Picking up Chicks...

Sam is a charmer. He can't help it...he has those big, blue eyes fringed with thick lashes. He appears to be a little Sam-centric, too. This became rather apparent on a recent trip to the mall.

Side note: Why take your kids to the mall you ask? Because we've had 78+ inches of snow this winter...there are glacier like paths of ice everywhere and we are sick of hibernating in our igloo.

So, while we were walking through the mall munching goldfish, Sam spotting a cute little 18 month old girl hugging her soft little stuffed toy. Sam stopped, tilted his head and batted his eyes at the little princess. He then put his hand on the little girl's toy and smiled with his toothy grin. His next move was to slide his hand onto the princess' little arm.

I looked sheepishly at the little princess' Mom and smiled.

I said, "uh, I wouldn't let him date your daughter."

She looked at me with a strange expression on her face.

"Well, he doesn't have an education and he's...ummm...unemployed. I mean he doesn't have a job...no income..." I explained.

She smiled, but clearly Sam heard me discouraging the relationship.

He then pulled up his shirt and showed off his tummy.

"Oh, yeah, he does have some abs of steel," I said.

We then continued munching goldfish and cruising the mall. Princess was cute and all, but I just don't think she had what it would take to care for my little boy.

Just Ducky...

Kate is really funny lately. She's taken an interest in all kinds of things and her commentary is pretty entertaining. Here are a few tidbits from the past few days.

*I made new window treatments for the kitchen and hung them up. Kate got up from her nap and noticed them.
K: You hang up new curtains Momma?
M: Yes
K: They look really good!

*Kate went to her Wednesday night church activity tonight and I went shopping. When she got home, Kate burst in the door...

K: Momma! I saw Jesus at church tonight!!!
M: Really? (note: I have been going to church since my childhood and still haven't seen him...maybe I should have gone tonight.)
K: Yes, I saw him.

moments pass...
K: Momma! I cried tonight.
M: Why, Kate? (booboo maybe?)
K: I saw Jesus...He scared me.
M: (maybe it's better that I did go to store with the big red target and the big-box hardware store)

*Kate has taken a real interest in the medical profession lately. She still talks about her trip to meet the ear/nose/throat doc over the corn up her nose and chats about her pediatrician frequently. While I was laying on the floor last night she said,

K: I'm a doctor now. I go get you a pillow. (she props my head up on a pillow)
K: I check your belly. Now lay on your tummy. I check your back. You have a boo boo on your back? I fix it. (she goes to get a shoe and rubs it over my lumbar spine.)
K: You all better now!

I don't know but, I think she's a quack.

Kitties and kiddies cope with the cold...

Here is how Pascal the feline deals with the cold...



Here is how Kate & Sam are entertained during the winter afternoons...

A Trip to the Gym...

Here are three things that I realized when I went to the gym today:

*It sure felt like I burned more than 342 calories on the treadmill...

*I really, really dislike reruns on Soul Train playing on the locker room T.V. when I put my make-up on.

**Most importantly: When wearing a flirty little thong with a long ribbon bow on the back, ladies make absolutely sure that you tuck those sexy little ribbons INSIDE your jeans. They don't look good hanging out the back of your jeans.


The last observation put me in some internal conflict. Do I tell this woman that her flirty thong ribbons are hanging out of her jeans (which made me feel like I was staring)? Or do I let her figure it out.

I decided to let her figure it out. Sorry...

Tidbits...

**Recent conversation with Kate. She has now become a big fan of Nick's new t.v. program Ni*Hao Kai*Lan. She loves it. She and I were laying in bed chatting and she told me she loves it. I asked her why she liked Kai*lan's show and she said, "It makes me strong." I then asked her why it made her strong and she replied, "It gives me ENERGY!" (As if she needs more of that!!)

**Kate's latest proclaimation. "I'm not Kate, I'm Kai*lan!"

**Recent weather report from our local meteorologist, "We have good news and bad news. The good news is that the wind chill advisory has been allowed to expire. The bad news is that we now have a snow advisory."

Well, that snow advisory brought us about 6 inches of light, fluffy snow. Giving us a total of 73.5 inches of the white stuff so far this winter. We are running out of places to put it. Next thing you know we'll be dumping it in the landfills. (This could result in a tax increase...just wait and see.

**Latest weather forecast. "Snow advisory allowed to expire. New snow advisory issued for Thursday." (Happy Valentine's Day!)

