BIRTHDAY MONTH

 AND.....

 it's BIRTHDAY MONTH BABY!!!

Almost the end of birthday month

You know, this has been a weird summer.  Just odd and strange and it is going too fast.  Sigh. I  am feeling more than slightly unsettled by the whole thing, and there just isn't much I can do about it.  More life things have come about this week, nothing that is shocking or life changing - but it is just another example of the universe telling you you are certainly not in charge of your life.

In less than a week it will be August, I will have a string of company coming, I will be traveling a little bit and then  (insert both silent and hysterical screaming) the school year will begin.  I am getting more and more resistant to the thought, so I know that within 5 years I will be teaching my last year.  Not sure of the timing on that, so don't go around and pass rumors people.  There is enough of that silliness around, just don't participate.

Once I get there I'll be fine, but as with positive anticipation, the negative is also very strong.  Gah.  Anyway, on a positive note, I think I have found a place to hang some photos for sale.  I really never intended to do that in my life, but (remember that universe thing from above) I have had a few sales that were totally unsolicited so maybe I will give it a try.  I just need to figure out what I should get printed, etc.  Gallery wrap, canvas wrap, etc.  If it doesn't work out I will have some photos to hang at my house or gifts or whatever.  :)

Then the framing issue, which I detest doing, but the gallery wrap thing might solve that whole problem.

Anyway, I am investigating that.  It is interesting when things appear before me and I am actually alert enough to understand that **this is a sign, Debi**.

I NEED to finish a few parts of my house this week so I can have company and not stress out over the  remnants of this cleaning binge I have had.  And there are some things upstairs that need to leave my house, so I have to get it all to thrift shops or the transfer station.  I hate to use every minute of my last week to myself cleaning the freaking house, but that seems to be what this summer has turned into.  This could be part of my discontent!

Anyway, one of my goals today is to get another Portland day recorded- this is always time consuming, and this time I have to use all phone pictures for the latter half of the day as I left my camera in the car for the museum.  sometimes you just have to do that.

I better get on with it here, my coffee cup needs a refresher.  Have a wonderful day and be sure to find time for some joy.

Birthday month-notalot update

I need more of this, minus the mosquitos that you can't see.

Wow, so birthday month has been filled with not a whole lot of actual celebratory actions. In fact it has been more than a little bit of distraction and transition.  And a lot of the effects of this is the decision to pare down my "stuff".

I call it a whole house purge.

During a recent update of my kitchen counters and floors, I have had to divest myself of a lot of things- and each thing that went back into my cupboards had to earn its keep.  So I found myself putting things back sort of where they were, then opening that door back up and ditching it.  There were a lot of sentimental favorites that got put in the donation box.  And I am fine with that.

The next logical step (ha at least to me) was to continue around the house and do the exact same thing in every drawer, closet and shelf.  Everywhere.  So far the only thing I have deferred to a later date is an upper closet cabinet that has all the Christmas stuff in it.  I just can't face that yet.  oy

And so on the bottom floor I basically have my sewing/back room to do, and that will be last.  I have been doing a little clearing out as I go, but if I can't make a decision, it goes back there to be dealt with on a day I am pretty sure I should be just drinking margaritas and throw all thought and caution to the wind.   Hmmmm.  That is not a bad idea- I will offer tequila to anyone who wants to help on that day.  :D  any takers??

Anyway, I have my clothes closet to go through, which I keep on top of for the most part, so that won't be bad and then I tackle the upstairs.  The traditional place to keep crap you don't use.  Yeah, now that will be a challenge.  I have a feeling that there are a few trips to the local thrift shop in my future.  I already have gotten 6 boxes of things out of the house, and it is AMAZING how good it feels.  I have room in virtually all the shelves and closets that I have gone through.  I can't believe it.

And every day before starting the house, I spend 30 min weeding my flower gardens.  I have a real problem with my right hand getting carpal tunnel symptoms, so I stop at 30 min. usually.  This morning it is cool and cloudy so I went for an hour and I can feel it.

While birthday month hasn't been the joyous occasion that it usually is, I have had lunch with some of my sweet friends, and have cleared my physical and mental space in many ways, and I have a lot of company and visiting to look forward to in August.  And while I have been taking some photos, I think that will be stepped up again soon, too.  Because, photography and all.

