Aurora Voldemortealis

This recent aurora pic from SpaceWeather seems more like a Dark Mark from The Goblet of Fire than any naturally occuring phenomenon.

Oooooh ... spooky!

--End--


ps. Off to the Poconos for the weekend of snow tubing, see ya Monday!

Inside Joke

Guess what I made for Joe for Valentine's Day?
(hint: we already have a tan van ...)

Snow Geese

In other news, I see a scene just like this most days on my way either to or from work.

Crabby Whiny Rant

First of all, forgive me.

I know I should be thankful to have a job. Even half a job. But it's just not enough of a job.

Our washing machine died ... there's 700 bucks. Our TV is dying / dead ... replacing it will be around a thousand bucks. Our sofa and loveseat are stained, ratty, falling apart ... ??? (reupholstering or replacing would run another thousand or so?)

Our credit card balance is higher than it was a year ago.

I just want to feel like we're moving ahead instead of sitting still, or worse yet ... moving backwards.

And then I feel guilty for feeling bummed. I mean, we're all healthy, we're warm and fed and clothed.

Anyway ...

--End--

Wanna Help?

Emily is working toward selling 400 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. She really wants the incentive for that level -- the lovely and fluffy Blossom Bunny from Build-a-Bear workshop. She's up to 350-some boxes sold already.

So ... anyone want some Thin Mints?

--End--

Super Ads

So we're thinking we'll watch the Super Bowl on a delay tonight. Not to skip the commercials and time-outs and penalty pauses, like we did for the whole rest of the football season (you can watch a 4-hour football broadcast in about and hour and a half and still get everything you'd really want).

Rather, we may just skip the football and watch the commercials and half-time show. Hee!

--End--

ps. Making nachos, Italian sausage sandwiches, and Rice Krispies treats!

Laundering ... on a Jet Plane

So our washer recently died a rather thorough death. We bravely disassembled it hoping something would have a Post-It flag stuck to it, "Fix this part, it's only $12.95." But alas ... dismantling the broken washing machine only led to it appearing even more, well ... broken. After a phone call to Dad and a couple more to the Kenmore Repair folks, we decided investing significant amounts of money in a new washer made more sense than investing slightly less significant amounts of money on the old one.

So ... now we own our first Front Loading Washer. What a difference. I've already run 4 loads in the thing, and it's quieter, using less detergent and fascinating the children for entire minutes on end. "Look, there's Bun-Bun!" Then ... the thing kicks into high gear. The clothes are quickly plastered to the sides of the drum like we were in the old Gravitron ride at Conneaut Lake Park. "Wow," Joe commented, "OK, now I'm impressed."

But, that's not all! Starting to whine like an F-16 warming up, the washer really kicks it up a notch. VOOMP! All the clothes are reduced to a grey smooshed blur all around the sides of the drum. What appeared to be a generously full load of clothes mere moments before is now flattened so that it nearly seems to be spinning entirely empty. The water just streams across the glass (way more of it than I'd though would still be in the clothes after spinning for 5 minutes at a more moderate pace). Soon it winds down and the almost-dry-feeling clothes are ready for the (greatly diminished) time in the dryer.

Go, Frigidaire! Who knew you made such nifty non-refrigerating appliances?

--End--

Recent Pics

Also want to take a second to post some semi-recent pictures. Enjoy!

First, I have Emily and Matthew dressed for Christmas. Awwww! (And, yes ... he's really that much taller than she is.)















Then it's just a quickie shot while riding in the van. My "twins."








Finally, Em and I share a moment at Boulder Field, in the Poconos.














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Vader Rocks

OK, probably everyone has already seen this on Yahoo. But, just in case ... check out DJ Darth Vader, scratchin' to the Imperial March. Cracks me up!



--End--

It Has Begun ...

I now have over 4500 boxes of Girl Scout cookies in may garage. Hopefully most of the moms stop by today and take their shares. I'm hoping to get at least one car back under cover by tomorrow.

--End--

Actual Snow!

It started very lightly yesterday afternoon ... and then actually continued very lightly all night. OK, so yeah ... I can still see grass and leaves poking through it. But, it's honest-to-goodness snow!

Of course, it's snow with a lovely layer of still-accumulating freezing rain on top. Joy.

--End--

Snarky Comics Critiques

This site is one I check in with daily. I don't get a local newspaper, and don't get a chance to read the comics everyday. Particularly when there are so many. So, I just keep up with whatever gems Josh comes up with. The commentary cracks me up.

--End--

One More Thing

Yeah, I know "everyone" is talking about it, but I can't help it. I'm putting in a plug for Ugly Betty. It's funny, offbeat, and clever. It's not everyone's thing. But, it's mine.

--End--

Taking Over My Life

By the way ... as of next Monday ... my garage will be filled with 375 cases (@12 boxes each) of Girl Scout cookies. Caramel Delites, Peanut Butter Patties, Shortbread, Peanut Butter sandwiches, Reduced Fat Cartwheels, Thanks-a-Lots, Lemonades. And, of course my favorite ... Thin Mints.

