eastern milk snake...apparently

We went on our annual "fall walk" about a month ago. Every fall, we hike through a park - for the last couple years we have been walking through Donald Park in Mt Vernon. It has some beautiful trails and a combination of woods and prairie. This year we came across a couple snakes - one was a typical and harmless garter snake. The other, while tiny, was coiling up and trying to strike. It was also shaking the end of it's tail, although it was too small to have rattles, if it was a rattlesnake. It almost looks like a tiger rattlesnake, except they are native to Arizona and Wisconsin is probably a little cold. The park has riding trails, and I didn't want the snake to get stepped on by a horse, so we moved it off the trail. (With a very long stick, even baby rattlers are poisonous!) Click on the picture to see it a little bit larger. It really is a pretty little snake.

Come to find out, it is an eastern milk snake.....

A spooky Halloween

Daylight savings was a little late this year - so it was still light outside when Trick or Treating started. It was dark by the end of the alloted time period - the town of Mt Horeb set the Trick or Treat time from 5-7 PM.

We had about 350 "fun size" candy bars - and when it was all over, only about 15 to 20 pieces left! Then we left the "cauldron" of candy outside, and when I went out to get it about a half hour later - well, that candy was gone too! Someone tricked us!

The whole Halloween scene on the deck was very scary - a lot of the littler kids didn't want to walk up on the deck to get their candy. Ethan and Luke did their usual excellent jobs as grim reapers. This year, we added that big scary guy hanging over the candy cauldron. The weather was warm, and it was a lot of fun. So many people came! It's fun to hear the comments. One mom said her kids "have been waiting 364 days for this!"

We have already started planning for next year!

Holden Beach - October 2008

A wonderful week was just spent at Holden Beach in North Carolina. A week of sun, sand, surf, good company, good food, and (of course) a lot of drinking. The beaches there are never crowded, because you "own" the beach front for the house that you occupy. But, the week that we were there - there was hardly anyone around. There were no neighbors for quite a few houses up or down the beach. It was pretty quiet - my brother Rob and his wife Heather did come for the first weekend with the kids - and it was great to see them. The rest of the group was Mom, Kate and Tim, Mo, Ann and Roy, Matt and Leigh Ann and Gary and I. We had some great breakfasts, lunches of fresh caught shrimp, grilled steaks, bbq pork sandwiches - just too many yummy things to name. The house was beautiful, every bedroom had it's own bath, huge kitchen/dining area and the Atlantic Ocean (with water that was still pretty warm!) right out the back door. The water was warm, although not as warm as it is in August. It still took a little getting used to, but the surf was really high in the afternoons, so there was some great boogie boarding - you didn't even have to kick when the wave came up. Collected lots of shells and some really interesting drift wood. We went through quite a bit of beer, vodka, wine, scotch and gin. Bloody Marys in the morning, beers at the beach, tonics in the afternoon, wine with dinner, and scotch at 8:00!! (It's 8:00 - time for scotch!!) Glenlivet, of course. A fantastic way to end the day at the beach.

What to serve at a wedding reception

These are seasonal beers, so if you are going to have a summer wedding, these would be a couple excellent beers to serve at the reception.

Just a tip for all the wedding planners out there.

exercising soreness

This week I have done some slalom skiing, played soccer (as the goalie), did a little running, step boarding, hula hooped, walked a tight rope, ski jumped, and to top it all off, I did some yoga. My leg muscles are really sore....
Of course I am talking about the Wii Fit. The good news is - I am in the "normal" range for the BMI. The bad news is.....another pound or two and I might not be. But, so far it is really fun and everyone seems to enjoy it. The hard part is finding the time. Just getting home from work, I have to make dinner. After dinner on a full stomach? Not so good. I guess I could get up early and try to do some exercises. I already get up at about 5:15 though....
It will be interesting to see if this really does anything. Even if it doesn't shed pounds, it's still a good way to get the heart pumping and tone. It's just plain fun.

Nintendo ROCKS!

What a crazy week. We heard back from the insurance company about our totalled car. They are giving us diddley squat. Jerks. Nothing for the recent $1200 repair work that was done. Jerks. Then Kevin's Macbook Pro died. Well, the video card went out - so all he sees is a black screen. His warranty expired about 5 or 6 weeks ago. Of course. Fortunately, I purchased the laptop with my American Express card - did you know they offer an extended warranty just by using the card? So, Whew! Kevin's laptop is still covered. American Express rocks too!!

So, why does Nintendo rock? I emailed them about my disappointment in not being able to purchase a Wii Fit. The only ones you can find are from re-sellers at a grossly inflated price. Well, someone called me back. A really nice guy named Zach. He listened to my sad story then offered to sell me one at the MSRP. Which, of course, I snapped up immediatley. Kevin said Nintendo is supposed to have some of the best customer service on the planet. I would have to agree - they rock!

