Calm Down People...

Okay, so I know I need to get on the horn with my pictures.

I realize this.

The only obstacle is finding the connector-cord-thingy to upload them.

My camera is staring at me.

But so is my laundry.

So hopefully by tomorrow I will have some viewing pleasure for my rowdy crowd.

Okay, back to Jon and Kate Plus 8. :)

Back to the Usual...

In less than 24 hours, I went from vacationing diva to Medford dweller.

I woke up at 8:30. Shoved a heaping bowl of Cheerios in my face. Hopped onto my laptop and perused my stalkings. Walked Stac's parents' dogs at the dog park. Hit Fred Meyer up for some BioKleen laundry detergent. Whipped up some hippie mac 'n cheese with broccoli for lunch. Watched a little Sean of the Dead while playing Life. Ate dinner with the rents.

Rinse and repeat.

Now I have to put some pj's on before I head over to Stac's for a little HIMYM.

Duck Fart anyone? Vodka 'n 7-Up? Yes. And yes.

The Week in Review...

Some of the headlines I missed while playing on a boat:

• Cops killed in California - how sad.
• Crazy flooding in Minnesota (or somewhere up there)
• Jackson County (Oregon) unemployment rate nearing 13% (Translation: 14,000 without work)
• Jade Goody dies (a Perez note)
• Lance Armstrong falls off a bike (isn't he supposed to be a professional?)
• Matt Lauer does too (okay, this one I'll let slide)
• More teams leave the NCAA tourney
• Oregon State stays in the CBI

My turn: Some of the headlines you missed...

• Trac & Hay enjoyed pina coladas and Tequila sunrises (ick)
• Dad & I enjoyed rum 'n cokes (50/50 in equation)
• Everyone sustained a good sunburn, but me :)
• Met one lady who had just gotten engaged that day, proceeded to drink her celebration, and insta-friend everyone in the bathroom
• After eating 4-course dinners, we've all gained some weight (boo)
• I killed 2 books while underway (The Zombie Survival Handbook by Max Brooks, You Can Run, But You Can't Hide by Duane "Dog" Chapman)
• We ate at an undisclosed burger chain where they cut their own fries on site and their patties are never frozen. Twice.
• Dad hired a carpet cleaning company to do the house while we were gone, woops...we forgot to tell mom.
• I surprisingly didn't miss Jim...or Pam.
• I did miss wook.
• It took me 35 pages to get caught up on Perez.
• Dad & I killed a bottle of Sailor Jerry's in less than a week (hey people, it's not like we're wook & Andy - some credit, please)
• While there weren't any injuries, Trac did have a run-in with a Shuffleboard disc.
• Running on a treadmill...on a boat...isn't as easy as I thought.
• Our family put a serious dent into the Shirley Temple supplies.
• Let's not get started on Cabo (future post on that).
• Going up more than 5 flights of stairs about killed the group.
• I'm watching The Office right now, Michael Scott kills me.
• The only sunburn I got was on my left hand from holding my book (photographic evidence to come).
• The family only dropped Dramamine once - the last day.
• Do you know Michael Scott's suits are from Sears? (Sorry, sidetrack)
• My mom refrained from The Helmet the whole week away.
• It cost $.50 a text at sea. Sorry, I don't like you guys that much.
• I rewore a couple of my outfits to dinner - like I'll see any of these people again.

I'm sure there are things I've missed - but that's why this is a blog. Keep you knickers on, people.

Vacation Travels: Home Safely

Good afternoon troops.

I'm baaaaaaaaack.

Somehow a week without my lifeline wasn't that bad.

And I've already caught up on my blog reading.

But there's still Perez to tackle. I know, that's a lot.

But there is only thing wrong with being back.

There aren't any Cheerios in the house.

Code Red, people, Code Red.

Hiatus: Spring Break

Don't hate me because I'll be spending a week on a boat, hopefully not getting sea sick, avoiding sunburns at all cost, and hanging out with my family.


Hate me because...I'm still avoiding the real world. Yay.


We have 3 port calls. Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, y Mazatlan. I know...blah, blah, blah...don't travel in Mexico now. Whatever. What are you going to do when you've booked a cruise months in advance? I'm going to enjoy myself, that's what. Besides, when's the last time a cruise port call'd in Tijuana? Exactly. That's just eww.


