Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Book me on the next flight to Florida, please...

(A little update to this post first-- I started a blog for Alyson! It's called Adventures in Alysonland! I figured that way I have a place just to write about her. I put the link in my "Misc. Sites" category to the right, if you wanna check it out! Thanks!)

*****Now back to our regularly scheduled post*****

Ugh, I hate this weather we are having right now!!

We got a few inches of snow Monday night into Tuesday, which was fine.... the roads and everything were pretty clear during the day while there was a lull in the snow action. But TODAY... YUCK!! It started snowing again lastnight, and we had another 1/2 inch to inch of snow....but THEN overnight started the freezing rain, which is still going strong right now. Then later is another 1-3 inches of snow on top of the ice. Everything has about an inch of ice on it right now. I'll be lucky to get into my vehicle within the next few days. It doesn't help that my battery died the other day from cold weather, and ever since we jumped my car, the remote starter won't work. So now if I can't get into my car, I have no way to turn it on and attempt to defrost it. Needless to say, I'm not going ANYWHERE today. Or possibly tomorrow. Thank goodness I got out for awhile yesterday!!

The roads are a sheet of ice because all the road crews are running low on salt... I guess they just don't care if people slide all over the place. Some main roads aren't even getting plowed. One of Russ's employees went sliding in a work truck and wrapped it around a telephone pole this morning...he's fine, but it was just enough damage to the truck to put it out of commission for awhile. Russ is thrilled about that, lemme tell ya. Puts him in an even better mood than his sleep-deprived self was ALREADY in.

Ahh, I love winter..... I SO wish I was on a beach right now. Anyone up for flying to Cancun? Heck, I'll settle for staying in the US and just heading to Florida. But for now, it's just going to have to be a day spent in the house with my little girl and the dogs watching cartoons and Disney movies.




Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Stop snowing! (Uh, I mean, KEEP snowing!!)

This snow needs to STOP! Ugh. It's snowed basically 24-7 for the past few days. It's supposed to let up here pretty soon, but will be back in full force tomorrow. Lovely... Pretty soon I really AM gonna have to shovel my way out of the front door.

It just sucks to be stuck in the house BORED. I've been wanting to take some Christmas stuff back for the past few weeks!! Last week I ended up getting sick, then Aly started getting a little something sinus-related (which didn't turn into much, thank God!), and this week is snow snow and more snow. In the coming days, when it's not supposed to snow, it's still gonna be in the single digits temperature-wise, with lows of -3 and such. I just hate to take Aly out in that!! We were supposed to meet my parents for breakfast Friday morning, but it's supposed to be a high of 8 and a low of -3 or something like that. So we'll have to see about that...

I have to watch talking about all this snow stuff around Russ. I'll catch myself saying, "When is this snow gonna STOP?!?!" or "It's gonna snow AGAIN?!" and he'll look at me like I have two heads. He goes, "Honey, don't say that... this brings us money!This is what I DO." (His company salts and plows parking lots around our area, and in the Wheeling,WV area.) So basically I have to act like I don't mind it snowing 24-7 and being stuck in the house bored out of my mind...lol. But hey, if these snow squalls get us a little closer to being able to buy our new home-- let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! I just wish there were some breaks in between snow days, so I could see my husband for more than 10 minutes out of the day. I've hardly seen him the past few days :-( So yeah, in THAT aspect, I can't wait for the snow to stop!!

Speaking of our (possible) new home... Russ said our realtor J called him about our 'dream home' today... he said that the owner is willing to pay all closing costs and a few other fees, so the deal is looking better and better! We just might make an offer on it SOON! Russ is just waiting for the interest rate to dip down a little more, so he can lock a rate in with his banker. So we're getting a LITTLE closer to this house thing actually happening! Russ told J, "I'm lucky if I've slept for 10 hours all together in the past week, so I'll get back to you and we'll discuss everything after the snow's over and I get some sleep." He can hardly even think straight right now... he's been taking little naps in his truck, but that's about it. (He's been up since yesterday morning around 7am!) I keep saying I don't want to get my hopes up about this house, but it's so hard NOT to!!! I just keep hoping and praying. If things are meant to work out, they'll find a way!

Well, I'm gonna watch some Leno then try to head to bed. I'm just waiting to see whether Aly is gonna wake up soon or not. She's got 4 teeth coming in all at once, so the poor girl has been waking up around this time every night, and sometimes even a few more times. Usually she times it for right when I decide to go to bed. As soon as I get comfy under the covers, the crying starts.

Well, nighty night.

*********************
A little update... here's a survey thing I saw on Maria and Marisa's blogs. I copied it...hope you don't mind ;-)

So here's what you do, copy it to your own post, bold or change the color of the things you have done, and then tag 4 other people to do it. Sounds like fun, right??

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (Does Disney WORLD count??)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept in an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a sunrise or sunset
30. Hit a home run
31. Watched a total eclipse (solar)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69.saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (I stood outside the gate, if that counts...)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Saturday, January 10, 2009

We're getting blasted with snow... a whole 3 inches.

I'm FINALLY feeling better today. Not 100% yet, but enough where I actually got out of the house and felt like I was in the land of the living today!!

So obviously I didn't make it to Wally-World to get groceries yesterday.... I got ready early this morning so I could get there somewhat early and *try* to beat the Friday crowds there.

So I get to the parking lot, and you would think it was the day after Thanksgiving...the place was frickin PACKED! I had to park way at the back of the parking lot. Reason being-- we were SUPPOSED to be getting a lot of snow (6-8 inches, which is the most we'd have gotten at one time in the past few years...)Evidentally the "supposed" weather forecast flipped everyone right the heck out, so everyone and their brother was trying to stock up on groceries and such before the snow hit.

