Kris and Cindy's Blog

New Music This Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:24:00 +0000

Last month I mentioned the tunes we were listening to on our road trip up to Door County, and as sad as it sounds, I've had those same CDs in my disc changer for the last four weeks. Boy do I really miss having a car with an AUX input for my iPod.

While I haven't bought CDs in what seems like forever, or at least since Tower Records closed, I did pick up a few at FYE at Woodfield this past Saturday. I recently have been just buying off the iTunes Store and burning to CD-Rs for the car, but we were there, so I decided to look.

Both of these are 2-Disc collections of Beach House music. Of course, we don't have a beach house. And yes, we don't even have a house (it's a condo). But that's just the name of this brand of music. If you're interested in hearing what sounds like, buy me lunch and I'll drive or just click on the links below.

Habitat Collection: Beach
Various Artists, 2006

2 CD Set
Details at Amazon
Previews at CD Universe

Hed Kandi Beach House
Various Artists, 2008

2 CD Set
Details and Previews at Amazon

By now you must be thinking I have a rather different taste in music that you'd imagine. At some point, I'll get around to posting more details around who, what, etc.

weekend highlights 01/04/09

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:15:00 +0000

It was nice to have a three day weekend. My weekend started with me having a hair appointment on Saturday morning, followed by taking care of Tango while my grandfather, Aunt and Uncle are in Door County. After taking care of tango we walked around Woodfield. After Woodfield we went and bought me a pair of ice skates. We ran some errands, before going home and relaxing, before going to his moms for dinner.

After dinner I hung out with his mom, while Kris and his brother went skating... It is nice to see Kris skating again.

Sunday was a day of running errands, birthday dinner for my mother-in-law, and to go skating in the evening. It was nice to be on the ice again.

Monday was a day of doing the laundry, taking down the Christmas tree, and going ice skating in the evening.

all in all it was a nice weekend.

thanks Cindy

ice skating

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:42:00 +0000

Those of you who know me knows I haven't been on the ice, or tried on a pair of skates in a long time, until this weekend.. That's right I went out and bought a pair of ice skates and went ice skating for the first time in a long time. It was nice to be back on the ice, and we will see how this goes.

Cindy

8 lbs, 6 Weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:45:00 +0000

Well, it's already 6 weeks before leave for Maui, and I have that much time to get down to my goal weight of 180 lbs. I was well on my way before the holidays, coming in at 184 lbs just before Thanksgiving. But as of the New Year, I was back up to 188 lbs, mainly from all those holiday goodies and not spending enough time on the bike.

Excuses aside, I'm still a far cry from the 260 lbs I was this time last year, so just a few more pounds shouldn't be that hard to come by. I'm really looking forward to posting some of those before-and-after type photos from last year's Maui trip to our next one in February, and I figured a little added motivation by tracking my progress here online couldn't hurt.

To help the cause, I was able to spend about 3 hours on the ice last week, and hoping to get out there again tonight. It's been a blast, to be honest, and I'm even more excited after yesterday because we bought a pair of skates for Cindy, too. While it won't be as intensive and frequent as our summertime evenings on the bike trails, just being outdoors and staying active will sure be better than sitting at my keyboard all day.

Winter Classic History part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 22:05:00 +0000

Even though the Blackhawks lost to the Redwings it definitely an experience, and definitely will not be forgotten. The Blackhawks had a great first period. Out scoring Detroit 3-1 and Bent Seabrook had an awesome hit on Cleary, sending him for the hawks players bench, but then the game went down hill from there. That's all I could say.

Even though the Hawks 9 game winning streak with a loss to Detroit on Tuesday... UGH!!! The Hawks had a great winning Streak for the month of December, only losing one game in the month of December to who else Detroit. They find themselves 4Th in the conference and 2ND in their division with 47 points. The Blackhawks just need to put these to games behind them and focus on a big win against Calgery at home on Sunday.

from Cindy

Chicago Hockey History

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:24:00 +0000

It doesn't seem that long ago, yet this time last year we were home watching the first NHL Winter Classic being played in Buffalo, NY on our new 42" HD TV (which we bought for Xmas). The experience was awe inspiring to say the least.

