Snow Banked Recap

Drivin' in a Winter Wonderland

We got a ton of snow last night and today (my DH says we got 15 inches & there were other towns near us that got 18 inches!). So this afternoon, I needed to go pick up Savvy at my dear sister Jilly's house (a Martin Luther King day slumber party - what's not to love?) As I was getting ready to go pick her up, my DH kept saying how it was really snowy and bad weather - and I needed to be careful. After about the 3rd or 4th time he said that, I rolled my eyes and said - "I'm not the village idiot - I've driven in snow before." (I will admit - this was not a wise statement to make considering that we are in our 13th unlucky year of marriage).

Now, I pride myself on my driving skills. I don't speed (which drives my DH and others crazy if we are in a hurry). But, I know all the secret short cuts to get me to my destination faster. I'm also a pretty decent driver in the snow. Truth be told, we usually only get 3-4 inches at most - so really it's not that much of a challenge. But, I have seen other jokers stranded on the sides of the streets in snowbanks - so I must be doing something right (that is, until today, when I became the joker in the snowbank).

Anyway - as I was getting into my van, my DH saw how deep the snow was in our driveway and said, "Wait, let me shovel the driveway - you'll never make it." Again, I rolled my eyes and humored him for a minute -- till I discovered it took him like 10 minutes to do one strip 1/2 way across the driveway -- it was deep, wet and still coming down! I said, "Look - I've got a plan, I'll be fine. I'll just go straight back - won't stop for anything and I'll be on my way."

Famous last words. I did attempt to go straight back, but was pretty much fishtailing the whole way back. Then, instead of clearing the mountainous snowbank the courteous snowplow had made at the end of the drive - I backed and swerved right back into it. Talk about awkward. It took about 45 minutes to dig out - and then we still had to have assistance from our great neighbor - who ran home and grabbed his ice melt to make the whole pushing thing - a whole lot easier.

So, the new and improved (albeit humbled) Nicole, headed to my sisters at a careful pace. Happily, no other snowy issues--and we made it to Costco and then home safely.

The Sunday Funnies

**Last month, I was talking to the kids about something and I said, "Well, that's ironic." Savvy replied, "kinda like the ironic priesthood?"

**My oldest daughter, Jay, has just started wearing nylons. This morning, on the way to church she propped her stocking footed feet up on the seat in front of her. The twins were completely grossed out - "oooh, yuck, get em' away". She tried to explain that her feet were completely covered and that they weren't gross. At that point, Aussie said - she's a frog! she's a frog! She's got webbed feet.

**First let me explain - Savvy has a great love for VW slug-bugs. Daily, we play the "slug bug what color?" game whenever we are in the car. She has such a love for these cars - that she is totally planning on driving a cute lime green bug, with a black sunroof, when she hits high school (oh, the surprise she'll have when she ends up with a sweet avocado green station wagon).

So, last night, on our way to Walmart - we had passed many a slug bug - red ones, silver, and my personal fav - baby blue with a black sunroof. As we're pulling into Walmart - she says - "Mom! Look! A medieval slug bug!" "A what?" I asked. "Mom" she says, "That slug bug is totally medieval - it has a mask and everything." Then I saw the infamous bug - and she was right - it did have on a black mask.

Look What the Cat Dragged In

Santa brought our family a cat for Christmas this year. He is a cute little white kitten with blue eyes. Santa named him Elvis - he even left a note informing the kids of this (which is good because Savvy said she'd rather name him Snowball, Jay wanted to name him Edward and Aussie wanted to name him Meoweth). Needless to say, the kids were very excited, surprised, thrilled beyond belief!

Unfortunately, the mother wasn't so excited, surprised or thrilled beyond belief. Everyone knows I am not much of a pet lover - and especially not a cat lover. Everyone that is - except for my DH. Apparently, he thought I loved cats. Where he got this idea I'll never know.

But, quite honestly, my kids have wanted a pet for a very long time (and DH has been adamantly against having a pet). So, when he told me a couple of weeks before Christmas that he had been on the hunt for a kitten--I was actually excited for the kids. I decided then and there that I could make the ultimate sacrifice-- and become a reformed cat hater.

When I was growing up, we always had a few dogs. But, these weren't really pets you nurtured, cuddled with or even loved. They were more annoying than lovable--always jumping up on you with muddy feet and such. So, I suppose I do come by my dislike of pets honestly. Living in a small town, with brothers and a dad who prefered "hunting dogs" over any other kind of pet--didn't leave much room for fostering a love for kittens. That and the fact that my brothers used the cats for target practice - or a good dog chase - didn't help matters either.


