MIA - But now I'm Back!

For the last two months or so I have been MIA from my blog due to the end of the semester projects and final exams, but all of that is behind me now, so I have made my return! I am BACK! Much has happened during that time, so where to start?!

This year our family had not one, but TWO Thanksgiving Dinners, the first was November 8, when Alan was home. It was fun, but kind of strange mixing two families and their holiday traditions together. (Aunt Khris' side of the family came to Grandma and Papa's for the first time to enjoy a sit-down dinner at one long table with us.) It was held so early in the month because Alan wont be with us for the actual Thanksgiving dinner, and the family agreed that we would celebrate early with him, as it's his favorite holiday!

Then a few short weeks later, it was time for Thanksgiving....AGAIN! This has always been my favorite holiday because of our family traditions. There are certain things I have come to count on at Thanksgiving. First, there will always be a long table that the whole family, along with any friends sit at together to enjoy the meal. Second, grandma's Thanksgiving table decorations had better find their way down the center of that table, or all is lost! And third, the year that BLACK OLIVES are forgotten will be a tragedy as my sisters, cousin and I will forever need them to take our yearly "Olive Finger" pictures! This year things were a little different. Usually, the whole family (meaning anywhere between 35 -50 people) go to my grandparents home, we set up one very long table that stretches diagonally across the room. When everything is all set up, there is hardly room to walk around. But this year, because my grandmother has had a few health issues, we decided to move Thanksgiving dinner to the church instead. And you better believe we had one long table, grandma's decorations and black olives! In the end, this worked out better as there was a place for the kids to play, people weren't sitting on top of one another and there was enough room in the kitchen to clean up (plus, there were two sinks, so clean up took half the time!) After dinner, my sisters and I had a little too much fun with my camera, but the pictures we got we AMAZING! We also good a good one of our family.

Now it is December and Christmas is in full swing here. There are Christmas lights on the house, but for one reason or another, they have decided they WILL NOT light for anything this year. They worked when we put them up in November (taking advantage of warm weather!), but when we plugged them in in November, much to our dismay, NOTHING! :( Oh well, at least there are also lights in the windows! Not to mention the three, yes THREE Christmas trees in our house. The one in the family room has all the ornaments my sisters and I get every year from our parents that represent something we did that year. So for example, I got my 21st ornament this year, she is a little angel called "The Angel of Talents" representing that I have decided on my major and as I continue in the program, my "talent" will be shaped and developed. In the front room there is the "White Christmas Tree", also lovingly known as the "Winter Tree." This special tree is done all in white, white lights, white snowflake and icicle ornaments with snow people surrounding it. I think it might be my favorite tree, it's just so beautiful when it's all lit up at night! The last tree has only been a part of our family for a year, so it is making its second debut in our formal dining room this Christmas! Thus, it is formally known as "The Cookie Cutter Tree!" To outsiders, our house may seem like Christmas exploded, but to me, it's perfect!

Has it really been a MONTH!?

This past month has been amazing! I don't know how to express in words how happy I've been! So pictures will have to work for now:



What started out as friendship....

...Has grown Stronger!

I'm so happy that I have Michael in my life! He is so sweet! Every day he finds a new way to make me smile and laugh! We've come a long way since high school and I couldn't be more thrilled! Not many people would wait for someone to realize that the two of you belong together, but he did. :) I feel like the most special person these days. I hate knowing that I could have let this slip through my fingers because I was so blind! I'm sorry I made you wait so long...

Happy One Month Anniversary!

Birthday Reflections

• Today was my 21st birthday and it was a great day compared to last week!

I woke up this morning after a wonderful dream to hear my little sister wish me a happy birthday the moment I steeped out of my room.

I had a relaxing, hot shower

Received multiple text messages and phone calls from family and friends wishing me a happy birthday (all before 8am)!

At school, I knew SOME of the answers in my Spanish class (still confused, but today was TONS better!)

I had class with my best friend and she gave me all three of Owl City's CDs (We are going to see him in concert on September 21, I can't wait!)

