Quarantine Adventures of 2020

Adventures, Challenges & Perseverance

Adventures, both good and bad, is how I think of 2020. The year 2020, what a challenge! What an adventure. What a disappointment. Resilience and perseverance are needed characteristics in life, both coming in handy during 2020. I hope that 2020 allowed folks to focus on the simple things in life. Yet, many do not want to remember 2020. I believe every day is a gift. Every year as well. I had to try a bit harder to cope with 2020 than other years to find the silver linings and be thankful.

What Carried Me Through

  • Technology – from learning to communicate better via video chat software to watching church services from home via Chromecast, technology shined.
  • Adapting to constant change – Both in work & family life
  • Family & family time (the increase in family time was an incredible perk. I got to share countless breakfasts with my daughter & wife during the time I would have been commuting to work.)
  • Journaling – A great outlet! This allowed me to cope with feeling isolated early in the COVID-19 pandemic while adjusting to being in an empty house for workdays. I was able to get out my thoughts.
  • An exercise routine. Exercising was a priority each morning, and I kept the same exercise time I had while going to the gym. 5 am – 6 am or 4:45 am – 5:30 am.
  • Video editing: this is something I enjoy doing. It was great using a professional skill to create a memorable family home video shared with family and friends we did not get to see.
  • Lifestyle pursuits – turkey hunting & woodworking allowed for needed camaraderie.
  • Becoming a dad again with the birth of a son in August 🙂
  • Faith – Trusting in God, though hard this year, brought me through it all.

Creating a Video Keepsake

Often times, it’s the challenges in life that turn into memorable adventures! Working from home has been an incredible blessing to my family and me, with the proper mindset. There still are challenges to overcome on a daily basis, and that’s what makes life worth living. Try to see the little “wins” of a moment and learn to love the simple things in life. To be mentally & physically refreshed each day, I try to exercise every morning by either walking, running, or biking.

Despite the challenges of 2020, there are many highlights! This video showcases memorable experiences that occurred during the safer-at-home ordinance implemented by the Wisconsin governor.

About this video:
As a family, we took home videos and our experiences are shared with you in this video.
During my early morning bike rides, I captured footage of sunrises and other scenic views. I wanted a video to stand the test of time and reflect on this unique experience during the journey of my life. Editing this video is a personal best for me of 2020. Remember, optimism can be found in the midst of hardship.

Keeping an Optimistic View

Overall, it was my faith that carried me through and strengthened my spirit. Looking back, 2020 reminds me of how important mental health is, even more so than physical health. Yet, physical health makes you mentally stronger. And, being mentally healthy allows you to keep going when your body is saying “no!” It’s the human spirit that 2020 heavily tested. Feeling emotionally distant from family and close friends is tough. Video chatting can help, though face-to-face interaction reigns supreme.

Journaling about Exercise Adventures

Deep down, I had to find the motivation to keep working out when the gym & aquatic center closed. I found alternative ways to exercise from my usual routine of the past several years. To help my motivation, I journaled about what I did every day. The fear of not writing an entry about exercise kept me on a consistent regimen. Setting goals also kept me mentally sharp and to feel optimistic about accomplishing them. I set a goal to do 100 pushups every day during the stay-at-home ordinance implemented by the Wisconsin governor. Because it was dark during my 5:15-5:30 am morning runs, I would pick a street light and visualize it being a light at the end of this dark pandemic. Doing so made me run faster and lift my spirits. On days I did not run, walk, or bike outdoors, my attitude suffered. Getting outside increased my mood and produced an optimistic outlook for the day. (My journaling about exercise led me to journal about every day things my family & I did. Such as how we celebrated Easter, birthdays (my wife’s in March, mine in April), and hitting 200k miles on one of our vehicles on April 13, which is the first time achieving 200k on a car!)

Workouts by the numbers during the safer-at-home order from March-May:

  • 3,583 pushups (My goal was 100 per day.)
  • 10 runs – met my goal doing a 4-mile run
  • 12 walks
  • 12 bike rides – longest bike ride was 8 miles

Overall, 2020 saw many highlights. Most highlights came from setting personal goals for myself- such as doing a certain number of pushups, running, biking, or walking a certain number of miles. I’m a goal-oriented person who enjoys the feeling of accomplishment. Even for those who may not be naturally goal-oriented, my advice is to set goals. Becoming goal-oriented is attainable and builds accountability, confidence, and boosts your mood. Goal setting is a great way to lift your spirits and become mentally stronger.

Cheers to a new year and the adventures of 2021!

How to Make Venison Burgers

How to Make Venison Burgers

They say extra lean ground beef is healthy for you. This recipe cooks up even leaner meat, venison. Venison burgers will leave ya feeling satisfied, not stuffed and ready for a nap. You’ll feel lighter than you would eating a beef burger.

Now, because venison’s such a lean meat, it requires more attention while cooking. It’s easy to overcook venison since there’s minimal to no fat in deer meat. Leave some red color to the meat so it’s juicy. If you want leftovers, leave more red to the meat so you won’t overcook it while microwaving tomorrow’s dinner.

how to make venison burgers

Venison burgers are a quick way to enjoy a great meal. Great thing is that condiments/sides that go well with beef burgers also go well with venison.

 

What you’ll need to make venison burger meal pictured:

  • 1lb or less of ground venison or enough to feed however many you’re feeding
  • Charcoal grill or George Foreman grill preferred
  • Pickles, onions, pickles, ketchup, mustard any seasoning desired. – I chose not to use seasoning.

What you do:

  • Make patties with hands
  • Lay on grill
  • Watch them closely, 5-10 minutes
  • Toast bread if desired, enjoy a quick way to enjoy a wild game meal!

This post is long overdue and is part of the series of venison dinners I made from my first deer. Two other recipes will be posted in the coming weeks. One’s for making venison chili and the final one’ll be for a venison roast.

Here’s other venison recipes worth a shot:

Venison Fajitas Using Deer Chops

Venison Fajitas Using Deer Chops

venison fajitas using deer chops

Fresh off the stove, the blurriness is actually steam. Thinly sliced deer chops are the best cuts of venison for fajitas. Very tender meat that cook fast for a quick meal

 

What you’ll need

  • About a pound of venison chops
  • One green pepper
  • One medium sized onion
  • Olive Oil (just pour till you think you’ve got enough in the pan)
  • 1 Fajita seasoning packet (do not follow cooking time instructions as they’ll be for chicken of beef) – or make your own
  • Chili powder
  • Cayenne pepper if ya want a kick

 

sliced deer chops - venison fijitas

Slice deer chops thin.

What you do:

  •  Rinse deer chops under cold running water
  • Cut away silver skin and clean up deer chops as needed
  • Slice-up venison chops for fajitas.
  • Slice green peppers and onions into strips

Once sliced, fry in a pan with olive oil for 2-4 minutes, flipping once. Do not over cook, in fact leave some purple color to the chops. Then, add in your favorite seasoning and veggies.

venison fijitas ingredients

Here’s what I chose to use when making venison fajita’s.

 

Other venison recipes: