"hi," she says sheepishly...

Hello! 2011 is upon us, and I let that and the entire month of January slide by with not so much as a whimper on the blog. But don't let that fool you! A lot has happened since my last post - a lovely Christmas with my side of the family (holidays are usually spent this way since most of my in-laws reside out-of-state), followed by trip to Florida on St. Pete Beach, where we rang in the new year (sleeping)... then mid-month we quietly celebrated the first day of the last year of my 30s, but not before my poor little boy came down with a bout of whatever nasty virus is running around this winter, which despite our best efforts (lots of doses of Airborne!) C and I also got to lesser degrees. Last January, C began a new postion in his company, being transferred from a subsidiary to the main company. This year, he has begun a new position within the same company - a great opportunity, but it will be quite challenging and has already required a bit of travel.

Oh, and of course I can't forget to mention the snow... the 2011 blizzard that has kept me and LO holed up in the house for the most part. Luckily, our respective illnesses had pretty much dissipated, so our little fam was able to enjoy a couple of days of fantastically unseasonable weather - 70-plus degrees the last Friday / Saturday in January! I had told myself in preparation for the impending blizzard that this wonderfully spring-like interlude would be enough to recharge my batteries. I had no idea how bad it was going to get.

A mere three days later, we had drifts in our back yard that got up to almost 2 feet (snow that built up in front of the back porch but not on it), and that isn't even the snow that crept up against the north side of our house - I didn't even bother to measure that. The predicted 9-12 inches was in fact almost 20, at least what I could measure. Our schools have been closed since last Tuesday. And unlike cities that are prepared to deal with longer, more brutal winters every year, this kind of snowfall is an anomaly here. No one comes to plow our neighborhood streets. Postal service comes to a halt. Stores get completely depleted of bread, milk, and eggs (and Cheez Its! :-/) in anticipation for most of the city to shut down. And let me tell you, not in my 9.5 years of working there did my former employer ever shut its doors due to inclement weather - and they stayed closed for two days last week! With C gone most of last week on business, I didn't dare venture out in my snow-averse car with no 4WD and sorely wished C's SUV weren't sitting in airport parking (and really, where would we have gone anyway... practically everything in our little city was closed). But it is what it is! And what it is to LO is snow ice cream. :-) He wanted it (again) yesterday, but by then I didn't trust the snow that was left on the ground (after all, I watched a bunny the size of two Christmas hams leave a "present" in our back yard yesterday) and assured him that (unfortunately) we would experience another snow tomorrow (5-8 inches were projected). And this morning the small patches of ground that had just begun to peek out from underneath the melting snow are once again covered. This morning he whined because I wouldn't make him snow ice cream for "breffisk". Currently, there is a glass bowl nestled in the snow catching snowfall for ice cream this afternoon, if he can bear to wait that long!! The phrase "fresh condensed milk" has now taken place in his vocabulary, which makes me smile since sweetened canned milk is, like, the total opposite of fresh. All in all, God has been so good to keep us safe and warm. I can't complain one bit (even though I have! It's the cabin fever talking!!).

Unfortunately, my birthday present (laptop) is not cooperating with me re: downloading pictures, so this post will just be a long, wordy one. I promise my next post will be shorter and have photo or two. And though I have already shared this on Facebook, I'll post it for my family who enjoys reading the occasional "LO-isms":

Each night, LO gets three bedtime stories. On a regular evening, I read two and C reads one. Last night, C was at martial arts practice and wouldn't get home until after LO was in bed. I always read three when C is gone in the evening, but LO always reminds me nonetheless.

LO: You read three books tonight.

Me: When I'm not here, how many does Daddy read?

LO: One.

Me: But why?

LO: Because mens read one book, and old ladies read two.

(Flattery will get you everywhere.)

PS: Happy birthday to my sweet niece, who turns 8 years old today. She is my family's sole February birthday. :-) January was a big birthday month for other lovely members of our family too: C's grandmother, two nieces (one celebrated the big oh-five an, the other celebrated her sweet sixteenth!), and my dad. :-)