Steven Helmer Publications

I didn't see much on my walk today. But, I did manage to get up the big hill in the park and snap a photo of the still-frozen Beaver Dam Lake.

It was colder than yesterday with a bit of overcast and I considered not going for a walk at lunch today as a result. But, March is expected to come in like a lion tomorrow with winter weather so I figured I would squeeze it in while I still had an opportunity. Overall, the walk was a bit of a bust photo-wise. I heard a cardinal and plenty of other birds (including a woodpecker that sounded like it was using a jackhammer) but they stayed pretty well hidden the whole time I was out. On top of it, I had to maneuver around ice-covered trails like this one. I foolishly attempted to continue down this trail. By the time I realized I made a horrible mistake, I was already past the point of no return and had to carefully continue forward because going back was just as (maybe more) risky. But, on a positive note, I managed not to fall or throw out a hip. And, I didn't have to worry about mosquito bites or ticks.

Next week is the start of ice show rehearsals, which basically means my daughter and I can plan on pretty much living at the ice rink for the next month or so. We're pretty much veterans of this now so it shouldn't be too terrible. The hardest part will be making sure she stays on top of her homework, especially on Mondays, when she needs to be there not long after school is over until just before she would normally be going to bed. I guess I should get some books to read since I'm going to be there too. The ice show, if anyone is interested, is Rapunzel's Story and there will be four shows April 20-22. http://www.swancityiceskaters.org/page/show/1287589-swan-city-ice-show

As I had hoped to do, I managed to take advantage of the warm/sunny day and walk some of the trails with my camera. I'm a bit rusty photography wise. And, I had to spend a good chunk of my time watching my step because there was still some ice and a lot of mud. But, I managed to get a few photos. Hopefully, in a few weeks, I'll be able to do this almost daily again.

The weather is supposed to be really nice today, with temps around the 50s, so I'm going to take my camera with me and try to once again go for a walk at lunch. I'm not sure how successful I will be though. I'm expecting that park to be very muddy and that might limit just how far I'm going to be able to walk. Plus, I'm not sure what critters, if any, will be out and about for me to photograph. But, I figure it's worth a shot.

There's a few days left in the semi-final round to win new lighting for our local ice rink and, last night, one of the TV stations in Madison picked up the story. https://www.channel3000.com/news/dodge-county-ice-arena-in-semifinals-for-led-light-upgrades/707641884 If interested, you can vote for the volunteer-run rink here: http://www.lightlikethepros.com/vote/entries/172060059?type=vote

Last night, The Walking Dead returned to TV after a short break. Instead of watching the new episode, my wife and I chose to record it and, instead, watch an episode of Z Nation because we both agree it is the better television show about zombies. You can read about the reasons here: https://wizzley.com/why-z-nation-has-replaced-the-walking-dead-as-our-favorite-zombie-tv-show/

Just a photo of Echo as he stood watch from one of the top platforms of the cats' cat tree.

Despite all the ice in the back yard, it's actually not too bad of a day out today and the squirrels were out in large numbers this morning. I grabbed this photo of one of them.

After some encouragement (and me helping her set it up), my wife is starting her own blog. It's still new and she's still a bit undecided about what it will be about. But, please take a moment to check it out. www.cyndi-l.com

This is what happens when you get a lot of rain while the ground is still frozen. With the exception of a small strip up by the house, my entire back yard is currently a frozen lake. Hopefully, the yard itself will bounce back. I am, however, concerned about the stuff in my shed since I'm sure some of that is currently under water.

He was hanging out on the computer chair again today (with his paws over the arm again), so I snapped his photo while he was there.

Synopsis: Needing to use the restroom and mistaking it for a shopping mall, losers Bud and Doyle enter an environmental bio-dome experiment and get locked in with a team of scientists for one year. When their ineptitude threatens to destroy the experiment, they must do everything they can to save the bio-dome. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/movie-review-bio-dome-1996/

Unfortunately, this isn't from this year (it's from last May). But, I am hoping to see them again soon.