I have neglected to do a post of my trip out west to Oregon and I find that quite distressing as I have forgotten the names of some of the falls that we visited.  And the dam.  Fortunately I am an obsessive Instagram person, and also Yelp besides Facebook and all that info is there.  And I also have the young and functioning mind of my travel partner- the Mad-English teacher- to help spark my memory.  Good thing, too.

So another post will be coming your way soon, I hope.  This one (probably 2) will be filled with photography.  YAY!!

AND I got to go to another awesome museum, which was fabulous.  They are really one of the things I look forward to the most every summer, a new museum to take in the art.  And every year I find something unexpected that I love.  This year was no exception, I need to find the photos.  I think I only took iPhone pix of that one.  OH, and I just may get back to another major museum next month- gosh I hope so- but that is in the planning stages.  Stay tuned!

This is birthday month girl signing off- and bound to find joy if it is possible.

And birthday month begins!

Well it has been quite the whirlwind of a month or so here.  I was taken slightly by surprise by July's appearance- I knew it was coming but still.  Between a week long curriculum thing at work- I got nothing to say for that one- and the horse and a sweet little vacation I took and another all consuming event in  my life that soon will be revealed here- It has been quite the June....... and much of May...... and a bit of July.

Columbia River Gorge

So I will take on all of these things one at a time, but today I am going to focus on gratitude.

First- I am grateful for my family.  From my kids- The Mad-Middle son and Sarah recently had a 3rd Mad-Grandkiddo, and I will say she is gorgeous- little Claire was born before I went on vacation- to my sister who graciously shared her house and her time with me- to  my dear Mad-Accountant who dealt with the logistics of my recent loss and generally calmly puts up with my frenetic activities and somewhat dramatic tendencies.....  Of course I can't forget my other two kids, grand girls,  my brothers and my momma either.  :)

I appreciate the fact that I got through the year with only one minor yet extraordinarily annoying injury  and I really am entering birthday month ready to finally have some summer.  Now if the rain would quit (speaking of annoying) there could be a whole lot more kayaking and biking and walking and weed-pulling.  But hey there is no drought so there is that.

I am SO SOOOO LUCKY I have the friends that I have.  From my long distance friends who I adore with all my heart to my travel companion to my colleagues who are so much more than that to the different people who I would love to have lunch with this July (hint hint).  I am so happy to have so many amazing people who make my life so much better.

Rockaway Beach, Oregon

There are material things and personal things that I am grateful for as well, but the above list is the most important and so I will leave it exactly at that.

And I wish you all the joy this Sunday and birthday month can bring you.  Muah.

And now a word from your sponsor

YOU GUYS!!!!!  

It is BIRTHDAY MONTH!!!!!

WOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like I haven't carried on enough during the month of June, I get to carry on in July meow.  ;)

Also- I do not want to leave my house

I am cold- it is a glorious feeling

I can barely be bothered to eat- I need to figure out how to make espresso though.

While my mind is clearer today, I am still really tired.

I am making progress on my putting away of my belongings, but all I really want to do is read more.

That is all- find your joy!

Thursday morning musings

Well one more day of birthday month is coming up - after today I guess.  Somehow I feel like my birthday is like a little separate entity unto itself....  I hesitate to say it's own "month" but should have its own page on my calendar!  :D

Anyway, I am trying to rustle up some enthusiasm for the day.  I have had a lovely couple days with my sister and niece, we have done some really nice things and it has been spectacular to spend some unexpected time with them.  I had today planned for a week or so, and I will be kayaking with a friend who I hadn't seen in a year!  My friend Jen who I constantly channel when I am paddling.  I always imagine myself kayaking like her, relaxed, calm, and not working too hard to accomplish what needs to be done- and by that I mean she never looks like she is expending unnecessary energy.  If this sounds negative at all, I don't mean it that way.  I think she is the zen master of kayak!!

I am a tired girl today.  I have not been sleeping the best, and I have not been getting the "cardio" that I am used to and that actually wears on me quite a bit.  Basically, I have worn myself to a frazzle and I am feeling the effects.  I need a vacation from myself I think.

Today has some promise of surprises  as well as some great friends sharing their thoughts as we paddle on a lake.  Sounds like a restaurant stop will happen for lunch- paddle up dining anyone?  This is cool beyond belief.   

The next few days will also be a whirlwind of company, and Ella, and Flambeaurama and cooking and hopefully a lot of family time.  I hope it doesn't rain Sunday, as the big parade will be going on as well.  

