Winter's Beauty: The Sky

our sky at dusk today

77.7 and counting

We have gotten 77.7 inches of snow so far this season. An average year will bring us around 50. It doesn't look like we will break the season record of 100+ set in 1884, but even if the next two months are below average, we will break into the top three.

Tonight is supposed to bring us another 2-3 inches of the cold white stuff! :)

Here We Go Again

It's time to start the will he, won't he, when will he decide question again. Late last week the reports started because it has been more than 30 days since the last game.

Mark Murphy, the new Packers' president thinks he will be back.

My Oh My

Where has the week gone? I have been feeling a little under the weather this week and have neglected my blog. I feel like a cold is coming, but it just doesn't want to. This was supposed to be the week I started getting into shape for the triathlon. However, I decided against it because of sinus pain & pressure. Sinus trouble makes for unpleasant enough days without adding running into the mix.

Speaking of the triathlon, the sign-up opens tomorrow for the Chicagoland Danskin Tri. I will be signing up soon, but need to talk to Erin about signing up by age group or mixed age. I screwed that up last year, but I think it worked out well other than missing her crossing the finish line. :(

Awesome Commercial

This aired during the Daytona 500, and I think it was better than most (if not all) of the Super Bowl ads.

hehehe...

BAM!

Martha Stewart is kicking it up a notch! Did you see Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) Inc. is bringing in a celebrity? Yep, it's true Martha's company has bought the rights to Emeril Lagasse's franchise of cookbooks, television shows and kitchen products from him for $50 ($45 million in cash and $5 million in stock). MSLO did not acquire Emeril's restaurants or corporate office.

I Did It

Therefore, I can complain. (I won't yet, but voting reserves the right to complain...LOL)

I went and exercised one of the greatest rights we have as Americans. The right to vote! I know many of you have already voted in your state's primaries, but those have haven't I urge you to get out and let your voice be heard.

Thee List

Here’s the Dancing with the Stars lineup...

• Kristi Yamaguchi (Olympic Gold Medal skater) and Mark Ballas
• Priscilla Presley (as if you don't know who she is...LOL)and Louis van Amstel
• Jason Taylor (NFL star) and Edyta Sliwinska
• Cristian de la Fuente (Actor) and Cheryl Burke
• Mario (R&B singer) and Karina Smirnoff (pictured above)
• Marlee Matlin )Oscar winner) and Fabian Sanchez
• Penn Jillette (Illusionist) and Kym Johnson
• Adam Carolla (TV and Radio Personality) and Julianne Hough
• Shannon Elizabeth (Actress) and Derek Hough
• Marissa Jaret Winokur (Actress) and Tony Dovolani
• Monica Seles (Former Tennis Champ) and Jonathan Roberts
• Steve Guttenberg (Actor) and Anna Trebunskaya
  

Makita...our husbands are going to be happy. They get to see Edyta's skimpy outfits! :)

Sniff, Sniff

The line-up for the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars will be announced later tonight. I just read that Maksim Chmerkovskiy will not be returning for this season, and his rep confirmed. :(

Radio personality Adam Corolla will be dancing with the winner of the last two seasons Julianne Hough. I have heard rumors of Florence Henderson, Kristi Yamaguchi, Marlee Matlin, and Pricilla Presley as possible contestants. We'll know shortly if those rumors were true or not.

(All Bob wants to know is if Edyta will be back! *giggle*)

The Full Bath

Here are the pictures of the bathroom I promised you all way back in, when was it, November.

before

after

I still don't care for the green counter, but it isn't as bad with this paint as it was with the green and white striped paper with gold and pink details. (UGH -- that paper is hideous.)

I usually use a darker hand towel but the usual ones were all in the towel hamper I didn't realize I had a back up on the towel rack until I edited the picture. The rugs and towels are a deep purple similar to the mat of the two florals. I am really happy with the way it turned out. I still want to paint the vanity & possibly do something about that counter, but for now it's a HUGE improvement.