I had 2 hours to eat and enjoy my lunch while working to finish my "Sunshine" paper for class tomorrow. During this time I also checked my facebook and had 26 notifications from people wishing me a "happy birthday!" I felt so loved!!

My last class got out 10 minutes early (4:50pm)!

I enjoyed a wonderful birthday dinner at my grandparents house - we had Broccoli-Rice Casserole (my favorite!)

When I walked into Grandma's kitchen, I noticed a beautiful bouquet of red roses (one of my favorite flowers!) with a birthday balloon sitting on the table!

I got a new bookcase for my room and some very beautiful homemade birthday cards!

All I can say is thanks to everyone who has made this day so wonderful for me! You are all such a big part of my life and I don't know what I would do without you!

**Also, I'm going to give a big shout out to my friend Whitney from college who shares my birthday! I hope your day was just as great as mine Whit!!

09/09/09 - Hated Me

Okay, so call me crazy, but I woke up this morning thinking that today was going to be an awesome day because the date was so cool! I love when that happens (it kind of made me wish I was engaged so I could have gotten married today with everyone else, it would be an awesome anniversary date to remember, right). Back to my point...what I thought would be a great day turned out to be a "horrible, no good, should have stayed in bed with the covers over my head, sleep it off, try to never remember it again" kind of day.

What made it so bad you ask? Nothing huge that I can point at and say "well if that didn't happen my day would have be so much better"... no, nothing like that. It was the constant attack of the little things going wrong. Let's recap:

• My alarm goes off at 6:30am (usually this is fine), however, I have not been sleeping well lately and had been up tossing and turning most of the night. Therefore, morning came about 6 hours too early for me today.
• There was no happy-medium water temperature today... it was either so hot I turned BRIGHT RED, burning my skin or so cold I thought my toes would fall off. Needless to say, I didn't have an enjoyable shower, nor did I fully wake up in a pleasant way.
• We are almost out of yogurt flavored Cheerios - currently my favorite breakfast (that is until it gets cold and I change to something else).
• Once on the road, I get stuck behind school buses, slow drivers and pass 3 or 4 different police cars. Lucky for me, I have the "problem" of being too early to class, so thank goodness I wasn't late.
• Spanish Class = my personal nightmare! My problem is that in a classroom setting, when called on, I freeze and my brain shuts off. I know the vocab and how to conjugate (most) verbs tenses.But I get nervous and frustrated at myself when I can't figure something out. This in turn causes me to feel even worse about myself when the professor looks at me and shakes her head, then calls on someone else who answers the question perfectly with no effort at all. I just want to break down and cry at the conclusion of each class.
• Work moved so slowly... I felt like I was never going to leave. Now you have to understand, I don't mind my job, I like it most of the time. I get to listen to my ipod and I'm usually left alone, but on a day like today, 2 1/2 hours felt like an eternity.
• Once at home, I discovered how complex my first homework assignment for my creative advertising strategies class is going to be. I have to list 10 features and 10 benefits (as original and creative as possible) for "Sunshine". Yes, referring to the sun in the sky as if it were a product I could sell. Trust me, it's harder than it sounds. Because then you have to explain your thought process and where your ideas came from!
• After trying to tackle Advertising for a few hours, I discovered I had tons of Spanish homework due Friday night at midnight, and because I don't feel bad enough about myself tonight, I decided to give it a try. I mean, "why put off for tomorrow what you can get done today", right? BIG MISTAKE... I made so many stupid, countless errs, but because those ones were computer graded, I could try them again (and do better).
• Now because I am a "good college student" I was in my room doing homework all night instead of downstairs watching "Glee" like I wanted to, and I have figured out that I wont have any time to watch it until the weekend, 3 days away! All I can tell you is how grateful I am that we have TiVo!
• And now, to top everything off, as I am typing this and getting ready to call it a night, my room is SWARMING with all kinds of bugs! I don't know how they got through the screen on my window, but they are EVERYWHERE! I have smashed and swatted so many bugs tonight! And now I fear I wont sleep because I will imagine they are crawling on me in bed. So here is to another night of little sleep, leading into what I fear will be another bad day tomorrow.