Our poor car...or is it our poor pocketbook?

Last weekend, someone hit Gary's parked car in front of our house. It's totaled. Gary had been driving the car for only four days after putting $1200 worth of repairs into it. We're just sick about it, and hope to get some of that back - but we have to argue with an insurance company, and you know how that is. They are going to look at the car today and give us an amount. Gary is driving the caddie we got from his sister Karen's husband, John. He sold it to us about a year ago for $2 grand, the blue book was something like $5 grand on it. We figured it would be an OK car for the boys to drive, I guess it's a good thing we had it around! The poor woman that hit the car is a cancer patient. She was just feeling good enough to go out after spending the last few weeks getting chemo. She didn't get hurt, but her car was totaled as well. She was reaching for a water bottle and didn't see our car. She hit it pretty hard, it moved an entire car length and got pushed up on the curb. That totally twisted the frame - you can't open the driver's door and the doors on the other side aren't flush any more. We had decided to invest in the repairs because it has been such a great car, it had never been in the shop prior to this. Gary figured if we got the repair work done (new catalytic converter, disc brakes and fixed a leak in the power steering fluid) that the car would last another three or four years.

It's funny, when they gave us the estimate for the repairs, my first
thought was - "if we put that much money into the car, something will happen to it." Crazy.

and done!

The diet didn't last past day 5. Too hard on a long holiday weekend. We had tickets to the American Players Theater on Friday night, so we had a bottle of wine before the show. (Which was great! We saw "Ah, Wilderness!" by Eugene O'Neill ) Anyway....Saturday we went to Galena and ate at one of the local restaurants - which was very good. On Sunday, we cooked out, a "beer can" chicken. Always awesome. As you can see, the diet would have been impossible over the weekend. On Labor Day we intended to eat at Avanti's - an Italian restaurant in Verona. But, it was closed, so we decided to eat at the Bistro in Mount Horeb. Also closed for dinner, although it had been open during the day. Leftover chicken was dinner on Monday.

I did weigh myself yesterday. I unfortunately did not weigh myself the day before I started the diet, but I had done so about a week before. From that time until now, I have lost 7 pounds. Whether it was all on the diet or not, I don't know. My weight fluctuates anyway, so it's hard to tell. Gary and I have simply decided to eat healthier (although we don't really eat too much junk as it is!), have fewer drinks during the week and to continue exercising. I will continue walking during work. We're also trying very hard to find a Wii Fit - which is nearly impossible.

Luke got "Rock Band" for the Xbox. I can't do anything beyond the easy level, but it's still great to play. The boys are really good at it. Most of the time, Luke sings, Kevin is playing guitar and Ethan is the drummer. It's fun to watch them play.

Diet day 5

Diet is dying.....
My brain is in need of carbs, I think. Today is supposed to be "beef and tomato" day. I had Wheaties for breakfast. I do have some of yesterday's soup for lunch along with some cottage cheese. I did NOT eat a donut this morning. (The office has either donuts or bagels every Friday.) I don't eat the bagels anyway, because I don't really care for them. But, I do like donuts. So, I am sad. :(

Tonight, Gary and I are going to American Players Theater. We will probably have the traditional picnic before hand - which will include wine, I imagine. Tomorrow we are going to Galena, and I am sure we will be eating out. So, again, no diet tomorrow.

I did find that, as of last night, I lost another two pounds. So that's cool. But, I have also decided that I am not going to continue with this week long diet for the last few days. But, having gone through this for the past 4 days has brought me to a few decisions. The first is that I am going to really try to keep up on drinking all this water throughout the day. I always had water at my desk anyway, but didn't drink nearly this much. Second, cut back on sugar. I didn't realize how much sugar I had been eating - from the half tsp in the coffee to snacks to desserts. I will miss that for a while, but the cravings are already diminishing. Third - I will try to take it easy on all those other pitfalls: chips, drinks, snacking, etc. Replace chips with pretzels, drink water instead of fruit drinks. No soda. Limit alcohol to one drink during the week. (Two on the weekend!)
Margaritas should be limited to the weekend. That's just too much during the week. I have also been walking everyday at work. As long as nobody at work complains because I come back sweaty....I will continue with that. This is actually easy, I would much rather walk than work!

I wonder how well I will be able to keep up on these resolutions?

Day 4 - mid day

I was really hungry at about 10:00. Banana smoothies really can't carry you through until lunch. I ate lunch at about 11:30. I was kind of dreading it, but it wasn't too bad. (Amazing what hunger can do to your tastebuds.) I had the soup, a banana and a container of milk. I am actually pretty full. I am not drinking the water as fast as I did the last couple days, I'm only through about 32 oz right now. I don't have the lime and lemon wedges in the water that I have had the last couple days, and it makes a difference. Not quite as platable.

