Dear Outside World,

This is what is keeping me from loving Ohio. The kids out of school for 5 days because of snow and ice (it's currently a snow, ice, snow sandwich with more snow forecasted for tonight and tomorrow). No cable which means no internet, television, or phone. Then the Wii decided to shut down (probably out of principle) and then the electricity wanted to follow suit. Yes, we have a gas stove and heat but...um...they both want electricity to turn on. Brilliant!! Thankfully, the owners of our house have backup battery lighting in most rooms. It's dim but better than sitting around with candles. And we've got the woodstove and the gas fireplaces to keep warm. It could be much worse. But, still, did I mention tomorrow will be day number 5??? Dear Outside World, I'm going crazy. Thankfully, Jeremy noticed the psychotic gleam in my eye and quickly let me use his aircard and charged the laptop in his truck. Otherwise I might be screaming outside, flapping my arms, sliding on the ice, looking like a crazy lady. It was a very, very close call.

Hey, but the good news is that I've had lots o' time to take photos of icy things. I'll post a couple when I get my own computer back :)

A Moment of Weakness Or Perfect Timing?

Ok, so maybe we have been talking about it for a few months. And maybe we both thought the other was joking. Maybe our hands aren't full enough with kids and activities and settling into a new place. Maybe we had been looking and looking but were really just window shopping. Really! And, then, Friday night we met her and by Saturday afternoon she was home with us. The pictures aren't great but I think it's pretty obvious why she has us all smitten

Noun, Verb, Adjective. All of the Above!!

Tonight I put the kids to bed and got ready to fire up the computer. Jeremy looked over and said "Whatcha gonna do?"

"Oh, just this," I said, gesturing toward the laptop.

"What are you going to do with it?" he questioned. (I know, totally nosy, right? :))

"I don't know. Maybe blog." I shrugged.

"Is that a verb? Blog?" he said.

Poor Jeremy! Yes, of course blog is a verb. What do you think this is? 2003? :)

Why?

Why would anyone choose to move here? School has already been cancelled for tomorrow because the windchill is supposed to be down to -20. Ridiculous!

Athens, OH
Current: 2°F
Fri 9°/ 2°

If You Just Tilt Your Head And Close One Eye...

Is it bugging everyone else as much as it's bugging me that my first picture with the new camera (below) doesn't have one straight feature to it? The rain is diagonal, the wind has blown the lid to the feeder off center, my head was apparently tilted judging by the deck railing. It's killing me and yet making me laugh at the same time. I promise you I won't bore you with any more practice shots (unless, of course, they actually relate to something I'm blogging about...kids and such). That, my friends, is how much I love you!

It's Here, It's Here, It's Here!!

I got my new camera yesterday afternoon and I charged up the battery last night. I couldn't wait to try it out today but the weather just wasn't cooperating and since I was home by myself there was no one inside to stalk with it. So, I took just one shot. I'm really liking the camera...I just need to figure out how to use it...well.

Maybe the weather will be better tomorrow and I'll find some time for goofing off...er...experimenting (serious, grown up, no nonsense experimenting).

New Year's Resolution

Normally I'm not a fan of the resolution on January 1st. After all, if you need to change something or do something, why wait until the beginning of the year? But, this year, well, I've had to make one...kinda. Jeremy and I have been talking about getting healthier a lot lately. I mean, neither one of us has the metabolism of a teenager anymore but we both still enjoy food like we do. So, we've talked about eating better (which would carry over to the kids as well) and exercising on a much more regular basis. But this was right before Thanksgiving and while I was anxious to get started I also knew that I'd have no willpower against holiday food. So, we waited until January to make our changes which, I guess, means that this is officially a New Year's Resolution. Normally, I wouldn't be telling the world that we're making any sort of goal but, hey, maybe the extra pressure will be a good thing? Maybe it'll keep me on track because, goodness knows, I need all the help I can get. Small goals at a time is the trick we're trying this time. My goals for January? Increase the amount of water I drink everyday, add several days of exercise every week, and make sure I'm getting 4-5 servings of veggies everyday. Oh, and lose 5 pounds by February 1st. I have to have something to measure, after all :) I'm not exactly sure what Jeremy's goal for January is yet. I know he wants to cut back on soda and exercise more and eat more "real" food but I don't have specifics at the moment. So, feel free to bug us and nag us and ask us how it's going. Once February comes, I'll let you know how we did and what the additional goals are for that month.

Yay!