“Bran Hambric Street Team"

This is a great offer for any Kaleb Nation fans out there! Post a link about his new book, "BRAN HAMBRIC: THE FARFIELD CURSE" for Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com or Borders.com on your blog, facebook, myspace or some where else, email a link providing proof of your post and you could get a Bran Hambric necklace FOR FREE like the one on the cover of the book!! See the link below for more information!

http://www.kalebnation.com/blog/2009/09/04/bran-hambric-necklaces/

I can't wait to get my hands on this book, it comes out September 9, 2009. When I am finished reading I will let you know what I thought of it! So, look for my review in the coming weeks!

Whoo...! This past weekend was nuts, I was so busy there was no time for relaxation. Friday night my best friend and had worked on outlining our book. Yes, we are writing a book and it is going to be AMAZING! We were having a blast bouncing ideas off each other, finishing each other's sentences and getting chills when everything started clicking together perfectly! When it got dark, we switched gears by watching The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) on the family room wall as our own personal theater!

On Saturday Morning, we spent the day in the hot August sun watching my sister, Megan march in a parade (she's on the dance line). From the church the parade started to the place we were sitting somewhere in the middle of the parade route, it took the band (and okay, everything else too) 45 minutes to reach us! But, that could have something to do with the 5 minute gaps and very, very slow moving old, boring cars! (Not much of a fan of boring, long, hot parades!) But, Meg did great, although the annoying sophomore on the end of her row made them all look bad by being out of step and too far ahead of the other three girls.


Saturday evening was spent with my cousin (and one of my VERY BEST FRIENDS), Mandy and her mom (Aunt Khris). Mandy became engaged at the beginning of the year and decided it was time to find the PERFECT dress as she has set her wedding date to May 2010. After trying on who knows how many dresses, in countless styles and shapes, I believe she has found the perfect dress! It captures everything that is Mandy… her grace, poise, personality and to top it off… she is going to look like a model on the happiest day of her life! Michael, eat your heart out! ;)

Sunday afternoon an impromptu party of sorts broke out at my great aunt and uncle’s house. Their daughter, her husband and their little girl (11 months) are home visiting for a couple weeks. They are missionaries for their church, living across the Atlantic in a country I can’t remember. The day turned out to be perfect for a party… there were family members everywhere, tons of food to eat, many stories to swap and a handful of little kids/babies to play with and take pictures of. When things started winding down, my older cousin took me for a ride on his motorcycle around the “large block”. It was a blast… hair blowing out behind me, wind on my face and the closest thing you will come to “flying” on the ground. It reminded me of motorcycle scenes in books and movies: “…it was just me, my bike, the wind in my face and hair, with only the open road stretched out in front of me…” Driving home from the party was just as much fun (okay maybe more) as being there as I got to drive my grandfather’s big, red truck! I don’t know why I love it so much, it must be my “country girl” coming out!

8 Things

I was tagged by Becky — so here it goes!

8 Shows I love:
1. The Biggest Loser
2. Make it or Break it
3. What I Like About You
4. Most shows on TLC
5. Wipeout!
6. Sabrina the teenage witch
7. Rachel Ray
8. The Next Food Network Star

8 Things I did yesterday:
1. Slept in until noon! (it was great!)
2. Worked on a surprise for my grandparent’s 50th wedding anniversary!
3. Read some in “Gone With the Wind”
4. Wrote in my journal
5. Watched “The Prince and Me” on ABCfamily
6. Went to Marissa’s wedding reception (She looked beautiful! Congrats Marissa!!)
7. Practiced my song for Sacrament Meeting (“A Believer’s Prayer” by Sally DeFord)
8. Prepared my lesson for my Primary class… 5 and 6 year olds. We played with rocks!

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. The Olive Garden
2. Applebee's
3. Rockne’s
4. Texas Roadhouse
5. Amish Door
6. Pizza Hut
7. Steak ‘n Shake
8. N/A

8 Things On My Wish List:
1. To enjoy what is left of the summer
2. To have a stress-free semester
3. To get more hours at work (Currently, can I only work 10 hrs/week during the fall semester)4. To find a way to transfer schools… I would love to go out west!
5.To finally get caught up on my journal… I’m 2 years behind… yes I know how crazy this sounds, but I have everything that is important written down so I don’t forget. It’s just a matter of copying it to my journal now.
6. To be a better person
7. To speak better Spanish
8. A new wardrobe!

