Spring Ahead

I got back yesterday from a great trip to Spring Training in Florida!  I visited my friend Henri and went to three ball games, Tampa (Yankees), Clearwater (Phillies) and Orlando (Braves).  The most memorable thing from the Yankees game was trying to sell my extra tickets.  They put is in a "bullpen" area for scalpers and I got to wrestle with the professional scalpers to sell the tickets.  I felt like I needed a shower after standing with those guys!  At the Clearwater game, we were part of a stadium record crowd.  It was packed!  The park was really nice, with Philadelphia cheesesteaks and a 692 foot Johnny Damon home run.  Seriously.  The sign he hit it by said 692 feet.  Longest. Homerun. Ever.  Ok, not really, but it was a nice homerun.  Here's a picture of the Phillies spring training home (thats David Price on the mound):

In Orlando, the Braves spring training is on the Disney property.  Henri is a vacation club member there, so we got a villa at the Animal Kingdom lodge, with a Savannah view!  Right outside our room were giraffes, wildebeests, ostriches, and African cattle.  I woke in the morning to the sound of a warthog oinking!  Very cool room - highly recommended!  Look closely below and you can see the cattle and an ostrich (sorry, phone camera doesnt have zoom).

The Braves game was also very fun.  It was at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, which was also hosting a cheerleading competition and a lacross tournament.  Think dolled up 14 year old girls in way too much makeup, mixed with shirtless 17 year old boys carrying lacross sticks.  Yeah, we hurried into the game as quickly as possible.  Chipper Jones hit a homerun in the game and looked great.  At least players older than me can still smack the ball!  It was a nice trip; not a cloud in the sky, shorts on for the first time in 2011, sunburn on my neck and a smile on my face.  

Thinking Inside the Box

I bought a new office chair today to see if it will help my hip bursitis.  I was noticing my hip hurt more after sitting in my office chair so I wanted one with more cushioning.  Anyway, this isnt a blog post about a chair.  Its a post about a box.  The box the chair came in to be more specific!

The kids decided the box was really a car.  They colored it all up and made it into a convertible.  On the inside front, they taped a steering wheel.  Yep, they've been playing with a cardboard box for about an hour!  Here's some photos of the new drivers.

This box is going to be pretty great for dad too.  Apparently corrugated cardboard makes for excellent smoke in a bee smoker.  There's a reason the cardboard box is in the Toy Hall of Fame people.  

Winter Sports

Sorry again for the long delay between blog posts!  My deadline at work has passed, so I should have energy at home again!

Emma went for skiing lessons late last week!  There is a ski hill in the town next to ours (Tyrol Basin) that offers lessons for kids.  Below is a video of Emma skiing (turn off the volume)! Not bad for a first timer!  Here's hoping this shows up in an olympic montage someday!

Erin got to do some skiing with her too.  Definitely something they will do again next winter!  Me, I'm looking forward to spring.  Spring training that is.  I head to Florida to see some games with my friend Henri next Thursday!  Where did I put those shorts?

Bees on Order

I sent in my "reservation" for bees today!  I reserved them from Dadant & Co in Watertown and requested a mid-April delivery.  I should be getting a 3 pound box of bees.  I have to go there to pick them up, which begs the question: "What do you do with a box of bees while you're driving?!"  I think I'll have to bring Erin along so she can hold them on her lap!  She'll be really excited about that!

It was a $10 deposit on a $76 package.  I have to put down $4 as a deposit on the box.  I'm not sure its worth $4 to drive it back to Watertown, so lets just say it costs $80 for a three pound box of bees.

I also got the glass repaired in my hive today.  I took it to Verona Plumbing and Glass and they fixed it up nicely.  I didnt tell them what it was, so they had a good time guessing what it was for.  Nobody guessed it was a beehive!  It was nice to talk with them in the shop.  I worked there about 18 years ago.  Those guys taught me how to work hard!

My next step is to paint the roof of the hive.  I bought some white primer, and then I was thinking I might let the girls paint some more on top of the white.  I definitely want to get them involved!

Jump Around

Its been a long busy week at work - sorry for no blog posts this week!  Boy, was I glad to get a chance to go to the Badger game yesterday!  I needed that!

The Badgers were playing #1, and undefeated, Ohio State.  There was a big buildup for the game.  During the football season, the Badgers had beaten #1, and undefeated, Ohio State.  Everyone was wondering if the basketball team could do it too. The crowd was loud and ready to see an upset.  The Badgers played really well in the first half and was only losing by two.  The second half started really poorly and we were eventually losing 47-32 - 15 points!  It looked like a loss for the Badgers.

But then, the Badgers made a 3!  And another!  And another!  Everyone was on their feet and cheering. It was the loudest I have ever heard the Kohl Center.  We tied it!  When they made another 3 pointer with 30 seconds to play, there was elation.  I was literally jumping up and down!  Amazing!  Improbable!  Unbelievable!  We won!

When you've had a tough week, let yourself do something fun!  Get carried away in it!  Jump Around!  Have fun!

First Lessons In Beekeeping

Yesterday, I went to the full day beekeeping class I wrote about a month ago. I went expecting to be in a round table class with 10 or 12 other people.  I arrived in a large classroom with 90 students.  90!  It was pretty incredible to see so many people interested in beekeeping.  We all wore name tags and it was neat seeing where everyone came from.  I felt like singing the Johnny Cash song "Ive Been Everywhere".

The instructor was excellent.  She was very knowledgeable and had a good sense of humor about how beekeeping worked.  I know a lot more than I did on Friday, and I actually feel more relaxed about the things I was worried would trip me up.  She would explain how things were supposed to work, then tell you that it wouldn't work that way, but you would figure it out!  

The main question I had going into the class was "How do I get bees?!"  The answer is you order them.  They come in a screened box, with a metal soup can looking thing that feeds them sugar syrup.  In the box is also a much smaller box, about the size of a matchbox, that holds your queen.  I can order it from Dadant, in Watertown, and pick it up there.  Interestingly, Dadant is the author of "First Lessons In Beekeeping", the book I am planning to buy as a reference.  Apparently, the author is an ancestor of the Dadants who run this business.  They are 7th generation beekeepers.  I think I'm in good hands.  Bees cost about $60-$70 for a package.  They are sold in weights, and I'll probably buy 3 pounds.  I will be able to pick them up in April.  

I also met the Honey Queen of Wisconsin.  Emma and Ginny would have been so impressed!

Half the Man I Used to Be

Well, that's not true.  I'm 80% of the man I used to be.  Today I reached my goal weight of 160 pounds, about 40 pounds lighter!  Lots of people ask me why I decided to lose weight.  I dislocated my knee again in August and I realized I had not lost the weight I gained during the recovery from my knee surgery.  I figured I should lose that weight (and then some) so it would put less stress on my knees.  That and the Wii fit thing can quit calling me overweight!

The next question people ask me is how I'm doing it.  If I had to pick one thing I'm doing, its that I'm eating smaller portions.  I'm eating dinner on a side plate rather than the main plate.  I've also tried to replace processed foods with more fruits and vegetables.  This is where Erin has really helped me.  I really couldn't do it without her.  She has been making me really delicious low calorie meals.  I hardly know I'm on a diet!  I still eat things I like, just in more moderation.

Ah, and the other thing, it snowed about 2 feet here last night.  Snow day in Madison!  Well, it was for the kids anyway - I worked from home.  My parent's neighbor had their entire front door covered in a drift.  The WHOLE door!  Ours wasn't that bad.  Here's a picture of the drift on our deck.  Its taller than Ginny!!