...consider the process.

I have one more snowy picture to share from this week. I took it this morning, so these snow balls have had a time to melt a bit. This is not a picture of what was once a snowman. This is the snowman that never was!

As the snow fell on Tuesday afternoon, I cam across a young man with a plan. He was joyfully heaving an already large snowball. I asked him what his goal was. With enthusiasm, he told me that this was going to be a huge snowman. I decided to come back later to see his finished work. I returned to see three large, unstacked snowballs. Why did the snowman never get completed? Perhaps the young man was too tired after pushing those snowballs around for hours. Maybe the snowballs were too heavy to stack or even lift.

I've thought about this situation as I've passed these snowballs each day. For me, they communicate the uncompleted process. Sadly, because the snowman is incomplete, we don't get to see the young man's vision become reality. There's a truth here. Metaphorically speaking, I think we all do this from time to time. We happily busy ourselves with grand visions in our heads until we are too exhausted to finish. So what is the problem? Are we so in love with the vision that we don't think through the process?

Why do we sometimes end up with snowballs instead of snowmen?

...introduce Lucy to snowmen.

Lucy met her first snowman the other day. She didn't quite know what to make of it at first. She acted like it just didn't seem to belong. It's already melted down to more of an ice/snow lump today. I guess she'll have to wait a while before she meets another snowman.

...have an ice day!

Do you remember the ruler from yesterday? Well, here it is today:


The snow is packed down with a layer of ice on the top. Things are pretty slick in spots. I had fun walking Lucy this morning. At one point, I was just sliding after her as she pulled me along! I'm happy to report that I didn't fall.


I went back out to get some pictures of the ice before it melts. We are still having drizzle/rain today. The temperature is suppose to rise near 40, so we won't have the glaze for too long.


I really like this one. It looks like a splash of water frozen in time. It's the normally fuzzy top of a tall blade of decorative grass.


These leaves came out nice too.


Black and white makes this grass look really cold.

'Hope everyone stays warm today!

...have a snow day! (update)

I think we have more snow now. Does it look deeper, Lucy?


I tied a ruler to the railing to measure...


...2 inches so far!

...have a snow day!

The DC area is experiencing our first snow storm of the season that will give us at least one inch of snow. In fact, it might already be at one inch outside our little porch area. The wall around the porch is dusted with snow. It's still under the building overhang. The far wall shows the accumulation so far.


Lucy came out to bark at some kids up the hill. They are all out of school for the snow day. She doesn't mind the snow too much. It means she gets extra attention when I dry her off after her walks.

...brag about my hubby.

James did something nice for me on Saturday. While I was gone at the temple, he didn't just spend his alone hours playing video games. He made me a cheesecake! Yep. It's chocolate and peanut butter swirled cheesecake. Yum!


And we have already eaten half of it...but it isn't as tall as a normal cheesecake. It's only about an inch tall. This is because while James was mixing it up, our old hand held mixer finally died. He ended up calling our home teacher to borrow theirs in order to finish. So, James made two short cheesecakes so that he could give one as a "thank you" when he returned the mixer.

And I'm just about as thrilled about the death of the hand held mixer as I am about the cheesecake. I've wanted a stand mixer for ages, but just couldn't justify it--even when our hand held started doing only two settings: fluff and really fluffy! I've been dreaming of a Kitchenaid Artisan mixer.

So, for Valentine's Day, forget the chocolate! I've already had my chocolaty treat. I want a red, stand mixer! What?! A girl can dream...

...follow.

I'm following you! At least I'm following some of you...or your blogs anyway. I realized that I can miss a good blog entry or two if I don't keep up. So, I decided it was time to try out this "follow" blog function. I'm starting with following family blogs. If I like this whole following thing, then I might just follow everyone.

It's kind of new to me, so I feel like I'm stalking people. He-he. ;)

...read.

I like to read every now and then. A few friends told me about the Goodreads site. I've reviewed a few books that I've read there. Maybe I'll get into it more. I don't know. There are just so many networking sites out there to keep up with them all without spending too much time on the computer! Anyway, Goodreads gave me an option to post my review to my blog. So, I thought I'd give it a go:

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
'Not a bad read. It's a good action fantasy book. The cover art it just to sell the book. The potential love triangle doesn't even come up until the end. I enjoyed how the author got into the warewolf mentality--the "why" behind the action.


