Steven Helmer Publications

Everyone is picking on the poor groundhogs (Jimmy and Phil) because they predicted an early spring and the weather couldn't be more winter-like. Well, I'm going to ask everyone to stop calling them liars. After all, when groundhogs predict an early spring, they don't give an exact date. The official first day of spring isn't until March 20. It's only February still. As long as we get spring-like weather by March 19 at 11:59 p.m., the prediction was accurate. And, honestly, I'll still take their prediction over any meteorologist pretty much any day of the week.

By taking a photo of this ice forming on some of the taller grass near my house. But, that is the extent of my enjoyment. I'm ready for spring to get here now.

My new health insurance offers an incentive program that pays me $20 every time I hit 10,000 steps 12 times or more in a month. I decided to accept that challenge and even recently purchased a new FitBit to help me keep track. I am now a couple weeks into this challenge with relatively decent success. Along the way, I have learned three very important things. 1. 10,000 steps is not impossible to do. At first, I had some doubts about this, mostly because I sit behind a desk 8 hours per day and haven't been able to get out for my lunchtime walks because of the weather. I have, however, managed to hit that mark roughly once every other day. 2. It does, however, take some planning. A lot of it is really just shifting how I do things. For example, when I take mail to the mailbox, I make multiple trips rather than taking it all at once. If I need to use the rest room, I take the long way. And, when I'm at the ice rink, I make time to get some walking in (there's plent...

Synopsis: A World War II Army major is put in charge of a group of ex-soldier convicts and told to turn them into a commando unit. They are then sent on a top secret suicide mission to kill dozens of high ranking German officers so the German military will struggle to respond to the upcoming D-Day invasion with the promise they will have their sentences commuted if they succeed and survive. You can read my review here:  https://wizzley.com/movie-review-of-the-dirty-dozen-1967/

Specifically, Happy Gilmore after he got hit by that car. I had hoped to avoid this crud, which my wife has had for about a week now and both of my kids also caught. But, unfortunately, that didn't end up being the case. But, I have too much to do to be sick at the moment and am not a big fan of cold medicines (or the reactions I wind up having to them) so I'm toughing it out and letting it run its course. I'm just hoping I feel better on Saturday morning, when I'm running a booth at the local youth expo.

Synopsis : Feeling under the weather and facing the prospect of spending Christmas alone, Hamish Macbeth reluctantly agrees to accompany one of Priscilla's friends, Jane Wetherby, to her health farm and investigate what she believes were attempts on her life. While he is doubtful the "attempts" were anything more than accidents, Hamish quickly learns Jane isn't very popular with her highly conservative neighbors and does think her life is in danger. However, when a body is discovered, it isn't Jane. Instead, it is one of her guests, the snobbish Heather Todd. Review: My wife and I had a lot of time to kill this past Sunday while waiting for our youngest daughter at what was essentially a day-long dance camp. As a result of that, I managed to read both Death of a Hussy and this book with plenty of time to spare. So far, I have been pretty impressed with M. C. Beaton and her character Hamish Macbeth. However, this book did leave me a little disappointed. ...

Synopsis: Maggie Baird became a wealthy woman by being a mistress for a series of rich men. However, after a love affair left her heart broken, she let herself go and now lives in Lochdubh with her cancer-survivor niece Alison Kerr. Determined to regain her former glory, Maggie undergoes a transformation that involves cosmetic surgery and other expensive treatments. She then invites four men from her past in an effort to get one of them to marry her for her money. However, her plan goes awry when she is killed in a car fire. The official investigators believe it was an an unfortunate accident. However, constable Hamish Macbeth believes she was murdered. Review: My youngest daughter had a dance event all day yesterday and, since there wasn't much else to do while hanging around the hotel, I made sure to have a couple books with me, including this one. I've been reading Hamish Macbeth mysteries for a short while now and, so far, they have continued to impress me. This on...

The Beaver Dam Swan City Ice Skaters will be having their annual Swan Synchro Skate all day Saturday at the Beaver Dam Family Center. The event will feature 41 teams and more than 500 skaters from around the country and usually has some very entertaining synchronized skating programs. Admission is $10 for ages 5 and older. Active duty military are free with ID.