Here we are, a year later and us hometown Chicago fans are at the center of the Winter Classic excitement, and of all places to host such a monumental event than the historic Wrigley Field. Today's game against the Detroit Red Wings will no doubt go in history as the greatest moment in Blackhawks history.

While Cindy and I decided to enjoy the game from the comfort, and warmth, of our living room, my brother was dying to go to the game. After some initial disappointment trying to get tickets, we struck gold last week and scored tickets on the last public on-sale. We really made his Christmas.

So, the network pre-game is about to start, and whether the Hawks win or lose (even though they'll win), today is going to be absolutely amazing. My brother is going to be talking about this game for years to come, and since I lent him my camera, I hope to have photos from the game posted here as soon as humanly possible.

Go Hawks!!!

2008

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:37:00 +0000

With 2009 approaching this would be a good time to reflect on 2008..........

Where has the year gone????

2008 has been a good year>>>
1) Started off by ringing in the New Year with friends and family
2) announced we were taking my mother-in-law to Maui with us in April (b-day present)
3) planned our trip.
4) went to Maui in April.
5) in Maui, got to see the Whales for the first time
6) celebrated birthdays and holidays.
7) got to go to a few Blackhawks games
8) started planning for our next trip to Maui ( in Feb)
9) got to go to Door County for the first time.
10) got to spend Thanksgiving with Family
11) got to go to Door C0unty a second time in many months.
12) spend Christmas with family.

and if there is anything I forgot I apologize.

It has been a good year.
Wishing everyone a Happy Healthy New Year!!!!!

From Cindy

Updates from Kris
Aloha,

I thought I'd expand on Cindy's list with a few items of my own:

By my estimation (and help from my GPS recorder), we spent close to 200 miles on the bike trails this summer
Both of our computers got a lot smaller
Cindy added almost an entire shelf worth of Swarovski in her curio cabinet
I lost a few pounds, at least enough to go from a 42" waist down to a 32", and a shirt size of XXL to M
Cindy and I both signed up for Facebook
Cindy started blogging (16 posts so far)
We also celebrated 5 years of marriage together
I made it back onto the ice this month (and have video to prove it)

Cindy already mentioned our 2 weeks in Maui this year, and I posted our favorite '08 moments in Maui over at our Maui blog.

Yup, it's been a pretty good year, and while there were some challenges, we all made it through in one piece.

Where'd the snow go?

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 15:02:00 +0000

As if the Chicago weather in this month of December hasn't been unbearable already, it just got a little weirder. It seems like after weeks of the same weather pattern of frigid temps, then tons of snow, and again followed by more cold, mother nature decided to make it a little more interesting.

With a mild warm-up yesterday to about 44°F, today we're now looking at a high approaching 60°F, and boatloads of rain to help wash away all that snow cover we've gotten used to. And when I say boatloads of rain, I'm mean they're predicting up to 3" in some areas. When you take about 10" of snow cover from the last few weeks and throw in those types of temps and 3" of rain, you're in for some pretty nasty flooding.

We already saw some of the streets getting water last night when we were coming home, and now at 9am this morning, almost all of the snow on the ground outside of our balcony is gone. Just like that, gone!

Looking at the radar, it appears that the rain should let up in about an hour or two, but coming back after a short break. And then for tomorrow? Back down below freezing with high winds. Go figure.

christmas 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 02:50:00 +0000

It was a very Merry Christmas!!!!

Christmas is about spending time with family and friends, and that's what we did.

On Christmas Eve, my Aunt, Uncle and Grandfather usually go by his brother, or sisters house etc. We were invited to Linda and Tims house. It was nice I to visit with family, I haven't seen in along time.

Christmas Day,
During the day we went to Kris's Aunt and Uncles house and spend Christmas with his: mom, Rose, Glenn, and baby Zach. Michelle, Steve and Alexis, came over. It was nice to spend
Christmas with them.