And NOW the snow forecasted has decreased to 3-6 inches for our area, which is going to end up being more on the 3 inch end of things. Woah... what a LOT of snow! (Sense the sarcasm.) That's what always seems to happen around here... a ton of snow is predicted (like tonight, which they referred to the upcoming storm as "the worst storm in 2 years") and then it ends up being minimal and everyone flips out for nothing.

So we'll see... the worst of the storm is supposed to hit later Saturday morning. (well, THIS morning now,being that I'm writing this post after midnight...) You watch... now that they've said it's not going to be as bad as originally thought, we'll probably be blasted with a foot of snow and have to dig our way out of our front doors...lol. Great.

Well, I'm gonna try to get some sleep now. Getting a decent sleep has been foreign to me lately. Aly's been waking up more during the night, and also has been wanting to wake up for good WAY more early than I am willing to. Either she's teething some more, or she's starting to get sick... I hope it's the teething.

Have a good night!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Sinus cold, nausea and stomach cramps, oh my!

This week has been rough!! I started getting a sinus cold over the weekend, then Tuesday morning I woke up TOTALLY nauseous, throwing up, etc. I ended up with a case of the flu on top of a sinus cold... fun stuff, I tell ya. I've had that lingering nauseated feeling for the past three days, but luckily it's getting better. I just keep having stomach cramps on and off that will leave as quickly as they come on. They'll just last a few seconds, like my whole upper stomach tenses up, and then they're gone. So I dunno what's up. Everyone I tell this to, including my husband, goes, "Are you pregnant?" It's like everyone hears the word "nausea" and automatically they think I'm pregnant! (Which I'm sure anyone reading this thought too! haha) But no, I'm not pregnant... that I know of yet! This is definitely not prego cramping! :-P

Despite how I feel today, I SO need to go grocery shopping. We're running out of a lot of things in the house, and I can't afford to wait much longer. I've had to put it off all week so far, so I guess today I'll just have to suck it up and take a trip to Walmart. My parents originally had offered to get me a few things at the store and bring them over, but now my dad's sick with a stomach bug too. Must be going around. Our good friends just got sick with it over the weekend too.

I just can't wait til flu season is OVER!! And to think, I told Russ a few months back, "No, I'm not gonna get a flu shot... I haven't had a flu shot for years, and it's been awhile since I've gotten a BAD case of the flu." Ha. Yep, should have gotten a flu shot...lol. I'm just glad I haven't gotten Aly sick. I think if she was going to catch it from me, it would have happened by now. What a relief!

On a different note... (since I have nothing exciting to talk about...)

Here are some pics of my little furbabies rockin' their new collars. I love 'em. I actually got them online from 3 Dirty Dawgz., which I discovered while looking around on Etsy one day. Because, you know, going to the local petstore to buy a collar would be too easy. lol Actually, I just loved how this website had so many DIFFERENT collars. The printed ones we've bought them around here fade so easily. But anyway... here are the pics.

Here's my princess Lucy in her pink crowns collar, and Cody the stud in his turquoise crowns collar!





Monday, January 5, 2009

Christmas and New Year's Pics

As promised, here they are.... (the New Year's pics are repeats from my previous post... I put all the pics into one slideshow so I could email it out to friends and family!)


Saturday, January 3, 2009

Happy 2009!

Well, I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve and is having a wonderful 2009 so far :-)

On New Year's Eve, we went over our friends Dean and Joelle's house and celebrated with a bunch of our close friends. All of us basically have little kids around the same age, so obviously due to the little ones' bedtimes, we didn't all hang out until midnight. It was still a great time though. Aly was such a trooper...she was still awake and raring to go until about 11pm when she started yawning. We only live about 5 minutes away from Dean and Joelle's, so it didn't take long to get home. We put Aly to bed and Russ and I rang in the New Year by ourselves, watching the ball drop with Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest...lol. :-)


The New Year has been good so far... it was nice spending time with Russ's brother and our sister-in-law. They left on the 1st to go to Minneapolis, where her family is from, and on the 4th they are heading back to Alaska. We're all trying to persuade them to move down here... if not close to us, at least to the lower 48! (Don't think I mentioned this before, but my SIL is 4 months pregnant, so we all want to be able to see their baby more than once or twice a year!!) It'll probably be a few years before they move (if they DO move), since they have work commitments up there for the next 1 1/2 to 2 years. So we'll see.

What else to talk about....

OH. New Year's Resolutions. #1 has already gone partially out the window, but I'm getting better. I always make more than one resolution. This year's are:

1. Lose weight. (But since all the TV shows say to make SMALL goals that are realistic, the first part of that resolution I hope to do is "Exercise at least 3-4 times per week.")

2. Not procrastinate so much.

3. Keep in better touch with friends and family.

4. MAYBE.... give Aly a baby brother or sister??? (We'll have to see about that, because it takes more than just ME to do that...lol. I'm ready, but I'm not so sure Russ is yet!)

So there are the resolutions...the ones I can think of right now, anyway.

I'll finish this up with some pictures of New Year's Eve.

Here is Aly opening up one of her presents from our friends.


The kids exchanging presents


Russ (in his little kids party hat!) and our friend Brandon


Me, Russ and Alyson


All of us...The Hunt/Klink/Bucci/Riley families (except for Dean's mom Stephanie, who was taking the pics for us!)


Alyson and Guy drinking their sparkling white grape juice (and LOVING it!)


Gotta get every last drop!