I just ordered my new camera. Merry Christmas to me!! Once it arrives we'll see if I can actually figure out how to use it :) Is it silly to be this excited about a camera?? I've already warned Jeremy and the kids that they're going to be the subject of much experimentation. That goes for the rest of you, too. If I see you, you're fair game :)

Back Into The Routine

Well, after 2 fun weeks of holiday fun things are finally starting to get back to normal. I can't say I wasn't ready to head back toward a normal routine but I'm having a harder time getting on track than I expected. I'm apparently allergic to something in the house and I'm sneezing and sniffing and my eyes are itching like it's April, not January. I'm determined to figure out what it is but for now I'm moderately annoyed and trying not to scratch :)

Christmas vacation was pretty fantastic. This is the first year we spent at home instead of heading to my dad's for Christmas Eve and I'll admit that was sadder than I expected. Many times it's been the only time all year I've gotten to see my grandmother, grandfather, aunts, cousins and assorted others and I really missed that. On the other hand, we didn't have to rush home, instead spending the day relaxing and hanging out with the kids. It was strange getting the kids to bed on time on Christmas Eve and not being completely exhausted by travel but I'm hoping we'll get to go to Fredericksburg for old traditions next year.

Christmas morning was just the 4 of us...the way it's always been. It's easy and quiet and gives us all a chance to spend time together before the rush begins. Olivia got the vanity that she had asked Santa for and Noah was completely surprised with a teeny, tiny camcorder. I'm sure he's got lots of embarrassing video of all of us by now!

Christmas afternoon brought us visitors. Jeremy's parents and brother came up to exchange gifts and have dinner with us. We all had a great time and the hit of the day was the Wii they got us for Christmas. I'm not sure who was more excited, the kids or the parents :) Unfortunately, they couldn't spend the night so after only a few hours they headed back home and, YAY!, they took our kids with them :) Jeremy and I had 6 days to ourselves and we did absolutely nothing. Jeremy worked and I tried to clean up the Christmas chaos but otherwise it was completely low key. Of course, a day or so later we both caught colds so it put a damper on the joy that comes from a kidfree house. We tried to have a date night but after dinner we both felt too terrible to go anywhere else. But, even sniffing and medicated we enjoyed the quiet.

On New Year's Eve we began our whirlwind tour of Virginia. That morning (after searching frantically for a pet sitter - Thanks Beth and Rick!!) we headed to Roanoke. We had dinner out (where I had a fantastic lamb souvlaki - yum!) and then headed to hang out with Jeremy's family. There was dessert and board games and lots of chatting but Olivia and I only made it until 11:30 before calling it quits. Noah and Jeremy toughed it out until midnight and rang in the New Year properly with noisemakers and champagne (or sparkling cider). The next morning we headed out early to see my dad and stepmom in Spotsylvania. We had lunch with them and got to spend several hours visiting. It was unusual for us to be there without the noise and excitement of my 3 other siblings and their kids but it was really nice. We left there around 3 and drove to Stafford to have dinner at my aunt and uncle's house. My brother and sister-in-law were there, my niece and nephews, my cousins, my mom and her friend, John. I got to spend lots of time with a new puppy (I wanted to smuggle it out of the house but Jeremy put his foot down) and we spent the evening laughing (mostly at Jeremy on a Wii Fit) and eating and playing with kids. My nephew, Trenton, has decided that the funniest thing ever is to come over to me again and again and say "Hey Man. Whatcha doing?" to see how I'll respond. He almost makes me wish we had a little one that young in our house. Almost :)

We left Jim and Julie's and headed to mom's for 2 nights. We got some shopping in, kept the kids up too late again and actually thought for a few hours that we might get snowed in. I can't seem to escape that Ohio snow...it follows me everywhere!!

Saturday afternoon we left mom's and did a little shopping on our way back to Ruckersville. We had planned on going to dinner with our old neighbors and I couldn't wait to eat some chips and salsa. We decided that we just couldn't leave so soon-not before playing poker and so we spent the night. Again, up too late but it was worth it. All four of us had a great time. Sunday we left to head back to Ohio making stops along the way...searching for a Wii Fit of our very own, getting lunch at Outback (mmm...decadence) and just taking our time. The ride was a bit subdued because I think it really hit all of us that this was our last trip to Virginia as actual residents. The house no longer belongs to us as of this week and it was a bittersweet goodbye. I'm glad that we're no longer paying double bills and we're moving forward but we had a lot of great memories in that house, in that neighborhood, in that town and we're all going to miss calling the area "home."

So, the whirlwind has ended, the kids are back in school, Jeremy's back at work, and the snow is falling here as I type. This is home now. It's strange to say that and I'm still going to get nostalgic about Charlottesville and hope to visit there often but it no longer belongs to us. A fitting way to end the year, I suppose...