So I hope I didn't sound ungrateful or spoiled or something, but it is not my most happy morning today.  But hey, it is my birthday month and my blog and I can whine a little if I want to!  :)

So I am going to have a little more coffee and get ready for the day and wait for surprises and for Ella and the Mad-first son and his lovely Sarah and anything else that the day throws at me...

And it is sure to be a joy!

Birthday month continues.....

Yeah, so basically I went into a mini hibernation the last few days, and didn't do a whole lot of anything.  I have been cleaning a bit and doing some outside chores and other things that didn't require a lot of mental energy.  The Mad-Art Teacher needed a reset couple of days!  I go through times like this when life just seems too much to handle, and after retreating into my own little world,  I come out ready for action again.

I did have some very nice little birthday month treats for myself, not the least of which was seeing my little grandboy!  And my Mad-Second Son and his Sarah.  In case you haven't heard, they are in the process of moving up here, since he secured a good job in the area and well....  kids, I'm gonna have a grandbaby (and another son and one of my Sarahs!!!) near me!  Exciting stuff!

Another thing I began doing over the weekend was to pull out the piano bench and start playing again.  I was very happy when the pieces I used to play the most come right back after just 2 days of practice- mostly, that is.  When I got to a piece with 3 sharps I was totally blank on what that third sharp was- but my fingers remembered.  I have more practicing to do!  My hands and arms are really tired today from the baby holding and the piano playing.  I will begin my Italian lessons again in a week or so.  That stupid elbow breaking business certainly did make my life spin out in directions I didn't expect.

I also realize I have those 2 Denver posts to do yet, and I plan to, but it might be a while.  Today I go pick up my dear friend Cheri from the Amtrak station in Columbus!  She is going to spend the rest of the week with me, and I am so very excited!  You just KNOW that Bayfielding and kayaking and other enjoyable things will be happening.  And not only that, I get to see miss Ella tonight, since we are staying with Jon and Sarah for the night.

I have a little bit more finishing up here in the house and then I need to pack an overnight bag and it occurs to me I have no idea what I am going to have for meals when Cheri is here!  Lol, well I am pretty good at punting.  That is after all, what summer is all about.  Rolling with the way the day goes.

I needed this reset.  I feel good again, not letting life's little disappointments get me down for long.  And that is a joy!

July 2 of birthday month

I actually had a few things that could have qualified today for my birthday month celebration, but I HAVE to say that spending time with, shopping and lunching with my dear friend Cat was the highlight of 7/2/2015!  It was such a nice afternoon and we had a lovely lunch at the Crimson Cafe in Rhinelander.  It had been ages since we had spent more than a few minutes together, so we had a lot of ground to cover.  YAY for reconnecting with friends.

Rhinelander was a nice place to do a little thrift shopping and a little health food store visiting and it was super to head that way with Cat.  It was a gorgeous day,  and I am very sorry that I neglected to take a photo of the two of us like I usually do.  Falling down on the job, I guess.

Apparently this is  also the day that the Mad-Art teacher crashes from the excitement of the last few weeks.  I went from giddy to sad in about 5.5 seconds after I arrived home. I could actually feel it happening when I got up this morning.  I know that this is typical for me, but I really hate it when I fall.  sigh.  I am mostly back to myself, but the sads are lingering in the background. 

Ah yes.  Such is life, right?  But I did have a wonderful day and I am carrying out a plan that I made a couple days ago.  I am  not going to give it away quite yet!  :)  It is much more fun than I anticipated.  HAHAHA keep y'all in suspense!  **rubs hands gleefully together**

Anyway, nice end to the night- went for a mini photo shoot and took a couple photos of the orange sunset.  All courtesy of the wild fires out west.  It's sort of sullying up the blue skies, but I guess there is nothing we can do about that!  

Anyway, have yourself a pleasant evening and hope you have had a day with at least a little joy!

July 1!

This begins my month of obnoxious birthday posts. I still, btw, have 2 more Denver posts planned. 

My kind thing I did for myself today- I took me kayaking! I stole the truck for the morning and went to Smith at 7:15 in the am. It was gorgeous!! And I saw a loon family and a deer wading in the river and it was so quiet. No music. Just the sounds of nature- with an occasional truck in the far away. What a perfect way to kick off birthday month!! :) 

It was a pleasure and a joy!

