Small Fry

I finally got my tank set up after all these months! It's been up for about 3 weeks and my casualty rate is about 25%. Freshwater fish are a lot cheaper so it's not so bad. Apparently, our city adds a lot of phosphate to our water supply so it is reeking havoc on the pH and other stuff I obviously don't understand. I have been taking water samples to Petsmart every other day to get tested because I don't trust my wimpy little test strips. After a week of topsy-turvy chem tests I finally got them leveled out, but my water will be cloudy for another few days. So, I brought home 5 new fish on Thursday! Two of which are the black mollies. On Friday, I noticed tiny black baby fish! Wahoo! How fun is this?! Because I have larger rocks on the bottom, they are able to hid in the crevasses, under the larger rock, and in the little sunken ship. I am tickled pink! My husband...not so much. He does get upset when they die though. Recently, however, he took pleasure in flushing 2 trouble-makers that were biting chunks out of the other fish. I know I have been a delinquent blogger... but you know... life happens.

Trip to the city

Today we took an all-girls trip to Philly. The 4 of us girls are related by marriage- our husbands are all cousins. I moved from CA, E from Idaho- then DC, N came from Iowa, and D is from northern Jersey. Now we live less than an hour apart (D lives next door), and we see each other at least once a week. I am so thankful for their friendship. They are amazing women that are fun to hang out with and interesting to talk to. We have spent time with each other in pairs on many occasions, but this is the first time all 4 of us went out together.

D used to live and work in Philly so she knew her way around really well. We took the train in, and our first stop was to an upscale boutique that she used to work at. Whew~ I was breathing air over my price range, but I politely sipped my champagne and munched on my biscotti and watched everyone else ooo and aah over things. We finally found the 'pricey' dresses upstairs and I saw this hat that seemed to be shouting my name. Had the price not been so close to a mortgage payment, I would have been tempted. So, we settled for trying things on and prancing around. Then we wandered around and did a little shopping, before settling into a quaint sidewalk cafe named Rouge overlooking Rittenhouse Square. The food was delicious, and the experience... positively divine. Before calling it a day we took a taxi over to Fabric Row off South St. Keren you would have loved it! It's just like LA except it's much smaller. I even found a shop that sells feathers and silk flowers! Nothing near the Millinery Supply store, but enough to get me by. What fun we had walking the streets, talking, laughing and having an all around good time just being girls.

Six Months

I can hardly believe it, but Friday was our 6 month anniversary! Wow. Time flies by. I hate to admit I really had no idea, until a bouquet of roses was delivered to the house. Hubby had said he wanted to take me out to our favorite restaurant after his soccer game, but I didn't put 2 and 2 together. He can be so incredibly sweet! It was a nice surprise. Why is it that no one tells you how hard marriage is BEFORE you get married? Everyone tells you how great it is, and how nice it is to spend your life with someone. But they leave out that you lose a little part of yourself, life is a constant compromise, you can't just do whatever you want -your actions involve someone else too now, you disagree often, you have to share your toothpaste, you have to re-learn how to make sandwiches, (in some cases) you have to cope with not being able to see your family on a regular basis, and you are tired ALL the time. Yes, there are many positives, and Hubby's incredible sense of humor has helped a lot, but really people.... do your friends a favor and tell them marriage is HARD WORK and to be taken seriously. It's not just something you do just because you like someone and you think that it's the obvious 'next step' in your life. I love being married to this wonderful man, but marriage takes daily maintenance.

I end up doing this!

Click on the comic to see it better.

Food on the Go

Ladies, here is another favorite quickie dinner. I love it because it uses up leftover rice, and you can buy shredded cheese in 2 cup bags (when I'm feeling really lazy). It's actually a spin off of one of my mom's recipes and I've done quite a few variations on it, sometimes changing which kind of cheese, or adding cayenne pepper etc. Enjoy!


Ham and Cheese Bake

2 c. ham, diced
2 c. grated cheese, any kind will do
2 c. cooked rice
3 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. green onions
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. paprika

Preheat oven to 350. Mix eggs, milk, salt together in large bowl. Add in ham, cheese, rice and onions. Press into a 6x10 baking pan or dish. Sprinkle paprika on top. Bake 40-45 min. Serves 4.

How do I love thee...