The vote tallies aren't shown any more so there's no way to confirm this 100 percent. But, our board members were apparently told the Beaver Dam Family Center is sitting in first place with a little over a week left in round 2 voting. If they make it to the final round of voting, they will have a real chance to earn $50,000 in new lighting, something that would be a huge boon for the volunteer-run rink. If you're interested in helping them out by casting your vote, the link is here: http://www.lightlikethepros.com/vote/entries/172060059?type=vote

Re-sharing a photo I took a couple years ago. I can't wait until spring gets here so I can start going outdoors with my camera again.

I don't have any real reason for sharing this photo (taken a couple years ago). It's just a gloomy day out there and I figured I would share it to hopefully brighten it for someone.

Synopsis: A high school English teacher, Mr. Sheldon, is excited when a new student, Lucas Ward, joins his class and shows above-average intelligence and an eagerness to be the very best student. However, he quickly learns Lucas is more dangerous than he seems when the teen begins to sabotage his career and his marriage after receiving a B+ on one of his papers. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/movie-review-dismissed-2017/

Synopsis: After a reverend dies at a dinner part, Hercule Poirot believes the man, who was in poor health, died of natural causes. However, when a doctor dies in a similar fashion at another party with many of the same guests and is determined to have been poisoned, Poirot realizes he made a mistake the first time and agrees to help an actor and his companions solve the case. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/book-review-three-act-tragedy-1934/

I woke up this morning to the news our school district will be having a 2-hour weather delay. We didn't get snow last night. But, we did have a bit of freezing rain and our superintendent must be under the impression the roads are just slick enough to justify a later start. This is an opinion I don't share. I personally thought the streets were fine and have heard the same about the country roads. At minimum, they aren't as bad as they were a few weeks ago, when we had several inches of snow and schools were on time. The most annoying part of this delay is, even though the kids get one, my wife and I don't. That means we are scrambling to rearrange our mornings so we can get them to school. We think we have it figured out (she takes the oldest daughter on her way to work and I went into the office but will come home for an early lunch and take our youngest daughter). But it is definitely an inconvenience that required a lot more forethought than it was worth.

Synopsis: Feeling her family is in a rut, Charlie Newton is thrilled to learn her mom's younger brother, Charlie (the man she was named after) is making a surprise visit. However, when Uncle Charlie arrives, he begins to act strangely. And, when two detectives also arrive, she begins to suspect her uncle is a wanted murderer. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/movie-review-shadow-of-a-doubt-1943/

My oldest daughter had her first skating competition of 2018 yesterday at the Pettit Center down in Milwaukee. It was our first visit to this rink, which is where Olympic skaters train. And, overall, I thought it was pretty cool, especially with them having two rinks (side-by-side) and a speed skating track in what was a pretty large building. It was, by far, the largest rink she's ever skated in. For her part, my daughter did pretty well yesterday. It was her first time skating at the pre-preliminary level and she finished second in compulsory and 5th in her program. There's always going to be room for improvement, but she was right in the mix, has a good foundation and two weeks to find ways to improve before her next competition. It was a very exhausting day, however. She was asleep in the backseat before we even made it out of Milwaukee. Considering she's normally very energetic, that was a surprise.

It's kind of dark and a bit snowy outside today. But, there were a couple squirrels looking for food in the front yard so I took a photo of this one.

Synopsis: Two years after being banished from his home town for killing two men in self defense, Clint Cooper returns to warn the sheriff about a gang of outlaws that plan to ransack the town. Despite getting the cold shoulder from most of the town's residents, he reluctantly agrees to stay and help them defend their homes. However, the father of the men he killed is determined to make sure he doesn't survive the night. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/movie-review-the-quick-gun-1964/

Product Description: Frozen chicken and vegetable dumplings from the Bibigo brand. The dumplings are prepared in the microwave in a special steaming tray. I purchased a box of 36 dumplings for $7.99 while shopping at Costco this past weekend. My wife and I made a tray of the dumplings to go with our dinner last night. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/review-of-bibigo-chicken-and-vegetable-steamed-dumplings/

Synopsis: When they discover their beloved television has been stolen, teenagers Beavis and Butt-Head go on a quest to find it. A case of mistaken identity leads to them being hired by a man looking to murder his wife and, when they accept (believing he wants them to sleep with her instead), they ultimately end up being the center of a nation-wide manhunt involving a stolen biological weapon. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/movie-review-beavis-and-butt-head-do-america-1996/

Synopsis: After being presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for saving both Los Angeles and New York City from sharknado storms, Fin Shepard is faced with a new challenge as a series of powerful and seemingly random sharknadoes threaten to destroy the entire eastern part of the United States. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/movie-review-sharknado-3-oh-hell-no-2015/

It's actually the same icicle I photographed before. However, it's getting larger so I figured I would grab another photo of it this morning.

