Preparation part 3!

The next preparation part is obviously packing and getting mentally ready for this trip! Let me recap:

I am going on a canoe trip to the boundary waters with my Mad-sistah Rose and the Mad-aweseomniece Emily.  We are going through her church, who made the arrangements.  There is a group of 8 going, including a guide.  Like we would go WITHOUT ONE!  HAHAHA.  Anyway, we head up to Cook, MN on Sunday (that would be tomorrow) and arrive to learn about packing our packs, canoeing, having a swim test, and in general get ready.  Then we leave on Monday morning and will be canoeing between 7 and 15 miles a day.  Portages will take place.  Camps will be set up and tents will be slept in.  You get the idea.  We return on Friday at some point, take a shower, collapse in a bed and drive home on Saturday morning.

Sounds really awesome!  For those of your wishing to interject your own fears about camping, bears, rain, wind, cold, food, sleep, tents or any other subject that concerns you------- KEEP IT TO YOURSELF!!!  We can discuss at a later date, say, oh, I don't know- when I get BACK??!!!!  As I am not allowing myself to go there.  I want to go and just live the week and not have expectations of anything!!!

It has been suggested that I will be breaking out in a cold sweat from having no phone for several days and there may be some truth to that statement!!  :)  Again, I am trying not to think about it.

Yesterday, I gathered my "outfits" such as they are together for the week.  Limited space means making everything count!  I've never thought so hard about whether to take a tiny piece of clothing along or not.

Yesterday also found me preparing by having a pedicure with a gorgeous purply pink nail polish on my toesies and my summer fingernail.  This may seem quite unnecessary and even contradictory to my purpose of this trip, but if you think that, you really don't know me!  HAHAHAHA.  I am all about the color. I needed the stress relief.  I needed to have my feet pampered. AND I love that reaction when people tilt their head slightly to the side and you can just see them thinking- WTF???? You got a pedi before a CAMPING TRIP?????   hehehehehe  It is birthday month after all, why the heck NOT??!!

One more preparation, I am making arrangements for a quick birthday/anniversary  just birthday party for me complete with fireworks and maybe some cake.  If I can get someone to make a cake.  Or maybe I will feel like it when I get back on Sunday???  Hmmmm, I'm not seeing it. So anyway, I think Sunday when I get back at least a couple people can come over for perhaps cake, beer, tequila and fireworks around the fire ring.....  Gotta have some birthday month follow through!

Today's agenda includes packing, cleaning a little, washing any last minute things, trying not to go insane, and picking up any last minute items that I will need.  Should be a full day!

But not without its joy!

Fireworks for my Birfday!!

Hey, not everyone has fireworks on their birthday!  :)  Hope your July was as awesome as mine!

Cool!!!

The Mad-Accountant and Mad-Art Teacher!!

I'll be back!  

Until then, be a joy giver!

Party in Eden Prairie!

So here is the birthday girl and her sister!!  My dear (yes, I will say it-  younger) sister turned the big 5-0 and instead of fighting it, she embraced it and threw herself a party. And it was fabulous. That is a fantastic way to look at a major birthday- we are now old enough at age 50 to party if we want to.  No false modesty, no imagined shyness, just a come on over, eat, drink and don't forget the gifts!!  Well, the invitation said no gifts, but few people paid attention to that- beginning with me!

Lola kind of misses this new girl

Rose was the recipient of the vase face that I made a few weeks ago, and filled with some flowers from the Winter Greenhouse.  This is it's present home, tucked up by the ultra cool weeping spruce that MAY have been purchased from my advice and urging.  It also looks FABULOUS.

Salsa Rice

Frig o' food

Still chopping

There was a lot of work getting ready for this soiree.  Rose chose to go with a Mexican type of menu, with tacos, fajitas, a variety of salsas and chips, plus a simple and yummy guacamole.  We also had my Salsa Rice recipe and little brownie and lemon bar bites.  Yum!  I tell you though, prepping the veggies and meats for all those dishes was time consuming!  We had a refrigerator full of food, plus a massive cooler full of beverages.  I wish I had photographed that cooler- it was huge!  Emily could have fit into it fairly comfortably!

Most of the food prep took place on Friday night (that was a late one) and then we cleaned, straightened, put up photos and cooked some more on Saturday.  Here are a couple of photos from before the party- we were about ready to go to bed right around lunch-time.

Plastic going up

Cool ghostly image

Then after a gloomy start to the morning, the weather turned ugly.  It began to rain and get windy and generally yucky.  So the intrepid hubby of the Mad sistah put up plastic around the screen porch to make additional cozy seating space.  Well played! The rain didn't really keep the kids from enjoying the afternoon.

Surprisingly enough, the porch was pretty comfortable all afternoon and evening.  With a few well placed ventilation holes, the little  gas "fireplace" kept the area cozy.  I really don't have pix of the actual party, since I was trying to keep the food bowls and containers filled, and once I sat down, I kind of stayed there for quite a long time.  Except for the occasional beer run!  Have I mentioned my love for Blue Moon and Leinie's Sunset Wheat??  Life is good.

The buzzards

A funny little tradition of Rose's in-laws is the appearance of the buzzards at all major birthday celebrations.  There was no doubt where the birthday party was!  Of course there were 50 of the little suckers.  These buzzards gave me untold joy, it was so humorous to see!!

Rose and Bill

Funny, in spite of the closed eyes

Rose and Joanne, mom-in-law

 I am finishing this post off with some Mad-sistah-birthday girl portraits.  I love the picture of us with Bill in the background, it was such a bummer that the eyes were closed on ONE of us!  I have discovered that that person blinks a lot in photos!!  Sheesh.

It was a joyful day and it was filled with wonderful people.  And the most wonderful of all was my little sis!  Love you honey!!

Until next time, find a great birthday party and enjoy it!!