We are out of everything dessert-like in the house. So, I decided to be a good wife and make whatever Hubby wanted for dessert. But, we were out of brownie mix and no, there isn't any ice cream. So, I spent the evening making half a batch of oatmeal cookies... half of that with raisins and half with chocolate chips. And, they were a little on the well-done side. Ok, maybe I'm a so-so wife.... I just don't like raisins!

What to do?

Ok. The 'summer' job I had been promised before I left on my trip didn't work out. So... what to do with myself? My cousin-in-law that lives next door has given me and idea. She makes beautiful jewelry and sells it at a open market/swap meet setting in PA. I could make stuff! I been trying to come up with ideas for things that will be able to turn a profit.

I don't have a lot of confidence in the marketability of my cards and I don't think that I can make enough money on them to make it worth my while. It's a 3 hour drive and $25 to rent the table/space. The customers there are anything from people looking for car bumpers to those with $200 in their pocket looking for a unique 'find'. What about quilts? If I keep them really simple, stick to soft baby quilts, would I be able to make enough of them fast enough? How much do you sell a handmade baby quilt for? What about my cross stitch? I can use waste canvas and put little designs on onesies or little hats. I can do towels and bread cloths. Those don't take too long to make. With those fancy embroidery sewing machines out there, would people actually buy cross-stitched ones? Ug. Any ideas out there?

My cousin-in-law makes beautiful jewelry! She has taken orders for weddings too. Here is her website: Otis B Fine Jewelry

Aubrey Mae

My best friend had her baby while I was back in CA! And yes, it's taken me this long to upload photos. Miss Aubrey was 7lb 10oz and 19.5". I am tickled pink for them and can't wait to see what kind of person she'll grow up to be.

As you can see, I finished the quilt!! Finally!! And just in time too. I also made the pillow that has her name cross-stitched in it. I had a great time in CA. Two weeks seemed like a really long time, but I had a lot of fun with my sister, nephews, my brother and sister in law, Mom, grandparents etc. I really miss my family, but NJ feels like home now. We have had a whirlwind of company over for meals at our house this week, all of them have been fun, but I'm looking forward to relaxing today.

I went to see Disney's Ratatouille yesterday and it is really cute. I highly recommend it! Dobug, see if you can find Pixar's Lifted. It's hysterical and worth getting.

Like Father, Like Son

Here is another blast from the past. My brother and my dad, and then my brother with his son. Big Brother calls it "vacuuming the lawn".

How times have changed

I was going through my mom's old photo albums and scanning our baby pictures to preserve them. This is what I found. Who would have known that over 20 years later we would end up being related?!

She did it!

I am so proud of my sister! She graduated from UCR this weekend with a Bachelors in Comparative Literature. The amazing news (well, not really amazing if you know my sister) is that she graduated Summa Cum Laude, which means she is in the top 2% of her class. She deserves it! She has been slaving away at her laptop for the past 4 years and has held a 3.98 GPA. Wow. Like I said, I am so proud of her. The graduation ceremony went off without a hitch, thankfully, since there was a bomb threat the day before and that ceremony was canceled. So, we cheered her on as she marched up in her dignified black robe and was handed a scroll that said "you will receive your diploma in the mail". Woohoo! I love you Dobug!

Fixed the Video

I tried out the youtube.com thing, and apparently it didn't work the first time. The videos below should be working now. Let me know if they still have problems.

Here is the other video of my adorable nephew where he jumps when the fish moves.

Gone Fishin'

I haven't felt like blogging lately. I'm having a mini identity crisis. After working my tail off every day since I was 14, I am faced with a whole new reality. I have nothing I have to do, no where I have to be. Even through college I was working 2 part-time jobs, and volunteering at the fire department. Then I got a job at the PD and sometimes worked 50-70 hour weeks. Now, flat line.... What do I do with myself? I clean the house, go grocery shopping, cook meals, rearrange my table decorations, edit wedding pictures, cross stitch etc. I can't find a job until I get home from my 2 week trip to CA in June anyway though. I finished my resume, and it's all ready to hand out. But what do I do? I can't really work dispatch again, Hubby doesn't want me working nights, and I would rather not work weekends. I do want to find a part time job but the possibilities are a little overwhelming.