My daughter is competing at the Pettit Center in Milwaukee this upcoming weekend and needed a new skating dress because she is outgrowing the one she already has. We looked at buying her a dress. But, since they can run in excess of $300, my wife decided to buy the material and just attempt to make her one instead (something she's done in the past but it had been a while). She started it last week and, despite a variety of issues, including her sewing machine not working (forcing her to use her new serger instead), finished it yesterday. Total cost for materials was about $35, making it much less expensive than most of the pre-made dresses we were looking at. She eventually wants to attempt something a little more complicated, and has even sketched out the design, but that will have to wait until summer, when she has more time.  In the meantime, this one will work just fine, both for this weekend and another competition the first weekend in March. The only thing that...

Product Description: Frozen, single-serve, Italian sausage lasagna from the Devour brand that is prepared either in the microwave or oven. I purchased this product at one of our local grocery stores Friday morning for $3.35. I ended up preparing this lasagna and eating it for dinner late that evening. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/review-of-devour-italian-sausage-lasagna/

Synopsis: While flying to New York to promote a book about the first sharknado event, Fin and his ex-wife, April, experience a new sharknado that forces the plane to crash land and costs April her hand. Realizing things are about to get worse, Fin searches New York for his sister and her family so he can keep them safe while trying to once again save the day. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/movie-review-sharknado-2-the-second-one-2014/

My wife and I won't be able to celebrate Valentine's Day this year, both because of work and parental commitments. So, as we were running errands today, we stopped by Rocky Rococo's and got one of their heart-shaped pizzas, as has become tradition for us. After getting back and picking up the kids from my parents' house, my kids expressed some disappointment over not getting some of the pizza too. So, I ended up ordering a couple others from Marco's Pizza here in town and we had that for dinner. Of the pizzas, I think I enjoyed the one from Rocky Rococo's best. The one from Marco's wasn't bad. But, it was thin crust, which I'm not a huge fan of, while the first pizza was much more filling.

Synopsis : Vacationing Hercule Poirot is summoned back to London and gains passage on the Orient Express. A couple days into his journey, the train becomes stranded by the snow and the man in the compartment next to his is murdered. With the murderer still on board and the train being miles away from police assistance, it is up to Poirot to figure out who the murderer (or murderers) is. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/book-review-murder-on-the-orient-express-1934/

Synopsis: Chess editor Larry Elliot is the worst newspaper reporter alive and often will miss or completely ignore a good story and focus on something less important. However, with the rest of the newspaper staffed tied up with an escaped convict story, the newspaper has no choice but to entrust him with covering a festival hosted by their biggest advertiser and assign him the story with the understanding he will lose his job if he screws up again. Unfortunately for Larry, his bumbling ways continue when he takes the wrong bus and ends up in the wrong city. To make matters worse, the man sitting next to him on the bus is murdered and he is the number one suspect. You can read my review here:  https://wizzley.com/movie-review-scared-stiff-1945/

Synopsis: A complicated kidnapping case involving an infant that requires life support to live results in Rafael Barba (Raul Esparza) taking the initiative and pulling the plug on the child. While he feels he made the right decision, both for the infant and its family, he also faces prison time for second-degree murder and must hope for a jury to acquit him. You can read my thoughts here: https://wizzley.com/final-thoughts-from-the-law-order-svu-episode-the-undiscovered-country/

I snapped this with my phone as I got to the office this morning. It's a perfect representation of how frozen I was feeling.

Even though I got picked on a bit because of this, I figured I would share it because it was a bit bizarre and I'm confident I didn't imagine it. I was at the office yesterday, sitting at my desk and, out of nowhere, I had a puff of smoke in my face. I have no idea what it was. It came from behind me, as though someone were standing back there smoking a cigarette. But, I couldn't find the source of the smoke and didn't see any time before or after that. At first, I thought maybe I was imagining it or there was a smoke-like stain on my glasses that was giving me an illusion. However, in addition to seeing it, I could smell it too and it burned my nose the same way it burns when I accidentally inhale smoke while grilling. Because of that, I'm positive it was really there. It was a little unnerving, to be honest, and I spent most of the afternoon trying to find the cause. I even attempted to do a video feedback on the security camera but that turned out to be p...

