My so called job

Well, I'm sure that some of you saw on J's facebook status that he was "so proud of his wife who got a job; hired on the spot is a great first interview." I so appreciate the love and support, now if only he could field all the phone calls that I've received! So here's the scoop:

About two or three weeks ago, I contacted the volunteer coordinator of the PTA at the school right up the street from me (I mean, literally one minute away). She passed my name and information on to the principal of the school, since I didn't have any kids and could probably help more in a classroom setting than in a bake sale setting. I met with the principal on Wednesday; she was very open and receptive to having me come into her school and work with the students. She said all I needed was to get some paperwork submitted, which I did on Thursday. When I met with her on Wednesday, she introduced me to the assistant principal (the guy who handles all of the substitutes!) and the reading specialist to see if they could get the ball rolling for me to be able to work with some of the kids. When I brought back my paperwork on Thursday, the principal happened to be standing at the front desk and said that she had worked out a preliminary schedule. She asked when I would like to start and I told her that I would be more than willing to get started as soon as the teachers wanted me. Well, turns out the first request was for this morning. So I have started volunteering in a fourth grade math class at the school up the street, three days and five hours per week. So far so good! Hopefully this may turn into something more than volunteering, especially if I can make a great impression on everyone there. The best part of the whole experience so far: when the students walked into the room, one little girl asked the teacher why there was a high school student in their classroom today! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Have a great Friday, peeps!

Day two: burning...

So I've started the 30 Day Shred workout for the second time this year. Last time, I worked out for two days, and then I promptly stopped those shenanigans when the lactic acid got to be a little too much. Well, a month has passed since that day two, and here we are again: Day Two. I remember why I quit the first time: lactic acid is the devil. I really hate being sore first thing in the morning when I wake up. Sure, there are times when waking up sore can be a good thing. There are even times that I've had a blast, and woken up the next day without being able to move. It was awesome! Today was not one of those days. And I am venturing to guess that tomorrow won't be one of those days either. But I am bound and determined to stick with it this time. I want to look like an actual person in a two piece bathing suit this summer instead of a blob of mashed potatoes stuffed into a two piece bathing suit. Last time I consistently worked out, it was much easier because I had a very definitive goal. My wedding was just around the corner, followed by my honeymoon at which time I would be clad in nothing but a bathing suit. These two motivating factors moved me to the gym on a nearly daily basis. However, this time, there is just a personal drive to look decent at the pool, since we have three of them to enjoy this summer. I am two days in, and I have learned that this is one of my breaking points. I am asking a favor of those two of you who actually do read this. I need to come up with some incentives to keep me motivated. I don't particularly want to motivate myself with food because saying "If I workout three days in a row, I'll allow myself a huge milk shake" seems somewhat counter productive. I also don't necessarily want to reward myself with monetary rewards. "If I work out for five days, I'll go get a manicure and pedicure." Unfortunately I don't have an extra $150 each month to reward myself with this goal. So, any suggestions that you have would be greatly appreciated. I'll even see if I can get my husband in on this reward process. Thanks for your help!

Good friends, good times

Last night was a blast. J and I invited over our new friends; he works with J and she takes care of their beautiful baby boy! We had a fantastic dinner: steak, baked potatoes, creamed spinach, bread, salad, red wine, and great banana pudding (thanks for the recipe =D). The dinner was amazing. J really knows how to grill a great steak! As great as the dinner was, it was really nice to visit with our new friends and talk to someone other than the pets. Speaking of the animals, Beene had a big time playing with the baby. He's only 4 1/2 months old (but he's as big as 12 mo. old) and he's never seen a dog. Beene, of course, has never really been around a baby. She's been around some little kids, but never a baby. She went crazy when she saw him and was the lick-happiest dog in he world. She was having a blast giving him kisses all over, especially IN his little mouth. It was really priceless! As cute as that was, the funniest part of the whole night was when J was holding the baby at dinner to give his mom and dad a chance to eat without having to hold their baby. Since J can't sit still and the baby didn't like to be immobile either, they were a match made in heaven. Well, the baby was a little fussy so J was bouncing him over his shoulder, patting him on the back. All of a sudden... BLAHHHH! Baby boy pukes all over J's shoulder and back. It was hilarious!! I don't think the three of us could have laughed much harder. The best part, J said "What are you guys laughing at?" Then he said, "Oh, it must be what's warm on my arm..." We were laughing so hard we couldn't breathe. Maybe you had to be there...

Anyway, we had a great night with new friends and a pukey shirt as a memento of the fun and festivities!

