more weather!

the snow is here.  does it seem like that's all i ever talk about?  yes.  it seems that's all anyone in the northeast talks about lately....actually, everyone in the midwest has always talked about weather ....oh, and the mid-atlantic states are all talking about weather too!  and then there are the people in the south....thy like to watch the weather on television...just to gloat....and see what they're missing!  unless it's september....then they're the ones taping up windows for the hurricanes!  of course, the california surfer dudes and movie stars have weather issues too......it affects their bleached naturally in the sun or professionally....i'm assuming that the surfers get naturally bleached blonde.....but who knows these days.  oh, and then there's seattle...rain, rain, all year long! and we have the dry states in some places like new mexico......and oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains.

weather. we all talk about it!  i went to the grocery store last night, before i picked up t.j. at his ski bus.  i was concerned that by then it would be sold out of milk, bread and who knows what.  i was hoping that there would be chocolate chip cookie mix....now, that's crucial on a snow day!  as i strolled through the aisles, i looked at what people were buying....some had grocery carts full of chips and salsa and cheeses and hamburger and they seemed to be preparing for a super bowl party, some were buying soups and stew type meats, they appeared to be hunkering in to cook some cozy dinners for the rest of the winter, others were laiden with gallons of milk and juice of every variety, an elderly couple carried a small container of milk and english muffins.....and there i was, a stereotype with 3 gallons of milk which we needed anyway, waffles, popcorn, hamburger for meatloaf and some tacos, chocolate chip cookie mix and some butter....for the cookies. and the milk is for the cookies too.  halfway through stop and shop, i saw a friend...we talked about the weather....her husband had just called to let her know school would be canceled.  i trusted his word....he's a police officer in town!  woo hoo!  they called it the night before! relief! life is good!

after checking out, i realized that i should stop and get a couple of redbox (http://www.redbox.com/?cid=PS:Google:Redbox:BrandKeywordsGeneralOpt:redbox:376&cid=4059664465&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=redbox&utm_campaign=Redbox&tracking_ID=7261bc0f-d35f-8f69-4bb4-000037441fad) movies.  i finally got julie and julia(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YybhuBmzhvA) and duplicity(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py5Iyz0_0aA).  that's where i bumped into another friend who was coming to pick up some tidbits to make a pie.

did i mention that i left my whole order at stop and shop to go pick up t.j.....the ski bus had arrived.  i dropped him at home to shower and i drove back to stop and shop to collect the groceries that they were nice enough to hold for me!  i guess i should have thought ahead and used peapod by stop and shop...(http://www.peapod.com/?001=3144&002=33&003=1&004=&005=&006=10122)

when i stopped at the library earlier in the day, i was paying the debt for the family wing and the librarian, a photographer and writer shared photography blog with me....(http://www.cjpphotos.blogspot.com/)...i decided to tryout some of their d.v.d.s.....just in case!  i like to prepare...just in case of stircraziness....it doesn't usually happen.....when i'm prepared.  people at the library were not talking about weather

these are the movies that i got ..............
a fish called wanda(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqAJUlSRCwo)

envy....(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTTqmmR5FZk)

phoebe in wonderland(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZA6APB-TMc)

so far today....
i have brewed delicious coffee from my favorite farm in old lyme....they have a delicious variety with clever names (http://www.farmcoffee.com/). yesterday, i bought  the obama blend to mail to our very democratic friends!  i buy farm blend for us.  i have just tried their "organic mexico" which is  "rich, balanced and straightforward"..is that the coffee, or the people who buy it?!

i have been treated to delicious chocolate chip cookies baked by grace.
i have walked the dogs for a beautiful walk in the woods.....the long route with the camera.
i've talked on the phone to a few friends...about their weather.
we've had grace's friend over to sled.
i've carried in some chopped wood to make a nice fire....i'm expecting some help from t.j. and grace.
we've heard from biff....who will be spending the night in buffalo!  with one of the other guys he works with.  we all laughed because they deserve each other....they both snore!

and the regular stuff....laundry, dishwasher etc.

not much going on here.....just more weather!