Officially, I bought this for my wife to give to me as an early Valentine's Day gift. I finally pulled the trigger on the purchase because I recently got new health insurance and that insurance has a fitness incentive program that pays me $20 (direct deposited in my checking account) anytime I complete 10,000 or more steps at least 12 times in a month. I do have an app on my phone that counts my steps too. But, I just don't have my phone on me 24/7 and I know I'm not getting credit for a good chunk of steps I take at home or at the office. Heck, just this morning, I had close to a 1000 steps in just from my normal morning activity of helping get the girls ready for school. So far, it seems to be working OK. I'm still trying to figure everything out because this pretty much came with no instructions (I'm sure I can find them online, but I just haven't gone through the effort yet). However, it seems to be doing a good job keeping track of my movements an...

Synopsis: Still reeling from Jesus' ( Tom Payne ) death, Daryl ( Norman Reedus ) and Michonne ( Danai Gurira ) seek answers from a captured Whisperer ( Cassady McClincy ). Meanwhile, an escaped Negan ( Jeffrey Dean Morgan ) discovers life outside Alexandria isn't what he expected. Here are my thoughts from the episode, which my wife and I finally had a chance to watch yesterday evening: 1. When I was first introduced to the older version of Judith Grimes ( Cailey Fleming ), I liked her. Now, I'm on the fence about her. OK, to be fair, there are still a lot of things that are likable about her (I especially loved how she chastised Negan for swearing in front of her) but, I think she's being used a bit too much in a cute/comic relief-like role. On top of it, I'm just not buying her accuracy with Rick Grime's ( Andrew Lincoln ) gun. She should, at minimum, be on the ground every time she fires that weapon, which is way too powerful for someone her size. I...

They were predicting some nasty weather today so, since I had to swing by the grocery store on my way to the office anyway, I decided to look for something for lunch (to save me the drive home). I wasn't really sure what I was in the mood for. However, I came across this product in the freezer section and decided to give it a try. To tell you the truth, I wasn't really sure if I wanted to buy this product because I thought the $4 price was a little high considering I could buy a regular ramen cup for about 33 cents. However, I thought the chicken strips looked inviting and decided to give it a chance. After having it for lunch, my opinion was mixed. As far as convenience goes, I had no complaints. All I had to do was add some water to the bowl and microwave it for 4 minutes, 15 seconds. There weren't a bunch of unnecessary or complicated steps and the ramen noodles did come out fully cooked. I also thought this had a decent flavor to it. It wasn't too salty (...

Synopsis: When Trixie Thomas moves to Lochdubh with her husband intending to open a bed & breakfast, local constable Hamish Macbeth realizes he doesn't like her all that much. And, when she befriends the other village wives and convinces them to make healthier meals, push for a smoking ban and protest a local farmer who wants to knock down an old building that is a home for bats, many of the local husbands (and some wives) join Macbeth in his dislike. When Trixie is found poisoned, Hamish must figure out who disliked her enough to murder her. Review: After being disappointed by my last Agatha Christie novel , I decided to give M. C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth another try and picked up this fourth novel from our local library. Normally, when I get a book like this, it takes me about a week to get through it (sometimes a little longer depending on how busy my schedule is). So, I was actually kind of surprised when I wound up reading this entire book in the course of an eve...

To tell you the truth, I didn't even know Johnsonville made Polish kielbasa. I had never seen this advertised or in any of our stores. In fact, the only reason I learned about this product was because my mom came across it when she was out grocery shopping and, since my wife and I both forgot to make plans for dinner last night, offered us one. Kielbasa is relatively popular in our household. However, we normally buy locally-made kielbasa from one of our grocery stores and I wasn't really sure how this one would compare to those. Unfortunately, while I didn't hate it, I wasn't as impressed with it as I was hoping to be. My biggest complaint about this product is it wound up tasting a bit bland, at least when compared to some other kielbasa we've purchased. This actually surprised me a bit because, when I was cooking this, it smelled a bit spicy and I was afraid it would be the exact opposite. I guess I wasn't the only one who felt this way about this kiel...