I could possibly find an Internet cafe, but I doubt I will. No offense. But blogging while I'm on vacay isn't on the top of my list. Just realize that there will be plenty of posting when we returned (which should be Sunday, the 29th...or so). So until then, let's hope Mexico's weather is better than the weather we encountered in Hawaii, which was pure rain. Unadulterated Corvallis rain. So I guess, there's only room for improvement.


Caio!

Predictable Ashley...

So there seems to be some people out there who think they know me.

Well guess what...

You do.

It's technically 10am,...and I still haven't fully packed...showered...or finished my laundry.

Ya...some things don't change.

I don't know why I wait until the last minute. I guess I like the challenge. I feel so underpressure...it's fun. The only things I need is my passport, my swimsuit, and a book. I know you guys are thinking...omg, pasty...you need sunscreen too!! That's in the dad's suitcase. We're good to go.

So what am I doing now? Watching tv. Going to switch my laundry to the dryer. I'm making sure I have my mp3 charger. Crosswords. A book. I'll get my butt in the shower. Finish cleaning the downstairs. Etc.

When are we leaving? Not sure. It's up to my mom. Last I heard she's working a halfday, and then who knows if she's packed.

There has been a change in plans. We're not pit-stopping in Corvallis before we head out. Maybe on the way back. But that's not definite yet. Don't fear. There's a roadtrip planned sometime in April for you guys. Yay. There may be a fee though. Is it kitten season yet? :)

St. Patty's - Revisited...

What's better than green beer, bowling, and people watching?

Not hitting 100 at bowling, that's for sure. :(

The day started around 4pm, ish. I don't really remember. It was my dad, Stac, and I living up the Irish dream of drinking. We went from French to...Alaskan (by way of Andy Mew, just stick with me people).

1 - Courvesier taste test...not as awesome as I expected.
2 - Courvesier taste test again...just to make sure
3 - Grand Marnier taste test for Stacey (and a round to go around)

Hiatus: Run to the liquor store for more supplies.

4 - Duck Fart #1 (equal parts Kahlua, Bailey's, Canadian Whiskey)
5 - Duck Fart #2 on the rocks (even better...mmm)
6 - Killian's for me, Nurse Sapphire (Gin 'n Tonic) for my dad, Vodka Tonic for Stac
7 - Duck Fart for the road

Location Change: Lava Lanes bowling alley

8 - Green Great White (pint)...along with an awful game at bowling, but I did get a strike!

Location Change: Four Daughters Irish Pub (Taxi Service: Dial-Your-Dad Drunk Bus)

9 - Bushmills
10 - Bushmills

End of evening: Taco Bell run before heading home, in bed by Midnight.

The night was entertaining by the people watching at the last place. The dancing by this one gay guy who had more moves than Richard Simmon's and Justin Timberlake's love child was awesome. We couldn't take our eyes off him.

Happy Irish Heritage Day!

The Luck of the Irish...

There comes a time in life when you love your heritage.

Mine's today. Where else can I fit in with my red hair, natural talent for beer drinking, and enjoyment in singing Irish Pub songs? Happy St. Patty's day everyone.'

But first, a moment of silence for wook who starts class tomorrow. May he live vicariously through our personal entertainment. Amen.

With that said, my festivities were sightly dampened with the forgotten job that my dad has at 2pm. Everybody with me, "boo." But because I know that the bar scene will be littered with the run-off of Medford scum, I'm okay with staying in for the evening. Nothing a burger and some Guinness can't fix.

Unfortunately there won't be an Irish folk singer in the background. It'll be my mother complaining about how our celebration will be intruding on her packing for next week. Too bad I've already made my list and packed this past weekend. Looks like it's not my problem.

Oh, what's that...you're dehydrated?

Let me get your a drink. Guinness or Killian's?

Weekend Wrap Up...

So it's raining right now. I wish it weren't. But this means I have to start working on the bomb that's gone off downstairs. Between coming home from the East Coast after spending 29 days there, and the impending cruise which requires not winter clothes, all my clothes have spilled out from the suitcase, dresser, and storage unit unto the floor. You can barely see the carpet. It's disgusting. My dad's threatening to take away my Barbies if I don't clean it up soon.

I wish I could *poof* (like Mary Poppins) and have my stuff cleaned up for me.

Screw the trust fund now. I want magical powers.

The Time Will Come...