After spending Christmas with Kris's family, it was on to my family. We went to my Grandfathers house, and spent Christmas with my Aunt, Uncle, and Grandfather. We had a nice dinner followed by opening presents. After we spend Christmas by Grandpa's house we went by his mom's house and gave her her christmas present.

It was a very Merry Christmas. We got to spend the holidays with friends and family, and that is what the holidays are all about

Happy Holidays From Cindy

Guess What? More Snow

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:17:00 +0000

Yes, as if you thought the frustrating pattern of...

Large snowfall, frigid temps, large snowfall, frigid temps, ...

Need another chapter, we'll it's here. It started snowing again waaaaaay early this morning, and for pretty much the entire day now it's been coming down with various amounts on intensity. Just around 3pm or so, while it was still light enough out, it looked rather nice with those giant snowflakes like we say Saturday night. Wishing I had taken a photo earlier, but now that it's darker, however, it's lost most of its charm.

The current predictions have this weather pattern going until at least tomorrow afternoon, and just for fun, switching from snow over to sleet and maybe rain depending on how warm it gets. All this, and no snow in the forecast for Xmas day. What gives? I guess that extra day this leap year is throwing off the schedule.

Anyway, talk of temps in the 40's this weekend is still a possibility, although, it will probably make the snow and ice even worse than it is now. We'll see if they're right about December being the worst of the winter weather this year.

12/22 highlights

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:06:00 +0000

I love this time of the year...... Christmas is around the corner, then New Years, 2009 begins, and then we go to Maui in February. During the time between Christmas and New Years, I get to have a few more days off of work, which is the case this weekend, my three day weekend. In addition to Saturday, Sunday, I have Monday off. Kris is off all this week, so it is nice to be off with him.

The weekend before Christmas was snowy and bitterly cold one. It made it very unpleasant for those who were finishing there Christmas shopping. It didn't stop us from going out, in the bitter cold, and play in the snow. I'll explain more later.

Picture this it is 8:00pm on Sunday night, cappuccino in one hand, listening to your i-pod (on your new i-pod stereo system), and hearing the wind on this bitterly cold day. Then you have an idea of what I am doing.

You remember Thursday nights snow storm... anyway I woke up Friday morning, expecting all this snow on the ground, and my commute to work to be disastrous, but it wasn't the only part that was bad was trying to turn into my parking lot. It was a slow day at the pharmacy, but Fridays are short days for me anyway. I worked until three and then my weekend began. After work I did every one's favorite laundry, then when Kris came home from work, we went by his mom's for dinner and to watch the hockey game.

On Saturday I had my Zach fix.... Saturdays Marilynn along with Katie, Kasey, and Louise babysit Zach, this weekend Marilynn was babysitting him alone, and instead of babysitting Zach by her house, we babysat him by his house. This boy is a ball of energy.

It just started to snow lightly as we were leaving, Before we headed home we stopped to visit friend of mine I used to work with, It was nice to see her.

Saturday evening is when the snow started to come down harder, but that didn't stop us from driving in it. A couple weeks ago Kris Blogged about a hockey rink in Glenview he found called Flick Park. Before we ran our errands, Kris wanted to drive passed the outdoor rink and see if it was open . He didn't have to jump the fence this time. Even though I as Kris said, " I wasn't skating," I still had a good time. There is this awesome hill for sledding that I would like to go on. Even though I hate the cold weather, and not to fond of the snow, the snowflakes coming down was nice. Kris skated for a good hour. it was nice to see him on the ice again. you never know you might a read a post about my first ice skating experience.

We had a few errands to run before going to his moms house for dinner and watch the Blackhawks beat the Vancouver Canucks. Make it 7 games in a row. GO HAWKS!!!

This morning I woke up to frigid cold temps. makes you want to stay in the house and hibernate. Hibernating is what we did in the evening, but during the afternoon we braved the bitterly cold weather, and went out to lunch and ran a few errands. It is amazing how many people were out and about in this cold weather. The bitterly cold didn't stop people from shopping at the various stores in the village crossing shopping center. We had to stop at Michael's and it was packed. After we finished we went home and stayed home.