It's kind of like the people that live in houses that are full to the ceiling with junk, and they have to crawl in through a window because the doors are blocked with stuff. If closely scrutinized, these people are actually perfectionists. Sounds contradictory right? Not really. They really do want to clean it, but when they can't identify starting point it becomes paralyzing. There are too many possibilities, so they never actually start to pick things up,, and it snowballs out of control. Am I paralyzed by possibilities? It feels like I've lost my direction. I have nothing pushing me now, no one depending on me or on the decisions I make. I should be happy shouldn't I? I can do anything I want to do, right? I just have no idea what that is! I've been in public service so long- it feels like I should go back to it, but I have lots of other talents and interests too. Hubby and I want to have kids in a few years. So, I have this little window, this little gift of time, that I can really do something important with. And yes, it's paralyzing. Am I being selfish? Should I just keep my mouth shut and go work at a coffee shop or something and not worry about it? I feel like I should be helping people though... but is that just me being egocentric? aaaaack. I have a wonderful husband, he has a great job and takes good care of me. I don't even have to go to work if I don't want to! I really like my new home and new surroundings... it's beautiful here. Why can't I just be content? Maybe I sabotage myself. I guess all I really can do is keep praying about it, and wait for the Lord to show me what I'm supposed to do. This is why I haven't posted in a while.

On a lighter note, here are 2 clips of Big Brother. We went fishing on the lake a few days after Mom's wedding. He got a chance to 'drive' and was tickled pink. Then my brother caught a fish and Big Brother was excited! He thought it was very yummy later that night too!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers! Being a mom is the most important job any one could ever have! You are tasked with molding your little ones into the intelligent, responsible, productive adults of the future. No small task! My hat is off to you.


In other news, I tried another culinary experiment today. I usually do a crock pot roast on Sundays if we have company over. I was tired of doing the same recipe with minor variations, the meat always turns out great but it was getting boring. So, I found a crock pot recipe that calls for onions, red wine and a jar of mushroom spaghetti sauce as the 'juice' to cook the roast in for about 10 hrs on low. I sliced the roast, then made spaghetti and mixed it with the sauce. It turned out really good! Even I was surprised. The meat was a little drier than I hoped it would be but I reserved some sauce to use as 'gravy' which helped.

Honey Baked Chicken

My sister in law asked for this recipe, and I thought I would share it with all of you as well. It's quick, tastes great, and you only have to wash one dish. I usually serve it with rice and pour the leftover sauce over the rice. Enjoy!

Honey Baked Chicken

1/4 c. margarine or butter
1/2 c. honey
1 Tbls. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. curry powder
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preheat to 375. Place margarine in 9x9 or 9x13 pan in oven for 5 minutes until melted. Remove from oven, stir honey, mustard, salt and curry into melted margarine. Coat both sides of chicken with mixture as you place them in the pan. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven, turn chicken pieces over. Bake 15 more minutes.

Mom's Wedding

Here are some pics from my Mom's wedding last weekend. It was good to see them both so happy! It was a beautiful day and everything turned out really well.

New things

I tackled bread making this week! Not successfully, mind you, but at least I tried. I am having problems getting it to rise properly, so this week I'm adding more yeast to see if that helps. I have a few more things to try if that doesn't work. 3 inch high loaves aren't helpful for sandwiches, but Hubby loves it with his dinners.

I have found that allrecipes.com is soooo cool! I can type in something like 'chicken casserole' and scroll through all the recipes till I find one that has ingredients that I have on hand. Love it. Also, this little magazine is a handy helper too. Its FREE! Just go online to kraftfoods.com/free to sign up. Sure, its a thick advertisement for Kraft foods, but its full of fast, easy and tasty recipes. And if you want to use the name brand ingredients, that's up to you!

Also, we went to Hubby's cousin Kenny's wedding on Saturday. Beautiful day for a wedding, it's finally looking like spring! I could finally get out my strapy sandals too! The bridesmaids were wearing knee length strapless slate-navy blue dresses with light pink sashes. I'd never seen those colors work together so well before. Their bouquets were pink roses and wax flowers framed with broad leaf greenery, and looked really beautiful. The dinner reception was at a hotel in Cape May right on the beach, and we were privy to stunning sunset. Ahhhhh... tis the season for love.

Speaking of which, my mother is getting married in TWO weeks! Cinco de Mayo is the day! She sounds happy but busy busy, as usual.

Branded

How's this for self-esteem? I get to drive around with this plastered on my windshield. NJ requires all vehicles to get 'inspected' every year. A team of disgruntled government employees pick over your car, slam on your brakes, honk your horn, test your gas cap and mess with your mirror and seat adjustments. It's all very humiliating but necessary I suppose to keep our roads safe. Then as a final insult they slap this sticker on my car. Something about having California numbers on my NJ insurance card. I failed inspection in my new home state! Ug. I was crushed. Especially since I had waited in line for 40 min and would have to do it all over again!

Nat'l Telecommunicators Week

April 8-14 is

National Dispatcher Week

Special recognition to all the men and women

under the headset.

I would say "have you thanked your local dispatcher this week?" but don't you dare call unless it's actually an emergency!! Instead, the next time you do need to call the police or 911, listen to what they are saying and answer the questions they ask you. They are trying to help YOU. Please do what they ask you to do. Know that they honestly want to help if they can if you have a real emergency. Please forgive them if they are a little short with you, remember that they are a valuable resource that is abused each day by people who are lazy and rude. They are the ones who can send you the help you need. Take a second and say thanks to the dispatcher before you hang up, it would mean a lot to them. After listening to people in crisis all day, its nice to hear that someone appreciates their help.

911 is about life and death situations and medical emergencies. Every call that they answer that deals with anything else- takes resources away from those who genuinely need it.

Hats and Jackets

Happy Easter!
It was 38 degrees today but
I still wore my spring hat!

And thanks to my hustband,
I gained a new respect for this
piece of spring clothing this
afternoon. Augusta National is
absolutely beautiful.

Oh Spring, where art thou?

Katie and I went to a Beatrix Potter Tea Party. A very 'spring' thing to do. Even the Easter Bunny was there. We had cups of tea, tiny sandwiches and lots of little sugary things. It was in an old Victorian house turned Bed&Breakfast, and after lunch they had readings of Beatrix Potter stories in the carriage house, followed by an easter egg hunt for the kids in the garden. It was a lot of fun. However, it was 34 degrees today. It actually was snowing at our house this evening. Would someone PLEASE tell New Jersey that its SPRING! How am I supposed to wear a nice spring dress, white straw hat and sandals for Easter sunday if its freezing outside?!

Quilting Progress

My first attempt at quilting is going surprisingly well. This leads me to believe I'm either missing something really important, or I haven't gotten to the hard part yet. I got one of those cutting matts and one of the sharp roller dealy-jobbers which is really fun to play with and makes the job a lot easier. Would you believe there are no quilters in Oz out here? After moving from a town rich with experienced quilters, I pick now to attempt making one myself. My timing is really lousy. I love our homemade quilt, btw!!

City of Brotherly Love

This statue is way smaller than I expected it to be. We had fun! Lots of walking, and we stopped at the Amish market on the way home for some goodies.

Sis is here

It's so good to have her here, I have missed my family soooo much. My cat too. I begged her to sneak Squeak into her suitcase, but Hubby said no way. We went to DC on Monday and went to an art museum. My sister is very knowledgeable about art and was explaining otherwise meaningless globs of paint to us in a way that actually made them interesting! DC was beautiful with blooms everywhere, and the weather was fantastic. On Tuesday we went to the DC Zoo. I love zoos. One of my favorite animals is the Meerkat, and they happened to have a baby one there! I was tickled pink. They are hysterical to watch. Last night Hubby, Sis and I went up to Philly to see the Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute. It was absolutely amazing. They have a lot of the artifacts found in Tut's tomb along with many others dating further back. Its weird to look at everyday items like a child's chair, and think that a child was actually sitting in it 3300 years ago. (Did I do the math right? ~1330 BC?) What were they like? What did they look like? Did I mention I love history? Hubby really likes Egyptian art and architecture so he really enjoyed it as well. Tomorrow we are off to Philly to do some more sightseeing.

New Baby

For those of you who know my cousin Heidi, here is her new baby girl, Lexie. Congrats to new Mommy and Daddy!

There are some more pictures on my uncle's website:

http://philsautoteacher.tripod.com/lexie/

Missing home

I had the worst craving for shrimp cocktail. Not the kind they have here though, which consists of just shrimp and dipping sauce. Back home the mexican restaurants would serve it more like a soup. La Casita near where I used to work had the best. So, I decided to make my own. Start with homemade salsa, then add shrimp, avocado, cucumber, cocktail sauce, ketchup, green onion, and cilantro. Man, I love that stuff. Served with tortilla chips, it hit the spot. Hubby actually liked it too!

Back from Virginia

We just got home from our last minute trip to Lynchburg,Virginia. Mark and Andrea R. were down there with their family at a home-school basketball tournament, when Andrea was taken to the hospital. She learned she had a massive bacterial infection that started from a bladder infection (or urinary tract inf., I can't remember). After a few days of being really sick, with what she thought was food poisoning, her blood pressure tanked and she fainted in the hotel room. This prompted her to call 911. Before the medics arrived, she drank a Pepsi... Wouldn't you know -it brought her pressure up long enough for them to tell her she was going to be ok. (what are they putting in soda now days?!) Mark took her to the hospital to get checked out at Dr. Philip I.'s advice. By the time they got there, her pressure was down around 70/40, and she was septic. After pumping antibiotics through a central line, the doctor said that if she had waited one more day to come in, they wouldn't have been able to save her. That was Thursday.

Hubby and I drove down there on Saturday. Andrea had been steadily improving, and by tonight she was walking around and looking much better. John and Lorie R. and Joseph and Joanna C. were also down there with us. We ended up having meeting in a hotel room in Virginia, which turned out to be one of the nicest I've been to. Even those who don't normally, participated. It gave me fresh appreciation for Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

Andrea's doctors say there doesn't appear to be any permanent damage to her kidneys, and she should recover completely. Hopefully she will be released Monday or Tuesday. Morals of the story: 1) prayer is a powerful healing tool, and 2) go to the doctor right away when if you get a bladder or urinary tract infection - it maybe caused by something very bad.


In other news, we got our carpet cleaned by Jim and Brian. They did a fantastic job.

New Toy

Hubby is now the proud papa of a new Xbox 360. He spent all last evening cleaning up the wire jungle that occupied the guest bedroom/office, and installed his this new little box. I was told this is a more space efficient way to go, and he was right, the jungle is gone, and there is just the one little white box. Very nice. Aparently Xbox also has Windows Media Center, so we can watch tv, recorded tv/movies, and music from the Xbox instead of a pc, AND he can play Call of Duty 3! :0) Windows Media Center is pretty cool, I have to admit. It manages practically everything using a computer.

Phun with Photoshop

Woohoo! This small feat took me a whole evening to do. I have been fighting with Photoshop for days. It would help if I actually read the manual first. I have a .pdf file on the computer that is a tutorial of sorts, but I have to keep switching back and forth between screens (love Windows Vista, btw). I got the background off the internet, and Kate is wearing my high school prom dress. Yikes, that was over 10 yrs ago!

Play Day

For all of you enjoying California sunshine, I would just like to point out that it has snowed twice since I posted last. I have uttered "it is such a nice day" a few times, and felt really guilty/annoyed/deceived when I realized it was only in the 50's.

On Saturday, Kate, Jodi, and Jolene came over and went through all of my 'dress up' clothes I have collected over the years. They were having so much fun trying them on and parading around the house I had to bring out the hats and gloves too. I wish I still fit into some of those!

Yes, that is my wedding dress. I didn't mind really. I'm not planning on wearing it again, and they might as well have fun with it. I want to make sure its taken care of though. One of my many fond memories of playing at Grandma F's was that she let us play with her wedding dress. It was out of really heavy (for a little girl) cream satin, and I remember feeling sooo elegant as I pranced around the house and down the stairs in it.

New Table!

This is our new dining room table. I am very thankful for it. Hubby and I both really like it. Yes, the pool table light is still there... for now. : )

Reception in NJ

They threw us a reception in NJ on Saturday. It was upstairs in the meeting room. Hubby's mom and Andrea R. put everything together. Cindi made a collage out of pics of hubby and I. It turned out really nice. The food was delicious, potluck style, then we had a brief hymn

sing afterwards. Everyone has been very kind and generous to us. I really appreciate how welcome they have made me feel.

Thanks Mom

I was tired of unpacking, so I tackled a project. I made a table runner! I have a duplicate runner that I'll add that material in the back to, and I intend to make a tablecloth to match for the dining room. Thank you Mom for the sewing machine and sewing kit. I had everything I needed!

Stained glass and other niceties

We put up the stained glass window from Aunt Karen last night. It looks so elegant. It's hard to tell from the photo, but the color of the wall really compliments the colored glass. It's a north facing wall, so it won't get direct sunlight, but it makes a stunning statement as people enter the house. THANK YOU Aunt Karen! Scott really likes it too! I unpacked my espresso machine too. Aaaahhh. I have missed cappuccino in the morning. The kitchen is pretty much all done, and the living room is back in order. Now I have to work on my clothes (yea!), craft closet, hat closet, and everything we temporarily 'dumped' in the spare bedroom.

