Well that was Fun

Badgers vs. American

On the home front, not much to report.  Jo continues to rehabilitate her knee through a combination of physical therapy and long walks.  We tried our first little bit of trail hiking this weekend and she seemed to do ok without too much soreness or swelling.  Still has a bit to go before she will be tackling really hilly and uneven terrain, but she is on her way.  I continue to putter around while I search for that one or two things that are going to keep my mind and body engaged.  In the meantime, I'm getting in a lot of quality reading time and keeping the house and chores in tip-top shape (at least I think I am, no confirmation from Jo on that one, as yet). 
Our big excitement was getting tickets to see all the second and third round games that were held in Milwaukee for the NCAA March Madness (that was inserted to increase the hit rate when people do searches!).  We started the fun Thursday morning, with watching our Alma Mater Badgers defeat American and then followed it with three more games on Thursday.  Well, Jo actually went back to work after the Badger game and therefore missed one of the games.  I on the other hand being gainfully unemployed and sponging of the missus got to spend the entire day watching college hoops and eating snacks that are bad for you.  Great way to enjoy a day.

Badgers vs. Oregon

For the Saturday games, Jo was able to get us virtually court side seats (third row from the court with only the press folks in front of us thanks to Northwestern Mutual sponsoring the NCAA - Thank you Northwestern Mutual!) where we first watched Michigan defeat Texas.  We always cheer other Big Ten teams as long as they aren't playing one of our schools.  Then it was a nail biter and thrilling game watching Wisconsin win over Oregon.  It certainly didn't seem that Wisconsin had a chance going into the half time break down 12 points.  But obviously the half time speech and adjustments made by the coach did the trick since they came out and took over the game.  It certainly helped playing before a very one-sided crowd of Wisconsin fans that were cheering so loud our ears were ringing for hours afterwards (it was louder than many rock concerts we have attended at the Bradley Center).  We left the game completely exhausted from the tension of the game, the cheering we had been doing, and the relief at having won.  On to the Sweet Sixteen (another shameless plug for Google Search hits!).

Sunday we caught up on items around the house, took the afore mentioned trail hike to enjoy the warmer temperatures, and did some reading.  To add to the weekly title of fun we woke up this morning to snow covered yards and roads and temperatures in the low 20's.  Winter just wants to just keep on rocking this year but warmer temps are predicted for later in the week.

Another Warm Trip - Phoenix

Continuing our trips out of the cold and into the warmth we spent last week in Phoenix where the day time temperatures were a balmy 80 degrees every day.  This was another business meeting for Jo, but I found lots of time to hang out by the pool, enjoy some lovely warm runs, and a bit of hiking.  We also had the opportunity to take in a spring training baseball game.  Unfortunately, the Brewer game was too far away, but the San Francisco Giants were playing just down the street from us so we took in a Giants/White Sox game.  It was an exciting game with the Giants coming from behind in the bottom of the 9th inning to win.  But mostly, we just enjoyed sitting in the sunshine eating our ball park franks.  After the game, we walked up to Old Town Scottsdale for a little window shopping and a delicious Mexican meal along with a couple of excellent margaritas (well the first one was excellent after that the following ones really didn't matter as much).

I did have the chance to hike Camelback mountain, which was right behind our hotel, one day although Joann decided for the sake of her knee recovery to not attempt it this time.  Some really great views of Phoenix from up there and got to enjoy the local wildlife also soaking up the sun like the rest of us  The rest of the time was taken up with business dinners and as mentioned above, some time spent reading by the pool.

We came home to some nicer weather with temperatures starting to reach into the 50's at times.  Although we are still seeing some days in the low 30's it feels like spring might actually be trying to make its way here.

Before we left for Phoenix we had dinner with our friends Adam and Sarah to meet there new little one.  And found out that they are moving back to the East Coast.  We also took in a Marquette basketball game, they lost in double overtime, with Jo's cousin Melissa and her kids.  That's all the excitement for us in the last couple of weeks.  We do have tickets this week for some of the NCAA games being held in Milwaukee, although unfortunately we couldn't get ones to the Badgers game on Thursday (we might see them on Saturday if they win).

Go Milwaukee Bucks?

We had a very nice quiet week.  Well quiet if you ignore the below freezing temperatures and the multiple snowfalls we had.  It was quite the re-introduction to our winter after our week in the warmth.  I got to shovel several times and it is getting interesting in finding places to keep putting all the snow.  Jo's work week was relatively routine and we spent most of the weekend hibernating although we did manage a short walk on Sunday although we were imitating popsicles by the time we got back.

Our big outing was going to see a Milwaukee Bucks basketball game on Saturday.  The company and food was great although you can't really say that for the basketball team.  They are having a poor season (they had only won 11 games all season with something like 80 losses) and Saturday night didn't help their record any.  But as you can see from the picture Jo is now moving around without crutches, albeit somewhat slowly.  Her leg is recovering although it appears it will be a while before she is back to full strength and full athletic activities on it.  And yes, I just love the indoor blimp which is why it is always in the shots.