Anyone want me to save / ship them any? "Only" $3.50 per box.

--End--

Such a Tease

Well, it sleeted last night. And the temperature actually dipped below freezing for a few nights in a row. But, all in all ... this has been the lamest winter ever. EVER. This light dusting of snow (yeah, it was actual snow in a few towns west of us) had people at school today saying, "OK, enough winter, already. We're ready for spring."

WHA? Are you kidding me? We've had temps in the 60s and even the 70s this whole season. How can you be ready for spring when we've essentially had spring straight through since fall? (last week I even saw some forsythia and crabapples starting to bloom)

--End--

Clean and Simple

So every week Joe and I are going to spend several hours simplifying and cleaning up our lives. We're going to pitch, donate and store most of our clutter. The plan is to mentally begin to prepare our house for sale/moving (within the next 12-18 months). We don't want to show the house in this state, nor do we want to move it all.

We start on Friday afternoon. I don't know why I'm really thinking about it right now, actually.

Today went better at work. I think I'll be in a nice easy routine in just a couple more days.

--End--

Day One

Today was the first day of my new job. It went pretty well, I think. I am the reading teacher for 8 first graders and 12 second graders at a small elementary school in rural New Jersey (not an oxymoron). I meet with the lower of the two second-grade groups, then the first-grade (high level) group, then the higher-level second-grade group.

Pros
It's a foot in the door at a new school district.
The kids seem pretty well-behaved.
I have some autonomy with my reading groups.
The hours are good.

Cons
One of the teachers I have to work with seems a bit tetchy.
The reading program is scripted, so there's really not a lot of me in my teaching.
Half-day work isn't going to further our life goals much, if at all.

All in all, I think it's going to be good. One thing is certain, I need to pick up the pace with my first two groups. Familiarity will breed comfort and efficiency. So, it should be flowing smoothly along in a week or so. Then the principal will give me some more to do in my remaining time.

In other news, one of my best friends nearly set Bacon School (where I used to teach) on fire. The sun was refracting just so through a glass fishbowl on her desk. She melted half a tape dispenser before she discovered the problem. It was one of those "Do you smell something funny?" "Yeah, like maybe something burning." sorts of things. The plastic was smoking and smoldering pretty badly when she found it. Good thing it had been blocking the nearby box of tissues from the solar death ray. Of course, if it'd happened on a Friday afternoon or when she was otherwise in a hurry to get out of the building ... my guess is they'd all be having a few days off while they dealt with the water and smoke damage.

--End--

Not Enough Nerve

OK, if I were younger, nervier and into defacing stop signs ... I would totally get these.

Actually, I like a lot of stuff they sell.

Check out the tv recaps on Television Without Pity, while you're at it.

--End--

Scrapbooking Made Simple

I just love scrapbooking. Really! (I know I'm dorky)

But, every now and then even the most-loved hobbies kind of become tedious and uninteresting. I'm kind of scrapbooked-out at the moment (well, I have been on quite a tear lately ... ever since I attended the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Valley Forge in late July I've gone crazy with it). So, it was with great delight I received the second shipment of an album kit series I'm getting from QVC.

I finished the first one awhile ago, "All About Me." It was actually kind of hard doing a scrapbook all about me, myself. Not for the least reason that I have very few pictures of myself, let alone scrapbook-worthy ones. And, it was difficult at first to talk about myself and express my own hopes and dreams, etc.

This second edition has gone much faster. I've been really looking forward to this one. It's "All About You." The you in this case being Joe, of course. I've had a good time singing his praises, recalling old memories and digging through pictures of him. (and I don't have that many good pictures of him, either, oddly ... I guess my photography is generally focused on the kids ... mental note to remedy that in the future)

I'm very happy right now. I really love working on a project and seeing steady progress on it. And I know he's going to be surprised and pleased with the finished product (although he's usually quite blase' about my creations).

--Heidi

ps. In other news, I gathered a bunch of stuff for my new job starting Monday. I'm trying to start small so I can get a feel for the kids and my (extremely limited) space at the school. I'm really hoping this goes well. I'm ready to go back to work and really contribute more (financially) to the family.

So rude!

I have hardly been the most conscientious blogger, have I? Well, I need more reflection, introspection and just plain working out words to put down. So, I really am going to make a conscious effort to post something on a far more regular basis than previously.

Even if it's just train of consciousness nonsense and crappy memes and questionnaires. Just to get the ball rolling, the juices flowing, and other metaphors.

So, here goes ... apparently facial recognition software has determined I look like these people (though I'm hardly taking this seriously, the first photo I uploaded came through with a much higher percentage match to none other than Daniel Radcliffe. Yes, evidently I could be Harry Potter's big sister. Yeesh!) Granted, I have very few (if any) really decent pictures of myself. That what you get from being behind the camera the vast majority of the time. Plus, I'm overweight and never happy with the way I look in photos. And, I have this gigantic toothy grin which I guess looks pleasant enough in person, but when still-frozen-in-time-forever looks garish.