Enya - Amid The Falling Snow

beautiful snow....beautiful song.

blizzard...weather....timing.

it's tuesday and we have another "weather alert"!  sometimes we prepare and we have no snow....just like last weekend.  again, the weather people are sending out the alerts...."weather! weather! weather" here comes weather!"

yes, we have weather alot.  we never know what it will be, whether we have weather people with complex and computerized maps or not.  my mom used to be more accurate with the weather when she based her prediction on her arthritis aches. i'd trust her before i'd trust a weather report.

i can "feel" the  weather too!  i can just base it on current events....in my life!  last weekend, i was prepared and hopeful.....biff, the kids and i were all home and ready for a cozy weekend....and ....nothing. zero...zip...nada...zilch.  a bit of a disappointment, but that's weather.  we have weather all of the time.

today, i'm assuming the weather will change....snow will come as predicted....when it's ready to snow.  i'm waiting.  i believe in the snow.  i have a feeling that snow is coming.  my weather advisory is due to my own personal dopler weather system. some call it the murphy effect. some call it timing.

this morning, biff has gone to the airport.  he will be spending the night in canada.  he will be there with some others from his company.  i would love to be there with him. i'd love to go to canada.  i haven't been there for years.  last year, when we visited niagara falls, i could see canada.....i could almost touch canada. timing.

i'm not at the airport.  i'm in my family room. biff left at 4:30 this morning and gave me a wake up call....not from the front desk...from the car....just backup for my morning wake up.  i'll gladly take that call...to be sure i have the kids out to school on time. i'll take a wake up call any day. time.

i know the snow is imminent solely based on the fact that my husband is supposed to return tomorrow night. his flight is due to arrive at laguardia airport in new york after 9p.m.  this is a relatively short business trip that i'm sure will have a long story at a later date.  timing.

my kids are at school. the dogs have been walked.  i'll be out and about within the hour. our kids will be on the ski bus after school, the last one for the season. tomorrow, snow is predicted.  i'm expecting weather anyway. it's still winter even though the days are longer.... it's time for more snow. it's time.

biff will be in canada.  he's due home tomorrow, wednesday.  the kids have school.  teachers are already talking about the snow and the possibility of a snow day.  moms are talking about a snow day. television news stories continue talking about a snow day...inches and inches....soon...time will tell.

a snow day means different things to different people.  to the kids, it's a day to miss school.  to the teachers, it's a break from the kids....time at home.  for some moms, it's a tangled web....trying to sort out day care situations because they still have to make it to work...no excuses.  other moms are panicked because it cuts into their plans. some moms are even happy to have the day to lay low at home while the rest of the world has been forced to stop....just stop.  have a day.  a day.  one day to just stop the busy-ness.....slow down.....breathe.....have a little quiet.....and wait.....until the world spools up into a whirlwind again.

i fall into the category of mom that has to have my day and my plans cancelled......and the mom who is happy to have the world just stop....s-t-o-p.  ahhhh....i can take a breath.

i'm just a mom.  i just do my best everyday.  things happen...... everyday.......somehow....they just do.  some things are out of my control and some things spiral out of control without me realizing it until it's too late.....or within minutes of being too late. timing.

like today.  early wake up call from biff.  let kids sleep a bit later.  drive them to school with time to spare.  back home. walk the dogs in the woods. feed dogs. telephone a friend.  drive to an appointment. stop at my favorite farm...to enjoy the abundance...the natural beauty....farm land...farm animals....and coffee....who could ask for more?  in the middle of a busy day. after coffee,  pick up t.j.'s snowboard and gear...get his socks out of the dryer...take a phone call.....put the dogs in the car....meet a friend at the beach to walk with our dogs.....get in car....take 2 calls from t.j. about snowboard gear...assure t.j. that i'm en route to ski bus at school......drive to school to pick up grace....talk to grace's teacher....drive to t.j's school with gear....t.j waiting outside of bus....all of the buses are full with kids and chaperones ready to roll.....i jump out of the car....open the rear....with t.j. there to help....time is of the essence....and.....NO snowboard gear...only snowboard. is there time?

stand with t.j., a very frustrated, aggravated, disappointed t.j......talk to  a father....a chaperone...take suggestion....hurry home with grace...drive up driveway....see ALL of t.j.'s snowboard gear on driveway....pick up gear.....drive to the other school.....deliver gear....give money for t.j.'s snack to a mom...a chaperone.....drive with grace and dogs to have a bite to eat.  go to library...pay library debt which will build a new wing.....check out some d.v.d's to enjoy on the snow day.... drive home with grace and dogs.....grace wants to use computer....remind grace that she has no phone or computer as consequence for behavior on sunday......go into house.....melt into couch.....check e-mails, e-bay and littlemarymixup.....here i am. me time.