**Due to the amount of snow we've received this winter, local municipalities are running low on road salt. Makes me wonder where our tax dollars are going...we do live in the Frozen Tundra after all. I am sure that our local village is running low on salt because I experienced it 1st hand tonight. While travelling home, I was driving up a hill near my favorite Starbuck*s when I lost traction and just stopped...on the hill...no traction...traffic mounting up behind me...neck muscles tensing into knots of panic. After several minutes of rapid acceleration while going nowhere (except sideways), I gradually allowed my wimpy little volkswagon slide downhill until I could flip a U-turn between cars. No, I do not think I need to pay more taxes to purchase salt for the roads since we pay several billion dollars a year for our little doll house with postage stamp yard. Perhaps we could reallocate some of the funds...

or

...Maybe we could take this to a federal level and bring it up during the presidential debates. I can hear it now, "Ms. Clinton, how do you intend to solve the salt crisis and traffic debacles of the Frozen Tundra? Do you think your plan for nationalized road salt distribution will bring economic relief to the stressed families of the Frozen Tundra?" or "Mr. McCain, do you think federal mandates requiring local municipalities to buy adequate salt to protect our citizens should be the forefront of legislation this term? Will you support conservative management of our limited salt supply? Or are you open to the environmental risk of opening new areas to salt mining? After all if we can save just one child." or "Mr. Obama, in light of the severity of global warming facing the Frozen Tundra, how can we melt the glaciers that have now formed on streets and parking lots? It's a quagmire, how do you intend to bring about change to the Frozen Tundra?"

I think I've been sun deprived for way too long...

Another Snowy Saturday...

So, what's a person to do on a cold, windy, winter day in the Frozen Tundra? Why not run an 8K road race? That's exactly what "Runner Boy" (aka Daddy or Husband) did this morning. This is a local race to raise funds for heart disease research and treatment. Runner Boy has been geeked up about this race for weeks and is using it to gear up for his spring 1/2 marathon.



Unfortunately, trail conditions were icy and snow-packed and the wind was blowin' so he had to rethink his strategy. He still wore his heart rate monitor, global positioning system, lycra, spandex, performax, and coolmax, but--Runner Boy went from planning on blazing the trail to trying to avoid breaking his ankle. (Even though I assured him that my FAVORITE orthopaedic surgeon (my boss) was on call today.)

I took the kids over to the race to cheer Runner Boy and the other runners on and we had a great time. Kate wanted to stay to see every runner and kept begging to see, "more runners!"




Sam eventually got mad when he couldn't navigate in the deep snow. (He was also embarrassed about having to wear his sister's outgrown PINK snowpants.)



We were very proud of our Daddy...he ran a great race and avoided a trip to the ER.

Snowy Days...

The weather forecast over the past few days has included a winter storm. As it approached, the projected snow totals increased. From 3-5 inches to yesterday's prediction of 12-18 inches. When we woke up this morning we had about 2-3 inches of snow was on the ground and the wind was blowing. Everyone's initial reaction was, "Another swing and a miss by the meteorologists." (Those in the Frozen Tundra get a little cynical and whiney at this time of year.)

Well, it wasn't that the snow totals were wrong, it's just that the storm had slowed, so we got the majority of the snow during the late morning and afternoon. While the official snow totals are not in yet, we got at least 12 inches. The stillness of the snow was broken by the buzzing of snow throwers and scraping of shovels.

This is a view down one of the local streets...



Even our local law enforcement officers were getting stuck in the intersections...



We relax and barbecue out on the patio in the summer...seems like a long time ago...



Our grounds maintenance man (also know as the husband) had already shoveled these steps once before this photo was taken...

Chinese New Year's Eve

Kate is ready to begin celebrating the Chinese New Year!

kate's quote of the day...

Setting: we have just finished eating and cleaning up after supper. kate is playing, doing jumping jacks and bouncing off the wall.

kate looks up and says, "when I run around, I make momma & daddy very tired!"

Tagged...I'm It...

I have been tagged by my friend C in sunny Florida. My job is to reveal 7 weird things about me and post them here. My biggest problem is where to start...after all, I'm limited to only 7.

1) I don't sweat on the right side of my face and my right pupil doesn't dialate.

2) I'm fiercely competitive. I even feel the need to compete in my spin class...which is pointless since we're all on stationary bikes.

3) I used to be an agricultural tour guide. I traveled around the country taking people to tour farms and ranches.

4) My favorite class in college was gross anatomy.

5) I'm a big fan of distance running, football, baseball and basketball.

6) One of my hobbies is studying Chinese language and culture.

7) I'm a news junkie...drives my husband nuts sometimes.