Some scenes from the river! 

Birthday Month, Baby!

Wow, where the heck did June go??

Well part of it was spent cleaning messes and traveling and such busy things like that.  I haven't EVEN had time yet to do photo editing from being in Janesville, and St. Louis and Milwaukee- and now later today one of the grandbabies is coming on up for the Holiday weekend!  So, more cleaning and straightening and grocery shopping and maybe weeding if it would manage to stop raining for 2 seconds.  Sheesh. I will catch you up on my adventures in a separate blog post asap!

Oh well, I will get done what I do and I will make some foods for everyone and I will charge my camera batteries, as we will be for sure doing some fun things in the next few days.

Forgive the low light fuzzy iPhone pic!  :)

So WHAT did I do on my first day of Birthday month??  The fun thing I did (besides hitting the gym, which is always fun for me) is- I went to the retirement party for my friend and former neighbor, Maxine, at the CCC which involved pizza and cuppy cakes and drinks.  I have discovered the Riesling wine is a perfect accompaniment for that particular menu!  :)  I can't believe that Max is old enough to retire, she certainly doesn't look or act like it!!  She won't be too far away, though, and I hope to see her off and on.

I also got a chance to catch up with my dear friend Cat, which was awesome.  A day trip to somewhere certainly will happen with her in the near future!  Hoping to see her on Instagram sometime soon, too!

Anyway, I better get on with my second day of birthday month, and I plan on filling each day of this wonderful month with more than a little joy!

Until next time, celebrate any little joys that you can find in your day!  It makes for a happier you!

It truly was a Happy Birthday

Birthdays traditionally are all about you!  About getting gifts, about remembering the past, about eating cake, being treated like a special person, about doing what you want to do!  And while I did a bit of this today (yeah, I know I did a bit of this for the last 2 months) I really want to mention the fact that it really should be a day of counting your blessings.

It struck me in the afternoon when I finally got back home from my lunch/massage/eye appt. that I am indeed pretty lucky.  Of course the MA tells me this all the time- and of course he is referring to himself, the comedian that he is- but I mean it in a much more holistic way I suppose.  I checked facebook and I was blown away by the number of people that wished me a happy birthday, there.  It ended up being well over 100, which is an astonishing thing!!  It could mean that I have been yakking on and on about birthday month for so long that people are thinking: thank God that's over, it could mean that facebook reminder is really an effective Happy Birthday giving tool, but I really think that I am so lucky I know such a fantastic group of people!

Besides that, I received text messages, tweets, instant messages and even a few emails, not to mention the actual people and phone calls and even a drive by stop and hug while I was walking!!  THAT is when I really stopped to smell the proverbial roses.  I had my sister and niece with me in the morning, which was the culmination of a spectacular few days with them, lunch with the hubs, a fantastic massage, visited the farmers market, where I ran into one of my best and dearest friends who I haven't seen all summer, saw another bestie at the library, got unexpected hugs and even kisses,and just generally communicated with a lot of people! During the remainder of my walk, I was thinking about all of you!  I have wonderful, supportive people in my life- people from all different places.  And I am in awe at the differences in their origins, personalities, strengths, and lives.  I have quiet friends, raucous and rowdy friends, photographer friends, fitness friends, former students, fellow loseit users, local town people, family members, fellow artists- people who are shy, noisy, fearless, happy, depressed, going through major life changes- including a major illness,  enjoying an equilibrium, brilliant, artsy, and/or extremely logical and "businessy".  And I haven't even touched on my family members.....  who need their own post, really.  ALL of you have made my life better in so many ways and I can't seem to find a good way to tell you how lucky I really am to have you in my life.

I know this is a bit sappy, but I don't care.  You should definitely know that about me by now.  I had a day that was full of joy and love and friendship and even a little tiny bit of sad. Which to me pointed out how really unimportant that cake and a bunch of gifts and even parties and things like that really are.  Because I know that I could seek out and find, or talk to all 100 plus of  you who wished me that Happy Birthday yesterday.  And that communication, that connection is incredibly amazing.

And it gives me so much joy!!  And I hope I return even a small amount of joy to you as well.

From my heart to yours- Enjoy that birthday month when it comes, everyone, use that time to count your blessings and enjoy your friends and family. Whether it is 100 or whether it is 10 makes no difference- because they are what is truly important.  

