So long, spring break.

It's kind of funny. I had this big, long, heavy, deep post started tonight. I have a lot of stuff going through my mind right now, and I know that I need to get it out of there before I go crazy. But I just couldn't get it out in a way that made any sense at all. So I deleted it.

And instead, you get pictures of snow. 

This is what we had for the kids' official last day of Spring Break. It wasn't much - maybe a couple of inches - but it was enough to just totally annoy me, especially considering that the kids wore shorts to school on the last day BEFORE Spring Break.

Daniel and I went out to play in it after church, and I was able to teach him the fine art of building a snowman. He thought that it was pretty cool, but after posing for a couple of pictures he decided that he was done and it was time to go inside. 

For the record, he did have gloves on while we were playing. But he wanted to take them off for the picture.

Hey, those look familiar...

The snow is already pretty much gone from the yard. The snowman has already fallen over and started to melt so while waking up to this crap was annoying, at least it was short lived.

And the rest of the week doesn't look that bad...

Maybe I'll be able to get the rest of the garbage out of my head in the next couple of days. We'll just have to wait and see on that one.

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While you're here, make sure you read this one and share it everywhere you can. It's way more important than anything else that I've written. Seriously.

2013 Snowpocalypse v2.0

On Thursday and Friday, we got some snow. It really wasn't that bad but schools were cancelled for both days.

Over the weekend, the weather cleared up quite a bit - apparently so that we could prepare for the hugely anticipated Snowpocalypse v2.0. This storm was supposed to be much, much worse than the first one. Horrible. The end of the world kind of a storm.

School was cancelled for today in anticipation of it but it didn't really start getting bad out until about 3:00 - when they would have been getting out of school anyway. But, whatever. The boys and I went out and ran some errands and took care of a few things and did what we needed to do, then we came back home to hang out for a bit. The Dude stopped by for a few minutes after he went to the dentist, and then he went home to do what he needed to do. Pretty much a normal day.

1:15pm - out running errands.

1:15pm

3:00pm

9:20pm. It is still coming down though.

9:20pm. Kind of cool with the lighting from
the city

 

9:20pm - looking up through my front trees

Hey, those boots look familiar!

But yeah. It's cold. And it is windy. I guess the fear now is that it's going to drift, but it's so heavy and so wet that I don't think that drifting is going to be a huge issue. School is already closed for tomorrow (hello, 6 day weekend) and so we'll just continue on our merry little way.

Maybe we'll go to the grocery store tomorrow, just to get out of the house. Everyone else already went to prepare for the storm, so I'll just go during the storm and enjoy having the aisles to myself.

The snowpocalypse that wasn't.

You would have thought that the world was going to end over the past few days. The meteorologists were calling for massive amounts of snow that would surely mean the end of life as we knew it.

Granted, this part of Kansas doesn't get that much snow. But still, it happens. It's a fact of life. It's nothing to get all sorts of worked up about, but people do anyway.

Snow doesn't bother me. I grew up getting a lot more snow on a regular basis than Kansas gets in one of its "massive" storms. So I laugh when they forecast a snowpocalypse. And it irritates people, I know.

Anyway, the forecasters were pretty close this time, in some areas. I think we were supposed to get 8-16" according to one report, and according to the ruler stuck in my front yard, we topped out at 7" exactly. To me, it definitely wasn't worth all of the pre-storm hype. But, that's just me.

Anyway, here are a few pictures. Keep in mind that my camera (my wonderfully fabulous new-to-me camera) took a flying leap off of my desk and hit the hardwood floor the other day thanks to an overly rambunctious child who shall remain unnamed. So it's not focusing right. So some of these (the blurryish ones) were taken with the camera and some were taken with my phone. I'm trying to see if I can get the camera to work again, because you know, I think I know what I'm doing. Or something.

The backyard, as it was starting to come down.

The Dude cleaning off his truck the next morning.

My van, when it was about done snowing.

Neighbor's tree. It looked really cool with the icicles on it.

My ghetto-riffic house after I shoveled as much as I was
going to shovel. 

Gigantic icicles on the side of my house. They're
actually about 18-20" long.

More icicles. I suppose this means that I should get up on the
garage roof and clean out the gutter again.
(after it thaws)

Driving through town tonight - not only did we have to deal
with the mountain of snow in the middle of the street, but we
also had to wait on a train.

Looking straight out of my side window at the pile
in the middle of the street.