Dinner will be the same as lunch. I am not looking forward to that.

Day four.....very strange.

Today is strange - bananas (up to eight!) and three glasses of milk. And this soup....they call it "wonder soup." I have a problem with the soup - the recipe starts with 6 onions and goes downhill from there. (A head of cabbage? C'mon!) Anyway, my soup version has no onions...it does have shallots, however. Then I used all the leftover veggies of the last couple days - so it has broccoli, asparagus, beans, corn, tomato, and green pepper. The base is lipton onion soup mix, and I also added a can of V8 to make the broth a bit tastier. It's OK, not great though.

I made a banana smoothie for breakfast - two bananas, 1% milk and ice. It's OK....

Lunch will be this soup, more bananas and a glass of milk. Probably OK....

This is going to be my day to crack, I think. Last night, I made dinner for the guys - corn on the cob, broccoli, asparagus, grapes, pineapple and watermelon. And cheesey sausages - with rolls. I really thought that the sausages were going to do me in, I was surprised that I wasn't even tempted as the sausages were cooking. Sure sounds good right now, though!!

Day three....this may be construed as torture!

Gary cracked. I don't blame him. Last night, he made tuna casserole for dinner. (I asked them to make food I don't like so I wouldn't be tempted!!) Gary, Luke and Ethan ate that. (Kevin wasn't home.) I had corn on the cob, cooked broccoli, and fresh veggies (carrots, celery, etc.) I also cracked.....had some tuna before it went in the casserole. But, my big cheat was to have some of the frozen margarita that we have in the freezer. It didn't even taste very good. Guilt ruined the flavor. :(

Today is fruit/veggie day. This morning I had watermelon and a peach for breakfast. Gary had Wheaties. I think he is giving up. He has an office lunch tomorrow and a softball picnic Thursday night, so I don't blame him. I don't know if I can last either. The cravings for other things is getting stronger and more hard to resist. (Thus the margarita last night!)

I haven't weighed myself so I don't even know if this is doing anything - although, how can it not!? I went for a couple walks yesterday and my total calorie intake for the day had to have been much less than what I burned. I'll tell you though, if at the end of the week I find I haven't lost too many pounds, I will be very disappointed. And mad that I went through this for nothing!!

We are thinking this diet may be for people that need to lose a lot of weight. For those of us that only need to lose 5 to 10 pounds, it might be futile. We will see......

Oh - and I would love a cup of coffee the way I like it - with milk and a little sugar. Black coffee is for the birds!!

Day 2 afternoon

Did I really think veggie day would be easier? Veggies have no calories, there is nothing here to keep a person going! I think Gary is going to crack. He is going into carb deprivation!

I took a walk after lunch, now I am feeling a bit woozy and light headed. Hmmm....may be rethinking this if it is going to make us ill.

Day 2 begins....

Vegetable day. Breakfast was a baked potato. All veggies, all day long - as much as you can eat. No salad dressing or butter, of course. Heaven forbid anything really tastes good! haha

Yesterday's fruit day was OK. Dinner time was the hardest part, I walk in the door after work and want a salty snack and a drink. The thought of eating another bowl of fruit just didn't sound good. (Salty chips! Margarita! That's what I wanted!!) Gary wanted cereal, I thought a glass of wine wouldn't be too bad. I said if he ate a bowl of cereal, I was drinking a glass of wine - so I think we kept each other from cheating.

So now I am at work, drinking my water and a cup of tea - with a huge container of veggies and salad fixin's in the fridge. I don't feel hungry because the baked potato breakfast was filling. This may end up being the hardest day. Maybe tomorrow, when it is all fruits and veggies combined. I'm thinking we'll be really tired of fruits and veggies by then. Although, that day, you get the mix of sweet and salty, (if you put salt on the veggies), so it might not be too bad. We'll see!

Starting a new diet

I have never been on a diet in my entire life. I never really had the need, so that's pretty lucky. This has changed as I get older, though - the calorie intake apparently exceeds what I burn. So, starting today I am trying the "GM diet." Designed by GM company to help their employees lose weight. The first day is all fruit, second is all veggies, third is a combination. (I will go into the rest as I get to it.) Two things will make this difficult, I think. The first is that you are supposed to drink eight 10 oz. glasses of water a day. That in itself isn't too hard...but do you know how many times I will be in the ladies room at work!!? Second - no alcohol. If I cheat at all on this, it will be that part. The diet is only for seven days - if you choose to do more than one week, then you can drink wine or beer after that first week.