8 Things I'm Looking forward to:
1. My 21st birthday! (36 days and counting!)
2. Some of my classes this fall
3. The County Fair!
4. Meeting my future husband and spending our lives together
5. My grandparents 50th Anniversary Party
6. Friday (my day off)
7. Fall (I love when the leaves start changing colors!)
8. The Second Coming

8 People I Tag (Considering I don't know who all reads this not to mention who would actually do it):
1. Kira Carey
2.Mikell Gehret
3. Julie Rohal
4. Danielle Johnson
5. Erin Stanfield
6. Micah Mae
7. Nichola
8. Jon Ridinger

I want to be a LOSER too!

My family and I are big fans of the hit reality weight loss show "The Biggest Loser". There is something inspiring about watching people change their lives because they have decided to put themselves first for once. While every contestant's story is different, they have a few things in common:

1. They are clueless when it comes to living a healthy life
2. They do not know how to balance exercising with other daily activities
3. They do not understand basic food choices
4. They lack self-esteem and self-respect, even if it does not appear that way on outside
5. They each have to understand that the only one stopping them from shedding the weight and looking their best is themselves. (This may be the hardest on the list)

After watching the show for three seasons now, it is time to apply the lessons I've learned. My family and I began changing our lifestyles in January 2008 by creating a family version of the show. We had weekly weigh-ins where our weight for the week was recorded on the calender, watched what we ate and exercised regularly. At the end of each month we took pictures so we could see our progress. This was a great plan of attack for me. Having a support system made eating right and exercising less stressful and difficult for me. However, we are only human and we fell off the bandwagon the beginning of 2009. I could tell you many excuses about busy lives and loads of schoolwork, but lets face the facts...it was laziness.

On Monday I started all over again and this time I will reach my goal! Here is my new plan of attack:

• Buy a cute outfit in my goal size and hang it where I will see it everyday
• Start my day off right by eating a healthy breakfast
• Drink at least 8 glasses of COLD water
• Track my progress on here (to an extent)so I have another excuse to get moving
• I am going to make healthier eating choices and try to cut "emotional" snacking from my day
• Do some kind of exercise everyday for at least 20 minutes. (My favorites exercise DVDs are Leslie Sansone: 3 Mile Weight Loss Walk and Jillian Michael's - 30 Day Shred. I promise that you will be exhausted and "feeling the burn" when you finish these!)
• I am also following the advice in Leslie Sansone's book Eat Smart, Walk Strong, which provides readers with a plan for 6 weeks

So....wish me luck as I once again begin the journey to change my life and improve my health. Any tips or advice you can offer are greatly appreciated!

Friends by Day...Enemies by Night

This past Saturday my best friend Kira and I had quite an adventurous day! We started off the day (okay, so it was 2 in the afternoon) at the Zoo with some people from church! The day was PERFECT! The sun was shining, the temperature was in the 70s, there was a slight breeze and we had the perfect driving soundtrack playing ("Of June" by Owl City). Neither of us had been to the Zoo in about a year, so we were really excited...kind of like kids on Christmas Morning! We each had one animal we really wanted to see... for her it was the Lamas and for me the monkeys! The day was filled with laughter and new friends! Our delight continued as we pretended to be birds and penguins, later the giant turtle tried to run away with Kira (he was trying to break out of the exhibit to get to her... it was really funny!) and we even touched some underwater creatures! While we were exhausted from walking all day, we were still relaxed and reluctant to leave... but we were pressed for time before our next adventure of the day.