And birthday month marches on...

I am kind of sad that it is already the 25th of July!  My goodness, time flies. 

Birthday month progresses well!  I did get more weeding done,  a walk in and after watering my tomatoes tonight it DID rain a bunch, which we needed (not amused that it came during the END of Project Runway and nearly spoiled the end)

 AND have gotten in some really great workouts!!

For instance:

Back Day (today)

Warm up

then- (all things today were 3 sets of 10, except for the first one,which was 5 sets of 10.
Bent over row- 45, 50 and 55 pound dumb bells
Lat pulldown- crosspull machine 100lb front facing and then 2 sets of 10- 80 lb
lat row- crosspull machine- 110 lb
lat row machine - 50 lb
pullover machine- 100 lb

(I forgot to do the barbell row! Boo)
In between I did some quick practices:

Bench press:
4 sets of 3 @ 95 pounds

Deadlift:
4 sets of 6 @ 95 pounds

Then Lori and I did a circuit of 5 squats, 5 pushups and 10 bicycles/abs for 2 sets.  WHEW!  I was wiped out after that! But, I actually could have done more pushups and squats!

Anyway, I went in to the eye doctor recently and today I got contacts.  I lasted 2 hours in them before I had to take them out.  My eyes were so tired I could barely make lunch!  I am really thinking itll be easier tomorrow.  I am trying out mono vision- one contact for reading another (or none) for distance.....  The first day was marginally successful.  I have hope though!

Tomorrow I MUST clean upstairs a bit for my dear SEESTER Rose and Emily who are coming to visit.  Have to spiff and neaten a little. YAY for the adventures yet to come.

I've been thinking about the Boundary Waters- I was there a year ago.  And the memories are clear and vivid and I've been reminiscing a lot this week.  Summer is in full swing, and I am worried that it will suddenly end too quickly and I am trying to savor every moment of birthday month!

And I am very tired now, so off to bed I go, to take a walk and go to the gym and make some food, clean some house, weed some garden and find some joy.  Sweet dreams, y'all!

Birthday month- so far so good!

July has been a good month in an excellent summer (which I have somewhat discussed in my previous post) and I just want to examine that for a moment or two.

The last 2 summers since I began my blog, I have partied hearty during the month of July.  Making sure that I went out for lunch as much as possible, had a lot of little shopping trips and I just generally carried on quite a bit both online and in person.  

So why have I been quieter on my blog this July?

Well, mostly because I have been living a lot of life!  When you start your day by 5 or 5:30, head out for a morning walk 6/7 days, get in a gym workout, gardening, art work, house upkeep, shopping and errands and all the things that you have to do in day to day life (especially prepping all those veggies for meals) has kept me busy!  My best time for writing is early morning, and also later evening, and my computer time has been limited.

I will say that my entire summer has been quite enjoyable.  I began with a trip to Minneapolis to hang out with my seester, Rose and then, a few weeks later,  headed to Janesville to spend a bit of time with my kiddos and of course see and even babysit my baby grandgirlie, Ella.  On to Chicago to meet new/old friends and later visit my mom and brother and see a ball game......  whew!

I've been able to get in some shopping and have some really great food.  I've gone to a dog show, berry picking up in Bayfield, my first trip to Madeline Island and lots and lots of photographs were taken.  Closer to home I have gotten in some canoeing, lots of gym and road time, and even a stint in a juror's box.  I managed to get some cement work finished and have watched the progress of my awesome garden shed, and later this summer my house will be completely resided and that gives me so much joy I can't begin to tell you about it.

So, it has been eventful for sure!

This has been a very different summer for me psychologically and emotionally- it is the first summer that I am not striving to lose weight ever in my life.  I guess accurately, on loseit, I am trying to lose more, but that was something that I did when I was still in maintenance transition.  I think I am going to end that goal.  I have now maintained at this weight- right at 150 - 153 for about 3 months now.  I think my body likes it here.  And other than a little tummy staring me in the face, I am pretty happy.  

