Dear Snow

Dear Winter Snow,

I don't like you. You are cold. You are wet. You make my pretend wood floor dirty, but worse than that, you make my carpet dirty. How dare you?

Because of you, I get stuck on the hill by my house. Then I have to drive backwards down the hill in the blinding snow storm, praying there is no one behind me, until I can turn around and take the long way home.

Because of you, when my kids run away from me in parking lots, they slip and fall. Then they cry because of scraped knees and hands, and I look like an even worse mother. Thanks a lot.

Because of you, I want to bake brownies. And eat them. 'Nuff said.

You are free to leave. Now that Christmas and Rasmusson January Birthday Mania are over, you are no longer necessary. Tell your friend Mr. Rain that he can come in your place if it is absolutely necessary. Also, tell your nemesis Spring that he is also welcome to come nice and early because we love and miss him.

My mental health thanks you.

Sincerely,

Katrina

My Entertainment

Thanks to the writers strike I haven't watched TV in ages. I'm not that into American Gladiators (yet) or other reality TV right now. Also, once the kids are in bed at 8:00, I'm too tired to walk the 15 feet into the living room and turn the television on. So, I've been entertained lately by two things: books and "Heroes". Have any of you watched the series "Heroes"? Nils obtained the first season and what has been aired of the second season (archival backups, you see), so we've been watching it for the last few weeks on the laptop. It's awesomely addictive. I recommend it to anyone in need of entertainment.

Also, here are a couple of book recommendations in case you care:

I'm reading Eragon right now and really enjoying it. I've seen it in stores and had no interest, but Nils read it and loved it so I thought I'd give it a go. It's really good!

When I started reading I, Coriander I was hooked immediately. Addie was mesmerized by the cover and kept stealing it from my nightstand. It was lost for a couple of weeks and I was going crazy! I finally found it in her room inside a bag where she had stashed a whole bunch of treasures she had stolen from other people. My little klepto! Anyhoo, it's a great escape-from- reality book.By the way, I'm ready for Spring. I know that has nothing to do with anything, but I just thought I'd let you all know.

Let there be light!

It's been a while since I last posted an update on the basement. With the help of my brother Grove, I've been making some progress and it's coming along. See the lights in those photos? I did that. Yup. It's true. Well, I had help but last night I shut off the power to the house after installing all of the light switches, then I installed a circuit breaker for the lights and believe it or not- nothing blew up and nobody died. I'm excited. It's cool to flip on the lights when you had a part in making it happen.

So here's the basement status:

1. Framing: 100% Done
2. Wiring: About 65% Done
3. Surround Sound Wiring: 100% Done (Gotta have priorities)
4. Cable Drops: 100% Done
5. Plumbing: Not Even Started :(
6. Sheetrock: Two ceilings and one wall are pretty much done.
7. Ductwork: 100% Done

So I'm getting there. As expected it's taking longer than expected. That makes sense, too, doesn't it? If you're in the mood to lift heavy stuff or learn to hang sheetrock, stop on by. I'll even let you use my sweet roto-zip thingamajiggy.

Nils' Top 10 Basement Lessons Learned So Far:

1. I have bad aim with the hammer.
2. My fingers take a long time to recover after being smashed by the hammer.
3. I don't like the hammer.
4. Playing with high voltage is fun.
5. There are usually easier ways to do things if you have the right toys.
6. Wood is rarely straight.
7. I can fix it in the next stage.
8. Sheetrock is very heavy when there are two people holding it above their heads.
9. Sheetrock is insanely heavy when you're trying to put it on the ceiling by yourself.
10. The screen in our family room will literally be 128" wide. Yes. 128".
    

The office (looking from family room)

The guest bedroom.

The (eh-hem) bathroom.

Storage room.

