Snowmaggedon, Yet Again

I'll let you know tomorrow if we were closer to 6" or to 18".  Yes, that really is the range, depending which weather station you favor.  The kids (and teachers) are convinced there will be a snow day.  I maintain my scepticism.

Contrasts

We celebrated JC's 16th birthday today.  It was a decidely different party than the one for William's 9th back in November.  This was JC's show, as much as it could be.  He decided what he wanted to do (go out to a Japanese Hibachi restaurant and then hang out and play video games).  He decided who to invite, and did so (after only a little nagging from Mom to follow through).  He invited friends that we didn't know (which was fine).

We provided transportation, dinner, and cake (which, besides requesting yellow cake with NOT chocolate frosting, he had surprisingly little opinion about).  And we tried to be unobtrusivly present throughout the evening (not that any of these kids were trouble).  I think they all had a good time.  I'm pretty sure JC did, which is what really matters, after all.

I enjoyed watching my son growing up.  And also the fact that I didn't have to plan the party.

A New Year

Ah, January.  After all the bright lights and hustle of the holidays, January can be a bit of a let down.  Or a breath of fresh air.  Or both.  Fits with the namesake of the month, Janus, the Roman god of doorways, or looking both ways at once.

We spent the break at home, hanging out with friends both at home and at their places.  There were intentions of heading into New York City to do something "cultural", or at least, "consumer", but with the snowstorm and subsequent slow cleanup, it didn't seem to be the best week for that.  So we stayed home and did our best to put a dent in the cookies, candy, and other holiday goodies that somehow accumulated.

We also had a couple of school projects do (and yes, I say "we" on purpose.  Many of these are impossible for the child to do by themselves).  William had to do a timeline of his life, with pictures.  Rachel had a rather open-ended project for Latin that ended up being a mobile/family tree of the major Roman gods and goddesses.  I have pictures of the mobile and will post them later - unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the timeline.  They both came out really well.

And while I don't have any specific resolutions, we are doing the usual of trying to eat more healthy foods, which also incorporates eating out less, more exercise, more sleep, etc.  Results are mixed so far, but then again, it's only the 4th.  We'll see.

I Suppose

I suppose I should change my blog header to something more seasonal.  Marching band is OVER.

I suppose I should finish start wrapping presents.

I suppose I should pack up (and mail) the boxes for my mother and sister and sister-in-law if they have any hope of arriving by Christmas.

I suppose I should clean up my kitchen so I have room to bake the next batch of cookies (sugar cookies for William's class by Wednesday - soy, dairy and peanut free.  I think I'm going for 2 out of 3).

I suppose I should dig out my dining room, currently filled with wrapping paper scraps and shipping supplies, in the vain hope that we could have a nice dinner at the table.  Or at least it won't look terrible if anyone comes over.

I suppose at the very least I should run out and get the last few presents on the list.  Any ideas for husbands?  Any at all?

But there's a heating vent under my desk, and the heat is on and it's wonderfully warm and cozy after the bus stop (22F and a bit of a wind), so I'm not feeling very motivated.

Mixed Blessings

Well, the old dishwasher motor works, so the dishwasher works.  Yay!

But it's really REALLY loud (think small jet aircraft) in an open-plan kitchen.  Boo!

But I'm not washing dishes by hand.  Yay!

I have no faith that this will last longer than a few months.  Boo!

But I'd rather shop for a dishwasher in a few months than right before Christmas.  Yay!

But the microwave is getting flaky, too (it sometimes turns on the light and fan when you close the door).  Boo!

I've decided my appliances hate me.  But that's ok because I'm not too fond of them at the moment.  And I have a lingering feeling of "what's next?"

Not Firing on All Cylinders

I was going to tell you about the craft fair (although I forgot to take pictures, so not as interesting as it might have been).  But yesterday was a DAY (not even Friday the 13th!)

Started the day by taking my car in to the mechanic.  The check engine light was on, and blinking, which is apparently NOT GOOD.  The good news?  It made it to the mechanic, they had a light enough day to actually look at it, and it turned out to be the ignition coils which were under a recall notice.  One of my coils was actually cracked, so it really was firing on only 5 cylinders.  The best news?  Free!  Because it was under the recall notice.  Yay!  The bad news?  You really need to replace your rear brakes, at a cost of several hundred dollars.  Ouch.

Showed up to help with the book fair at William's school.  Sat around for 30 minutes before the mom who was authorized to handle the money showed up.  Having rushed through the gym and Costco to make it on time, this was not appreciated.

The day was taking a turn for the better until we started the dishwasher after dinner.  It ran about 10 minutes, then chimed the "help me!" sound and turned off.  After looking up the error code, taking it partially apart to look for obstruction, and spending some time on the Internet looking for wisdom, it still doesn't work.  We think it may be the motor.  This would be less annoying if it wasn't already the 3rd motor in 5 years (original plus replaced twice).  This is WRONG, people!  10 years, ok.  Then I would expect to be doing some work.  But the racks are already rusted through in spots and it's gotten progressively noisier (again).  I'm ready to throw in the (dish)towel on this one and just get one that works.  John wants to pull it out and put the motor that we took out this summer back into it.  He says it's worth a try - fine, but I'm still going to start reading reviews and shopping around.  Because even if the old motor works?  It's only a matter of time.

Still Here!

I (stupidly?) signed up for a booth at the Band Parents Craft Fair this year.  It's tomorrow.

I signed up about 3 weeks ago.

I don't have much to sell (letterpress cards and handmade journals).  I'm frantically trying to make more stuff in a week when I should have been stocking up for several months.

Can I just pretend that I have more stock underneath the table and if I run out, go home?  Given my past history with craft fairs, I have more than enough for the 2 people who will actually buy something.