and then it's time to feed the dogs....t.j. calls to ask where i put his snack money....it's time to boil water....grace will have pasta....white pasta....with butter....and milk....oops....i have to go buy milk.....and bread....and eggs.....isn't that a mandatory shopping list for a nor'easter?....then it's time to pick up t.j. from the ski bus at school....then back home.....heat up some dinner for t.j......melt into couch...get comfy....dogs will look at me....cats will meow....they will need food...dogs will need to go out....cats will need to go out...melt into couch....cats will need to come in....melt into couch....kids will go to sleep....melt into couch....pick myself up....drag myself upstairs...flop into bed...cover up....sleep for some time.

wake up.....to weather....called nor'easter....weather people will talk about dopler system...news people will talk about weather...kids will talk about weather....i will talk about weather...we will turn on local television station...the television will note school closing....due to weather....timing.

the world will stop...there will be quiet....time to stay home....time to stay put....time to sit...time to recharge batteries...time to listen...time to start or finish a project....time to talk....time for family. just some time. just in time.

how do i "know" there will be snow?  in blizzard glory? i know because biff is due back during the blizzard....weather....timing.

Manic Monday Acoustic

not so manic on monday....

do it again tomorrow!

some mondays are great.  some mondays are slow starting.  some mondays begin in a frenzy.  today, my monday was just the way i like it to be. kind of.

this morning began with kids going off to school, on their buses as usual.......unusual this year.  we had alot of  mornings this year where we practically had to pull our kids out of their beds.  grace had so many false starts, that we had to ask her what day it was or what school she goes to.  the first question she once answered, "fluffy" and to the second , she answered the wrong school, in the wrong town.  t.j. woke up but seemed to be stuck in peanut butter as he maneuvered his mornings.

we have probably driven our kids to school more this year than all of their school years combined.  grace wiwth mono and t.j. with the flu has had uw hopping or in the kids' case, flopping.

having grace with mono zapped a monday or two.  t.j. has had a few sick days this year as well.  considering this family made it until about 7th grade with no absences, we're doing o.k.  we have been most fortunate.

i had some "stuff" to take care of this morning....no big deal...just "stuff" on a list.  i had some things in the house to take care of. and of course, the fun part of the morning...walking daisy and fitzy.  no matter what, they get me up and atom.....in any weather.  i actually like that.

one phone call came in from grace....not a text, since her phone is off limits for awhile!  she actually had to speak when she called to ask me to bring her bag with gym clothes.  it's surprising how the sweet and sugary politeness is magnified when a cell phone is removed/pryed from her hands.

i was happy to make the delivery since i was on my way out to walk the dogs.  i walked with them around the green in town and up and down a few streets.

my main goal on this bright and sunny, cold monday was to go ice skating on a nearby pond.  late yesterday, biff and i went skating alone....and we were practically alone on the ice at the end of the day.  superbowl sunday is on of our favorite skating days.  so many people are out at parties or home preparing to watch the game, it's great to get the ice to ourselves. as we used to say at the rink where we met, "no rink rats".

we do love the little kids skating, we've always had our own kids out on the ice since they could walk.....but, there's something magical about having a pond just for us.

today was a monday of lists and organization....which i'm still learning.  some mondays feel so full of potential, i feel like a school kid with new notebooks and pens on the first day of school.  nevermind starting out fresh for the new year or labor day, monday is my chance every week to get things started right.

all of those lofty goals.....i'm ready for them on monday.  i've got plans, big plans.  i've got out the datebook and the calendar and i'm ready to roll.  if i can make it here, i'll make it anywhere, it's up to you monday, monday!  now we're talkin'!  oh yeah!  it's a new day.  i'm off!  i'm alone and i'm ready!

sometimes it just works. i get it all together.  i just get started and everything goes my way....at least it seems that way. it helps my momentum. sometimes a phone call comes in and changes my plans.  sometimes a sick kid changes my plans.