Synopsis: Sheriff Deputy Daniel Carter comes across a blood-soaked man on a deserted country road and takes him to a nearby hospital. While there, he is forced to shoot a nurse when she attacks him with a pair of scissors and, a short-time later, the hospital is surrounded by a group of robed figures armed with knives. Unable to escape or call for help, Carter discovers another problem, the deceased are coming back to life and turning into tentacled creatures. Who's in it? The movie stars Aaron Poole , Kenneth Welsh , Kathleen Munroe, Ellen Wong , Daniel Fathers and Mik Byskov . Review: My wife was in the mood for a horror movie last night and, as I made dinner, scrolled through Netflix in search of one. She originally picked out another film but, while waiting, decided the preview for this movie, while a bit incomplete, looked a little better and we wound up watching it. As it turns out, this movie did prove to have a lot of potential. Unfortunately, it just didn...

Photo by Cynthia Helmer Even though it was pretty darn foggy out yesterday and I probably should have stayed home because of that, we did make a trip down to Sun Prairie so we could do some much-needed shopping at Costco. While there, we did something we usually try to do around Valentine's Day, get a heart-shaped pizza from Rocky Rococo's. This is something we try to do every February (though we have missed a year or two) because, between my mom's birthday being on Valentine's Day and the girls usually having some sort of skating or dance activity Valentine's Day weekend, we really don't get an opportunity to celebrate the actual holiday. This is pretty much the exception to that. And, we've found it has to be a Rocky Rococo's pizza. There are other restaurants (closer by) that offer something similar. But, this is the only one that doesn't seem to skimp on toppings like the others do or serve a pizza that has been carved up to the point...

I wanted to make a trip to Costco this morning but it was pretty foggy out and I decided not to make the drive down to Sun Prairie. But, just so we did get some groceries for the house, my wife and I decided to make a trip across town to Aldi. To tell you the truth, I have been less and less impressed with that store every time I go there, especially since I just can't seem to find as many deals as I used to be able to. However, while there, I came across this pizza in their freezer section for $3.99. It looked decent so I decided to buy it and have it for lunch. Overall, I do have to say I was happy with this purchase. I wasn't a huge fan of the thin crust (I still prefer thicker crust), but the pizza did have some good things going for it. For one, I thought the quantity of toppings was sufficient, something that isn't always the case with low-cost frozen pizzas. I'm also including cheese in that statement. I've had way too many frozen pizzas that seemed to...

Synopsis: Two barbers decide to become Hollywood agents for a talented but unknown actor. They hope to land him a part in an upcoming movie but must convince the studio chief to choose their client over a fading but well-known star. Who's in it? The movie stars Bud Abbott , Lou Costello , Bob Haymes , Frances Rafferty and Carleton G. Young. Review: I recorded this film off of one of my movie channels a few weeks ago and, after several attempts at watching it, was finally able to finish it early this morning. Even though I am a big Abbott and Costello fan, this was my first time watching this particular movie and I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. One of my biggest concerns about this film is it would be similar to some of their later movies that just simply failed to live up to my expectations. That, however, was not the case with this movie and I found I did enjoy it. When I first started watching this film, I was half expecting to see many of the same...

Synopsis: A real estate developer investigating a piece of land in Saipan decides to take her crew into a World War II bunker on the property. After they are accosted by a disheveled old man, a mysterious loud noise renders them unconscious. When they wake up, they discover they have been locked in and, as they look for another exit, are tormented by an evil presence that is using their past against them. Who's in it? The movie stars Katherine Taylor , Simon Phillips , Justin Gordon , Sean Sprawling and Matthew Edward Hegstrom . Review: One of my biggest pet peeves about Netflix is their somewhat incomplete movie previews, which tend to make the majority of their films look a bit dull. As a result of that, when I finally decided to watch this movie with my wife last night, I wasn't really sure if we would end up liking it. As it turns out, it was actually surprisingly good. While I did think the movie was a bit lacking in the scares department, there were quite a ...