather. Back in the day when I was a serious runner, I ran sub zero weather. Really. However, when we had sub zero temps with combined winds, I would say no way. Especially not when your eyelashes would freeze shut halfway through your 6 mile run. Ahhhhh, I kind of miss those days!!!

So, part of our chores today were to pack up all the Christmas decorations including the Christmas tree and ornaments. Our crazy cat had to join in on the action, and once again wrapping her whole body around the top of the tree. I swear, this will be the last year we put up a Christmas tree. Before taking down the artificial tree, I had to take the time to pull cat fur out of each individual branch.....it was loaded with soft fuzzy fur! Don't get me wrong, I love cats, but this climbing, jumping and attacking Christmas ornaments thing took the fun out of having a tree this year. Does anyone have suggestions for next year?

Guess What?

The nokians are going on tonight......I'm so excited. The report from the Son, was that the rain from yesterday totally turned our lake into one big skating rink. Whoo hoo. No deep snow, just ride able ice. I know tomorrow is suppose to be extremely cold and windy, but I'm going to be tough.....like those Twin Cites riders! So, tomorrow will be our first biking day since November.

Happy New Year's everyone.

Family Time

Our annual family pre-New Year's get together happened last night. The following photos are Bike man's grandkids and his oldest daughter. I decided to touch up Lena's picture to feature a little glamour pose!

It was great to see Rissa (oldest granddaughter) and her boyfriend Nate, who are now living in Madison Wisconsin.

Oh yes, and then there's Ian the smiley boy......always has a smile for grandma Lisa.

Q Boy, as he is called, is active and hard to take a picture of most times. Always on the go, so I do the best I can!!!!

Bike man's daughter Traci and her partner Josh.....just chillin!

The Son and his special lady Trisha joined in on the "family gathering" last night.

The family gathering is hosted by Bike man's oldest son and his new bride. What a spread they put on last night. Everything from a baked turkey to meatballs, slow-cooked beef, steamed shrimp, mashed potatoes, cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, pumpkin bars, Christmas cookies and peanut butter fudge. A feast is all I can say........

Wearable Art

Sorry guys, this is girlie talk! Someone that I know has started a new business for herself. This afternoon at work, she brought me the pair of jeans that I gave her several weeks ago. These particular jeans were bought at Goodwill for like $5......hey, I'm a big spender. Anyway, she told me that she could make a skirt from the pair jeans and then add embellishments. Well, today she finally got the skirt finished. I was excited, really excited because I love skirts....I wear them all the time. I love what she did with the fabric and buttons. A couple of the buttons are like 50 years old she told me. Wow



She layered the fabric in the back instead of sewing in one piece of fabric. Since I like my skirts shorter (I'm a petite woman) the contrasting fabric isn't as obvious as if I would have had her make a longer skirt. It's just up to each woman how much fabric you want showing and how long you want the skirt.

I guess I'm excited about this skirt concept because you can use a pair of old or recycled jeans and turn them into something wearable......like wearable artwork.

I've seen several of her skirt designs now, since this particular woman wears her denim skirts almost everyday. I told her today that I would love to help her out with her new business and take photos of each skirt she designs. I also told her she really needs to think about starting a blog or jumping on Facebook! I'm sure I could help get her started in the technology part of her business....after all, my friends helped me get started with blogging. Pay-it-back!

Of course someone is getting in the way of a perfect photo. Geez kitty, get off the skirt!!!! Want more information about the denim skirts, just sent me an email.

Summer Memories

I couldn't help but think about the many trails we bike this summer & fall. This particular trail started out easy, but gradually became more dense with tall grass and thick heavy mud. I thought about all these trails tonight on my drive home from work and realized how much I really missed my summer rides, especially my Monday & Thursday rides. As my mind was wondering thinking about summer riding, I suddenly realized I recognized the person walking along the highway near my home.....it was Joan, my long lost friend.

Being a flexible person that I am, I ended up ditching my plans of snowshoeing tonight after work and ended up going on a nice 3 mile walk with Joan. We were like two chatty women just talking and catching up with each other and discussing our activities. Thank goodness for friends! After struggling in a bad mood today, my cold brisk walk with my friend helped put my mood in prospective.

A good friend is like a pair of cozy sweat pants.....warm, fuzzy and extremely comfortable!!!!

He Means Business

These are the mother of all snowshoes....really! Bike man decided to take the plunge and buy himself snowshoes. I have a feeling they will be put to good use over the next few months.

After our daughter left to drive back home, I headed out on the lake with my snowshoes before dark. As I was walking along my already made trail from last week, I discovered the deer also found my snowshoe trail.....wow, can you believe that? Whitetail deer are so smart. The deer followed my trail for at least one half a mile. When I came to the turnaround spot in my trail, the deer just wondered off to the lake's edge and headed up the hill. One of these days, I just want to be on the lake to watch these deer as they walk my trail back and forth.

Felt good to be outdoors in the cool temperatures. Fresh air, a little exercise and a peaceful end to the day is all I need. I hope you found your peace today.

Merry Christmas To All

Today was all about baking, and cooking for my family. My first mission today was to give Becca, Chris and Trisha, a lesson on making one of my cheesecakes. I usually make the toffee cheesecake, but today I decided to make a Snicker's cheesecake. I really had a lot of fun showing the kids how to make a cheesecake from scratch. There was only one little problem. After the cheesecake came out of the oven, my twentysomething kids (Becca & Chris) couldn't resist picking at the outer crust....geez!

Spent all afternoon cooking and preparing our Christmas meal. I did have help from the kids during the cooking process, plus my dishwasher, Bike man! So what did I serve today? Baked ham, mashed potatoes with butter, seasoned corn, sweet potatoes with cinnamon pecan streusel, and herb buttermilk biscuits. The time spent in the kitchen this afternoon and tonight was fun, but before the night was over, Becca and I went to visit a dear friend and her daughter. Catching up with old friends is so good for the heart and soul......especially when there's laughter involved!!!

Merry Christmas to all my readers.