i had e-mails, e-bay biz, facebook for a couple of fun minutes with coffee, i had "stuff" like dishwasher, laundry and kitchen cleanup after the whirlwind of family coming and going all weekend....just the usual "stuff" to do.  i was ticking things off my list.....house, dogs, speed shop at the grocery store, auto body to fix a light....it was a big day for me just because i remembered the list!

i called a friend who usually meets me to walk our dogs.  her cell phone wasn't on.....i stopped by her house.  just as i knocked on her door, she was calling me on my cell phone!
i told her i was there to make her an offer.

when i ask a friend this question, i usually have to skate around the issue.....the question,"do you want to go ice skating with me?"  usually, friends rattle off a list of excuses why they can't, why the won't, why they couldn't, why they wouldn't.

this friend had possibilities.  she likes doing things outdoors.  she likes getting exercise.  she has great get up and go when others sometime make excuses about their get up and go.....they explain that it already got up and went. so, i was hopeful. it sounded like a yes as we sat together having a cup of tea.

nope.  not today.  it wasn't happening. maybe tomorrow.  the only trick with making plans to skate...ice melts.  i had to go today. we never know if the ice is good tomorrow.

that's what kept me moving today...ice. i got everything done just to have that little bit of skating time for myself.  i knew i'd probably go alone....i like that anyway.  still, i wanted to try to get someone else to share the sunny day on the ice. 

after our cup of tea, i drove off to the pond. i had the dogs with me.  i parked the car alongside the pond and parked so that they could stay warm in the sun. i took my ice cold skates out of the car, crossed over the ice and mud mixture and let the sunshine warm me up as i sat on the makeshift bench....lacing my well worn skates, still white as snow.....after all of these years.

i was no longer cold as i tredded carefully across the edge of the pond, frozen and ruddy....and made it out to the ice that had been shoveled and free of snow.  ahhhhh.  i was skating in the cold air and sunshine.  i couldn't ask for a better monday. no matter what, i need my exercise....just to stay happy and fit.

skating. gliding on the ice makes me feel so free. "push, push, glide," as i say to the kids that i teach.  i'm not a professional skater and i'm not a skating teacher....i just love it and i love to teach kids to love it too. it's almost the same feeling as riding my bike.....it's freedom!  "pedal, pedal, glide," i shout out to the kids that i teach to ride a bike.  swimming gives me that same sense of freedom. it's just another place to feel free. i love teaching kids to swim too! "blow bubbles and kick, kick, kick!  i repeat over and over...enthusiasm never lacking.

i think i love those teaching times because it's sharing the joy of something that i love....it's something that i take for granted....until i see what a struggle it is for a child just starting out.  it's so great to make it fun! and safe! it's great to see how proud they are.....proud of accomplishing something new that seemed so daunting.

i was feeling proud today too.  i had the whole pond to myself.  i had accomplished so much this morning just for this moment.  skating. skating.skating.  i was feeling the wind blowing across the pond, the warmth of the sun reflecting on the snow and ice and the muscles in my legs relaxing.  i was taking it all in.  i was loving everything......the peace, the solitude, the endorphins, the sun, the wind, the warmth.......


then, *BOOM* i slipped backwards and i slammed down on the ice...bottom first....then, *WHACK* my head went *BANG*! i had hit a patch of grass frozen into the ice....the pond was shallow.  i was shaken to my core.  i sobbed.  i sobbed more as i carefully plodded back to the bench....i unlaced my skates.  i slipped on my warm, soft boots and trudged back to the car.

i cried on my way home.  i called biff to tell him how i hurt.  i just needed someone to know.  someone who would care.  there was nothing he could do, but it was comforting just to have him know how shaken up i was.

i wiped my tears. i told the dogs all about my woes.  at home,i walked in the door. grace had just gotten in the door.  t.j. arrived home in moments.  we were back to our routine.  the weekday routine.

i had a great day. my head is still aching.  it was great to start a new week.  it was great to have ice in winter.  it was great to have a day to myself.  it was great to take the time to skate. it was great to have freedom.

i'll to do it again tomorrow!

that's nice!

we just got back from a fun dinner with friends. some new, some old....mostly connected through our kids.  just take any three couples who are out for a night and unless there's an axe murderer in the bunch, i'm pretty much going to have some fun.  we are out. biff and i are out alone...with another couple....and another couple....and another couple.