I did end up finding and using most of the items from this post.

Poor Girl

Olivia got braces today on her upper teeth (the lower will come later on). The poor girl is in quite a bit of pain right now. We're treating the pain with Tylenol, and feeding her lots of soft foods and liquids. I think tomorrow will be mostly liquids. :( She is looking forward to Bob getting home because he's bringing her some Culver's Frozen Custard.

Postage Rate Increase

The price of mailing a letter is going up again. On May 12, it will cost us one penny more (42¢) to mail that letter. I am still trying to use up some 37 & 39 cent love & Christmas stamps from before the last two increases. If I do run out before May 12 (unlikely), I will be buying the Forever Stamp to bridge the gap -- then back to the Breast Cancer Semi-Postals!

Other rate increases set for May 12:
Postcard, 27 cents, up one cent.
Large envelope, 2 ounces, $1, up 3 cents.
Money Orders up to $500, $1.05, unchanged.
Certified mail, $2.70, up 5 cents.
First-class international letter to Canada or Mexico, 72 cents, up 3 cents.
First-class international letter to other countries, 94 cents, up 4 cents.

New rates for the shipping services (Express, Priority, Parcel Select and International) will be announced in March.

Menu Plan Monday #9

February 11 - February 17, 2008

Monday: Salads (sounds like a summer meal, but I just don't feel like cooking & am craving some feta, walnuts, and raspberry vinaigrette. I may even toss on some chicken.)

Tuesday: Chicken stir-fry

Wednesday: Pork chops, cauliflower, green beans

Thursday: Stuffed meatloaf (leaving out salami to keep fat content down), brown rice, and broccoli (Yep, it's here again. Maybe one of these weeks I will really make it...LOL!)

Friday: Cheese quesadillas

Saturday: Dine Out

Sunday: Leftovers or sandwiches

Grammy Awards

I love music, and each year I look forward to the Grammys. I like it mostly for the performances. There were some great ones last night, but this was by far my favorite...

Alicia is amazingly talented and one of my favorites!

The Big Dig Out

We ended up getting about 16 inches of snow here yesterday. It snowed for nearly 30 hours non-stop. I don't remember seeing anything quite like this storm in my life. I know there were some when I was about 8 or 9, but definitely not in recent years.

Our Groundhog is Crazy

Crazy or just wrong!! Our area groundhog, Winnie, "said" it would be an early spring.

We are approximately where the star (red dot) is on the map.

We are used to big storms, but not this big. It is not unusual for us to get just under a foot of snow during one storm, but conditions are perfect for us to get much higher totals this time. I am lovin' it.

No school for Olivia; no work for Bob! The malls are even closed -- it's got to be bad if they are closing malls! A recent check of the closings section of my favorite local news channel's website shows over 900 closings. The most I ever remember is around 400.

By the way, the little thunderstorm clouds mean we may be getting thundersnow!

Menu Plan Monday #8

Or is it Tuesday now? LOL!!

February 4 - February 10, 2008

Monday: Ham & cauliflower au gratin

Tuesday: Turkey hot dogs and whole wheat mac & cheese

Wednesday: Baked tilapia, couscous, and asparagus

Thursday: Stuffed meatloaf (leaving out salami to keep fat content down), brown rice, and broccoli (Never made this one when i posted it a couple weeks ago so I thought I would pull it to this week.)

Friday: Cheese quesadillas

Saturday: Dine Out

Sunday: Leftovers and/or sandwiches

All Glammed Up

Here's the shot Olivia took of Bob & I as we were about to head out the door to the black-tie gala on Saturday night. We should have had her take another shot -- Bob's eyes are only half open & I was saying something -- oops!

Happy Groundhog Day

Hehehe!! That crazy snowman!

February Already?

Where did January go?

February, when the days of winter seem endless and no amount of wistful recollecting can bring back any air of summer. ~ Shirley Jackson