FUZZ plague

HELP!!?! I have a serious fuzz problem and it's driving me crazy. Have you ever noticed that when you get new towels, they leave fuzzy stuff all over you when you dry off? Very annoying, so I am washing my new towels several times to help with that. When I took the first load out of the washer, I panicked thinking a Kleenex had gotten in the load. Nope, it was fuzz. Mutant, multiplying fuzz. I have washed those towels TWICE in a row so far. And I run the dryer for 20 minutes, clean out the very full lint trap, and run them again. Over and over, the fuzz keeps coming. This is the dryer lint from 2 loads. It's ridiculous. I even tried picking some of it off the towels before I put them in the dryer, but it didn't seem to help.

Does anyone know how to treat towels for fuzz? Or is there anything that can be done other than washing them over and over again?

Moving Day

Today I finally got my things. Wahoo! I have been living out of a suitcase for nearly 4 weeks. I can't believe guys can function with only 3 pairs of shoes, if even that many. I was going nuts, AND my feet were freezing. We got all but one box, which the driver claims he was never given at the warehouse, yet it was on his list... But one missing out of 108 isn't bad. One box split open too apparently and they just dumped the contents into another box. Well, now I am missing a much loved hat box (they gave me just the top to it), and 3! black wool hats, 2 of which were vintage. I am really bummed. Sure, they are sending claim forms to fill out,, but I loved my hats. :( The fact that I have no idea what was in the missing box is very disturbing too. They just describe the boxes or items on their manifests, they don't list what is inside them.

Mark and Andrea came over with their 2 boys and Kate. They were all a tremendous help. It had mercifully stopped raining and snowing, but we still set up a fire brigade line to bring things in and up the stairs, so as to save the carpet. Andrea and Kate helped me unpack and put away all my kitchen stuff. It was bitter cold out today, in the 20's with winds gusting up to 40 mph. Verrrry chilly.

In other news... Sara is having a baby girl. I'm so excited, my best friend is having a baby!

Happy Valentines Day!

Wishing all my family and friends back home a Happy Valentines Day! May you get all the flowers and chocolate your little hearts desire.

xx love, nan

Snow, Snow, Snow

It snowed all day today. I got up early just to see it... yes, it's still a novelty for me. I was soooo brave and actually drove in it to do some errands. I learned about driving slowly, and how windshield wipers actually freeze to the window. Hubby and I went to Mark and Andrea's for dinner and I discovered how hard it is to walk on snow and ice in heels. The roads started getting really icy and they recommended we go home instead of staying for meeting (which isn't until 8pm btw, we usually don't get home till 10pm). It turned out to be a good idea. We passed 2 accidents on the way home... took a little longer driving at 30 mph, but we made it home safe.

Good news and bad news. The mover should be arriving around noon tomorrow. Wahoo, I'll get my things finally... BUT its a mess outside! Snow, ice, slush all over. Hopefully it doesn't rain or snow tomorrow.

Flyers Win!

Hubby and I went to a Flyers (hockey) game in Philly tonight. I am a Flyers fan by marriage. They defeated Detroit 6 to 1, scoring 5 goals in the 3rd period. Woohoo! It was all very exciting, and I don't really know hockey. It's easy to get caught up in it when you're actually there, it was a lot of fun!

It's supposed to snow/rain in the next day or so, which is NOT a good thing. The moving company is scheduled to arrive on Weds. Ug. We'll have to get some plastic to put down on our beige carpet before they track snow and goock all over the house.

My first snow

My first snow
Originally uploaded by joleesikora.

It snowed last night!! It was only a few inchs but Hubby was annoyed because he had to wait for whoever it it is that clears the roads (mental note: need to find out who does that) to do so. But I was snapping pictures! Its really beautiful actually. My car is probably going to pinch me somehow in revenge for putting her through this.

Outside

It is not nice outside. It was 18 F on the way home from meeting tonight. I take some consolation in the fact that the locals are freezing too, and they say this is a little unusual. My car is not happy either. She refuses to give me power steering for the first 15 minutes or so in the morning, and even then she is making noises I've never heard before. Poor car. My wiper fluid is frozen solid too. I wear gloves in the car. No, not as a fashion statement, although I had considered it,... it's just REALLY cold.