Dearest Beloved Laptop,

Our friendship has stood the test of time, the lengthy educational papers, the whimsical essays of intellect and antedote, the memorable purveying of Emode.com (which isn't even around anymore), Facebook, and MSN.com. But how does one move on?

It seems that we've grown apart in the past year. I've wanted to speed things up while you're more inclined toward the slow moving between pages and tasks. There are times when not even restarting our conversation will correct things. I just feel as if we're growing apart.

And it's not that I don't love you. Our love runs deep. But I think it's time for a change.

It's not you, it's me. I want more. I need more. I need someone who can keep up with my constant blogging, Twittering (which I'm totally jumping onto the bandwagon - I encourage others so I can continue my stalking obsessions), and future job search (because I'm going bored without something to do 40 hours a week).

While I've enjoyed our time together, I'll truly enjoy these last months we'll hold dear to each other. We've had a fun time. Although the deep bumps felt lately have been enough of a universal shake in my boots to help me come to realize our need for searching the sea for other fish.

I'll continue to work without you until we both can find great replacements.

I wish you nothing but the best in your future endeavors.

Thank you for all the memories.

Sincerely,

Ashley

Back to Oregon...

Yesterday was a long day. No doubt about it.

Wook and I stayed up the night before since we had to be out the door at 4am. And what's 4am after waking up at 10am (with 12 hours of sleep since wook was still recovering) and I fell asleep on the couch for an hour that afternoon? Child's play.

Flight to Chicago was quick. At least I think it was. I don't really remember. It's one of those puddle jumps that I zonked for maybe an hour. Missed the in-flight beverage, but that's okay.

Oh, Chicago. You kill me. As much as I love to avoid that void of all things timely, unfortunately Norfolk is a United hub also and Chicago just seems to be in the cards (unless I can book US Airlines from Frisco to Charlotte, etc.). But thank you for that 40 minute delay because we didn't have a plane. Knowing I had a 30 minute connect in Portland made me nervous. On the outside I was cool. But let's just say I wasn't hungry for that second PB&J I made.

At 12:30 I started wonder how far out we were from PDX. I was nervous. I was in Row 8, which is nice for a quick getaway...but how many elbows am I going to have to throw to get thru? Although I knew I had no responsibility for missing the flight, it would still suck to wait until 4:25pm to get the next flight to Medford. Where's the nearest bar in the terminal? I'm serious.

So we land at 12:45. Let's move people, let's move. There's still a little hope. "We've now reached PDX, the local time is "Hurry the hell up" (okay, that's what I was thinking), we'll be taxi-ing...blah blah blah." The time is still ticking away. 12:50. Good thing I have sneakers on so I can Jackie Joyner Kersey over these people. So as we finally get to our gate, the lady attendant makes an announcement.

"Due to some tight connections some passengers are facing. If you could please let them out first before you make your way out. The flight to Medford, they're holding for you."

NOOOO Wayyy!!! Really? That's me. Move it, people. No joke. There were people every 40 feet or so waving us on. I felt like I was running a marathon. The stripe to the finish line, oh so close. So walking as quickly as we could, all 10 or so of us made it aboard the sardine can of a plane to head home. Ya, we were like half the flight. I guess it pays to be from a small town where waiting an extra 5 minutes for the other half of the flight isn't so bad.

And as much as I want to relive the descent into Medford, let's not. It involves feeling the same way I did after I was talked onto California Screamin'. Let's just say I was a little green. "Don't puke...don't puke...don't puke."

Dr. WebMD will see you now...

What's better than having my first flight delayed so I get to stay an extra 2 days?

Not the minor case of food poisoning wook acquired during our venturing out to breakfast this morning after I got my flight rebooked for Tuesday.

The culprit: The Retro Dinner.  I'm putting blame on the eggs (he had a 3-egg omelet).  I had PANCAKES.  No symptoms here.

Wook's currently bunked up in his loft, in a half-stage of consciousness.  He's attempted to have a Coke.  Didn't work.  He took a nap on the sofa.  Went upstairs to sleep some more.  Came back down to vomit louder than an F-18 flyover.  Back upstairs.  Realized he did stink like I had said.  I brought up his deoderant.  We popped in some X-Files.  He fell asleep.  I'm making dinner.

So much for a fun night of homemade Qdoba/Chipotle/Senor Sams.  Oh well.  I'm making enough for lunch leftovers.  Hopefully he gets to enjoy some then.