View all my reviews.

...deal with the monster in my bedroom!

One thing that has been an adjustment for me as a military wife, is the amount of laundry. This chore has increased significantly! A few loads a week has morphed into several. Add the surprise loads I get when my hubby has been in the field, and you get a lot of laundry! This Saturday, I found a "monster" in my bedroom that needed to be dealt with.


There is a normal sized laundry basket next to the half-sized, white basket. It's kind of a blue/purple color. Can you see it?

This laundry blob reminded me a lot of the Calvin & Hobbes green blobs. You know, Calvin had to eat a lot of green blobs for dinner. They would even come to life on him when his parents weren't looking. Well, this is sort of what I saw:


Don't worry! I did all that laundry (three loads). The laundry monster/blog is now neatly folded clothing...until the next time the monster visits my bedroom!!!

...sink!

WARNING: Puns ahead!*

As the economy continues to look down, a lot of folks have sunk into despair. On our holiday trip, we witnessed this quite literally. This "sink" was evidenced by our hotel sink. It was laid in slabs of granite...and one of them was missing! When we checked in, we noticed that a big slab had been taken right off the front of the bathroom sink!!! We reported it right away. Apparently, it was the first report of the problem. So, what happened to the expensive granite slab? It could have fallen off and been thrown out when the housekeeping crew came through. However, they would have reported that. Our best guess is that someone made off with the granite. I guess it is a sign of the times.

I don't mean to make light of someone's desperation, but we just had to laugh at the oddity. 'Kind of gives new meaning to the phrase "everything but the kitchen sink!" I guess someone was taking their financial situation "into their own hands." Or maybe they just were "taking things for granite!" Ha-ha!

*For those of you rolling your eyes, come on! You know me. You should have expected the terrible, puns. ;)

...count!

I'm 34 today, and it has got me thinking.

How do you count your birthday?

Some people do it in strange and unusual ways. This strange counting phenomenon is usually observed beginning sometime around the 30th birthday. Some folks stop counting at 29. Others add the two digits together to get a smaller one (34 would be 3+4=7). I have a friend I used to work with that just adds asterisks to her name after the year of her choice. So, a 34 year old would look something like 30****.

I'm not in denial about being in my 30's. I have recently questioned just where in my 30's I am. I'm no longer barely 30. I'm not smack dab in the middle. That would be 35. However, I've concluded that I'm entering the mid 30's. Here's how I count it: I drop the "big 0's" of 30 and 40 away. That leaves you with 9 in-between numbers easily divided into three categories; early, mid, and late. So, the early 30's are years 31, 32, & 33. The mid 30's are years 34, 35, & 36. That leaves 37, 38, & 39 for the late 30's.

Is it a big deal to be in my mid-30's? Was the "early 30's" title something I'll miss or mourn? I don't know! I just turned 34 today!!! I'll have to wait an see...

...ride trains, planes, and automobiles!

Although I'm feeling better today, I'm still taking it easy. So, I have no excuse to put off blogging about my crazy travel, right?!

Okay, here it is:

The 11th of December started early--way early! I had to get up and go in with my husband in time for his formation. He had permission to drive me across base to the train station afterward. I got my ticket very early in the morning (as you can see in the pic). My travels started with the VRE (Virginia Rail Express), a local commuter train out of Quantico. I had a friendly conversation with a daily commuter about her knitting.

Then, I hopped off at the Franconia stop to switch to the Metro rail. This train was more like the trains in Chicago. The people were packed in clutching their coffee and/or morning newspaper. I didn't strike up any conversations here. Besides, it didn't take me too long to reach Ronal Reagan National Airport.

My third (or fourth if you count my car ride to base) form of transportation was the shuttle bus to Terminal A. Then it was thru security and to the gate to...wait and wait. I was there an hour early for my flight. At least I was there. So far, things were going well.

Things continued to go well as my first flight went without any trouble. I had a window seat, but the clouds didn't let me see the DC sites. I've flown over DC before. Once we went right over the Pentagon. That is quite the view if you have September 11th in mind! Soon I landed in Detroit.

Detroit gave way to yet another mode of transportation. So, let's first review my tally so far; 1) car, 2) VRE train, 3) Metro train, 4) shuttle bus, 5) plane. All of this was before lunch! Let me tell you folks, I was a little hungry. So, I stopped by the snack shop to get me a slice of gingerbread...But maybe I shouldn't have. My layover was not as long as I thought. My connecting flight was boarding in 20 minutes. I was at gate 70-something and needed to get to gate 29! Thank goodness for mode of transportation number 6: the moving walkway.