The Family Room (lights aren't hooked up yet)

Mrs. Katrina Prime

I'm sorry to post this but Katrina is leaving me. I have been dumped and am being replaced by a robotic life force from another planet. This blows. Anyway, how could I possibly compete? He's tall, financially secure and not only does he have his own ride, but he is his own ride.
Courtney asked to see the poster of Katrina Prime and Mr. Prime dancing so here it is. This was (and still is) a four foot wide poster. She'll be missed. Katrina- I wish you and Optimus the best. Sort of.

Rock on.
-Nizzlito.

Birthday Hangover

We're all suffering from birthday hangover. Anders turned 5 on the 6th, Addie turned 3 on the 12th and I turned the big 3-0 yesterday. Many of you sneaky stinkers are aware that Nils threw me a surprise party on Friday. People have asked me if I was really surprised. Ummm, yah. Thanks, Holly, for taking these priceless pictures!

Remember how I was going to get a pedicure? It was all a big fat lie to get me out of the house. My friend Jenny (standing next to me) called me the night I locked myself in my room and asked if I wanted to go with her. Of course I said yes. I was such a sucker! I had a jolly good time getting my toenails painted, though. Seriously, look how cute those toes are. I can barely stand it. But I digress.
I can safely say I've never been as surprised as I was that night. It was so fun to have so many people that I love (LOVE!) there. So thank you to all who came. I'm a little choked up right now. And, there were a few of my best buds missing; some of you are far away, and some of you just didn't get the e-mail I guess.

Anyway, there were several larger than life pictures of moi on the walls. I told Nils a few months ago after we watched Transformers that I had a crush on Optimus Prime. He ran with that! One of the pictures on the wall was of me dancing with Optimus Prime. I had a Transformers cake, party hats and party blowers.
We had to break out the Optimus Prime mask/voice changer that Anders got for Christmas.
So, I had a great birthday bash. And I'm okay with being 30. The hardest thing is typing in 3-0 on the treadmill instead of 2-9.

Boring Random Thoughts

School started. I guess that's why I'm feeling sort of pissy. I am baffled by how much of an effect it has on me. I gear up for it, feel like I'm mentally prepared, make plans to not go insane, but the semester starts and my happiness level dips. I thought I was going to lose it last night. Anders was yet again devastated by the dinner I prepared. I gave him some chicken nuggets and ketchup to ease his pain. When those were gone, he asked for more. I gave him some more, was in the process of getting him more ketchup when he said, "I need some more ketchup, too." Innocent enough, right? I then commanded the children to stop talking, stop demanding things, eat their dinner, and behave. When Nils got home, I locked myself in my room until they went to bed.

Nils and I ate some delicious and nutritious gummy peach rings last night. We made the fatal error of leaving the empty bag on the floor. I was awakened this morning by Anders, once again devastated, holding the empty bag. When I told him that me and daddy ate the rest of them, he cried for almost an hour about it. I finally told him to go to his room until he could deal. He wailed and sobbed, "Now I'll NEVER be able to have anymore peach rings EVER AGAIN!" Nope, never. Ever. In your whole life, you'll never have anymore peach rings. He finally emerged from his room with a splotchy red face, tear stains, and stated, "I'm ready to be happy now."

He ran out of the gym ahead of me today, before I was even out of the daycare. When I got to the van, I told him I didn't like it when he did that, because he could get hit by a car or kidnapped. His response? "I guess I'll just never be able to go to the gym again." Nope, never. Ever. In your whole life, you'll never go to the gym again.

I'm going to get a pedicure tonight.

Brilliant Observations

There are fat mirrors at the gym, and there are skinny mirrors at the gym. I prefer the skinny ones. There is a full length mirror on the way out of the bathroom. It's a fat mirror. To avoid looking in it, I walk to the extreme side of the exit as I'm walking out. I've scoped out the skinny mirrors. When I lift, I make sure I'm in front of them. They make me look hot!

Our fridge is black and shiny, and it has a really skinny reflection. I love looking at myself in my fridge's reflection. I look at myself and think, "Wuh-woo, lookin' good, baby!", even though I know for a fact I don't really look like that.

I've been working out really hard this week, then coming home and eating M&M's.

My brilliant observations for the week, my friends!