Go Packers

Not that I had a huge vested interest in the game, but my co-workers will be happy and that makes me happy.  I actually watched most of the game- which was pretty exciting- but none of the commercials are standing out to me.  I'm sure they're all on YouTube by now.  Any suggestions for one to watch?


It was hard to get up this morning, but I'm excited to go to spinning again for the first time since last April(?).  We're hitting the point in winter where I lose the will to exercise and eat healthfully so any bit of novelty is greatly appreciated.  A reprieve is in sight, though.  It's going to get really cold again Tuesday-Thursday, but after that we are forecast for several days in the 30s and Sunday it should get up to 40.  I'm not expecting it to continue to stay that warm, but it will be nice to be able to get out a little bit and hopefully it will take care of some of the snow mountains around the city.

That's all I've got.  Have a good Monday, everyone.

  

To run or not to run... that is the question...

It's snowing... but not too hard... it's 26 degrees... but I kind of just want to stretch.  Actually I think I want to run... No, I don't... Yes, I do... No, I don't...  Need to make up my mind soon... Maybe just one loop...

In any case, it's time to get pumped up for The Super Bowl.  We have no plans at all for watching the game.  You'd think it was Thanksgiving Day around here.  Everyone is going home "to be with their families" for the Super Bowl.  We even saw a sign up at Culver's (local hamburger chain) that they were closing at 4pm today so the employees could watch the game with their families.  There's been some talk about going to Chili's or some other restaurant-type place with TVs to watch the game, but we'll see.

Okay... procrastination complete.  I'm going to put on my grippers and get out there and run.  Have a Happy Super Bowl Day.  

A Different Friday Night Out

Last night Daniel and I volunteered at The River food pantry with our church small group.  It's an organization on the far east side of town that provides hot meals, clothing, food, basic medical screenings (like blood sugar and blood pressure) and literature about paying bills, etc a few nights a week.  If you are in Madison and are interested in doing a service project for low-income community members, it's a great place.  You just show up at 5pm- no special training or screening needed- and they'll put you to work.  Daniel was the air traffic controller for shopping carts entering the food pantry area, and I worked in the clothing room just keeping things from becoming a giant mess.

Each volunteer gets a break sometime during the evening to have some of the hot dinner being served.  The whole operation was well run and everyone was in, served, and out by 8pm.  The hot dinner was actually the thing I was most impressed with.  I thought we were going to get Hamburger Helper with sides of mac n cheez, potato chips, and off-brand Oreos for sure, but actually we had ham and bean soup with 3-bean salad and a green salad.  Not only was it pretty healthy, but it tasted good.

Three things that last night made me acutely aware that I take for granted:
1. I'm very thankful that I don't have to wear second-hand underwear.
2. I'm very thankful that if I'm still hungry after the small hot dinner at the food bank I can get a sandwich.
3. I'm very thankful that I don't live in my car- especially on a cold Wisconsin night.

I definitely plan to serve there again and donate clothes and housewares there.  And think back to this list when I'm tempted to complain about the never-ending winter.


What's something you know you take for granted but are actually very thankful for?

If it has to be winter

You might as well make the best of it.

Have a Happy Friday, all.

Okay, winter. That's enough.

After 12 inches of snow in the last two days, our new fun winter gift is 1 degree temperature this morning.  Which means that everything that wasn't cleaned up yesterday (which is a lot) is now frozen solid.

We slept in and puttered around the house for awhile before we ventured out to clean up the snow.  I just focused on cleaning off our porch and the first floor porch so people could open their doors all the way and *hopefully* no one will slip this morning.

Daniel did the heavy lifting.  He blazed a path down to the parking lot (you can see it in the pictures below) and then cleaned off our parking spot.  Because of the wind, the snow was in huge drifts (up to 6ft I've read).  Here's a few pictures to give you an idea how deep it was in some places:

Here are the stairs up to the apartment buildings from the parking lot.  You can see that it comes up almost to the top of the railings.

And here's the drift we were greeted with when we first woke up.  It actually looks kind of small in the pictures, but when you stand in it (or try to take a basket of laundry through it), it feels very deep.

Everything is open for business as usual again today.  I'm headed to the gym for a run and we are both back to work.  Stay warm out there!

Snow day

A day too late...  The weather was much worse yesterday- I guess it could pick back up but it doesn't look like it will- but classes are cancelled, state government is closed to the public, and no buses are running- so we are not going anywhere.  Edit: I just talked to a coworker who said it's incredibly windy and there are huge snow drifts everywhere so maybe a snow day was warranted.

Unfortunately I don't technically have the day off.    According to the UW website:

Employees designated as non-essential are advised to use their own discretion regarding their health and safety, and that of their family members, before coming to campus.

Non-essential employees are required to use appropriate leave (i.e., vacation, personal holiday, furlough, etc.) to be excused from the work day Wednesday.

Kinda stingy with the free time off, UW.  Oh well.  Last night we decided that if the bus was running we would plan to go to work/school, but if it wasn't then we'd stay home, so home I am.  I have two furlough days I have to take this spring anyway.  This might as well be one of them.  

So what did we celebrate Storm of the Century Eve?  Um (don't kill us, family) we went to the Badger men's basketball game.

I'd never been to a college basketball game before, so when a coworker (who is probably wondering if she will ever get home from Cincinnati right now) offered us her tickets, I said yes.  There was a lot of debate about braving the weather, but because we could take the bus back and forth we decided to go for it.  It was an exciting game and the Badgers won, which made it worth getting sprayed in the face by snow and packed on a bus with 75 undergrads who were excited about classes being cancelled.  

Nothing special planned for the day.  Probably some yoga and shoveling because running and the gym are out.  Stay safe and warm out there if you are currently being blizzarded.

Snow watch

So yeah... we're just hanging out... you know... waiting for the storm of the century.  Not to be confused with the other 5 storms of the century we've had so far this winter.  The university is open today (crossing fingers for a snow day tomorrow) and nothing on the metro website indicates the bus is not running, so it's a "normal" day for me.

If you are stuck at home now and you've done your Easter candy shopping early, here's an activity to entertain you for oh... a few hours.



Workout:
I had a good treadmill interval run yesterday and am headed back to the gym for weights this morning.  I also got news that the triathlon team is starting spinning on Monday mornings again, so that will add some much needed indoor exercise variety until the weather gets nice.