As fate would have it, twice this week, my stories have lead me to the neck of the woods where cupcake shops happened to be.  I fell victim every time.  If you notice a few extra pounds that would be why. . LOL.

I think in my next life I will open  a cupcake shop of my own.  I’m taking name suggestions. Email me your ideas.

That’s made it rough for the good folks from the Toledo-Area Metroparks, who tried to give families a couple of outdoor venues for wintertime fun.

They installed sled riding hills and offer ice skating at Sidecut Metropark in Maumee and at Pearson Metropark in Oregon. The Maumee facility also has outdoor fireplaces for folks to keep warm.

Unfortunately for them, there’s been little snow and temperatures to warm to freeze ponds or an earthen ice rink.

But the deep freeze will hit just in time for the Whitehouse Winterfest this weekend. An Arctic blast is on the way, which will provide below-zero wind chills for the annual event.

Whitehouse Winterfest runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the downtown area of that Lucas County community.

Organizers had planned cardboard box sled races, a snowman building contest, a snow angel contest, and ice carvings. It’s hard to tell at this point whether those can be done.

However, there will be horse-and-carriage rides, music, food, and a Snowy Night Light Parade at 6:30 p.m.

Don’t know how “snowy” the parade will be, but the event will go on as planned—with or without snow and ice.

I’m not a wintertime fan, but here’s hoping there’s at least a little of the weekend white stuff so folks can enjoy both the outdoor Metropark facilities and a winterfest.

http://www.foxtoledo.com/generic/entertainment/restaurant-week-toledo-2012

I think this a great time to wake up and see what great, unique and ummm… great food options Toledo has to offer. So instead of being bummed when local places close, keep them open and your mind.

Unlike most winter sun-seekers, my husband and I don’t just sit on the beach for a week. We both love history and culture, so we prefer to explore ancient Mayans ruins. Coba was among this year’s trek and it was amazing. It dates back to 100 BC!

Coba sits in the jungle and isn’t entirely restored and/or excavated. It also boasts the second largest Mayan pyramid, sitting 12 stories high! My husband climbed it. I chickened out.

We were also enthralled by the large monoliths throughout the ruins. This one in particular discusses the 2012 Mayan Prophecy. I don’t speak Mayan and I can rally read this stone… but our guide told us it describes something major happening on December 21, 2012. Some fear the end of the world. Others say it means the end of an era. Our guide says his people, the modern Maya, believe there will be an eclipse. I guess we’ll have to wait a few months and see.

But there is the Super Bowl, signaling the end of the football season, National Signing Day, which signals yet another season of college football to look forward to when it comes to your favorite school, and the start of spring training for baseball.

While I will be sad to see another NFL season come and go, the major-league baseball fan in me hopes my beloved Cleveland Indians will solve their first baseman problems long-term or find another nugget of talent in the farm system to round out their roster.

I’m also hoping the Ohio State football team can put their scandal-ridden past behind them once and for all and that new coach Urban Meyer restores a sense of responsibility and pride in the squad. It’s been exciting to follow the large number of verbal commitments he has secured so far, but nothing is guaranteed until recruits sign a national letter of intent.

Of course, on both fronts, “potential” will be the watch-word until the teams actually take the field. But it will be fun to follow the off-season action, as it always leads to an actual season which could prove to be an exciting one—much like last year, when the Tribe hit the ground running with a great record, then lost steam as injuries took their toll.

It’s just fun to be a fan, period.

looking for weeks and hadn’t been able to find one.  It just made me think back on the experience I had when I adopted my fur child from a shelter last March .

Because my experience was such an enjoyable one, I think that shelter dogs will be the only dogs that I get in the future.  My little boy had been rescued from a puppy mill.  He is a full breed Miniature Schnauzer.  But he was going to be put to sleep by the operators of the mill because he has a little defect with his ear.  The rescuers said they aren’t sure if he was bitten by another dog, or what exactly happened.  But basically, he was almost killed because he wasn’t perfect in the mill operator’s eyes.  They told me that when they rescued my sweet boy, he had an infection and no hair on his ear at all.  But let me tell you, he was and still is GORGEOUS! And he is perfect.  It still makes me upset to think that there are people out there just after money, that have no regard for living creatures.  Apparently, this is something that happens all the time.  So if you get a shelter dog, you could be saving a life.  If that’s not rewarding I don’t know what is.

Needless to say, I gave this whole story to my friend on Facebook.  Hopefully she goes the shelter route when picking out her new best friend.

“We are young, so why are we so concerned with finding our significant other? This person will enter our life when the time is right. Experience your youth, find who you are, make foundation for yourself whether that’s your education, career or location. After all these things have been defined and conquered, you will be ready to give your all to the one who is equally prepared.”

“Standards and being on one’s level are two different things. Standards are levels you set yourself or others to be at. Levels are how many standards you actually qualify for. Set your standards at the level you actually are.  So, when you meet someone – you get in return what you deserve. ”

“I believe there’s 3 sides to every story, yours, mine & the whole truth.”