Operation Return2Oregon: Stalled...

I'm starting to feel I'm becoming quite the salty traveler.

Today marks no exception.

Thanks to my handy-dandy updates from Orbitz to my cell phone, I find out my first flight is delayed.  No biggie.  I'm connecting in Chicago.  Land of one big ass airport, a butt ton of planes, and a cool dinosaur to stare at.  Easy peasy.  Wrong.

One flight to Chi-town has enough to screw the pooch for a lot of travels.  There were a couple guys trying to get to Frisco for business.  Some newlyweds.  Oh, and then there's me.  I'll call myself the Worldly Wanderer.  I don't really have a home.  I have a storage unit.  And I bounce from Place of Awesomeness to Place of Awesomeness.  Awesome, really (ya, I felt I needed to throw another awesome in there).

But let's not forget the retard behind me in line.  "Why is everyone waiting to check in?  Do they not know how to use a kiosk?  Hey (talking to his friend in line), be sure to take out your KY jelly from your carry-on.  It's more than 3 oz.  I'm just going to cut everyone to check in.  (He does then comes back).  Seriously, who waits till the morning of to buy plane tickets?"  Wow.

This guy never realized that a 45 minute delay kills that 45 minute connection you had for that next airport in your nation-hopping travel plans.  Apparently they never taught that in "How Not to be That Douche in Line at the Airport 101."

After a hefty wait in line to talk to a human, there was pleasant news at the counter.

"The next flight to leave Chicago [I'm assuming to leave somewhere near the vicinity of the West Coast] is 5:30pm."

Tonight?  Yes.  Tonight.  Spend all day wandering around a random airport?  Denver I can do.  New Belgium Brewery right off the Annex where United/Skywest flies.  Yes, please.

"Umm, I don't really want to spend all day there.  What about leaving here [Norfolk] tomorrow?"

"There are no flights out of Chicago until Tuesday."

"Okay, that works."

Weird look at me, like are you crazy lady...most people are irate at this point.

So I got the same flights I would have hit today had there been no delay, but instead I get an extra 2 days to play.  And the chance to sleep in a bed vs. an airplane to gain that hour of sleep lost.  I'll take it.

And luckily the guy at the counter was pretty funny.  Most people around me where worried about making their meetings, which I understand, but knew that it's out of their hands.  Ce la vie.  We'll try this again Tuesday.  I'm getting good at this delay stuff.  Medford at Christmas.  Denver at the same Christmas.  Snow storm at Sarah's (which was totally acceptable and awesome by the way - ya, another awesome).  Now this.  Whatever.  I'm cool.  And there's enough milk and Cheerios to hold me out for another week and a half should we run into problems.  But let's not.  I have a cruise to make.  And sunburns to avoid. 

Breaking Out...

What started as a text from my dad, "hey, can u call me?"...

Morphed into gall bladder removal surgery Wednesday morning...

Which will hopefully end in being Discharged this afternoon.  Yay.

Okay...how to make this as short as possible...

So my mom was admitted to the hospital (or horse-pistol as we call it) last Thursday, doctor's orders.  After some intense stomach pains and a round of tests, the doctor thought it best for her to check in so they could assess things further.  Back story: Back in 1981, or so, my mom's large intestine blew.  She got really sick.  Spent months in the horse-pistol.  One bitch of a visit.  

Anyways, the docs combined what was left of her large with her small intestine since that was the best that they could do.  Well apparently this suture site (connection thingy) shrunk down to 7mm in diameter (or something incredibly small that's not worth functioning - which they stretched back out).  This is the monkey that threw the wrench into this visit.

Well while in there, they found some gallstones.  No biggie.  However they didn't like the way the GB was looking.  Or acting.  Or MRI-ing.  Whatever you want to call it.  So they debated...to take, or not to take?  That is the question.

So with contemplative efforts with my mom, dad, and the doctors (including one who ran into the door the morning he was introducing himself to my mom - "Good morning, I'm DR. Blah-De-Blah, and I just ran into your door"), the verdict was to take it.  The consensus was a worried one for they felt if they left it in, and we're in the middle of our cruise when something was to happen, a Mexican hospital is the last place you'd want to be.

I called her yesterday, but she was so doped up it was funny.

My dad has a quick fire to do in Cave Junction, but he's hoping to get back in time to pick her 'drugged, 4-bullet-holed-stomach, probably lost 10 lbs' self from the hospital.

