The First Nine Months Of This Winter Were Okay, But I'm Kind Of Over It Now

Do you see this map? Do you?

That's me in the purple.

That's me in the spotlight.

Losing my religion.

Honestly, was it too much to ask that the last batch get at least close to melting off before we get dumped on again? I'm not even talking about seeing my grass, here. I'm only just getting to see the tops of my bushes.

I am not kidding.

See how I am not kidding?

I am done with you, winter. DONE.

(And my offer is still open regarding the shoveling of snow...)

I'll end this by sharing a wonderful montage titled "The People vs. Winter". 

SPOILER ALERT: Winter wins.

Happy Friday, and try to stay warm, wherever you are.

The Meaning Of Life, Courtesy Of My Home State And The Dalai Lama

I just have to share this article from Slate, because it's a wonderful read.

The Dalai Lama's Ski Trip: What I Learned In The Slush With His Holiness

Long story short, folks: Look for the happiness, spread it around.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday: Date Night

Mom? He asks. Is this a date? For you and me?

Yes, Bubby, it's a date. I answer him. Just you and me.

So we sit at the mall, and we sip our hot cocoa with double-extra whipped cream, and we talk about Legos, and our favorite movies and what we're going to be when we grow up (because neither of us has decided yet).

And I think I'm a pretty lucky girl. I'm sitting here with a cute guy who asks the important questions like
"Why can't we buy a mall to live in?" and  "If we go to space, will you pack me a lunch?"

He makes my mind embrace every single possibility, and won't let me rule out a one of them.

Lessons for life, with double-extra whipped cream.

The Sword Of Damocles

Last Thursday, for a few hours, I faced my own mortality.

It's always there for me, that sword of Damocles, hanging over my head, inching lower as I get older.

The fact is, when it comes to heart attacks and stroke, I'm swimming in an incredibly shallow gene pool, and the clock is ticking. I've spent most of my life not wondering if I'm going to have a heart attack, but when.

My parents are blessed with five siblings apiece. I watched heart attacks (some of them the dreaded "silent heart attack") take almost all of my mother's siblings (one died due to complications after a house fire) and finally, I watched vascular disease take my mother's life.

Happy Friday - Holy Cow Am I Ready To Be Done With This Week

Sorry I've been so sparse lately - between shoveling out of mountains of snow, not feeling terribly good physically, a huge spreadsheet project at the dayjob, having the kids two weekends in a row (and a whole slew of snowed-in days) and tons of writing, writing, writing, I have been ungodly busy.

And to be honest, the brain is completely fried. So here, have a picture of my cat.

It's the best I can do today. I'm kid-free this weekend, and I plan to regroup and get back to business. Or I may end up on the couch looking a lot like my cat. 

See ya Monday, hopefully in a better frame of mind!

Mostly Wordless Wednesday: Today In DavidLand

Today in DavidLand, Rapunzel appears to have spurned the advances of Wreck-It Ralph and is considering a joyride in the sharkmobile with the Lego guys.

Faith In Humanity - It's A Beautiful Thing

Watch how Norwegians react to a lonely, cold boy without a jacket at a public bus stop.

The Kind Of Person That You Are

I took my kids to see a movie last week, and since the place was packed, I sent them ahead to get seats and I stood in line at the counter, wondering how I was going to juggle three sodas, a giant popcorn, pretzel bites, and Junior Mints through a jostling crowd without any help.

There were probably twenty people behind me in line, and with five minutes till movie time, I was finally one away in line from the counter, when the lady in front of me suddenly lost her mind.

First, the nacho chips were not as fresh as she'd like. The cashier assured her that as busy as they were, they'd been opening bags at a rate of two an hour to restock them, but she made him open a new bag anyway.

The Lady, Standing Watch

They call her "The Lady of the Mountain," and she watches over my hometown.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday - In A Kingdom Of Ice And Snow

In a kingdom of ice and snow
He trudges out to do battle
Wearing his armor of snowpants, heavy coat, hood and gloves

As he battles his way through snowdrifts waist-high
He comes at last to the shed near the swingset
And finds his excalibur, swinging it over his head in triumph

In a kingdom of ice and snow
He is invincible
And knows it

And This Is Exactly Why I Don't Watch That Show

Griping In A Winter Wonderland

Yeah, you're reading it right.

I have had it. 

Had. It.

I'm not one to gripe and moan over winter. Really, I'm not. I made a deliberate choice to live where I live and one of the things I love most about living where I live is that I get a full four seasons out of every year. 

Autism Is NOT A Parenting Fail

So well said - I had to share.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday: The View From My Window

First the snow, now the ice

Everyone's complaining.

And I'm thinking how lucky I am 

To be in this warm house

With my kids snuggled on the couch

Enjoying the view

Born Free....As Free As The Wind Blows....

I just had to share this. It turns out (see Ma - I was right!) that going braless is better for you.

Of course, as a small-breasted woman most of my life (they did grow a cup size after I had kids, so I've got that going for me, which is nice...), I always preferred being au natural' whenever I could be. Never had to worry much about it.

I'm also barefoot a lot. Like, all the time that I don't have to be at work or out somewhere. Even in the winter.

And I sleep bare-arsed nekkid whenever the kids are away. Too much information?

Yeah, probably.

I just like the feel of the breeze on my skin and the sun on my body and not being confined. Call me hedonistic.

How about you? Bras? Shoes? Other...stuff? Do you shed your layers as soon as you can, like me?

The Day A Middle School Boy Asked My Daughter About Her Boobs

Two weeks ago, my daughter dropped the iPhone that her Daddy bought her for Christmas three years ago. The screen shattered, despite the hard case it was in, and with it being three years old, it just made more sense to get her a new one (from his point of view, anyway).

So off they went to the store, which was packed. Instead of waiting for someone in the store to transfer everything over for her, Dad took it home and did it all himself. The only problem is when he set up her original phone, he created an email address for her, and used that to tie to iMessage and outgoing mail.

He didn't remember the account info, and since her phone is tied to my Apple ID (we download a lot of the same music), he just set her default email as mine and that was that.

Except.