InstaFriday #3

According to Tori atHome Away From Home:

"So I've decided to do something new on Fridays; INSTAFriday. I'm gonna use Friday to share some of the pics from my Instagram from that week for all those who don't follow me and actually care. *WINK*"

We lost power overnight on Monday. It's unusual for us to be without power for over an hour, but it stayed off from 10:30- 7:30. Not so bad considering there are still people without it.

The following pictures showed up on Instagram as a video. These are from the day after the first wave of the storm.

 The pine tree in our back yard that hasn't snapped...yet. 

I don't think I've ever seen icicles on a tree before:

Laika enjoyed the warm house.

I love watching the cardinals in the snow. (I wish I could get a decent picture!)

No school all week long.

Ash Wednesday. The best line I heard that day: Get your ash in Church!

I saw these tracks in the snow leading up to our front door. Do you have a guess as to from what kind of animal they came? Raccoon?  Rabbit?

It's been a nice week for me with finishing up Parenthood, watching the snow, and spending time with CH & YS. Time to get geared up for this coming week. Only 3 more weeks until Spring Break!

Thankful Thursday

I'm linking up with Knit by God's Hand for some things to be thankful for.

This week, I’m thankful for…

...friends who can find things to be thankful for...even in times of extreme sadness.

...a warm house...and power.

...the linemen who brave the sleet, snow, ice, and extremely cold temperatures to make sure we can be comfortable.

...a husband who will go out in the cold and de-ice my car.

...a daddy who will allow me to just sit with him...and sometimes nap in the chair while he watches the news.

...puppy dogs who help keep us warm when the power stays off all night.

...cardinals. By coming to the bird feeder, they continue to give me comfort.

...beautiful scenery. This scene was taken during my walk down to see Daddy (when I couldn't get in my car because it was iced over.)

Icy Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. When did you last have to interact, either by phone or in person, with someone in a government run agency? On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the experience? (10 being fabulous and 1 being pass the Tylenol)

Yesterday morning. I had to call the electric dept. for the Small Town. I had called a couple of times and used the automated voice mail...left my name, address, and phone number. This time, I stayed on the line and actually talked to someone. I would give it a "10". We had been without power from 10:30 pm to 6:00 am (when I called). He told me that there were workers in the area trying to locate the problem. I know they have a tough job, especially when the weather is bad, and I really appreciate all of them.  Our power was on around 7:30!

2. The current governor of Wisconsin is considering a run for President next time around. Walker attended Marquette University, but never graduated. In terms of any candidate running for the office of President (not asking here if you agree or disagree with Scott Walker's politics) would the lack of a college degree influence your vote or no? Would that be a factor in your support of any candidate running for public office, even a role less weighty than President?
Wow. A governor that didn't graduate from college? That in itself is a bit surprising. I would have to listen to the candidate and make a decision after researching and listening to what he/she has to say.

3. When did you last visit a place or site named for George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, and what was that place or site?
I can't remember the last time. I probably have visited a place and just didn't realize it was named after one of them.

4. February 16th was President's Day in the US, but did you know it was also National Almond Day? I didn't think so : ) Do you like almonds? If so, what's a food/dish/recipe you enjoy that contains almonds? 

I love almonds. In just about anything. 

5.The television program Saturday Night Live celebrated it's 40th anniversary this past weekend. Were/are you a fan of the show? If so what has been your favorite (or one of your favorite) skits, sayings, or characters that came out of the program?
I never could stay up long enough to watch it...even when I was young. Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd, Dana Carvey, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy...I could go on & on! "Land Shark" "Jane, you ignorant slut", "You look marvelous", "We need more cowbell", I could just go on & on!

6. Anything purple within ten feet of you? What is it?
I really had to look around for this one! My Nalgene water bottle is sitting next to the sink...and it's purple.

7. Back in December I asked you to submit a question for a future HP as part of a giveaway I was hosting. I grabbed this one from those entries, submitted by Zoanna who blogs over at Penchant for Pens. Thanks Zoanna!

She asks, "How often do you make your bed, and how do you like to make it-pull the covers all the way up over the pillows, tuck the covers in around the pillows, or place all the pillows on top of the covers?" 
I typically make the bed when CH & I are at the house all day alone. Our rule is: last one out of the bed has to make it. Which means, a lot of time it doesn't get made. I don't like not having the bed made...it makes me feel like the whole house needs cleaning. Pulling the covers all the way and putting all of the pillows on the covers (which CH HATES!) means the bed is made.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

Speaking of the Small Town, we had a little ice storm on Monday. There are a couple of pine trees that technically aren't in our yard that have started to bend. Monday night, one of them snapped. The other day, I wondered if  it would hit the house behind us, or their shed went it goes down. Well, when it snapped, it just missed the house AND the shed. The other pine is hovering directly over a power line that runs to our next door neighbor's house. 

CH called the "city" and got someone out here a few years ago to look at them, but they didn't want to take them down. Now that 1 of them has snapped, I wonder if they will decide to go ahead and take it.

Snow Miser

Y'all know the saying that if snow stays on the ground for 3 days, we're going to get it again, right?  Or is that just a "southern thing"?

This is a tree in the front yard, taken this morning.  No school again today!  YS and FES are now out for Christmas Break; I've only been to work 1 day this week.  That means that I've missed 4 meetings that will have to be rescheduled for after the break.  Unless I call the parents today and get them to come to the school tomorrow, which would mean I would have to go to my Tues/Thurs school for 2 meetings, then rush to my other school for my 9:30 walk-in student.  With it being the last day before break, it's going to be C-R-A-Z-Y.  Made even more so because we've only had school 1 day this week. 
When I let the dogs out, I made sure I was careful walking off of the back porch.  Then, there was the crunch of the grass.  Ice was covering the grass.  Our back yard is a gently slope, and I did slide a couple of times but was able to catch myself before I fell.

 Maybe if Ally wasn't such a brat and would go out, do her business, then come back in, I wouldn't have had an issue.  But, she is, and she doesn't, so I have to follow her out.  While I was out, I heard a branch fall on my next door neighbor's house.  Let's keep our fingers crossed that our power stays on!  There were 7900 people (last I heard) in the big city without power.  I don't think anybody realized it was going to be this bad! 
OS said it was 6 degrees yesterday at the university.  6 DEGREES. He was going to come in Friday since today was suppose to be the last day of finals, but, the school closed on Monday due to snow so they moved the Monday finals to Friday.  My cousin-in-law (who lives in that area) said that they got 1 1/2 inches of snow, with a nice coating of ice on top.  People are stranded all over the roads.
My car this morning:

Yesterday we had our December Speech Meeting at one of the coordinator's house.  Here's the view from her subdivision:

And a view when I was driving home (it would've been so much prettier if those power lines weren't in the way!):

If it's cold where you are, hope you have power and are able to stay in the warmth with a cup of hot cocoa!  Bundle up!