Monday...... Another bitterly cold day is upon us. at least the sun is shining.. It was nice to have a day off. I took the opportunity to wrap my Christmas gifts. Now I am ready for the holidays.
I really didn't do much just relaxed, but it was nice to have the day off. I work tomorrow, but have Wednesday, and Thursday off, and work Friday. Then I have another 3 day weekend.

Overall I had a nice weekend

thanks Cindy

Second Skating Session

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 17:33:00 +0000

Those following me on Twitter and my Facebook buddies found out last night that I was back out on the ice again, and given today's deep freeze, it was just in time. And unlike two weeks ago, the rink was actually open this time!!!

It was a rather gorgeous night, if you like winter that is. It had been snowing lightly for about an hour by the time we left for the rink, and I was smart enough to bring my own shovel. Being on the ice for about an hour, I probably spent a third of the time shovelling enough space on the ice to actually skate. Those girls from the Ice Crew at the Hawks game are never around when you need them. :)

Anyway, Cindy came with this time, and although she wasn't skaing (yet), she still had fun and even shot a few video clips of me on the ice. I figured some sort of visual reference might be a good idea for those that either (a) don't believe I was back on the ice, or (b) wanted to see how fun it really was and come out skating next time.

This first clip is showing off that I still have a few moves left, and was taken later in the session once I shovelled a large enough area to spread out.

You can sort of see some of the snow falling down, but this next clip that Cindy shot is just of the snow falling itself. Again, if you like winter and enjoy those big fluffy snowflakes, this one is for you. If that's not your thing, you might want to turn away.

Personally, I think that shot of the snow falling is pure beauty. Very well done, dear!

Overall, there are 7 clips that I uploaded, and you can few them using the playlist below. There is one of me shovelling, which is not to be interpretted as my audition tape for next year's Ice Crew. There is also a few of me skating with the camera, including the last one which is a pan of the entire rink. Very peaceful.

Enjoy.

More Than Cold

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 13:12:00 +0000

Was checking out the weather here just north of Chicago and moments after sunrise.

Brrrrrrr. Doesn't seem like much of a choice between here and Hawaii, does it? Happy Winter Solstice.

Update

Hasn't gotten much warmer this afternoon!

Who Needs a Break?

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 03:16:00 +0000

We Do!

Wow, with Xmas just six days away and most of the items on our list behind us, it's time for a well deserved break. For the second year in a row, I'm getting the entire week off for the holidays. And Cindy, taking advantage of her co-workers being off of school for winter break, will only be working 5 days over the next two weeks.

So what are we planning to do with all this time off? Absolutely nothing! All of our holiday shopping is done (thank goodness). The Hawks are on their Canada road trip, and our next home game isn't until Jan 14th. Yup, besides from the usual family festivities for Xmas and New Years, we're pretty much gonna take it easy.

If anything, I'd like to get back on the ice for a little bit next week, weather permitting. Tonight being Friday, Saturday is our normal day for running errands and they're forecasting 1-2" of snow starting in the late afternoon. Sunday, the high temp is supposed to be 4°F. Tuesday would probably be the earliest on temperature alone, so we'll have to see.

For now, it just feels good to not have to think about work until after Xmas. Ahhhhh.

No Time

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 23:27:00 +0000

Well, after the blast we had on Tuesday, the rest of the week so far has pretty much gotten away from me. So far, I've missed two different lunch time blogging sessions which still need to be made up, and we're looking for our second snow storm this week starting in a few hours. Add to that a little bit of extra chaos at work yesterday and today, and it's been nuts.

Aside from that, it's still one week from Xmas, and I'm really looking forward to having next week off. I don't have too much time right now, since we're leaving for another dinner out with family this week, but I'm going to do my best to get at least one of my scheduled blog posts done tonight before I get any farther behind.

Wish me luck!

Best Tuesday this Week

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:37:00 +0000

Given the fact that work Tuesday morning was a little more aggravating than usual (for multiple reasons), and since we had yet another snow storm that dumped close to 4" of snow on us, it didn't look like yesterday was going to be that memeroable. Well, yesterday was awesome!!!

Skipping all the bad stuff and going right for the gold, Tuesday night was our first trip to Buffalo Wild Wings for Bud Light's Hockey Night in Chicago. For about half of the Hawks' road games this season, they host an event at different area BWW locations, with giveways, a season long air hockey tournament, and a packed house with lots of hockey fans. They've been doing this for a few years now, but this was our first one.

The Game

Last night's game was against the Edmonton Oilers, who despite being last in their division were on a bit of a roll winning 5 of their last 7 games. They even recently knocked off the league's best San Jose Sharks in OT, who the Hawks haven't been since 1812 or something like that. Regardless, the Oilers are never a team to take lightly.

And the Hawks did anything but that. With a season record 5 goals in the second period, the Blackhawks provided all the firepower to keep a lot of wings fans (the buffalo kind) very happy despite horrible driving conditions and multi-hour travel times people had to endure to get there. The Hawks finished the night with a 9-2 win, which made everything else seem trivial.

As if a Hawks goal scoring spree and a few drinks wasn't good enough, the Hockey Night in Chicago event was a blast. They hold a season-long air hockey tournament, which my brother and I both signed up for. While my name wasn't picked to face-off in the tournament that night, Bobby's was. It was a short game in the first round, and he ended up getting bumped out by some 320 lb giant. The air hockey table itself didn't look that great, and I think my brother might have broken the other guy's finger with one of his shots. Hilarious.

Even though my name wasn't called for the tournament, it stayed in the box for some of the other giveaways they were having. Which turned out to be pretty sweet because about 30 minutes after Bobby was eliminated from the tournament, my name was called as a winner of 2 tickets to the Jan. 14th game against the Buffalo Sabres. Nice!

Needless to say, with a late 8:30pm start in Edmonton, the game lasted until about 11:30pm. The commute home was about 750% faster than the drive out there, which was great. Getting home around midnight, we mostly just crashed and, as a result, I'm getting a little later start than usual this morning. Well worth it.

Doing it all again

The Hawks website has the schedule for the other upcoming Hockey Nights. While most of them are out of decent driving distance for us, there are at least two more that we'll likely go to. We highly recommend going for anyone that has a chance and loves the Hawks.

No Skating Today

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:32:00 +0000

It was just two days ago when I was saying how bitter cold it was and that chances for skating Friday night were going to be slim. I also mentioned that reports were saying 40s on Saturday. Well, they were just about right.

We were up in Wisconsin on Saturday, but I'll let Cindy cover those details in her weekend post. Regardless, it was rainning for a good part of the day, and did make it up into the upper 30Fs to the point where skating would have been out of the question yesterday even if there was time. And today? Well, they're saying close to 50F! Oh, Chicago weather, how crazy you are.

Looking ahead to the upcoming week and possible skating opportunities, Monday is supposed to be back all the way down to 19F for a high (sheesh), and we already have plans for Tuesday and Thursday. Wednesday and Friday are looking to be the better chances this week, so I guess I'll just need to be a little patient.

Frigid Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:25:00 +0000

Clear skies, bright sunshine, and a gentle breeze. If it were June, it would be gorgeous outside. But alas, here we are less than 2 weeks away from Xmas and that trio of weather conditions means cold, cold, cold. The dashboard thermometer was reading 11F when I was leaving for lunch just a few moments ago, and it's not lying. Wind chills this morning were being reported at -4F as well, and that's not even with a strong wind!

Is it February yet?

Now I'm just complaining for the heck of it. After all, I have lived here all my life. It's really just a little satire for the blog here, that's all. It has gotten to be about as cold as it was in Door County last weekend, even though there were reports it was supposed to be near 40F tomorrow. We'll see.

Anyway, I'm just writing a little note while sitting here at Starbucks like I do every day around this time during lunch. From the drive out to the office this morning, it looked like it was going to warm up at least a little, and I had started thinking about finding a place to skate tonight while the Hawks beat up on Colorado. Seeing that it is really only picture perfect outside and not really temperature perfect, that will have to wait until at least Sunday. Bummer.