Obviously, Elvis adores me (he's actually curled up at my feet sleeping as I type-I know--it's embarrassing). But seriously, cats can totally sense when a person is not a cat lover - then it spends the rest of its days making it up to you. I mean, I am in my basement and my feet are kinda cold - and here's cute Elvis asleep on my feet. Oh great - I'm going to become one of those people who constantly tell stories about their cats. I wonder if there's a support group I could join--FCHA (former cat haters anonymous)?

My Dysfunctional Book Club

Our ward started up a book club in June. Since it began, it has been a sore spot with me. The books we have read aren't necessarily ones I would choose - and my suggestions have been pretty much ignored. I wanted to give it up early on - but decided to stick with it because when I joined the group I was hoping to broaden my horizons in reading (plus, my RSP informed me that as her 2nd counselor I was in charge of attending all special interest groups).

I have to admit -- it hasn't been a complete waste of time. We did read "The Book Thief" which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also liked "The Peacegiver" by James Ferrell. Of course, I loved "Austenland" by Shannon Hale (after all I was the one who begged for 3 months to read it - and when we finally did everyone else HATED it).

I know the problem stems from the varied backgrounds we all come from. We have three ladies over 60 who only want to read deep and learned books. The other three girls are more my age - but they don't seem to mind the deeper fair that we usually read. It seems that I'm the only one who isn't interested in reading a 700 page deep novel EVERY month. I'm willing to do it once in a while - but I feel like if I'm going to devote a bunch of time (every month) to a deep book that I have a difficult time understanding - it should probably be the scriptures.

My biggest issue is that I know book clubs are supposed to be fun. As a matter of fact, when I tell friends of mine what we're reading and how our turnout is at times very low (last week 3 came) -- they can't believe it because they adore their book groups. My other problem is I have had friends in my neighborhood and ward tell me they would love to join our book club if we were reading books that were a little bit more enjoyable. What can I say - I need this girls on my team! They could totally be my wingmen at book club. My lonely voice has remained unheard long enough!

Okay, so now that this post has turned into more of a rant than a civilized discussion of a book club driving me to the brink of insanity -- I'll get to my point. Next month, we are meeting to plan out our next 6 months of books. I want to be able to suggest books that would appeal to more than just the 4 or 5 of us currently in our book group. I mean, c'mon--we have about 75-80 ladies that could be coming (not that I want that or I'd have to start shopping at Costco for bulk treats and changing our location to the cultural hall at the church).

But seriously, what are some of your favorite books you have read that you've loved? (by the way I'll take any and all suggestions - even if the books are deep because if you liked it then maybe it won't be that bad. See - I'm broadening my horizons one deep book at a time).

Dating for Romo is a big No-No

[My husband has a blog with his family - mostly it's just DH and his brothers doing the posting. They generally talk about politics or sports (insert snore here). Today I decided to spice up DH's blog with a little bit of sports mixed with some pop-culture - and since I haven't had a chance to blog for a few days I thought I'd post it here too.]


Dallas Cowboy football player Tony Romo has women troubles. Not that he can't get a date or anything - it's the dating aftermath everyone's worried about. Last week, with his new girlfriend Jessica Simpson cheering him on -- he totally choked.

It isn't the first time this poor jock has stunk it up while his girlfriend - and a national television audience - has watched. Last year, when then girlfriend, Carrie Underwood (I don't care if she now says they never dated - she's just saving face) - watched his game - he totally stunk it up.

Maybe all Tony Romo needs therapy - and the first question his therapist should ask is, "Are you a little bit country or a little bit rock-and-roll?" Hey inquiring minds want to know.

Christmas Decorations be Gone!

My Christmas decorations are still up and it's killing me! They have been up for so long--that when I take it down I will have to dust it off (I know this because I did take down my tree in the basement on Wednesday and it was very dusty--who thinks to dust their tree over the holidays?).

One of my friends takes down her decor on the afternoon of Christmas day. My sister takes hers down on the 26th - no matter what. This year she was actually sick on her deathbed and STILL took it down in the same timely fashion. I usually shake my head at these borderline OCD Christmas removers - that is until it's January 4th and my Christmas is still haunting me like a bad dream (sugarplums dancing in my head has taken on a whole new meaning).

So, now I'm shaking my head at myself! I need to get my act together! I mean, good grief - Valentine's Day decor has been in the stores for 2 weeks. My goal is always to take it down on New Year's day. But, this New Year's we were madly finishing Aussie's report on Paul Revere because it was due on Thursday (whose idea was it to have a big report due on the day the kids go back to school - I don't care if it was assigned just before Thanksgiving - procrastinators who don't take down their Christmas before January 4th will most likely save a big 3rd grade report for the last minute - it's a proven statistic - I promise).

So, it is with great sadness that I end this post - because the inevitable has to come to pass--no matter what! It is 9:23 am on a slushy January morning - and I have put it off long enough. There is no other choice - Christmas decor be gone!