So as I look at my life at the almost age of 55, I for the first time in my life am sort of happy with my self.  Somehow that seems tragic and sad, yet I am not sad about it at all.  I absolutely wish I hadn't had to wait until now to be ok with my physical appearance, but actually I am kind of ok with it.  It is what it is!  I can do so much now, I rarely get tired, I can keep going through my day and not really need a lot of rest.  This has added a fantastic dimension to my summer.  And to keep my from killing myself doing stuff, I have developed a touch of arthritis in my knuckle on my hand....  which is the way my body is limiting my time doing one thing for too long.  An hour weeding is all I can do at one time, then  I have to have 2 - 3 days of rest from weight lifting in a row to keep my hand and arms from being numb.  I can mosaic for a few hours and I can canoe about that same length of time.  But I can do ALL of them on one day, so variety is the name of the game.  Of course I am fighting the joint issue with supplements and massage and good old "Vitamin I", but still.  Whatever!

Fitness wise, I am thrilled to be able to zip through 5 - 6 miles with no problem, I am no longer concerned that my knees don't want me to be a runner, and so excited that I can bench press 150 lb,  deadlift 135, and keep up with my ultra-fit friends at the gym.  I plan to keep this going- I'd love to be able to bench MORE than my weight and to do another compound lift, like the clean or clean and press.  I am going to work on that soon.  

So, this summer I am learning about balance.  Balance in my eating habits, and for heavens sakes letting go of all my own personal rules and regulations regarding eating and exercise and the like.  Of course, I do log my food, just to keep an eye on my calorie intake, because that can get out of hand in a heart beat.  But I am attempting to let myself enjoy food, and eat small amounts and mostly just not focus on losing weight every minute.  Balance in my activities and actually balance between being busy and being lazy.  I like being lazy- a LOT!

So, my birthday month is going awesomely, swimmingly well.  I am having a great one, in spite of the fact that I haven't had the time to tell you about it.  I am going to try to sneak in some shorter posts as I get closer to my birthday.  I'll wedge that time in somewhere.  AND if you are one of those people I usually have lunch with, for goodness sakes CALL ME!  You know I will clear my schedule (or at least rearrange it) to include some quality time with my friends.  Mean while, I'm walking, or at the gym, or in the garden, or doing some cement work....... or pining to see my kiddos or my grandgirl.... or hanging out with the MA at the local garden shed in progress....

And I will definitely be searching out some more Birthday Month Joy!

Birthday month baby!!!!

I did not get this up yesterday so I'm doing it right now before I venture off to Phillips to experience Triple B down there. 

It is BIRTHDAY MONTH for the Mad Art Teacher!!!  WOOOO HOOOO

STAY TUNED for more!

Cheers to a great day and an even better July!! 

And a little joy is bound to be included 

Final Preparation and see ya!

I think I am ready.  I need to print directions to the middle of no where, but then I am ready.   Or as ready as I ever will be.  As my dear friend, the Mad-Marathoner said, you could work on getting ready for a long long time..... well that is paraphrasing a conversation that we had! Anyway, the point is, the house is as straightened as it's going to get.  I think I have all my REALLY important things together- clothes, cameras, pillow. What more do you need?

WELL, finding a gorgeous sunrise is a good perk!  I fancied it up with my new latest passion, that is using Instagram and Pixlr-o-matic.  Fun iPhone apps that make my life even more joyful!  

I have 2 cameras with me, 4 memory cards that I will swap out every day or so, incase something untoward happens, all the pix won't be gone, and 2 batteries for each camera!  I think I am ready for camera emergencies!  AND I  have my awesome waterproof  camera bag to hang around my neck and keep it safe.

This is an incredible way to be spending a whole week of birthday month!

So, until next time, have a wonderful week and find your joy!!!

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!

Fabulous Tuesday and preparation post 2

I had SUCH a good day on Tuesday!  What an awesome random birthday month day.

Lake Superior

I started off with that whole pullup thing!  That is a good way to start a Tuesday.  I wouldn't have ordinarily have been there at that early hour, but I needed to get my workout underway, as I was going to Ashland with my dear friend Cat.  First of all, I always try to get up to Lake Superior at least once during the summer.  Love seeing the lake, love the beautiful town of Ashland.  Anyway, I met her at the school parking lot in Glidden and up we went!

We had several errands to run and one included going to ahem- Walmart- for a little shopping.  I have great hopes for our new "Hometown Shopko" that is replacing the Pamida in Park Falls.  I sincerely hope that I can do much of my shopping in town and not have to go to Walmart out of town at all!  But that is beside the point, I needed to get some items for this camping trip!  A few things like small portable insect repellent, sunscreen, stronger lip balm, etc.  Since we have to carry in EVERYTHING that we bring with us, smaller is better!  I picked up a lot of things that I needed, with only 2 more items that need to be retrieved today!  Not bad!  It was kind of exciting to be going through parts of the store and finding just the right thing, or at least something that will do the trick.