I've heard rumors that we're supposed to get some more snow on top of this, and honestly - I'm ok with that. After the drought that we've been dealing with, we can definitely use the moisture. And considering that I live within walking distance of anything that I could possibly need in this town, it can snow all it wants to - because I can still do what I need to do.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

You asked for it....

So every now and then I like to have the people on my facebook page to ask me questions, and I answer them. I did that tonight and although they were being a bit goofy, I decided to go ahead and answer all of them anyway.

So there.

Bruce asked: Why is The Weather Channel reporting from VA about a minor snow storm? And...how will we survive the blizzard? 

To the first part, I can say it's because y'all are a bunch of flatlanders, much like the people in Kansas. That, or it's just a slow news night. I'm pretty sure that YOU will survive your impending blizzard with your guitar, maybe some alcohol, and your beautiful wife by your side!

Alice asked: Will you still love me tomorrow? 

Always, my dear. Always.

Melissa asked:  Why does Nicki Minaj look like a Muppet from outer space?...

Ummmmm......who? Honestly, I've heard her name, but I really have no clue who she is. Am I showing my age, or my total lack of disregard for current pop culture? Or both?

Brown, black.
Plastic, wood, paper.
Crooked, straight.
My wall, my rules. :)

Rebecca asked: Why can't brown and black frames (on a wall) coexist? Is there some sort of frame law against such tyranny?

Oh, now that's a simple one for me. They can coexist. Very nicely too. But then again, I've never been the type of person to stick to decorating (or fashion) rules. I say if you think it looks good, and you like it, then go for it. Create your own style. Do something different. Think outside of the proverbial box!!! And then show me pictures, because I want to see. Seriously.

Jenni asked: I'm loving the questions! Lol. I have 1! Are we there yet?!

You would. Brat. And the answer is no, because we haven't gotten together for our day-long Bizarre Places of Kansas Photography playdate yet. We need to do that.

Then Jennifer decided to hit me with questions......so here are all of hers:

Jennifer asked: Well, you have been smoke free for six months now. Congrats! Do you still crave them? Also, I thought you re giving up caffeine. What happened toto that.

Toto went back to Oz. ;)

Seriously though, yes, I still crave cigarettes every. single. day. Especially when I'm around people who still smoke *hint hint*. It's hard. Extremely hard. But I do feel better without them and I really want to never pick one up again. Never ever.

As for the caffeine....yeah, well, I did really well until we went on vacation, and then I had to have some to drive. And some led to more, which led to more, which led back into the full-fledged addiction again. It's next on the list of things to go. Again.

How early is too early to send your kids to bed for misbehaving?

Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, it's never too early. They get warned, sometimes too many times. And when they've reached that point, they go to bed. It's been as early as 6:00pm around here a few times - and usually that child is asleep within a few minutes. I try not to use the going-to-bed thing as punishment unless I have to do it and I know that they are truly tired. I don't want bedtime to be turned into a battle because they always look at it as punishment, so it's used very sparingly.

Would you ever consider getting your kids cell phones for emergencies?

Well.....the girls had one that they shared. Ex1 and his wife were able to get one added to their plan for nothing (or next to nothing) so they did carry it on the few times that they were alone, or to practices or other events when they would need to call for a ride home. They proved that they were responsible with that, so we actually went together and got Sarah one for her 13th birthday. Ex1 and I both pay for it, so she has to follow our rules with it at each house. She's gotten it taken away from her more than once here for having her nose glued to it, but for the most part she's been ok with it. She does have certain expectations with it, and so far it's been ok. I'm not crazy about the idea, but in this day and age I do feel a bit more comfortable knowing that she has it. Emily still uses the other one when she is at activities, but she does not carry it with her at all times.

What is the first thing you would do if you won a massive lottery?

There isn't ONE thing, but a few things that are all kind of lumped together. First off, pay off all of my bills and The Dude's bills. Get us in the clear as far as debt goes. Buy us both dependable vehicles so that we wouldn't have to worry about that anymore. Build our dream house in the town that we are trying to move to so that all of the kids could be in the same school district. At that point, we are set - we are debt-free, we have transportation, and the kids are all in the same school. Those are the major hurdles that we are facing right now and once we clear those, we can figure out the rest of it as we go.

If you weren't with Dude, what celeb would you date if the oppotunity arose?

Do I have to pick just one?

Sheesh.....there is always my first love - Jon Bon Jovi. First celebrity crush, and yeah, still crazy about the man. Have you seen the picture of him in the Versace ad? Oh, hello........

