Funnel Cloud

If you look very closely at the far right corner you can see a wannabe tornado. 

And then about 5 minutes later this one happened. 

Double Rainbow

Flooded

Our creek has had water in it for almost 2 solid months.

General Life Update

It's finally, well and truly spring. I am loving every single second of the glorious sunshine and breathing in this amazing, fresh air while appreciating new buds and blossoms every where. The longer I live here and the more winters I endure, the more I love spring and summer.

The spring semester is nearly over. I can taste the freedom that lays on the other side of finals week. I have struggled with this semester. The work load isn't all that heavy; it just consists of a lot of new-to-me concepts. I am taking Intro to Chemistry and Biology II. I haven't had any chemistry in 18 years so it might as well never have happened. Bio II requires memorization of lots of life cycles I've never learned, cladistics (a word I did not know 10 weeks ago), and general maddening info that most people never know. In any case, I am almost finished and I am fairly confident I'll eke out As or Bs in lecture and lab for both classes.

I've enrolled in Chemistry I next semester. Originally, I also enrolled in Statistics because I found out I'm still lacking a semester of math and because statistics is integral to scientific research, which I want to do some day. But that would have required going to school 4 nights per week. There are many reasons I cannot do that: 1) I cannot handle working 4 days a week and going to school 4 nights a week while caring for kids and a home; 2) There is no way I can ask to be the early person at work all 4 days I am there so I can get to class by 6:00. My co-workers would revolt. 3) Chem I and Stats?! In the same semester?! No way, no how. Since Chem I and II are prerequisites to most of the other stuff I need for both my major and minor, I dropped Stats and will take it the following semester. This means I am only taking 1 class next semester when I've always taken 2 classes at a time. That puts me behind a bit but I think it's better to be behind than burned out.

Solomon is doing quite well. He's taking a lot more responsibility for his school work. As a third year band student, the time commitment is much heavier than it was the previous two years. His abilities are improving dramatically. He auditioned for both symphonic and jazz band for the high school and made both. He also joined the wrestling team at the middle school again this spring. Last year he won only one match out of the whole season and was pretty discouraged about it. The experience last year and hard work this year really paid off because he did so much better. He's gotten so strong and flexible! We were able to sign him up for an extended freestyle season at his future high school and he really, really loves it.

Miriam is really blossoming. She has made the honor roll several quarters in the last 2 years and that's even with taking honors reading and writing. As a result, she was recently invited to join the National Junior Honor Society. She is applying to be a WEB Leader for next school year. This is a student ambassador group which works throughout the school year to help new students and incoming 6th graders adjust to life in their school. I think she will be amazing at it. She still tends toward the quieter side in large groups of people but she can and does speak up when it's needed. Beyond school, she continues to be compassionate, sensitive, and friendly to a diverse group of people. She has a wicked sense of humor and makes me laugh all the time.

Samuel is still struggling a bit in school, but I've been able to work with his teachers and speech therapists to get more support in place for middle school next year. I have a feeling it will be a rough transition for him. I know he's tough, though and I'm sure he can rise to the challenge. He certainly is excited about it. We went to the middle school for a Sneak Peak night last week. They sent all the 5th graders on a scavenger hunt through the school to find various teachers, classrooms, and other important locations in the building. He told Miriam he didn't want help figuring things out and he ended up doing 90% of it on his own. He continues to be completely enthralled by video games and still says he wants to design them when he grows up.

Parenting, in general, is much less sucky than it was 10 years ago, or even 2 years ago. Solomon and I had a tough couple of years recently. We butted heads almost constantly over almost everything. But the last year has been much, much better. He's growing up so much and I'm learning how to parent a teenager. It's not easy -- for either of us -- but it's easier than it was. This new found peace is translating well into my relationships with the other 2 kids. I am really enjoying being a mom to older kids instead of toddlers and preschoolers. I am more and more solid every day in my decision to be done with babies. Man, that was rough.

In conclusion, life is pretty dang good and that makes me smile.

:smile:

The spring, she is pretty. In May, she is so pretty. 

:sigh:

The winter, she stinks. In April, she stinks so much. 

The Heat is Out

I awoke this morning to very cold sheets. That was odd because, while I usually go to bed in cold sheets, when I wake up they're nice and toasty. I didn't think a lot of it until I heard the furnace try to start.

I say "try" because the blower started, I heard clicking, but the whoosh of heat never began. I'm not sure when during the night it stopped but this morning it was 52° in the house. No wonder my sheets were not warm and toasty. 

I thought maybe the pilot light was out. I looked for a bit but couldn't make sense of anything in the unit. And then I thought maybe it doesn't even have a pilot light. So I called the landlord and left a voice message for him.

And then I wondered what in the world to do with myself in a cold house. The day turned out alright, after all.

I started the self-cleaning oven cycle because that heats up a house like nobody's business -- and, let's face it, it really needed to be done anyway. I had some coffee and cereal. Then I went outside and shoveled snow. Yup, it snowed last night. It was such a beautiful day, I became inspired to go for a walk. The landlord showed up a short time after I came home.