Boredom wins

Well, I've changed the appearance of the blog yet again, and it's all in the name of boredom. Thankfully, I have checked a few things off of my to-do list. I think I am completely finished with the half bath. The floors are in, the vanity and sink work, the walls are painted, and the ceiling looks great! So far, so good. Now, it's time to actually clean the bathroom. I guess the one good thing to look forward to is that there is no snow on the forecast for the weekend. We are actually going to have some friends over for dinner. Should be lots of fun. At least you know that I won't be changing the blog background every three seconds since I'll actually have things to do! Happy Lent!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

C'est ce temps d'annee encore: Mardi Gras! Parce que demain est le mercredi des Cendres, aujourd'hui est le jour de folie. Attrapez vos perles, fete avec vos voisins, et mangez toute la viande que vous voulez. Demain, c'est fini! Malgre la neige chez vous, couvrir ce que vous pouvez en violet, or, et vert. Enregistrer le travail pour demain; il est concu comme penitence de toute facon, pas vrai? Mangez tous les bonbons dans votre maison, en particulier ceux des cookies "girl scout"! Visualisez toutes de la TV que vous pouvez gerer, parce que demain c'est un peche. Vive la journee; aujourd'hui, c'est Mardi Gras!

It's that time of year again: Mardi Gras. Because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, today is the day for craziness. Grab your beads, party with your neighbors, and eat all the meat you want. Tomorrow, it's over! Despite the snow at your house, cover what you can in purple, gold, and green. Save the work for tomorrow; it's meant as penance anyway, right? Eat all of the sweets in your house, especially those girl scout cookies! Watch all of the TV you can manage, because tomorrow it's a sin. Seize the day; today is Fat Tuesday!

It's that time of year again!

I know you are all waiting with bated breath, as I am, for the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics tonight. After the opening ceremonies two summers ago in China, I'm really not sure how Canada's going to top it. I guess they'll come up with something, eh? I, personally, am looking forward to the skiing events, seeing as how that's the popular mode of transportation around these parts for the past few days. I know J is getting really excited and already setting the TiVo for the curling events. Despite all my feminine instincts, I am not jumping up and down for the ice skating/ice dancing events. I guess I may have out grown those events because they just don't hold the same entertainment value as bobsledding and Alpine skiing. Well, as we are united as a country against all other countries in the world, the time has come to grab your Quebecois poutine and xoosum or Nanaimo bars and settle in on the couch to watch huge men in ridiculous outfits hurl a weight down a frozen alley. If you want to see this in person, I can find J some ridiculous clothes and give him a turkey to throw down the street. Stay warm, San Diego!

I wish...

I wish I could report something new, but unfortunately, all that's new is 8 more inches. I guess the only difference this time is the wind that has accompanied our fifth (or is it sixth?) snowstorm of the season. We are getting gusts of wind over 40 miles per hour. This is creating the slight problem of being able to see beyond the end of one's face. Drivers are not able to see pedestrians that are forced to walk in the road because of the conditions of the sidewalks. Drivers are not able to see other drivers. Drivers are barely able to see the radio controls within their own cars. Like I said, this storm is the worst by far. J was almost as lucky as the school kids in our neighborhood. He was able to work from home today and last Monday. The kids in the neighborhood are out for the entire week because the roads are almost impassible in certain areas. Oh well, I guess the best part of all of this is that we are supposed to be hit again on Monday.

Hell hath no furry!

It looks like it's a WHO DAT nation for 2010, and apparently it was true that if the Saints won the Super Bowl, hell would freeze over. In the old stomping grounds, everyone awoke this Monday morning all bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to hit the highway for another case of the Monday in their respective offices. But the Big Man Upstairs said "Whoa, there tiger! Before you hit the door, here are a couple of inches of ice and snow. Take the day on me!" Sooooo, NO SCHOOL in Memphis or Little Rock! All of the teachers I know are throwing a private party while the kids are freezing their little rears off while constructing their precious snowmen.

However... The storm that is raging over the midsouth today is heading this way tomorrow. The good news is that we are supposed to get another 8-10 inches on top of the 2 feet we registered this weekend. I guess the best place to be, either in reality or in my mind, is NOLA. Laissez les bon temps roulez!

More Pictures, Less Talk

I'll let the pictures do the talking... The first few are looking out from the front porch, snow everywhere, complete white-out.

The third picture below is my mailbox. I'm thinking that the mail may not make it here today. So if the check is in the mail, you can expect delays before we cash it - adjust your check books accordingly.

Updated Deck Pictures:

8:30PM

9:30 PM

10:30PM

5:30AM

(Someone has to be fed at 5:30AM every morning...)

8:30AM

BLIZZARD 2010!

Well, the time has come the walrus said... And I guess since he's a walrus, snow was the only thing it was time for. According to the local weathermen, we are set to endure White Death 2010 for the next 24 to 36 hours. Most of the state is under severe winter weather advisory (for us, since 12:00 am Friday morning until 10:00 pm Saturday), but there are certain places along the coast that are under a blizzard warning. What this means to those of you who are sitting around in your shorts and sock feet is that the wind is supposed to gust upwards of 30 miles an hour which blows the snow so hard that the visibility is reduced to less than 1/4 mile. The prediction are that we are supposed to get between 18-24", and overnight it's supposed to come down between an inch and two inches each hour. HOW AWESOME! I know right?! The kiddos back home are saying, "Oh, Mrs. Jones, we are SOOOO jealous!" That's because you think it's fun to go out and play in the stuff and hit your friends in the faces with wads of wet nastiness. Unfortunately for me, this is not that kind of snow. This is the kind where they have said for two day, "Get everything you need because you won't be able to leave your house. Period." HOW AWESOME! I know right?! Well since we are only 12 hours into this 36 hour blizzard bonanza, I'll leave you with some pics of the accumulation each hour from the start of the misery.