SOME BUMP!!!

Cat was of GREAT help to me when it came to determining what I should be getting.  She has been camping for years and gave me some great ideas.  We basically talked nonstop the whole time, it was so so nice to catch up with her.  We are such good traveling companions, and she tolerates me needing to stop to take pictures and is always up for a little walk if we have time!  YAY!

The wind in our hair !!

AFTER Wallyworld, we went for lunch at the Black Cat, then to the Chequamegon Food Coop and the Ashland Bakery!  They are wonderful places to go.  The Black Cat has fantastic food- I had a wrap that had some dill havarti cheese, veggies and a garlic/redpepper vinaigrette sauce that was excellent, not to mention the iced mocha that I nearly swooned over.  The Food coop has a great selection of natural foods, organic items and other hard to find things that I wanted!  And the bakery.........  Oh my gosh!!!  Plus I was able to go to a vegetable stand and get some sweet corn.  It wasn't terrific, but it was fine when grilled and I topped mine with lime and chili powder!  I really miss the corn and tomato guy in the parking lot of Southside!  I assume the road construction has f-ed it up for the summer.  The MA is under orders to pick up some corn when he sees the stand down in Phillips!!!  We shall see.....



THEN we had some time left, so off to the park we went for a little tiny photoshoot!  Got a few good landscapes and a cute pix of Cat and I, well except for the wind and the squinty eyes!!  :)  It was a fantastic trip- nothing special, just entirely good.

CERTAINLY it was a joyful day!  She is one of my joygivers!!!

July 2 and better yet, July 3!!

I am thrilled to report a few things here.....

FIRST of all, I did not gain back 25 - 30 pounds by being FORCED into a 3 day rest period by the swelling of 2 knees. (thank you to those of you responsible for talking me off the ledge)  I was positive that it would happen, convinced that I would not be able to get back to walking and eventually running ever again.  Whew, I exhaust myself sometimes.  It turns out that this exercise thing keeps me stable and somewhat sane.  And certainly a joy-filled person.  Some might call me a whacko, but I prefer the word, unpredictable or perhaps,  capricious.....  I won't go so far as to say unstable but, how about the more creative implications of quirky, mercurial or unpredictable??  Those are nice words!!

Anyway, I was able to get myself BACK on track Monday and Tuesday and KILLED it at the gym.  In other words, I was pretty sore the next day after my workout.  I am so glad to feel like I accomplished something.  Monday I made the erratic decision of doing dance class, which turned out to be fine, though my knee was a little stiff the next day.  BAD DEBI!!!!  But I had to dance,  just HAD to.  And it was good.  This morning, thank HEAVEN I was able to walk for over an hour. No pain and I have rested off and on through the day, and it appears that I must be on my way to some sort of recovery.  Which is also good because I am sure all of my friends and relatives are becoming weary from all of my complaining.  This is the first time in 18 months that I was not pretty much able to exercise how I wanted, and it certainly freaked me out.  But I can see now that I will be able to get through occasional times in my life that might prevent me from being active, so this was a great learning experience.  I guess. I do not want to do this again for a long time!  Or even ever......seriously

Mon Ami, Annette!

Tuesday, I kicked off my July lunchtime and joy festivities by going over to Mincoqua.  I had planned to try on some active wear sandals for fit, but turns out there is no such animal there anymore.  Hmmm.Will have to consult the internet, I guess.  Oh well, got some good things at the Trig's grocery store there (I M Healthy!) and some other little this and thats.  But most importantly, Annette and I (my partner in crime for Tuesday) got to catch up and have lunch at the Island Cafe.  It took a little while to get served as the hand held device they now use for putting in orders to the kitchen must have gone awry.  Which makes sense, as we were not able to use the internet over there very well at all.  Regardless, the food is wonderful, they have a nice selection of vegetarian choices and the iced coffee was sublime!

Vegetarian Baguette and fruit

 Speaking of food, I have a couple great recipes to share.  But that will be a little later on.

HOWEVER, I'd like to know how I got through my whole entire life without having grilled peaches and pineapple??!!!  Those are the most tasty things that you can imagine.  wow.

