Caleb = love

Salmon-flavored frozen yogurt = love


Down-filled blanket = love


Nap = love


Entryway rug + ducks = love

Our biblical flood is over

Outside of our city limits, everyone got three feet of snow.
Within the city limits, we got three feet of rain, snow, sleet, and ice. It all combined to make super-slush. Ick!

It was sunny today, and the ground has absorbed all the slush. I was able to take Caleb on an enjoyable walk this afternoon. Then I went to the laundromat, Target, and Whole Foods. Other than that, I stayed in and watched the crazy weather from my warm home. And there is a new expansion pack for one of my fave games, Children of the Nile, so I played that for a while. I really, really hope they make a revised version of the entire game in the vein of CivIV. And I hope they throw in aliens and zombies because it already has everything else that I like.

I also brought work home and that kept me busy for most of tonight. I worked while the Apprentice was on in the background. Work has been so frustrating lately. There is someone in another department, Miss BlueMeanie, who creates a lot of chaos for other people. I'm getting ready to work on something that she's in charge of, so I'm preparing to be yelled at for random things and to be on the receiving end of her hatred for humanity. That's a drag. And there's nothing I can do to prevent it.

I also work with someone, Miss Incompetence, who doesn't want to do her job (because she doesn't know how) and is therefore trying very hard to get me to do it for her. I don't have time. I also don't care about her job. If I did, I would have freakin' applied for it! When I tried to say no to one of her many emails cajoling me to do her work, she barraged me with so many stupid follow-up emails that it was just easier to do her job than keep explaining to her that she needs to do it herself. She is never going to stop because that's how she has operated her whole life - ignoring the word "no" and sending an insane number of emails with happy faces. Because, you know, happy faces make ANY email valid!

I didn't get an MFA so I could end up as a secretary to Miss I and a punching bag to Miss BM. *sigh*

On a happier note, Caleb has really enjoyed the salmon-flavored frozen yogurt. And I rediscovered my XTC CDs. I finished re-reading The Eight, which is always a good read. I signed up on Twitter but I haven't tweeted yet.

Oi. It's already mid-April. Well, another thesis deadline overtook my life for a while. I needed time to lounge on the couch and watch Spongebob, read product reviews online for all sorts of items that I don't need to buy anyways, and monitor the cuteness levels of Caleb and Rhu. Then I needed time to quickly revise my writings and print all those revised thesis pages.

In the meantime, Rhu had a birthday and much salmon-flavored frozen yogurt goodness ensued. I will post pics of him later...

I also need to post two pics I took from work today. I looked out the windows and saw that bands of mist had settled far down on the flatirons. It was gorgeous. It was like Ann-Margret in a yellow headband of awesome.

Otherwise, a lot of changes are on the horizon. With changes, even if they're good they can still be difficult to navigate. Like, there's nothing better to me than moving in to a new place and being able to set up the living room furniture in a new arrangement - but there's all the packing that goes on before the fun stuff of deciding which wall gets the tv. And currently a lot of obligatory duty is going on and not much ferris wheel riding happening.

We are under a winter weather advisory, so we're going to have either a little bit of rain or 36" of snow. Surprise!

Continuity Issues

Dear State Farm: You know those commercials with the kids asking to borrow the car? And the kids change into the teenagers that they are currently, but the little kids symbolize how the adult sees them? They're cute commercials, but I'm really bugged that the little dark brown-eyed kids are supposed to become light blue-eyed teens. I can suspend a lot of disbelief but that's over my limit. How tough is it to find dark brown-eyed teens for a commercial when all that's required is huffing and stomping out of the house? That's like being themselves and getting paid. Huh.

Snow Day 2

We got 17" of snow, which was enough to close work again today. Four-day weekend!!!

The sun is out right now so everything is melting pretty quickly. My neighbor shoveled the sidewalk and then I got out and shoveled paths to and between our doors and the sidewalk. Parts of the paths look totally clear and dry right now. I enjoy shoveling like I enjoy mowing a lawn, in that both make me feel like a hard farm laborer deserving of a fried chicken dinner and a 7pm bedtime. Too bad I no longer eat chicken...

I'll finish the driveway tomorrow after giving it more time to melt away, and then I'll re-shovel the sidewalk and add ice melt. Our front sidewalk is a pain as we have a long driveway and then the sidewalk, which slopes inward from the street. This means that all the melting makes our sidewalk area a puddle of goo that then becomes a puddle of everlasting icemania. And thanks to VileNeighborette on the other side of my next-door BFF (aka GoodNeighborette), GoodNeighborette and I must make certain our sidewalk is clear at all times or we will be reported to the city and we will be fined. This is because VileNeighborette and GoodNeighborette have had a few unpleasant encounters, by which I mean VN has left crazayzee threatening notes on GN's car and door, and GN has refused to bow down to VN and her massive crazayzee head. *sigh*

Here are some pics I took of all the springtime snow goodness.

Snow next to the front porch, Thursday early evening:


Like Edward Cullen, the snow sparkled like diamonds in the sunlight.


Caleb navigating his yard Thursday afternoon:


Trudging through Thursday evening:


View from the kitchen door early Friday morning:


View from the front door early Friday morning:


My neighbor's car was buried:


Looking out at the front yard in the morning:


The front gate to Caleb's yard:


Icicles through my bedroom window:


Caleb went out with me while I shoveled the perimeter of the backyard for him.

Springtime Blizzard

My phone beeped with a text message at 6:45am with the news that work was closed due to all the blizzarding. We had snow falling at 3" per hour earlier today. It's now down to 1"-2" per hour, but it has not stopped. And the weatherologists don't expect it to stop until sometime tomorrow. The whole city is shut down. People are skiing on the streets.

It's beautiful!

I watched History Channel for most of the morning. I took a nap. I didn't shower and dress until 1pm. Karen came over for a little while and loaned me the latest Indiana Jones DVD and also Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.

Photos from earlier today:

What it looks like outside:


Shrubbery next to my front porch:


Karen's dogs, Mick and Izza, running around in the front yard:


Mick loves catching snow in his mouth:


A very cold Izza wanted to go in my house and visit with Rhu and Caleb:


All the fast-falling snow made it impossible to get a clear photo. Izza:


Where was Caleb? Well, since he's shorn like a little lamb in a lion-cut, he doesn't really want to be in the cold outside. He'd rather have a warm nap indoors with his ducky:

Update yada-yada-yada

Happy Purim, y'all. It's a holiday that gives license to people dressing in costumes, so I'm all for it. Plus, the story of Esther is pretty cool.

I did turn in the rough draft of my double-thesis just over a week ago. And then I got really, really sick and had to go on a week of bed-rest.

What else has happened over the past months? Hmmm... I've seen a fair number of movies. Slumdog Millionaire was great and I'm very happy it won the Oscar for best picture. Australia was surprisingly good and epic. Had I not read and enjoyed the books prior, Twilight would have been a meh mess - but I appreciated the movie just because of the novelty of seeing the characters onscreen. In the books, it works that a whole lot of nothing happens most of the time. In a movie, a whole lot of nothing doesn't work as well.

I'm working on ideas for a website that would include a blog. My main concern is the site name so that may take a while. Then there's the design and set-up. I think early summer is the earliest it will be ready.

And the boys have been hanging out, being adorable as ever.

A successful photo sans glowing eyes.

Boxing. With glowing eyes.

I think Rhu is adorable when he yawns.

And also when he stretches in the sunlight.

ORLY?

Happiness through the window