Back to the original plan of watching the game tonight. Go Hawks!

Dell Mini Screenshots

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:10:00 +0000

Just a quick follow up on the review of my Dell Mini from a month ago with a few screenshots and updates.

My Desktop Wallpaper

With a screen resolution of only 1024 x 600, I picked this inviting photo out of my favorites.

2GB RAM Upgrade

Not letting the Microsoft imposed 1GB limit at point-of-sale stopping me from upgrading to 2GB.

Disk Space and Drive Settings

Out of the box, the Dell Mini comes with disk files compressed and indexing enabled. Turning off both of these settings has the benefits of slightly better performance, while removing compression consumes more disk space.

Disk Space Distribution

With the drive uncompressed, here's the breakdown of what's using the most space. Windows comes in at about 2.6GB, and with the 2GB RAM mentioned earlier, my hibernation file is that size and located in the root drive folder.

Notes

So you can see with a 16GB drive, it leaves little room for anything else. I also have System Restore turned off, which might sound a little unsafe for a Windows machine. Not using my Mini in a primary document role, I'm story anything worth saving on an 8GB SDHC card which I use solely with my Mini. Should something happen to the OS that I can't repair myself, I can just re-install the OS with the recovery CD and the external DVD drive and back on track.

I have not yet setup a backup schedule for saving a working image of my Mini, which would be easier than doing a re-install. Something I'll setup at some point.

blackhawks fans!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:40:00 +0000

Are you a BLACKHAWKS FAN??? I KNOW I AM................

Kris and I have already been to 4 Black hawks games already, and being at the United Center for each game has been a thrilling experience. The atmosphere is incredible What a rush sitting in the stands, listening to everyone cheer, and clap when they show the Hawks come out of the Locker room before the game or in between periods, when the national anthem is being sung, or

when the Black hawks score a goal.

Win or lose every one of the games I have been to has been an awesome, but the most memorable was the game vs the Anaheim Ducks on December 3rd. Picture this.... It was a cold snowy Wednesday evening 21,000 fans packed the United Center. We were sitting in section 311? I think. row 2. It was up and down pretty much the whole game., Anaheim had a 2-1 lead going into the third period... at that point the 21,000 fans were starting to get restless, myself included, but one penalty by Anaheim, led to another which led to a momentum switch in the hawks favor. 2 minutes remain in the game and the hawks tie it. the Hawks would go on to win 4-2.

The fans our the best I love going to Blackhawks games. You get to really appreciate the game.

Door County - Dec '08 Photos Posted

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 04:25:00 +0000

What few photos I was able to take from Friday have now been posted. You can check them out on Flickr at our Door County - Dec '08 photo set.

As we had anticipated, there was quite a bit of snow already on the ground when we arrived. Friday was a very nice day, although it was terribly cold with temps only in the teens. Clear skies and only a brisk wind at times on Friday made for some good shooting conditions.

Saturday, however, was a different story altogether. The winds really picked up, and by Friday evening, it was snowing again. And is snowed all night and much of Saturday morning. It tapered off a little bit in the afternoon, but then the winds picked up. 30+ mph winds with gusts going up to 50 mph! Bruttle for me to try and stay outside long enough to take more photos.

Anyway, take a peek and let me know what you think.

Season's First Skate

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 02:21:00 +0000

While I came up empty over the weekend on our trip to Door County, I still managed to get the skates on last night. It was short, only 20 minutes, but it was still very sweet.

It was a tiny little outdoor rink in Glenview, which technically was closed last night. It about 7:15pm and it was still snowing just a little bit. When I pulled up, there were already two kids out there shooting around. No nets, no boards, just a set of bleachers and an 8 ft fence around the snow and the ice. When I say it was technically closed, the gate was actually locked. I didn't realize that at first, and it wasn't until I made almost an entire lap around the small rink before asking the kids how they got one the ice. There was only one way ... up and over.