I ventured outside, on my own, today to go shopping. After staying inside all day yesterday I figured I needed to get out. You have to be really motivated to leave the house when its so cold. Walking in and out of warm buildings and warm car into frigid wind that stings your face gave me a headache. It's no wonder people here get sick so often, that can't be good for you but I don't see anyway around it. Anyway....with map in hand I tootled off to the mall, driving a measly 45 because my car apparently refusing to shift when she's too cold too. I did have to smile though... get ready folks.... gas is $1.96. (And if you're not jealous enough, they pump it for us out here!) I gleefully rubbed my gloved hands together, thinking that maybe this place isn't so bad.... : )

Hubby drove his Mountaineer to work today and found another little surprise the boys had left him. Apparently they hooked a horn up under the rear bumper so that it would honk every time he stepped on the brake or used his turn signal (just the left one). I about died laughing when he told me, imagining his consternation and the look of bewilderment that must have crossed his face. Not to mention the looks from the drivers around him. I laughed so hard it brought tears to my eyes, I wish I could have been there to see it.

I'm finally home

Man, that sounds weird to say. I'm home... and its 30 degrees outside. It's deceivingly sunny, but when you get close to a window you can feel the cold air and hear the wind howling. I really do feel like a California pansy now. The ground outside is frozen and feels like concrete when you walk on the grass... makes a cool 'crunch' sound, which probably means I'm killing the grass as I go goosestepping through it. What can I say? This is all new to me. I've also concluded that one of those things that starts your car (read as heater/defroster) remotely is more important than a dining room table. This is a partial view from our kitchen window. See that white patch? Yes! Its snow. This is going to take some getting used to.

We made it home late Friday night. We initially thought we wouldn't make it back till Sunday afternoon, but we kept pluggin' along..(and the navigator is really bad at math and she may have miscalculated the mileage by a teeny bit). We made 2 sightseeing stops, the Alamo in San Antonio, and New Orleans. The Alamo was pretty cool, if your not interested in history it would be ho-hum, but hubby and I liked it.

I really wanted to see New Orleans. Sis and I went a few months before Katrina so I wanted to see how it had changed. The French quarter looked about the same, except for the noticeable absence of people. The streets were dead. Perhaps it was because it was quite cool that day, or maybe this is an off season for them, but it felt really strange. You could still hear the jazz music sis liked as we walked the streets, but it had a softer, distant sound, not the flamboyant energy it once did. I went back to the hat shop! Thank goodness it was still in tact. Poor hubby just sat in a chair while gawked and gaped at each work of art. And, much to his delight, I left empty handed. Maybe next time. On the way out of town we witnessed more evidence of Katrina's fury.

We had surprises waiting when we got home. Someone had put balloons and tacks behind the door which would create a loud noise when you opened it. Thankfully, I have a cautious hubby who suspected something was afoot and opened it veeerrry carefully. I also found the mustard packets under the toilet seats, and the hose that shoots water all over when you go to flush. It was pretty funny. They did a few other things I wont post in cyberspace, but all in all we had a good laugh.

We called the movers to see when my things would be arriving, and they said not till the 12th-14th. AAACK! Another week and a half living out of my suitcase. I have 2 pairs of shoes, a few t-shirts, 2 skirts, 2 sweaters and 3 pairs of pants. THANK GOODNESS I packed my long underwear in my suitcase, or I would be a popsicle right now. I have nighties coming out my ears but no clothes to wear!! Guess I'll have to stay in the house. :)

Hubby went back to work today. Woohoo! I told him not to take it the wrong way... but I was really glad to get some quiet time! After 2 weeks in such close proximity... I need space! I do have things to keep me busy though. The house needs a good cleaning, and things need to be moved around a little. He did clear out a closet and some drawer space for me! I was quite impressed, but the project isn't done yet. He wanted help finding something to wear Sunday, and in the process we added about 4 shirts to the Goodwill pile that he hadn't worn in years and didn't even fit. I'm pretty sure there are others lurking in a couple closets that can be added as well. Remember bomber jackets? Navy suit coats with lots of gold buttons? Flannel shirts with the sleeves rolled up? Yep, sleeves were still rolled. I suppose someone would have laughed themselves silly at the stuff I weeded out of my closet a few months ago too, so I should be quiet.

I am working on posting pics on Flickr, first I thought I lost the picture CDs or that they were packed in boxes, but I found them. Its just a matter of finding the time to upload them!