But not all is lost with her being in the hospital and me currently residing 2,400 miles away.  She said she's had a couple of cute male nurses, which always makes a hospital stay more worth while.  No one wants Gollum giving you your IV.  Sucky part for her was the tube up her nose then down her throat.  And the liquid diet she was on.  I asked if they were jello shots.  Unfortunately not.

My plan once I'm back in Medford (I leave Sunday) and she feels better: a pedi for her, mani for me (I just got mine down.  Thanks Best Friend Mark haha!).  "Perfect Nail, may I help you?"

The Big 1-9...

Last year as a teenager...woohoo!

The baby of the family is 2 years in sight of that infamous liver-loving birthday.

Can't wait.

Oh.  Well maybe I can.  I'll be like 27.  Yikes.

Good thing I'm already lying about my age.

Ashley: Book Nazi

Because I like to entertain people...

Unfortunately I didn't really mark alot off because I tend to not really like fiction.  I'm a historical fiction kinda girl, thus DaVinci Code (and The Historian).  Or biographies.  But mainly works of non-fiction because I tend to want to know more (like about Chernobyl...).  And only lately have I been able to get back into the zone of being able to read (i.e. in wook's room while he plays videogames).

So ya, I'm okay with not reading everything.  That and I haven't heard of some of 'em.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen x
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte x
4 Harry Potter - JK Rowling / (I just couldn't get into the magic...)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee x
6 The Bible x
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte x
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell x
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (not yet...I have his Complete Works though)
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott x
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy x
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller (on the list)
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare x (snore...)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger / (I couldn't finish it...snore...)
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens x
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck x
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden x
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell x
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown x
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery / (again...slight snore...)
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen x
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tart
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold x
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville (Don't call me Ishmael...call me bored)
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath x (did you know her cousin is an Eng prof at OSU?)
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens x
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White x
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad x
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole / (I tried...)
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare x
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl x
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

So once Easter has come and gone, I'll be reading Alison Weir's piece on Henry VIII and his 6 wives.  Why?  Cuz he was a badass.  "Oh, you're plotting to kill me...NEXT!"

The latest addition...

Back in the day, my brother got married.  Well back in that day, somehow (which baffles me because Registries are pretty easy to use), he and Mrs. Fields 2.0 received 2 CrockPots as gifts.

Well they didn't know what to do with 2, so they gave one to my dad to use.

Unfortunately for our family, we tend to still use items in the house that were original wedding gifts for my parents.  The microwave.  The crockpot.  The waffle maker.  The fondue pots (which are in my possession because I'm the cool one in the family who fondues).

So the other week I had my dad throw it in the mail to be sent back East because I was set on getting wook a CrockPot of his own.  And what was on wook's doorstep after he came to get me in Richmond?  Woohoo.  Isn't it beautiful?  And it was free (minus the small shipping charge)!

It would have come out sooner but I wasn't up for having it be in a household of 5 dudes in Florida.  I know how multiple dudes can trash possessions.  Therefore my holding out.  So now wook has a spanking new toy to play with.  And it's even electronic.  And metallic.  And no one to ruin it.

Blame it on the weather...

It was supposed to a short weekend invading the Beach of the McDaniel Kingdom.  Up to Richmond on Friday to swap out Aunt Bop into the McDaniel vehicle, down on Sunday evening.  Oh okay, twist my arm.  We'll arrange the swap on Monday so there's 2 full days of terrorizing the munchkins.  Works for me.

Well things didn't go that way.  Instead we got a SNOW DAY!!

This around 8:00am.  I heard Mark call someone about not coming in.  Plus I was hungry, so I was up.  So I ventured upstairs to scrounge for food.  After opening the drapes, I knew I wasn't going back to Norfolk then.

The first time I've ever seen someone use a snow shovel in person.  I'm from Medford.  We don't really do snow.  Look at how much snow there is, like up to the calf.  Crazy.


Just another shot down the other side of their street.  Thank you Uncle Sneaky for your lesbian gear I so graciously borrowed.

Sarah running to Walmart to get the kids some boots to go with their "snoots" (snowsuits) so we can tear up the mountain.  Okay, it was a hill.  Still, 3 stories worth.  Pretty awesome.  I had a blast and got way to into it while Braxton smiled the whole way down like it was a darn parade.  Kids.