snow day!

Maddie's having her first snow day since kindergarten with that March 2003 blizzard. It's very exciting b/c we just don't get snow days as a given every year like PA does -it's not planned into the school year, etc, and the conditions have to be darn severe here. I can probably count on two hands how many snow days Nikki had 3rd grade through 12th. And one of them was a "wind day" (75+ mph winds overnight)and one of them the pipes had frozen at her middle school and 3 or 4 of them were due to that '03 blizzard. So yeah, it's an exciting big deal today.

So far we have a few inches; Cody didn't really have to squat to pee, if that helps with the depth visualization. It's pretty to look at; the flakes are getting bigger and it's all powder. We'll be braving the cold here shortly to get some snow action. Remember the last "big" snow of the season was freaking wet. Not fun to play in.

I'd like to say that we're prepared for disaster, but we're not. We've got the faucets all dripping. We've filled all of our nalgenes & pitchers with water. The flashlight has batteries. We've a battery operated clock & my phone is charged. There's the makings of a first aid kit and some non-perishable food. Drat. It didn't even occur to me until this morning that we might have to contend with conditions like those folks in Oregon. Well, hopefully we won't. Oh yeah, we've got diapers & wipes & pet food -all pertinent to a shut in.

According to cotrip.org I25 is closed just a short 10 miles south of our home all the way to NM & then north of the city to WY. I70 is closed at the airport east to KS, as is I76 to NE. It's looking like maybe Maddie won't have school tomorrow either. Yay! An extra 2 days of vaca! Luckily I don't have to work tonight. I do tomorrow & Friday though. So much for getting any last minute xmas shopping done, huh? G tells me he may have to spend the night @ work. I may not be able to pick up Nikki from Boulder tomorrow morning as planned. Unfortunately, she has to be out of her dorm by Friday. On the upside, she does have a few friends that I'm sure she could hang with in the event that I can't get out of my street. You know my feelings about the plowing priorities in this city, so I won't even go there today.

So that's the exciting news. Don't you wish you were here now? Or rather, when there is no trace of today's blizzard left on the ground -probably a couple weeks max- won't you wish you were here?

update: You know when I said Cody didn't have to squat? Imagine the depth of the snow & what her tracks would look like in it. Now imagine that her tracks are completely -I mean COMPLETELY- covered. Like there's no trace that she even left the house a couple hours ago. Now I hear they're predicting another 9 inches tonight. Definitely going to be another snow day! I sure am missing my 4WD right about now.

snowboarding recap & customer service extraordinaire

Why yes, the Madster did indeed enjoy herself. Alot. So much so that she asked if she would be going every weekend. She woke slightly when I came home from work that night & groggily suggested that she would ask for a snowboard for xmas but that it would be expensive & she wouldn't get anything else. The next day she was still excited about it & requested that Kelly or I take her to practice so that she would be prepared for her next lesson & would impress her instructor.

Yay! Has she finally found a sport that she likes?! She was the youngest in her group lesson & one of two girls. She came home with all equipment intact but for her water bottle. Apparantly her board passed the eyecandy test -it had a dragon & a lotus blossom & a dragonfly on it, "It was perfect for me." She had some probs with the tow rope. She was also concerned that she wouldn't "pass" the test b/c she couldn't get the stopping down. All in all it was a good experience for her. Oh & the bus ride was equally exciting b/c it had a toilet & a movie to watch each way.

My fabulous experience w/ customer service today? The UPS man & his seasonal helper stopped by today -totally for no reason, other than to ask if we got our t.v that they had left on the side of the house last week when no one was home. Wow. Very impressive!

dreams & memories

I had the most bizarre dream last night. Starring me & also this guy from high school whom I haven't seen or thought about in many many years. Can't remember the details (nothing racy, so get yer mind outta the gutter). I recognized this kid in the dream but it didn't really occur to me who it was until I was on the outer edges of dreaming & had started to wake. This particular guy had committed suicide, I don't remember how long ago. Was I still in high school? Or had I graduated? He was a couple years older. In fact, he was the first person with whom I ever got rip-roaring drunk. Some of you reading this may remember that night. Hahahaha! Mad Dog!! And those Friday night dances at the firehall!! (I can only imagine now, really, how my parents must have felt at the time!) And so those few of you reading this & remembering that night will also remember that person to whom I am referring. I don't feel comfortable naming names just now. Anyway. Isn't there some old wives tale or superstition about dreaming of someone dead? Please remind me.

my quintessential xmas song

whoop! raise the roof!