10:30 a.m.

11:30 a.m.

12:30 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

3:30 p.m.

I was taking a nap...

4:30 p.m.

5:30 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

Stay tuned because the snow will be blowing and the wine will be flowing...

The calm before the storm.

I know that it is hard for you all to believe, but we are supposed to get more snow this weekend. I know I have said this before, but I don't know if you really know what "more snow" means. It means, in the city, the weathermen are predicting 18". Unfortunately, I don't live "in the city." Last time the weathermen predicted a substantial amount of snow, it was about 12". That was the same time we got 2' at my house. I really just can't wait for it all...

So in the calm before the storm, I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood and take some photos. The dog also needed to get some of her energy out and shivering through the woods seemed like the best idea. To me, not to her. :) Anyway, these are a few of the products of my nature walk. This tree, I believe, feels the same about snow. The only way to deal with it is to roll over and die!

I thought the contrast between the living leaves and the icy tundra surrounding this little tree is beautiful. Its resilience makes me believe that spr

ing really will make a reappearance at some point.

I actually titled this last photo because I think it's pretty nifty. I call it "Fire and Ice." This was on the bridge railing along one of the trails around the house. The melted ice trails along the wood lead directly to the ice block, but the trails look a lot like flames, in my opinion.

On a different note, this weekend is THE football weekend! I must say that I'm a little torn between my alliances for the big game. I am a big PM fan, just cause I think he and his bros are so darn cute! I mean, what adorable boys (even if they are all grown adults). On the other hand, I think the Saints are kind of the Rudy team of the season. I mean, who really even knows the last time the Saints even went to the Super Bowl?! I also have many a friend who hail from that drunken region of the world, which makes me more inclined to cheer for the SB underdogs. But here's my biggest reason to hope the Saints pull off this Hail Mary...

There could be nothing better than a Super Bowl win on 2/7 for New Orleans because there really could be no better way to kick off Mardi Gras! All I know is that if this phenomenon actually does occur, Mr. Chico won't be sober until 2011.

Wishful thinking

I know what you have to be thinking, "Why in the world does this background keep changing?" Well there are two very easy answers to this question, and I'll go with the easiest one first. I'm bored and it's an easy way to entertain myself for a bit. Secondly, I to this particular background as a bit of wishful thinking. I know you are going to find this hard to believe, but contrary to popular belief, I hate snow. So I know you will find today's weather forecast as amusing as I did.

Tuesday: 60% chance of precipitation with temps in the 20s. What does this mean? More snow...

Wednesday: 30% chance of precipitation, as snow in the morning.

Thursday: 20% chance of precipitation with temps in the 30s.

Friday: 50% chance of snow, with accumulation into the inches.

I know, right?! Four inches when we moved, two feet before Christmas, six inches this past weekend, two inches over night, and several more inches this weekend. What could be better, you ask? ANYTHING! Anything is better than all of this snow. My dog won't even poop outside cause her little butt freezes as it approaches the frozen accumulation. So, with all of this wonderful weather coming our way, this new blog background is my pitiful attempt at wishful thinking for warmer weather and lighter clothes. All that being said, I'm off to shoot a groundhog before I get iced in for six more weeks...

You have to be kidding me...

Here we go again. Is it possible to sue someone for lying to you? If so, my realtor should be expecting papers any day now. When we were house hunting, he told me "It only snows once or twice each season and it's usually just about two inches." What a stinkin' liar!! The day we moved in-6 inches. The week before Christmas-2 FEET! Saturday-6 inches. This coming Tuesday-2 inches predicted. This coming weekend-significant accumulation predicted. I am OVER this! In Memphis, schools have been closed twice due to ice and snow. How much ice and snow, you might ask? About 2 inches. Have schools been closed here? No, not really. I have never been so ready for spring and summer in all my life. Can I please have one weekend weather forecast that doesn't include snow flurries or accumulation?!

On another note, J used his incredible luck to win us some more tickets. This time we scored suit seats to the Georgetown/Duke "game." I use that term loosely because Georgetown really outplayed them the entire 40 minutes, despite the 12 point difference at the end of regular play. But apparently this wasn't just any game. Our nation's leader was not only present at this game, but took time out of his observing to do some announcing. Supposedly he told the other announcer, "I'm coming after your job next. I don't know if it's in three or seven, but I'm coming after your job next." HAHA! Anyway, we had a lot of fun at the game, but we also had a lot of fun because we met up with one of J's coworkers and his wife before the game to grab a bite to eat. The only downside to the whole day? The accumulation of the frozen stuff... Hopefully the snow will melt soon and we'll be able to meet up with our new friends for some fun outdoor activities in the vast expanses of Virginia parks.

Hope the weather is treating you all better than it's treating me...