Synopsis : After learning her brother Chic (Hart Denton) has killed an intruder. Betty (Lili Reinhart) helps her mom (Madchen Amick) dispose of the body and clean up the blood. However, her guilt over the man's death and her family's cover-up compels her to seek help from Jughead (Cole Sprouse) before she goes insane.  Meanwhile, Archie (KJ Apa) faces increased pressure from Agent Adams (John Behlmann) and must either help him find dirt on Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) or his dad (Luke Perry) will face prison time. You can read my thoughts here: https://wizzley.com/final-thoughts-from-the-riverdale-episode-the-tell-tale-heart/

The Beaver Dam Family Center (the small, non-profit ice rink my daughter skates out of ) is still in the hunt for $50,000 in new lighting. Since they have limited funds, this would be a huge win for them so there is now an all-out effort to get the community involved to cast their votes. I'm posting the link here just in case anyone wants to help out their cause. You can vote once every 24 hours. http://www.lightlikethepros.com/vote/entries/172060059

Synopsis: As he awaits his execution, prison guards notice inmate John Coffey, who was convicted of raping and murdering two young girls, possesses mystical powers that give him the ability to read minds, heal the sick and even bring the dead back to life. As he willingly uses his powers to help them, they begin to wonder how a man with God-given abilities could have committed such a heinous crime. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/movie-review-the-green-mile-1999/

This is an older photo, from a couple years ago. I'm mostly just posting it because I was getting tired of seeing just snow out there.

Synopsis: Greg Heffley planned to spend his summer vacation playing video games. However, when his dad bans video games in the house and offers to get him a summer internship at his company, Greg instead spends his summer pretending he has a job at a local country club so he can spend time with his friends. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/movie-review-diary-of-a-wimpy-kid-dog-days-2012/

He had a bit of excitement this morning. One of the neighborhood squirrels was very curious about him and was nose-to-nose (through the closed window) with him for several seconds before hopping down and scurrying off (before I could get a photo of course).

Synopsis: When mutilated bodies begin turning up, the investigating authorities suspect they are victims of another Jigsaw copycat killer. However, when all the evidence begins to point to the original Jigsaw, John Kramer, it is up to the police to figure out if Kramer faked his death or if there is a new criminal mastermind at work. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/movie-review-jigsaw-2017/

Product Description: Frozen, breaded chicken patties from the Country Pride brand. I purchased a bag of 10 frozen patties at one of our local grocery stores yesterday evening for $5.49. My wife and I ended up making these in the oven and (after adding them to a bun) served them for dinner last night. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/review-of-country-pride-breaded-chicken-patties/

Synopsis: When her college roommate comes down with the flu, literature student Anastasia Steele fills in for her and interviews billionaire Christian Grey for their college paper. Ana finds him intimidating and is surprised when the billionaire makes it clear he is attracted to her. However, he has no interest in a romantic relationship and, instead, wants her to be his submissive. In order to remain with him, the reluctant Ana must decide whether to agree to his "contract" and be willing to become his sex slave. You can read my review here:  https://wizzley.com/movie-review-fifty-shades-of-grey-2015/

I don't know if Jimmy the Groundhog will see his shadow today or not. But, I do know, if I were a groundhog, I wouldn't even come out of my hole. According to the thermometer on my clock, it's 0 degrees out there and, with the wind, I'm assuming it is going to feel a heck of a lot colder than that. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to leaving the house today, even though I really don't have much of a choice. Guess I'd better bundle up.

Synopsis : Still grieving the loss of their young son and unable to have any more children of their own, Jessie and Mark decide to become foster parents. They are given a foster son, Cody, who is polite and well-behaved. They quickly learn Cody has a special gift, whenever he sleeps, his dreams become real. However, there is a catch, his nightmares, which feature a creature he calls the Canker Man, also become real and are the reason his previous foster parents disappeared. You can read my review here:  https://wizzley.com/movie-review-before-i-wake-2016/