I decided to jump on the bandwagon and create some of my own figurine 😏 🏃♂️
With being sick before Christmas (not still at 100% but getting there), Christmas Day, limited kid activities (only hockey), and me having work off till January 2nd, I really have no idea what day it is unless I look at my watch.
🎬 Family Movie Night: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Enjoyed the movie took me a while to tie this movie into the others. My youngest that hadn’t seen the others was fine and then the others I think were struggling as well to figure out the connection as it has been a while.
Backyard Rink Update: December 27
Such a strange winter this has been… I should step back to say that originally I was kind of on the fence if I didn’t want to do a hockey rink this year just because I felt it was not used as much as I would have liked to have seen it last year. However, on a whim and looking at weather forecasts in November I quickly decided to put the boards up and then order a tarp from a new company. Then the weather started to get warm and I waited…. and waited… Like I have done since learning that valuable lesson in my earlier years. However, fast forward to today and it is December 27th and the weather may maybe getting close to the right conditions as you can see from my chart below but I am asking myself a very important question. Am I going to finish building the rink for the 2023-2024 Season?
Such a hard questions as I have a streak going of 9 years and not to mention a good handful of the work is already done with the boards up.
I guess I always do say never say never so who knows maybe in the last moment I will change my mind but I don’t think so as of right now. I don’t take it lightly though breaking a good streak right before a round number but this winter is not what I would have expected and once January 2nd hits everyone will be busy again as normally between Christmas and New Year is when we use the rink the most. Hopefully, looking forward to the 2024-2025 season as I will still have the tarp now and should be ready to go. Guess I will have to (unless I change my mind) since everything is purchased and only labor is needed.
I have now twice in the last almost month been down for the count for over 24hrs. I am hoping to not make this a tradition in 2024 🤦♂️. Sad I missed out on all the Christmas Eve activities with my family but glad to be better somewhat today to enjoy. Thanks to my wife as always to make sure the magic continued as I was down for the count. 🎄🎅
Finally got the yearly picture with Santa off the memory stick. Merry Christmas 🎅🎄
Thanks for taking pictures with us today Santa but want am I supposed to do with this now… I mean could you not have emailed me the 6 pictures 🎅🙄
Some change in our evening activities today so after work I decided ramble around the trails of Edenbrook Conservation Area. It was nice to catch the sunset but by the time I was done with my run it was dark.
Another Apple Watch fail on my run today but I was able to somehow get the .fit file to import correctly in the end. It was nice to have some warmer weather today but I was pressed for time.
Cold run today but still no snow (or ice rink for that matter). Guess on the positive note the trail was still clear so I ducked into it for a little bit.
2023 Iowa State Basketball Road Trip
Last year was the first year for a Christmas gift to my son I took him to the Iowa State men’s basketball game. I pulled him out of school a little early and we did a 3 hour trip down to Ames, Iowa for a 7pm game and then once it was done make the 3 hr drive home getting back around 1am.
This year he was asking for the same thing again as he had a great time and wanted to go watch another game. So around the first part of November, I looked into it and found that not only could we watch the mens game but the womens game as well. So yesterday was the day where we woke up at early to be on the road by 7am to watch a noon women’s game and then a 5pm mens game. The games couldn’t have turned out any better for a fan or even someone that isn’t a fan as we were able to see both teams pretty handily win. My parents joined in on the fun and came to both games as well as a dinner in between both at Hickory Park Restaurant. Our seats were pretty good as I didn’t get them right when tickets would have come out and since the College kids are on break I was able to snag us front-row seats for the women’s game and the first row in the upper deck for the men. Both seats I thought were good and for different reasons.
Luckily, the men’s game only lasted around 2 hrs so we could get on the road in good time and made it back to Eden Prairie by 10:30pm. I had a great day spending time with my son as we don’t always have a free day where neither of us has something going on. I guess I need to put a reminder in my calendar for when the games come out so I can be on the front end of planning for next year and what games we might go watch.
Basketball Game two of the day watching Iowa State Cyclones Mens play against Florida A&M. Another good victory and obviously a happy fan watching his team dominate with a 92-58 win. Now a for the 3 hr drive home. 🏀
Basketball Game one of the day watching Iowa State Cyclones Women play against Troy. It was a good victory and my son was pleased to see his team win 105-68. Now a break before the men play tonight. 🏀
🎬 Family Movie Night - We strayed from a Christmas movie tonight to watch The Family Plan and overall it seemed to get positive comments from the household.
Boardwalks, bridges, and really low tunnels. It was a wet one out there but by getting this run in today I think this is the most millage I have done in a given week this year.
Such a great interview on Manuel Moreale’s People and Blogs series talking to Jamie Thingelstad (@jthingelstad). Even though I have connected with Jamie a number of times I still found this interview very interesting as I really enjoy hearing how his blog came to be as well as why he blogs.
Couldn’t agree more with this statement from Spencer Fry about time off
When you’re working, it’s important to be present and engaged with work, but there’s no reason (unless there’s an emergency) to check in on things when you’re away from your desk.
I have been challenging myself over the past year when taking time off trust the team and stop checking in or getting a pulse.
🎬 Family Movie Night - Obviously a favorite and holiday classic National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. For me it keeps standing the test of time as I continue to enjoy it.
Had some time and with the warmer than normal weather I took it as an opportunity to explore and run longer than planned. It really was a nice night and I can’t believe with the 50°F temps today I found a long patch of snow still on a sidewalk.
Cannot believe it is 50°F today in Minnesota on December 14th. If you have been at the edge of your seat wondering what is up with my backyard rink, lets just say nothing and this is why. As each day goes by I am wondering if I will actually do it this year or if it will just end up being to late.