Winter Wonderland

Happy almost Christmas. I can hardly believe it's almost here, but it is. I can't even say it snuck up on me, I've been stressing about it for months, but somehow Christmas always seems to smack me upside the head faster than I wanted it to.

Katy's concert went quite well. Her section sounded best, but then they should, as they are the "elite" band of the school.
We managed to miss out on a nasty ice storm, thank goodness, but we did get hit with the first snow storm of the season.
Shona was deleriously happy and I had to let her go out into it a few times, despite the fact that she was just getting over a nasty cold. There's something so infectious about the joy of a child playing in snow. It almost makes me like it. Almost. If it weren't so darn wet and slushy and hazardous to drive in. Ah, such is the life of a practical mom. At least my child enjoyed it.
Today Shona's class had a gingerbread creation day. I volunteered to come in and assist and it was rather fun watching the children "glue" their pieces together with all that white icing. The one rule that was most difficult for them seemed to be the "no eating anything while in school" rule because the only place they are allowed sugary treats is in the lunch room IF they bring it themselves. Sad what this country has come to, but that's a rant for another day. I think Shona's house came out adorable, if not a little lopsided. Of course, that only added to its charm. We used it as a centerpiece at dinner tonight, which made Shona beam with pride.

Oh yes, and did I mention I got a 4.0 for the semester? Not bad for an old broad like me. That's about it in Anita's world. Another week, another bit of excitement. Until I blog again...hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

The Weather Outside is Frightful

Another ice storm is moving through the area this weekend. I'm having flashbacks to January, when the last storm knocked out power and paralyzed the area for about a week. It was hardly a fun time. Back then, they said it was a freak thing that hadn't happened in over 30 years, so who thought it could happen again a second year in a row? So far we have been lucky. Warmer temperatures have kept the freezing rain to a minimum and most of the really nasty stuff has hit my family a couple of hours north of here. We have a little bit of ice out there, but nothing like they do. They are losing trees and branches right and left. We moved since the last storm, and we are now on county power. That isn't a good thing because they were the ones who went a week or more without electricity last storm. If we had known that before buying out here, we might have reconsidered, but it's too late now. Anyway, we were freaked out enough by the forecast that we decided it was time to invest in a generator. Only one store in town sells them and we picked one up the other day. After reading the user's guide, John decided it was way too small for our most basic needs, and he set out on a quest to find a larger model. The closest store with one in stock was about 3 hours away, so off he went yesterday morning. He was tired when he got home, but at least we have backup power. We won't have TV or internet, but we'll have heat and hot water (if the city water pumps still work!), and that's what matters. When is spring, anyway? Bring it on!

And in other news, Katy has her Christmas band concert at school today. She is all dressed up for it. I think she looks lovely, it's just amazing how long it takes her to get ready. Ah, teenagers! Speaking of which, I'm off to the show.