After hurrying home from the Zoo (we went the speed limit, don't worry!), it was time to prepare to become enemies! That night we were performing in our church's "Open Mic Night/Talent Show". We sang and acted out "What is This Feeling" from the musical Wicked. However, in order to get into character, we each had to take on a different personality (our song talked about how much we could not stand each other and that we were forced to be roommates at school) and physical appearance. Therefore, Kira bought a "lovely" Hannah Montana wig (that we tried to curl with soft rollers...with no luck) so she would look like Glinda, the "good witch", and I bought black hairspray to look more like Elphaba the "wicked witch". Our performance was a hit... everyone got a kick out of our different hair colors (we kind of swapped hair colors for the night)! We choreographed the song ourselves late Friday night into early Saturday morning, therefore we were able to bring our characters to life instead of just standing on stage. However, we had a costume and dance malfunction as Kira tripped over her 4 inch heals and her wig came off near the end of the performance...but being the "professionals" we are, we pulled it off as part of the show! Needless to say, it was every one's favorite part! We had so much fun performing and hope to have the opportunity again, either on campus in the fall or when we are 50 years (I tried to convince Kira that our grandchildren would get a kick out of it)!

M.I.A. in the month of May

Hey everyone.... I'm back! The first half of May has been crazy, but I'll work backwards with pictures so you know what has been going on in my life lately. On Saturday, my youngest sister Macayla had her first home softball game of the season... they won 17 - 7! She plays 3rd base and is amazing. She had a game this afternoon and hit a triple! Also, if you look close at her socks, you will notice the green blobs are FROGS!

Last Sunday was Mother's Day. My sisters and I surprised our mom good this year. We made her a huge sign that had three words for mom because we each call her something different, it was hanging on the sliding glass doors when she went downstairs that morning. On the table we had a picture of each of us in black and white with only our blue eyes in color. (Those pictures are now on her desk at work!) But the best gift of all was the collage post we made with 30 different pictures of her and us over the years. It really is amazing... across the top is a quote I found by Abraham Lincoln about his own mother. It is now framed and hanging in her room.

The first Saturday in May, I was invited by one of my best friends to attend his Senior Prom. It was kind of strange going to Prom as a graduate, but it was fine because there were three other people from my graduating class and a random 25 year old... so I wasn't the oldest guest, thank goodness! But, Prom was a blast... I had so much fun dancing the night away with a great friend. However, we both decided that the DJ did not play enough of a variety of music. (He didn't even play the Graduation song for the Seniors!) I had more fun than I thought I would and I am so glad that he asked me to go. I wouldn't trade the memories of that night for anything. He's such a sweet guy and was the perfect gentleman all night. I'm honored that he wanted to share that special night with me.

So, I think that covers the first couple weeks of May... hopefully with the semester over and Summer here I will be better at posting! (But I'm not making any promises!) ;)

Earth Day

As today is Earth Day, I thought I would share with you a couple pictures I took of nature in my yard this afternoon. I love the signs of spring... rebirth, growth, change, and hope are just a few worlds that come to mind. Our planet is very important and we all need to do our part to protect it. Whether it is something as small as picking up a piece of trash on the sidewalk, changing light bulbs in your home, recycling or planting trees, there is something for everyone to do! Use your imagination, the possibilities are endless! We must each do our part if we want future generations to view the wonders and mysteries Earth has to offer. A thought to leave with: How many more species of animals will go instinct, acres of rain forests will be destroyed and miles of glaciers melt before all of human-kind joins forces to reverse this tragedy? It's time for a change... let it start with you and your family! Happy Earth Day everyone!

Beautifully Strong

For Spring Break I had the opportunity to travel with my family to Ft. Jackson, SC to watch my cousin graduate from Army Basic Training. It was the first time we saw him in 13 weeks and I could not believe how much he changed over that short amount of time.

Physically... he received a buzz hair cut courtesy of the Army, lost 15 pounds and 5 inches, however that wasn't what caught my attention. Emotionally, he was a different person. He was still Alan, but he was more mature, aware of his surroundings and those around him. He held himself differently, and confidence radiated from him, it was almost tangible. He respected the uniform and kept his professional manner at all times. I believe this is what shocked me most, having grown up with a cousin that would pull my hair or wrestle me to the ground just because he could.

On Thursday, the base had family day so the soldiers could give their families some idea of what they had to endure every day to get to this important step of graduation. While we walked around base, he shared stories of his friends, officers and schemes. It was amazing to watch as he became animated and engrossed in the stories, as if he were reliving them.