I know it's called the "moving walkway" because it kept telling me so. "Use caution as you exit the moving walkway." "Use caution as you exit the moving walkway." "Use caution as you..." You get the idea. It's a good thing that there were like six of these things in between the two gates. I made it just as my flight began to board. Whew! I was dissappointed to learn that I had missed out on another form of transportation. Apparently Detroit's airport is so large that they have an express tram inside that goes back and forth along the huge terminal. I spied that going by overhead about halfway thru my moving walkway dash. Rats! So, my transportation tally stayed at six for the moment.

After I boarded, my flight to Memphis was uneventful. I will take a second to let you in on a OCD travel habit I have. I always touch the outside of the airplane as I board. Maybe it's for good luck. Maybe it's to reasure myself that the plane is sturdy metal that won't just drop out of the air. I'm not really afraid of flying, so we'll go with the first. It's for luck.

When I got to Memphis, I knew right away that I was in Elvis country. From a full Elvis jumpsuit on display to spiraling keyboard floor tile, the Memphis airport was festive. Forget "festive," I was ready to feast! I finally ate as I waited for my final flight of the day.

My final flight was on what I would call a "puddle jummper." My previous flights had been your standard jet aircraft. This little puppy had propellors! I watched them speed up and blur into a transparent rotation. Is it just me, or is anyone else thinking of Indiana Jones now?! I think of that propellor scene every time...

I was saved from my mind reviewing the bloody scene by another friendly traveler. She was headed to Columbia to see her friends new baby. (You might find this a little ironic when I blog about the reasons for my own trip. This blog entry is already way too long!) It was her first time to mid-MO. I let her know when I spied the State Capitol. FYI: By my watch, it took all of about 5 minutes to fly from Jefferson City to the Columbia airport.

I saw my dad waiting for me before I climbed down the stairs to the runway. He had brought the truck. Should we call this a new mode of transportation? Is the number up to 6, 7, 8? Anyway, you get the idea. It was 4pm Central time, and Tina was tired.

Hopefully I haven't tired you out with this supper long post. Thanks for reading. Soon to come is my "graduation, funeral, & wedding all in one day" post. 'Until then, may all your travels be terriffic!

...go back in time!

2009 has not had the best of starts for me. I've been feeling under the weather since we got back from visiting family. Well, last night I had a pretty bad fever. You know, it was the kind where you just can't get warm no matter how many blankets that you crawl under. When my fever finally broke in the wee hours of this morning, I still couldn't sleep. So, I started thinking.

I thought about the movie I had watched last night. I thought it would be fun to watch "Back to the Future Part II" on the last day of 2008. So, time travel was on my mind.

Then, I also remembered the final few episodes of the TV series Felicity I had seen a few weeks ago. Yes. The show ended years ago, but I just watched the series on Netflix. If you haven't seen Felicity, I'll warn you right now that I'm spoiling the end. Anyway, the main character in this love triangle show goes back in time to choose the other guy. It doesn't turn out how she had hoped. With some help, she finds a way back to the future. She wakes up to find her concerned friends around her bed. They told her that she had suffered from a bad fever the night before. But, wait! This isn't the Dallas "it was all a dream" plot. Some of Felicity's present had been changed by her time travels. It really did happen!

So, did I have a bad fever? Or did I do some time traveling? Everything looked the same in my room. Yep. My husband still makes noises in his sleep. 'No evidence of time travel.

And then I remember that I've had more recent "signs" of time travel. As we drove out to the mid-west and back, I remember seeing the same billboard both times along Highway 64. Apparently there is an antique store with the name "Somewhere in Time." Does anyone else remember the movie? I know Terri does. (And she'll understand when I ask, "Where's the watch?!")

So there have been three recent signs of time travel in my recent past. Add to that the fact that 2008 had an extra second added on to it. Maybe that extra second had a little more kick that anyone realized. Maybe it's altered the time/space continuum?!!!

Or maybe I'm just a bored little sick girl blogging her crazy thoughts from beneath too many blankets. If I had gone back in time, I'd like to think I would have avoided catching this cold! He-he.