it's a date.  i count it as a date.  we showered, got dressed up a little...for our shoreline lives, said our good byes to grace and t.j., drove to the next town while listening to the radio station of our choice, walked into the restaurant, met one couple who we didn't know yet....until we figured out that they were there to meet our friends....and us for the first time....and the other couple for the first time.  then our friends arrived....with the other friends.  got it? o.k.  it doesn't matter.

it counted as a date.  kind of like our kids' playdates from toddler days....we all met at a restaurant.  we looked down at our menus instead of up when we ordered.  we all played well together.  we all had alot of laughs.  and we all shared...stories, not legos or barbies.  we were all just happy to be out....anywhere...just out.

and that's pretty much the way the night went. 8 people who liked to get out for a date and play with others.  we all did have our kids in common.  but, it's funny how they didn't even come up in conversation.  we love them.  but, it was our playdate.
we share alot of playdates with our friends.  i even share playdates with our golden retrievers.  sometimes we just need our own playdates.

it's so nice to know that there are other people who live like us.  just living life....loving their kids.....getting out....getting away from their kids.  it's not so much the getting away from the kids.....it's just getting together with each other ....without the kids.  does that make sense?  to anyone?

it makes sense to me.  it really makes sense to me.  i love my kids more than they'll ever know.  i love them so much and i am very grateful....as my mom would say, "with a capital G!".
 

and even though they're teens and they do their best not to show it, they love me.....i think.......or maybe just a little.....or maybe not so much, today....or maybe not at all, today...or maybe not at all, for a little while.  i did have to take a cell phone away from grace tonight.  oh, and i did not allow her on the computer tonight.

o.k., so maybe they hate me....now. or maybe only grace hates me right now. t.j. doesn't seem to hate me.....yet.  he might have hated me temporarily today.

it might have been at 3 o'clock this afternoon, when he asked me if i could drive him, 45 minutes away, to buy a gas mask..... at an army navy store.....because he and some friends were making a movie.....sometime in the near future.  or maybe this summer.  it seemed to be of the utmost importance at 3 o'clock this afternoon.  not yesterday.  not even at noon.  go figure.

for some reason, i had disappointed him greatly.  the kid who had been to the doctor this week to make sure that he didn't have strep throat.....to make sure that he would make it through the weekend.  he made it on the ski bus this week....sick, sore throat,coughing, aching. 

he seems much better.  it's saturday.  why not feel better?  what's not to like about a saturday?  only your mom, when she won't drive almost two hours and a half a tank of gas.....to buy a gas mask.  a gas mask!  not sneakers or a pogo stick or a boat or a snowboard.....a gas mask!

how do teen age brains work? hmmmmm. wake up. listen to ipod.  walk downstairs...with the snuggee....sit down at the kitchen table for some cereal and juice.  hang around a little. cough. pet the cat. play with the dogs.  take in a little friend time with the x-box....have some more juice.  and then, at 3 o'clock, suddenly realize that it is not possible to make it through another night without a gas mask!

all of those mommy and me classes...and gymboree....and karate....and soccer.....and lacrosse....and sailing....and skiing....and ....................a gas mask!  which fish is different?

oh, we'll buy him the gas mask.  oh yeah!  we promised. we promised one night about 6 months ago....when we stopped in this town......for dinner.....while en route home from boston.....when we stopped in, for kicks, to that army navy store....just to look around.  as we were leaving, t.j. asked if he could get that "cool mask"......and we said, "maybe some time, not now.  we have to get home."

who knew.....that 3 months later......at 3 o'clock in the afternoon....the pressing, urgent desire for that gas mask would be the moment that my son would hate me.

i hate when that happens.  i'm just having my life and *POOF*!.... somebody hates me.  just like that!  in seconds.  everyone is happy....life is good....life is great.....just ducky....and *POOF*!.....somebody hates me.

thankfully, it doesn't last long. or maybe it does.  but, long is relative.  "hate" is relative....i don't even think "hate" means "hate".  i think "hate" means "but why won't you do what i want"...or "how come you're doing that to me?".....or"why not"....or "huh?".   because usually the hate might be over by.....the next request.

the nice thing about going out....on a date with my husband.....to a playdate with friends....new, old or strangers....at least they don't hate me.  and that's nice!