There's also Denzel Washington. I don't know what it is about that man..... The Dude actually humors me and occasionally brings over a movie with Denzel in it for us to watch. He's so good to me.

Dierks Bentley. Love his curly hair. And his voice.

I think those are my top 3. For today.

Would you ever consider getting lasik (spelling?) surgery?

In. a. heartbeat.

I've been asked a lot recently if I would consider getting ads or sponsors on my blog in order to make money and I keep telling people that I'm really not interested. I'm not looking to make money or get freebies from doing my blog. However, if a sponsor were to come to me and say "hey, we'll do lasik on your eyes for free if you'll let us advertise on your blog" I'd be all over that. No questions asked. My vision has gotten so much worse over the years, I hate wearing glasses with a passion, I don't want to deal with the hassle of contacts (been there done that) and I just want to be able to see. Not to mention that I want to wear really cute sunglasses. Not dorky clip-ons.

Have you ever thought about making a daily chore list for the kids?

All. the. time. But have I done it yet? Nope. Why? Too many distractions. Life keeps getting in the way. However, it's something that I've been thinking about more and more and it's something that I want to do, but I'm going to have to do it slowly because otherwise they're just going to rebel against it. I need to figure out a time that I can sit down with all of them - possibly individually - and talk to them about it and my expectations of them. Things have gotten out of hand around the house, and they need to do more to help me. I know that.

What some people don't realize though is that as a single parent, it's hard. I can't be in two places in the house at one time. I can't be making sure that the boys are doing one thing and making sure that the girls are doing their thing at the same time. I can be watching over the boys while they do their thing, and the girls are getting into a fistfight behind my back, or vice versa. It's hard and it's stressful. Lists need to be made, but at the same time the kids need to have some input into them or it's never going to work.

Pre-holiday festivities and other stuff

It's been a crazy couple of days.

I managed to get all of my orders done today - finally. And even got them delivered too, which is a bonus.

Corn bag to put in the microwave or freezer to use for pain relief -
with a removable cover.

Stockings, stockings, everywhere!

After the snow that we got the other day, we ended up with our usual icicle in its usual place outside the kitchen window. The boys were absolutely mesmerized by it.

This is what's left of our snow.

Ring around the moon.....

Gingerbread houses.....or, as Daniel likes to call them for some strange reason, "gingerhead houses". That kid.....

We started them last night. Or rather, I started the baking process last night. But we didn't assemble and decorate until tonight. We always have fun doing this, but holy wow what a mess - and then they never get eaten because none of us really like gingerbread all that much. Go figure.

Fighting with the mold, as I do every. single. year.

Not pretty, but they work. Sort of.

Cheap boxes of macaroni and cheese.
Easy, inexpensive meal or reinforcement for home building?
You decide.

Starting the mess.

The expressions.....

Ay yi yi......and yeah, the floor looks about the same.

Finished products. Girls' on the left, boys' on the right.

And these last two pictures - these are for everyone who tells me how they love how I'm able to keep it together and get everything done. These pictures are totally my reality right now. This is my "room" and the aftermath of the sewing projects - my bed gets used as table space while I'm working on stuff, and then when I go to bed everything just gets chucked on the floor. 

So yeah. This will be my main focus for the next hour or so. I can't take it anymore. 

Why is there a cookbook on my bedroom floor???

Ugh. Just......ugh.

The first snow

So we got about an inch of snow overnight, coupled with a lot of wind. The drive to get the older 3 kids to school this morning was a bit of a challenge, but it wasn't horrible. What could normally be done in maybe 40 minutes took closer to an hour, but I took my time and didn't rush it.

Drifts created by 1" of snow and a lot of wind.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, er, house....

My pathetic flowerbed. Maybe I can call it modern art
or something.

Dead mums.

He wanted to go outside to play in the worst way.

SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!!

Then we took off to deliver the popcorn that Alex sold for Scouts....

Within the city limits, by the way....

....and her friend.

It wouldn't be a normal day without getting stuck by one of these.

Heading back from a friend's house "out in the country".

So that was our first snowpocalypse of the season. I'm sure that there will be many more with the way that the local media hypes up every single snowflake that may or may not fall. This one was actually a little worse than I expected, but it still wasn't much as far as I was concerned. It's going to be back up closer to 50 degrees tomorrow, so it's all going to be gone anyway....but I did hear a rumor that we might get some more snow on Christmas Day.  I'll believe it when I see it though.