What we used to call winter December 19, 2010
Andrew and I have been laughing because we can barely bring ourselves to put on our coats, even though everyone around us is complaining about the temperatures. I think one Iowa winter ruined us–Tennessee is never going to seem cold again! I keep forgetting to put a coat/hat on Baby Girl because I’m just not cold (good thing she’s hot natured, while I seem to have reptile blood most of the time). 
Just a few thoughts on winter activities so far:
1. If you want your child to hate candy, give her some decorations from one of those gingerbread house kits. I promise she won’t ask again. I think those gumdrops are older than I am. However, that did take two afternoons because BG has very specific gingerbread-related architectural ideas.
2. My sister and I spent several evenings making a cardboard kitchen out of duct tape and moving boxes. Both of us got embarrassingly irritated when Baby Girl wanted to help or play with it before it was done. We did eventually relent and let her go to town with some tape. More on this next, but I found one of BG’s cousins curled inside the oven yesterday at family Christmas. CUTE.
3. We did get snow. Tennessee snow. I tried to take a picture of the house that showed it, then cropped out the part that shows the sidewalk isn’t even covered. It did get us a day off school due to ice on the roads, which totally ruined my work agenda for the week before holiday break. True to form, BG (after declaring she wanted to “build the biggest snowman in the wide world!”) attempted one snowball and asked to go back inside. I chuckled when I saw the sled and snow shovel sitting all lonely in the garage.
Only three things? I guess so. 
Found a card reader February 20, 2010
…and this is what we came home to in Nashville.
I did not see that coming.
Turn into the skid. Right. January 24, 2010
I got to make a funny phone call yesterday.
Dad?
So, a funny thing just happened. I sort of put your car in a snowdrift. I did it really, really gently, I promise.
I was leaving a friend’s house yesterday afternoon, and the directions to their house happen to include the phrase ”Turn off the paved road” (insert Jeff Foxworthy joke here). There was this odd freezing rain/slush going on all day while I was there, so I knew it would be slick and was trying to be extra cautious when I left. I had driven about 45 seconds out of their driveway and started to brake for the stop sign ahead. The funny part is that I could see that the road was clear immediately past the stop sign. As soon as I did, I hit some ice and slid in slow motion into what would normally be a ditch but because IT’S IOWA was a ditch filled with several feet of snow (turned out to be much better for me here, actually). The slide was so slow that I had time to think of and try all the tricks you’re supposed to do when this happens and wonder how much damage I was about to do to that mailbox I was about to hit (yet how slow it was did nothing to allow me to stop it, annoyingly enough). So, definitely stuck. Here’s the funny part: I had just enough time to get out of my car and look at how deep the tires were in before the husband from the house I had just left came around the corner (on his way home) and stopped to help. About a minute later, the mailman stopped to help, too. They took one look around the car, climbed into the snow, and rocked the car out enough so that I could get some traction. What struck is that my car being in the snowdrift turned out to be such the NONEVENT. They didn’t even make fun of me (um, I would have)! The whole thing took about three minutes, and I was on my way yelling thanks out the window. It’s taken me longer to type this than it did for me to go sliding, have two helpful guys just stop to help, and be back on the road. I guess this happens a lot more often around here. Another Living-in-Iowa milestone reached. I’ll try to keep it on the road from now on, especially since I’m driving borrowed wheels.
Easy way out January 2, 2010
I am still mostly out of words these days (I KNOW, it’s shocking), so until I pull it together, here are some photos to keep you busy. We just got back from a Tennessee Christmas trip and brought back the last trailer-full of belongings from the house. Well, never mind the 15 or so totes that wouldn’t fit. My poor mother will have to deal with those. Thanks, Mom! A few very, very, sweet friends from church came over and helped unload the trailer in single digit temperatures. Thank you thank you thank you. So, the living room currently looks like this (and this is much, much improved from what it was):
To complete your mental image, the 2nd bathroom is full of boxes and chairs, and the 2 bedrooms have not one visible piece of floor. I’m calling this decor theme “Hey! These people think they can fit 1800 square feet of crap into a 900 square foot apartment. They so can’t.” Or, “Bomb, Exploded.” Or, “Yard Sale.” I haven’t really decided which one for sure. It’s -11 degrees today (feels like -29…kill me), so I frankly am a little distracted by all the mourning of the 55 degree weather we left behind in TN. I’ll keep you posted on when I get over myself. Don’t hold your breath.
I’m so behind on photos that I still have photos featuring nice weather. See?
And then the snow came. We tried to build a snowman, but it was too windy and cold to even try it. I’m confident we will have many, many, many more opportunities. I did what any transplanted Southerner would do and gave my delighted child a bowl full of snow to eat on the kitchen floor. I also gave her a box to live in.
So, there you go. Turns out I do have some words, just not any meaningful ones. I purposely keep this blog light and fun and mostly free of any real depth if I can at all help it. Sometimes that means that, when I close out a post, I’m mentally inserting (and deleting) paragraphs and paragraphs about what’s really going on. Today is one of those days. I don’t say that to be cryptic or anything like that, just a reminder that you can never assume what’s going on in another person’s life. Choose your words and actions carefully. I think one of my hardest lessons right now is knowing when to say what needs to be said and when to remain silent. Let me know if you’ve figured this one out, okay? I’d really, really appreciate it. This stress level means that I am using vats of both wrinkle cream and acne cream, and that just IS NOT FAIR no matter where you live.
Just for fun: Baby Girl just asked me for a pair of toast. Clever girl.
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