He brought two very nice space heaters and his toolbox. He quickly determined that the furnace does not have a pilot light; it has an electric igniter and it was dead. He said it's easy to replace but the heating and plumbing store which sells them is closed on Sunday. So he's coming back tomorrow morning to replace the part. 

In the mean time, I'm snuggled up in my bed with an extra comforter, my heated rice snakes, and a book. Oh, and there's a lovely space heater in the corner of the room. 

All is well. 

Gratitude for So Much Luck

I have just spent the last 90 minutes prepping food for my work day lunches and reorganizing my refrigerator and pantry. I am tired and it's past my bedtime, but I am so grateful that I can do this. To have all this food and this space in which to prepare it -- it's so much more than so many have. I am so grateful.

We have just experienced torrential rains for the last 5 days. Thousands of people within a 50 mile radius have lost their homes to flood waters. They may be sleeping on cots or a damp floor in a shelter with a stale sandwich to eat for breakfast tomorrow. And that's nothing compared with the desperate, interminable poverty experienced by millions around the globe.

Yet here I stand in my comfortable kitchen, typing away on a $400 phone. My biggest problem is that I need to get upstairs to my bed. I need to go to bed so I can get up for my job and then go to school tomorrow evening. I have a job and I have a secondary education at my fingertips.

This is so much luck. 

Winter Won't Quit

I am sick of this. Truly.

Con. Den. Sa. Tion.

It never happens here. Except when we have a 30 minute typhoon.

Snowy Day

Our "porch" and front "walk."

Notice I did not say "Snow Day."  A snowy day is merely a day with lots of snow.  A Snow Day, capital letters necessary, means a day with lots of snow wherein school and/or work are canceled.  We had a Snow Day a month ago and it was fun.  This week we are on our second snowy day in three days.  I'm loving it, especially because I do not have to work either of these days.

On Thursday we awoke to a few inches of snow with more falling onto it.  Snow continued to fall for several hours.  It took an hour and a half to get my three offspring to their schools.  That was not fun.  Not fun at all.  I really think they should have called an hour's delay, but whatever.  After that was done I made a quick stop at the produce market for rump roast (On sale! I love sales!) and fresh veggies.  The day before I had stocked up on pantry staples during my lunch break.

When I got home I made three loaves of bread -- one Italian, two of the regular sandwich loaves I make every week -- and started a lovely, aromatic, meaty Bolognese sauce.  I shoveled snow, sipped coffee and watched several episodes of Parenthood from last season.  It was a beautiful day.  :sigh:

And today.  Today, we awoke to more snow falling on the snow from 2 days ago.  I have great plans of straightening up the house and putting up our tree while watching our favorite Christmas movies and listening to our holiday play list.  We have Elf and A Christmas Story cued up.  We'll probably search Netflix for more options this evening.  I also want to take a nice photo of the kids in the snow for our holiday letter.  Yes, I'm one of those people that likes to brag about share what her family has been up to for the last year.  Today is going to be a beautiful day, too.

Earth Weirdness

Last night we got home from the Astros' game about 11:00 and the kids went straight to bed.  I did too but I didn't sleep right away.  I have to catch up on Words with Friends you know.  That takes a while.  Plus, I just updated Angry Birds Rio and this requires that I attempt all levels as soon as possible.

So there I was, lying in bed freeing little birdies, killing marmosets and constructing words I didn't know were words until WWF came along.  I was just starting to feel sleepy and about to shut off my phone when my bed moved.  I am not kidding.  It was a very slow, steady movement back and forth, 3 times.  At first I thought one of the kids was climbing onto my bed.  They weren't.

And then.  Then.  Then my hyperactive imagination went straight to the Boogey Man.  Don't laugh.  I had this fear as a kid that there was a Boogey Man under my bed that would grab my ankles when I tried to go to the bathroom or something.  For that reason, I always leapt off my bed a good 2 feet or so when I had to pee in the middle of the night.

So what did I do last night?  I leapt off my bed, turned on the light and flipped up the dust ruffle, golf club in hand to smash the Boogey Man in the face.  There was no Boogey Man. Whew, I dodged a bullet there.

I lay back down wondering what in the world would have caused my bed to move like that.  And I had this fleeting thought, "What if it was an earthquake?  Is that even possible?" And then I laughed at myself. That's about as likely as the Boogey Man scenario, I thought.  And then I went to sleep.

But wait! We did actually have an earthquake in Colorado last night. Its epicenter was near Trinidad, which is one of the two towns where the ex-husband and I meet to trade off the kids. Apparently people felt it a good 75 miles north of here, even. So weird.  Maybe I need to re-think the likelihood of this Boogey Man.

And there was another earthquake, a bit bigger, near Washington, D.C. today. What must the incredible odds be of earthquakes as big as these in two places so unused to having earthquakes? In the same 24 hour period? I'm telling you, this is serious weirdness.

Winter

Winter has finally arrived. It took a while but it made it and it is not messing around.  We had a high today of something ridiculous like 14F.  Crazy.  These are icicles on the bumper of my car.

I'm sending this from my car while the windshield thaws out.  There is actually frost on the inside of the glass.  Brrrr.

IloveColoradoIloveColoradoIloveColorado.  I really, really do but there are times here that I must remind myself of that over and over and over again.  It's not unlike dealing with a truculent child.

Cloud