Bracing for the Arctic Blast

As I write this, the sun is brightly shining over the numerous inches of snow that have piled up over the last month. On first glance out the window, it actually appears to be pleasant. However, I know it is not over 0 degrees outside. Yes, while those of you readers in what I consider now the south face the possibility of negative temps – know that we’ve been living with it now for a couple of days and we’re not done.

Tonight is supposed to be the coldest temps in 10 years. If you do the math on that one, I haven’t lived here for 10 years (quite yet). So, I do not know what these temps are going to feel like. All I know is that my car registered -26 Tuesday morning. That means if that wasn’t the coldest morning then could I possibly hit -30 tomorrow morning?? And those are air temperatures. Not counting wind chills. On the weather last night the wind chills were registering around -25 or so. That’s with the new formula for figuring out wind chills. With the old formula we would have been at -40. Seriously – how did Laura Ingalls do it up here!

I do have to give the Jeep “props” for hanging in with me this week as I force it to power through the tundra to and from work. It does keep me quite toasty. However, keep in mind that I have the blower on high for the majority of my commute. And that commute has been averaging over an hour both ways. With Monday afternoon’s 2 hour drive taking the award for “crappy commute” of the week.

As I write this over my lunch hour, I have also taken a moment to explore a warm weather get away. I now see the allure of being a snowbird. Not that I’m quite old enough to be considered a snowbird, I’m ready to find a job where I can work in the sun and warmth during the winter. Of course the airfares are a little steep right now….give me another week like this and I’ll cash in all of my frequent flier miles to go anywhere that the temp is over 60.

For those of you with thinner blood that aren’t ready for the arctic blast…prepare. Wear that hat (even if hats make you look stupid), double up on socks, gloves, scarves. Whatever you do….layer, layer, layer.

Happy 2009!

I haven’t had much “blog-worthy” material lately, but my audience of 1 has commented recently that I must have given up on the blog. So….here I go.

Started a new job a few weeks ago. Nothing more humbling than going from being the “expert” in a position to being the newbie without a clue! It helps that I at least stayed within the same company, but it really feels like a different world. I think I’ll enjoy a bit of a slower pace for awhile though. My last job kept me extremely busy.

I traveled at Christmas and got to know the Detroit airport quite well. Thankfully they have a Westin hotel within the airport. That helped with the overnight wait that I had! It was actually kind of nice to be forced to do nothing but sit and watch tv. No computer, not much reading material with me. Not to mention no clothes, etc. I have learned to pack differently when having connecting flights. Always keep a change of underwear, toothbrush, and hairbrush in the carry on luggage. Of course you are told that all the time, but had I been listening???? Of course not. I now have a nice t-shirt souvenir from Detroit. And no, it isn’t a Lions t-shirt nor one of the Big 3. Although I guess that might have been a boost to the economy.

I had a great holiday all in all. Saw a lot of family. Saw “Marley & Me” – very cute, but sad. When I got back home I got involved in watching the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy with Steve. Probably a good 10-12 hours of hobbits, elves, dwarves and orks. Next up…The Godfather series.

Now it’s 2009. Crazy that the year flew by like it did. I’m off of school for a couple of weeks, so it’s a great time to get immersed in my new job. Of course I also have time for those other items I like to procrastinate with like…working out, cleaning, etc. I’ll try and balance my free time appropriately. :)

Hope you have a wonderful and peaceful 2009!

Merry Christmas - Porcelain Style

No, not new China or a nice vase. My Christmas present this year is looking to be a new toilet. After seeing a spot on our ceiling under the bathroom, we called in a plumber to investigate. Turns out our master bathroom toilet has probably had a small leak for years. We're having to get a new toilet now and new dry wall in the living room.

We had the fun and excitement of looking at toilets last night. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I will have to admit that the adventure was much more exciting than I anticipated. There is a showroom that had the toilets that our plumber recommended (Toto). Not only did they have toilets on display, but they had huge whirlpool type bathtubs, cool lavatories, sleek water faucets and the like. I was ready to take a bath right then and there.

There are a variety of toilets...who knew! Some flush with a little water, some with a lot...some with elongated seats, others with regular. So many choices.

We're still finalizing our choice. I hope it'll be decided soon so that by the time I'm back from Christmas I have my Christmas present in place!

Finally - a piano!

I finally purchased my long awaited piano keyboard yesterday. Yes, I faced the Black Friday crowds and ventured out. I didn't go until last night and it was pretty easy to get in and out of both Best Buy and Target. I'm embarrassed and horrified that there are people that eager to get into a Wal-Mart that they knocked someone down and killed him. Seriously...no wonder people hate Americans!

Anyway, back to my keyboard. I like spending time on the piano - I've had just a few months of lessons in my lifetime, but still like to play. I've missed not having a piano and so about 9 months ago or so we happened to be in a Best Buy and I saw the keyboards. I played the keyboard for about 10 minutes while Steve looked around. It hit me that maybe I don't have to buy a full blown piano, but could get a decent keyboard for my entertainment. I decided to wait (and save) to get the keyboard. This would also prove to me (and Steve) that I was serious.

I got the keyboard last night. I played for 2 hours straight - letting my Caribou Latte get cold in the process! Today I'm going to go searching for some sheet music. My collection includes the book given with the keyboard, a Christian songbook from the 70's, and a Methodist Hymnal. While I've enjoyed playing Amazing Grace and In the Garden, I think I could use a bit of variety (or maybe Steve would appreciate variety).

If my parents still read this blog...get out the piano music for when I'm there next month! :)

November Update

Let's hope this isn't the only post I do in November. I can't believe October slipped by with only 1 post. Fall at work is my busiest time. I've been putting in pretty long hours. That coupled with taking classes has left me little time to do anything else!

I love going to movies and I can't even think of the last movie I saw in the theater. I started a new class this past Wednesday. The class is "Organizational Behavior" and we watched 12 Angry Men as an example of group formation and interaction. It was a great movie - from 1957. I told the instructor after class that I was so glad to actually see a movie this fall. If you haven't seen the movie, I would highly recommend it. Peter Fonda stars in it.

In other news, I recently had a craving for Fruity Pebbles cereal. Steve and I were at the store and so I decided to go with the competitor's cereal and feed the craving. Steve found the Malt-o-Meal knock off and talked me into buying it. He also tried to buy one of their knock offs of my company's cereal. I wouldn't allow that! Anyway, a few days later he was having a bowl of the Fruity Pebbles knock-off - the Malt-o-Meal cereal is called "Fruity Dyno-Bites". All of the sudden, in his best Jimmie Walker impersonation, he says "this cereal is Dy-no-bite!" Struck me as extremely funny at the time. And yes, the knock-off was just fine.

By the way...70 degrees today and tomorrow up north. By the end of the week, we'll only be in the 40's. It is November after all....

One More Bike Ride Picture

Former railroad turned into bike trail.

Fall Bike Ride - 27 miles

This past Saturday Steve and I headed south and checked out a very cool bike path along the Root River. We took a route that was 27 miles round trip. Beautiful ride with the fall colors! Sadly that was our first bike ride of the year and probably one of the last before winter.