Madster is on her very first snowboarding trip today! Alone! Well, not entirely. She's gone with an organization that picks kids up at various locations around the city. In a big coach bus. It's an all-day lesson. With the initial sticker shock from the investment in head-to-toe clothing (excluding coat, for now) came the worry that she may not even like the sport. Oh how I want her to like it, really really like it. "How can she not?" replied the REI clerk. How, indeed. I mean, I was so excited for her Thursay night that I couldn't sleep. I want to go I want to go I want to go I want to go I want to go!!! There is no other physical activity in the world that I would rather do. None. My body still remembers how exhilarating it feels, the way one's body retains certain memories -good and bad. The difference between my sleep last night & my sleep on nights before my own snow excursions?? I dreamt last night of driving Maddie to the drop off spot whereas seasons past I dreamt of making some turns down the mountain. Sigh.

Mad's excited that she is the only one out of her friends who snowboards. She was concerned that she might be the only girl. Or the only first-timer. I tried to give her a brief verbal explanation with some physical modeling on the dynamics of snowboarding (e.g. stopping on one's heels, snowboard will go where one looks, what happens if one goes both toes forward, it's all about one's center of gravity, etc). She was really curious & the instructions made sense to her.

I can't wait to see her this evening to get her reaction! With any luck, she'll be going again next month with the same operation. She said this morning that she'll be asking Kelly (are you reading this Kel?) to take her snowboarding (I know, you ski). I think I'll go to! Maybe even go next month with the organized group. Maybe. Depends on the job situation. But that's a topic for another day. For now, I have visions of a very happy but exhausted Madster exiting the bus this evening. Yay!

why oh why

sniffle sniffle why can't we have an IKEA here????? I MISS IKEA. It has cool, affordable furniture. AND a play area for kids so parents can shop in peace. I couldn't wait for the day when Snick was potty trained so that she too could join the ankle biters in the ball room. I think it was an incentive for her as well. Lord knows we could use some incentive around here. But back to the topic. Sniffle. I'm told that IKEA keeps its costs down b/c it only puts stores close to ports? But to what port is Chicago close? Or Minneapolis, for that matter? Sniffle. It's just not fair. Sniffle Sniffle. Sigh.

whoa

Ya know, I work at this easy-peasy part time job but I give it my best effort at all times. I'm damn good at customer service. So we have these "pins" that employees get for positive comment cards. There are some women there who have like 30 of these pinned on their smocks -and I've seen one woman have a downright crappy attitude with customers on a number of occasions. I have two of these pins. I wonder sometimes why I even bother with the outstanding customer service when I get no acknowledgement for my efforts. Then tonight I saw these two guys who were customers that I helped a couple weeks ago. I asked how did the project go & they were totally appreciative of my help & went on & on about how it was the best customer service they'd ever had. Ever. And that they should write a letter, etc etc. Honestly, it was the standard go-out-of-my-way type service that I give to everybody. This was in the middle of Home Depot where we're chatting, not at my work, but it was the nicest thing any customer could have said -regardless of not getting a pin to show off. (not to mention, it totally negated the paint mixing dude's condescending attitude). Yay me :)

yum

   two for Mad's class

   one for us

I think this may be the best batch of stollen I've made. Not bad for midnight baking AND for shorting the liquid but realizing it after I've kneaded and then adding some water to compensate. Whew. I thought I might have killed the yeast & would have to make a new batch. Not a pleasant thought at 1am. But lo & behold! It tastes as good as it looks!

St. Nicholas Day

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

you know what tonight is

don't you? The night when all the little German (and German-American) kids put their boots out for St. Nicholas to fill. I love this tradition that I grew up with. Here's a new take on a old theme: Me: you better straighten up or you won't get candy from St. Nicholas. Maddie: or what? I'll get nothing? I'll get a lump of coal? Me: no, when I was little, St. Nicholas brought switches for bad kids. Maddie: what are switches? Me: long sticks for parents to swat the bad children's butts. Maddie: that's pretty violent.

 

Maddie is so on the brink of not believing. Yesterday she asked me why does he always bring candy canes & clementines? I know there's an answer for that in a legend somewhere. I need to look it up & refresh my memory. I don't recall asking specifically about it when I was little; we just took it for granted that we always got tangerines & candy canes. I think the candy canes represent his shepard's crook thing; don't all saints have one to walk with??? And I vaguely remember the oranges representing something (duh). Better get to looking b4 she wakes up. She wants to do a little presentation for her class. Coincidentally, Madster's snack day falls on St Nicholas Day. She thought stollen would be a "very appropriate" snack to share.

She said she would tell her friend Z to put out her boots too. I told her St Nicholas only comes to German kids. She (barely) mumbles under breath "yeah right; I know it's you guys". She volunteered her requests to Santa last week -but a couple weeks ago she told me her theory about parents giving all the gifts. We talked about it a little; she even revised her list so as to not have so many "expensive" things on it. It seems she'd rather have alot of gifts under the tree rather than a couple pricey ones. It's a little sad that she's outgrowing santa. Ah well. At least she's in 3rd grade. Then again, Nikki -who will deny it with all her being- believed until she was at least 10.