Not having nets or boards to shoot against, it wasn't ideal. There was a dusting of snow still on the ice itself, which looked cooler than it was. The temp in the car said it was about 18°F with the air temp alone, probably a little cooler with the light wind. Skating wasn't that bad all bundled up, but my lungs filling up with that colder than usual air slowed me down sooner than I would have liked.

The verdict on the rink? It's still early in the season, so if they do manage to put up boards and have nets when the rink is officially open, it might be a nice backup if there aren't too many people out there. It was nice and quiet, so that helped with the atmosphere. Still going to look for a better option for more regular hockey sessions.

And no, I did not climb the fence with my skates on!

Door County - Dec 7th, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 02:12:00 +0000

It has been a nice weekend, even though it has been too cold for my taste. I love being up here, and definitely will come back, but I'm not sure if I will come back to Door County during the winter months. You could tell it is the off season in Door County. I did some Christmas shopping, in Fish Creek, and the shops on Jefferson St in Sturgeon Bay. Had pizza at our favorite pizzeria, did some driving. We drove up to Northport pier where you catch the ferry to Washington Island, and took some photos of the lake and snow covered trees. Drove up to Whitefish Dunes State Park, where Kris was able to take photos. We had brunch at Alexanders in Fish Creek, before going home.

It was nice to get away because looking at our calendar, it is going to be a busy one for the Nelson's until we leave for Maui on 2/15.

Our Travel Music this Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Kris Nelson) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:49:00 +0000

Looks like Cindy's got all the daily updates from our Door County trip pretty much covered, so I thought I'd write up a little something about the driving music that we've been listening to for the some 700+ miles in the car when the trip is all said and done.

This trip, I went with a collection of mixes from German DJ and producer Roger Shah, aka DJ Shah, aka Sunlounger. Here are the links to iTunes if you'd like to check any of them out for yourself.

Magic Island, Music for Balearic People, Vol. 1 & 2 [ iTunes | Armada ]
Songbook [ iTunes ]
Sunlounger Sessions [ iTunes | Armada ]
Sunny Tales [ iTunes | Armada ]
Another Day on the Terrace [ iTunes | Armada ]

You can read more about Roger Shah on his artists page at Armada Music's website.

These mixes are perhaps the best examples of a sub-genre of dance music known as Balearic Trance that I have been able to find to date. Inspired by the Balearic Islands and the dance party island of Ibiza, this sound has more of an island flavor, even something of a latin scheme at times, which continuing with up-beat tempos that keep your toes tapping and relaxes your soul no matter where you are. All this without putting you to sleep, which is a big help when driving. ;)

As for tunes outside of the car? Well, that's Cindy's area. She gets control of the iPod speakers with her Nano, which covers everything from Lifehouse and Rob Thomas to Nickelback and Scott Stapp. There's also some Natasha Bedingfield, Pink, Jillian Huff, and countless others that I can't even name. She knows them all, though, and since she doesn't mind my driving music, her music at the lodge and at home is fine with me.

Door County - Dec 6th, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 21:48:00 +0000

Looks like Sister Bay got some snow overnight. I woke up to about an additional 1" of snow on the ground. I thought it was going to be a cold day, even though it is windy outside temp wise it isn't too bad, definitely warmer then it was yesterday. Before going to Sturgeon Bay, we stopped at a store in Fish Creek called Lower Deck, (store is famous for their fleece shirts, sweaters, etc,) and picked up couple more Christmas gifts. It took us about an hour to get to Sturgeon Bay. Once we were in town we walked around the shops on Jefferson St and 3rd Ave. I was able to find something for my uncle at this local winery store called Simon Creek and find a gift at the Door County Confectionery. It was a very successful trip.

After walking around we stopped at the Inn at Cedar Crossing for lunch. After lunch we drove back to the lodge and relaxed. Since I was able finish my Christmas shopping up here, it is a good feeling to say I am finished. Now I just have to address my Christmas cards.

We decided we were going to be in for the night, but before we are in we went to the Sister Bay Bowl and supper club for dinner. Then we came back to the lodge, relaxed and listened to the Hawks vs Red Wings game.

Tomorrow we are leaving, but before we leave we are going to brunch to Alexanders in Fish Creek.