Anyway, the MA and I went canoeing after dinner on the 3rd of July, over at Schnurs Lake.  The lovely Busby family was kind enough to allow us to borrow their canoe and entrance to the lake.  More pics to follow on that as well!!

Whew, I have a few things left to blog about, but it is too dang hot right now.

Hope this wonderful, patriotic day finds you all happy, cool, and full of joy!

DONE for now, or ..... tale of the summer fingernail

I am finally done with my orders for next year!  I am a terrible procrastinator and put off until the last minute filling out, on line, my orders for supplies that I need to begin the school year in September.  So I had my elementary orders done and my hs orders nearly done when I went to submit them on Friday evening- which was technically the deadline for the first round.  Well, low and behold, I go to do that and ka-pow.  The website was down for maintenance.  SERIOUSLY?????  So, I emailed our intrepid principals and throw myself on the mercy of the court.  Lol, a few other people were in the same predicament, so it was ok.  Whew.  So, in my usual way, Monday at some point I went to submit the Elementary order and of course there was a glitch I didn't know how to fix.  Call school.... talk to the genius there who is our financial officer and had to get her to fix some things.  Oy.  She is a wonderful, patient person.  You will notice that it is another whole day plus later and I finally finished up my HS orders.  YAY.

So WHAT you might ask does that have to do with a fingernail??  If you want to really know what the whole summer fingernail thing is about you need to message me or something. I am guessing the majority of you who actually want to know, already do!  It is weird and slightly embarrassing, sort of, but I don't care.  It is just me.

Among other things, my summer fingernail occurs at a time when my hands are not constantly in water and art supplies, so it, along with the rest, get a chance to actually grow out.  That does not happen for the rest of the year. It is a fun to paint it up and make it look snazzy.  It was looking a little tattered and natty, as was my mood last week.  Monday, I took the time, under strict orders from my dear friend Jane, to repaint and decorate my summer fingernail as a transition into birthday month and definitely as  reminder to find my joy each and every day during the month of July.  I did paint it on July 1 and though I hadn't blogged about it until today, I am glad that I got my transition out of the way on July 1 and the rest of this fair month has been pretty rocking awesome.  As a matter of fact, July 3 was stellar! And July 4 is turning out to be pretty good too. AND thank you from the bottom of my heart for the birthday month wishes, by the way....

TRANSITION TIME!!

STEP 1: Remove all traces

STEP 2:  Begin to decide on what to decorate your nail with....  decisions, decisions

Start with a base color

End up with something that looks much more patriotic than you intended!

A little more cleaned up and tidy!

SO, here is to an improved attitude and outlook. Turns out I won't actually implode if I can't exercise for a couple days.  WHO KNEW!?  AND it is a great feeling to be done with those orders hanging over my head.  NOW, I need to order a few things for my trip at the end of the month. I don't think that I will be putting that off for quite so long!!

Sometimes we need a little help finding our joys!

July 3 already??? Slow DOWN birthday month!!

I am sort of shocked I did not do a blog post yesterday!  I like to try and get at least one in a day during birthday month.

I was able to get to the gym, yesterday, which was fantastic.  After 3 days of enforced REST, I needed to get there.  I did abs class with Lori, which was felt great.  I left out one move that would have aggravated my knee.  Then I went out and did a lot of chest and triceps work.  YES!  It felt so good to do something.

So Sunday was the first day of birthday month and I will admit to sulking at least a good portion of the day.  I was not happy to not be able to get out and do what I want- as in walking for 6 miles or running.  After all this was not part of my plans!  So I want to say that my day began and ended with some communications that made my day.  I got no less than 3 "Happy Birthday Month" texts/emails in the morning, one very early, which really made my day start off in a nice way.  The rest of the day was fine, I got in a blog post, did a little of this and that, but mostly I felt sorry for myself.  I fed myself well, good food, stayed under budget, and then ended up going over by having a Margarita at night.  The Margarita was the really NICE thing I did for myself that day. I am so appreciative of finding the truly perfect margarita recipe, it is simple, delicious and perfect.

So later that night, as I was playing WORD with friends, I had a sweet friend of mine send me some fireworks for my birthday!  She lives in Canada, and she was watching fireworks, took the pix and sent them to me.  That was pretty awesome.

 


I am a very LUCKY girl!  I have wonderful friends.


Until next time, quit your whining and find your joy!!!