The entire time we were with Alan, I had my camera at the ready. Upon returning home, I discovered I had taken 464 pictures in 4 days! Out of all the pictures I took, this is my favorite… and I feel I have titled it appropriately.

As soon as graduation was over Friday morning, we drove from SC to VA… 6 ½ hours! We spent all Saturday at a local Go-Cart and Putt-Putt course. We had a lot of fun racing each other in the cars and playing mini-golf boys vs. girls. (Sadly, the boys won, but not by much!) It was bittersweet leaving him at his new base in VA Saturday Night. But we are all so proud of him and his determination and devotion to the Army and his country. He is on his way to greatness and it makes me proud to say that I am his cousin.

I received this video on Facebook and it got me thinking. I want to start March off right by standing up for my faith in God. I'm not posting this to try to convert you or sway your faith in any way, however, I am posting it so you will know where I stand. I want to be an example in a dark world, a light at the end of the road and a friend always willing to lend a hand. I want to live my life as an example of Christ, sharing my love for the Gospel with those around me. I am choosing now to stand up for what I believe in. What will you choose?

Library Bubbies!

I work with the greatest group of girls! I love going to work because it is always so much fun! There are 5 of us that are super close...4 of us graduated from the same high school! We have way too much fun finding books, re shelving said books and moving/shifting (the technical term) the books to make more room. On Friday, we had a little bit of fun taking pictures! Here's why I love them so much! You'll wish you had to chance to work with this great group of girls everyday too! The time flies by and we spend the majority of our time laughing at one another... have a look for yourself!

The Funny things kids say…

You know how the saying goes “kids say the darndest things,” well it was never more true than today. I teach the 5 year old class at church and sometimes they can be a handful, today was no exception.

During music time, the music lady was trying to teach the kids the words to “How Firm a Foundation” when one of my 5 year old boys says “I hate the color pink!” Now, this is not funny until I tell you that the music lady was wearing a pink shirt and her response back to him was something like “But we can still like people who wear pink. And don’t say hate, say you strongly dislike pink.” The conversation was quickly forgotten when it was time for the lesson.

Their lesson today was on Adam and Eve and how they ate the fruit off the Tree of Life and were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. While we were telling the story another of my 5 year old boys blurts out “THAT HAPPENED TO ME, TOO!” (We’d just said that Heavenly Father told Adam and Eve that if they eat the fruit they would surely die.) Thinking for once that they have caught on to the meaning of the story (stretching, I know) we wait to hear about a time when they must have been walking in the woods and were told by their parents not to eat the poisoned berries. That, however, was NOT the story we were told. He continued without a pause, “My sister told me not to touch her play dough or she’d kill me.” Stunned, the answering response was, “Well, you are still here with us, so you must not have touched it.”

I have one more example for you, but this one does not come from a 5 year old, but my 7th grade cheerleader sister, Macayla. We were sitting down for dinner and had just finished saying the prayer when she said "You know when you pray, you’re looking down to H***? So does that mean that if you wanted to pray to Satin you would look up to Heaven?" [Then she demonstrated it for us.] We spent the rest of the meal laughing and enjoying each other’s company.

My Crazy Sister...

I have two little sisters, and boy oh boy are they wild! Okay, not all the time, but that's hard to tell with this video. Megan turned Sweet 16 this year and she is OBSESSED with pigs. She had a small get-together with her closest friends and was surprised with this...a vibrating little plush pig. She and her best friend made this video around midnight when they were hyped up on Mountain Dew. Needless to say, it's kind of hysterical, or maybe I'm just saying that because she's my sister and I love her. You be the judge. ;)

The Balancing Act

Well, it’s official…winter vacation is now at an end. I shall return to classes tomorrow morning for my forth semester of college. I can hardly believe I’m saying this, but where in the world did all the time go? It seems like yesterday I was taking finals and starting to unwind from a hectic fall semester! And now, on the eve of returning to school, I look at my to-do list and realize I have accomplished nothing in my month-long break. I had planned on:

1. Cleaning my room of clutter
2. Catching up my journal
3. Finish reading Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials”
4. Brush up on my Spanish
5. Finish Capri Sun purses for my cousin
6. Read the Scriptures daily
7. Get healthier by working out and eating right

And the list goes on and on, however I have done parts of each of these (with the exception of Spanish… I haven’t been that motivated. Oops!) So, I’m making it my goal to work on these when I’m not spending time on homework and studying, with family and friends or sleeping. I know it’ll be hard, but I think I can do it! Anyways…. here’s the craziness my life becomes:

Monday/Wednesday:
9:55am – 12:15pm – Class
12:30pm – 4:00pm – Work
From there….studying and spending time with the family

Tuesday/Thursday:
9:15am – 1:45pm – Class
2:00pm – 4:00 pm – Work
From there….studying and spending time with the family

Friday:
8:00am – 9:45am – Work
9:55am – 10:45am – Class
11:00am – 3:30pm – Work
From there…FREEDOM FOR THE WEEKEND!!

So here starts my crazy adventure of 2009… here’s hoping I can keep everything organized and balanced without dropping the ball!

Baby it’s cold outside…

Growing up, I was like any other kid… I loved winter! It meant snow days, snowmen and all the hot chocolate you could stand. I use to love playing in the snow, and thrilled when the first snow would occasionally happen in September. There was a magic in the falling snow that seemed to make everything in the world better, somehow. I loved finding pictures in the ice on the car windows or flying down a good sledding hill. As a child, winter was exhilarating, a new adventure of sorts.

However, I the older I get, the more I despise winter. While the magic and beauty are still something I enjoy, I prefer to enjoy them from the warmth of my home. My perfect winter day would be spend curled up with a good book, a cup of EXTREMELY hot, hot chocolate and tons of thick blankets. But as perfect as that sounds, that is not reality.

Reality is cold! This past week the temperature was no where near the freezing point, but hovered between single digits and the teens, with a wind chill below zero. Yet this fact has done little to provide me with the proper excuse to call off work and stay in my warm bed all day.

When the alarm goes off at six, I throw back my covers and immediately regret that decision, longing for the warmth. Thinking that a hot shower would warm and wake me, I make my way towards the bathroom. But because I am the last one to use the shower in the morning, the water is hardly hot enough to awaken and relax my cold muscles.

It only gets better during my drive to work. My commute is about 35 minutes and it takes half the drive to barely warm the car. By the time I arrive at work, I am finally feeling “toasty warm” to an extent. However, it is just in time to venture into the hostile winds and snow that desperately try to steal the scarf protecting my face and neck from the biting cold. The walk into the building takes 5 minutes, just enough time to feel frozen all the way through. The heater at work is scarcely working, yet the air conditioning is on full blast. After a grueling (okay, not really, I work in the library) 8 hour day, I am ready to go home. But you know what that means….battling the winds and snow once more.

For one reason or another, the weather is always worse in the afternoons. The wind is so strong that it pushed me off the sidewalk and stings my eyes as it goes whipping by. Once at the car, I have to spend 10 minutes digging it out from under 6 inches of snow and ice, while continuing to freeze. And once again, it takes half my drive home to warm up. The roads have been awful, most have not been cleared and there is little or no salt on them…in other words, driving is even more cautious. But the effort pays off when I arrive home in one, safe piece… or does it?

Home is no warmer than work… I am freezing right now! My hands are dry and cracked, while my lips are chapped and wind burned. Try as I may, I can’t make my body produce enough heat to keep me semi-warm. There are 5 blankets on my bed and I still shiver half the night. So, after many hours of deep thought, I have decided that I need to move somewhere warm, like the equator! Anyone want to escape the hateful winter and join me?

Getting Started

I finally caved and created my own blog, deciding that the beginning of 2009 would be the perfect time to start! Nothing exciting has happened yet, but it's only a matter of time and having the right mind set! After the disappointment of last year, things can only go up from here. With family, friends, work and school, it is bound to be an adventure! I'm not sure where this blogging journey will lead me, but feel free to come along for the ride!