Fresh Beef and Friends

Growing up, Tricia was one of my best friends.  One summer in particular, I spent almost all of my time on her family farm.  We rode on the fenders of tractors, practiced volleyball on her lawn, washed our hair in the huge bathtub, made homemade pizza for her hard working (and sometimes scary) older brothers, drank diet mountain dew, and listened to the latest Shania Twain CD over and over... and over.  It was amazing. 
In 2007 I got my first full time teaching job at a small catholic school.  That's when I got to know Theresa.  She is 3 years older than I am, so I knew who she was from high school and being friends with her younger brother, but we became good friends fast.  Theresa married Tricia's oldest brother, Tim, and now they live on that wonderful farm.  I went up the other night for a girls get together with the other women I taught with at St. Pete's.  We always have the BEST time when we get together.  We laugh so hard my face hurts and I'm worried I'll pee my pants.  One conversation from last night:
A few months ago Sherry called me and was very upset because her mother had just passed away and Sherry was having trouble with some of the issues that arise surrounding an event like that.  I hadn't heard how things had ended up, so last night I asked her, "how did things go with everything with your mom?"

Sherry looked at me, paused, and said, "Oh.  She died."

Probably inappropriate, but I laughed so hard I almost spit out my steak.

There are 6 of us that get together on a regular basis- Me, Theresa, two Rachels, Sherry, and Linda.  We could not be more different, but somehow we are perfect together.  So even though this blog is already 10 times longer than normal, here's a little about my amazing friend Theresa, and what she cooked for us last night.

If you have ever been lucky enough to eat steak that is like, DIRECTLY from the cow, you know what I mean when I say how delicious is it.  Theresa made steak, salad, pasta salad, and dessert, and it was amazing.  But more amazing than the food is my friend Theresa.  She is one of those women who is strong, but sweet, smart, but adorable, a farm wife with style, and one of those people who, even if you haven't seen them in a long time, you can chat with as though you never missed a moment.  She has two kids and is such a good mom.  I love the way her kids run barefoot and semi-naked around the farm.
And oh, that farm.  So many of the things are the exact same from when I was there growing up.  My favorite is the kitchen, and I love that the floors and the table are the same.  It brings back so many wonderful memories as we sit around and make new, also great memories. 

Here are a few other pictures from last night. 

Theresa has this sign on her wall.  I would have stolen it but I couldn't reach it.

                       Simple Joys really are some of the best things in life!



Welcome to the World, Cooper!

I've known my friend Heidi for a long time.  When I got my first horse, we boarded the horse at her family's farm.  We both competed at horse shows and Heidi was always very good (usually beat me) but she has always been and continues to be a really good friend. She has the most genuine smile and is one of the sweetest people I know.   Heidi and I talked awhile ago about me coming to the hospital to take pictures of her newborn baby when he arrived.  Though, at the time she didn't know if it would be a boy or girl.  Yesterday she texted me she was having contractions, so I charged up my camera battery and got ready! 

I always hated when people said to me, "enjoy every second, they grow up so fast."  I was determined not to say that to Heidi and her husband Pete.  But, when I got to the hospital and saw Heidi as a mom holding her tiny, tiny baby, Pete as a proud father, and Heidi's parents beaming with joy, I just wanted to say, "enjoy every second."  That's why I love taking pictures.  It freezes those moments in time you want to remember, even though new, also great memories are to come.  So here are a few pictures of Cooper... he's even more adorable and perfect in person, and I'm so happy for Heidi and Pete!

Happy Birthday, Cooper. 



A Better Person

When we first get to Door County, we always drive up to the tip of the peninsula.  We drive past all of our favorite things and remember all of our favorite memories.  We drive by Peninsula State Park where we have camped, biked, swam, kayaked, and gotten sunburned.  We drive past various restaurants, like Jo Joes, The Old Post Office, and Al Johnson's.  We drive past stores such as Tannenbaum, Wood Orchard, the Trillium Shop, and the Scandinavian store whose name I can't remember.  There is no real way to describe how I feel when we first drive through Door County.  It's like Christmas, and the first day of school, and how you'd feel when people yell "Surprise" if you had a surprise birthday party.  It's like that.   On this trip, it was no different.  My parents, sister, husband and baby all piled into my parents CRV and took the drive to the top and back.  There are people running, biking, sailing, and people are eating, drinking, slurping ice cream cones.  The mood is just .... happy.  I loudly exclaimed, "Door County makes me want to be a better person!!"  My family laughed, and my sister probably rolled her eyes. 

But it's true.  I've had some tough times in the past 2 or so years with body parts... specifically knees.  I tore my acl, had surgery, had trouble with the pin and my shin bone, got pregnant, had a pretty bad pregnancy (pre-eclampsia, seizures, migraines, not being able to breast feed, and was on crutches for 2 weeks for a knee injury that happened when I was 8 months pregnant), and a few weeks ago had more trouble with my knee.  It looks like surgery number 4 will happen this fall.  I don't mean to use these things as an excuse, but I've gained some weight.   And it's time to lose that weight.

Door County makes me want to spend more time outside and be more active.  So, I signed up for a 5 mile race at the end of Sept.  in La Crosse.  That might seem like a foolish idea being that I have two bad knees, but running is ok, things like jumping and landing, and tennis, or any activity with pivoting would be the problem.   So, if your read this blog, let me know what has worked for weight loss for you in the past!  Running tips would also be appreciated.  I know there's a lot more to losing weight than exercise, but that's just the part I'm letting you all in on for the moment.  : )  

And after all of that serious stuff, here are a few more pictures from my wonderful vacation.  I'll be writing a more in depth Door County post for those who would someday like to visit the greatest place on earth  : )