So, today is fruit day. All the fruit you can eat, except bananas. (They are later in the week.) So far I had a bowl of fruit salad this morning for breakfast, snacked on grapes all morning, and just finished another fruit salad for lunch. (I'm stuffed!) The salad has watermelon, cantaloupe, kiwi, grapes and cherries. I have a pear and a nectarine if I get hungry this afternoon. I am on my fifth glass of water since coming to work, plus I have had two cups of tea. (At home this morning, I had three 5 oz glasses of water and a cup of coffee.) Needless to say, the ladies room is a popular stop for me today.

Tomorrow seems like it will easier, with the vegetables, but I guess I will find out. Gary is also doing this, I can't see him lasting the week without eating a bowl of Wheaties.

Google the GM diet if you are interested. It's really weird!

We're back and just in time

We were only in Florida for a few days - spent a couple days at the Disney parks, carrying our rain ponchos the whole time. We never did need them. (The sun was out most of the day on Friday.) I think that is a different story now - I feel bad for all those people that planned their vacations around this week down there only to be soaked everyday by tropical storm Fay. When we were there last Friday, we met a family from Utah. They were on their second day of a 7 day trip. Which means today is their last day - and they have been dealing with the rain for a while now. The first time any of their five kids had been there. I hope they had fun anyway.

Also, we found out that the Winnie the Pooh ride in the Magic Kingdom is awesome!

I think Luke is happy to be home. No humidity. No really really big mice.

Going back to Florida

Could there be a worse time to go to Florida? Temps in the 90s, heat index at about 100 degrees every day. Yikes. OK, I suppose it could be worse if there were actually a hurricane bearing down on Florida right now. Luckily - even though it's prime season, I don't think we will have to worry about it for the few days we are there. Leaving on Wednesday, coming back Saturday. Just enough time to help Luke move his stuff back and also spend a couple days at the parks. Really hot, somewhat humid days. I feel bad for the people that have to wear the character costumes!

New neighbors, still scary. If the kids aren't screaming, the dogs are barking. I have worked at home a couple times in the last week - this is what I am observing while I work at the dining room table that overlooks the back and into their house. They have a little girl that is about a year old. She is in a playpen in front of the TV all day. And, man oh man, she is a screamer. The Mom doesn't seem to care that the kids scream. It would drive me crazy. (I'm not spying, really! It's just in my direct line of vision when I am working from home!) They are building a fence for the dogs, which never seem to go outside. Gotta wonder what the house smells like. I hope it isn't a chain link fence, but it probably will be. *sigh* The dogs names are Molly and Seamus. (I bet they don't spell it the Irish way - probably Shamus) I didn't tell them that I have a niece named Molly and a nephew named Seamus. Not that I could have - like I said, I couldn't get a word in when I talked to them.

We have to move.

So, I was kinda bored.....

Gary, Kevin and Ethan all went to San Diego. I did not have enough vacation time to do that and go to the beach in October. They have been gone for almost a week, so over the weekend I found that I had a lot of time on my hands. I did a lot of baking - blueberry muffins, snickerdoodles, molasses cookies, chocolate chip cookies and brownies. I took all the baked goods to work, and sent out an email - and within 15 minutes everything was gone....

I also took a plate over to the new neighbors. They are scary people, I think we have to move.

Luke is almost done!

We are going down to Florida on August 13th to pick up Luke. He is almost done at Disney. The college work program may have forever ruined Disney for him. I wonder if he will ever go back there, even for a park visit? Maybe in five or ten years.....

Today I am making cookies to send him one last time. We were chatting and both looking at the King Arthur Flour's baking blog online and got really hungry. I am making snickerdoodles, molasses and chocolate chip cookies today. Luke couldn't take it any more and quickly baked up a batch of brownies.

Kevin and Ethan picked some wild blackberries for me, so I made a cobbler - that was delicious. Those have to be my favorite kind of berries! I loved picking these as a kid in upstate NY, and I am glad they grow in Wisconsin. I love this cobbler recipe - the biscuit like dough has no sugar in it, but once you roll up the berries (like a cinnamon roll) and put them in the pan (that has a stick of melted butter in it!) you pour a cup of simple sugar syrup around the cobbler. Once baked, all the liquid is absorbed, and the cobbler is sweet and so flavorful. It's a good way to show off these berries.

Marcellus

We sure had a good time in Marcellus. It was great seeing the family, although we did miss seeing some that came home after we had already left. We went to Otisco Lake and rented a pontoon one day - it was was awesome. This is a view of the lake, the "long way." It is at the end of the finger lake chain, and although it is one of the smaller lakes, it is clean and beautiful. I sure wish I lived closer, I miss that part of the country. But, mostly I just miss my Mom and the rest of the family.