Monsoons anyone?

OH MY GOODNESS... it's has been raining here for almost three weeks. I can't believe it. I know everyone around here has been doing rain dances for months because for soooo long, there was nothing. NADA! Not a drop.

But stop... PEOPLE... please. Enough!! My grass is knee high I can't even think about wading through the swamp that in now my side yard.

Really? No... SERIOUSLY!!!

We were trying to catch up on painting the outside of the house. The forecast was clear for the first time in DAYS and this happened....

It started POURING rain. For no reason. Except that I had just finished setting up the paints and had half painted the door.

At least someone had some fun.

Dreaming of the Springs

I really do. Dream of Wakulla Springs. The shade trees, the COOOLLDD water, the light breezes. At 9:00pm last night it was still NINETY-THREE DEGREES outside. And at noon today it's... wait for it, wait for it... 97. NINETY-SEVEN.  The high today is suppose to top somewhere around 103 and teamed with, what I'm sure is 183% humidity, there is no where I'd rather be right now than WAKULLA SPRINGS. So now that you're all caught up on the weather...

I hadn't been in about two or three years, so the boys, their girls, and I loaded the coolers and took the 20 minute drive from our house last week (yes it's only 20 minutes, I have no excuses). WHAT JOY!! We got there early so it wasn't very crowded, but it was OH, SO, COLD. I couldn't manage to get in past my waist and even then my legs were numb. But the kids jumped off the high dive, sat in the sun, swam to the floating platform, thawed in the sun until around 2:30pm when it got REALLY crowded and we left.

I'm counting the minutes til I can go back. The boys are in Panama City Beach right now, but I'm thinking Friday. Yep, Friday is the day!!

Don't these make you want to hang out there everyday!!

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet

It's raining. 100%. And I'm sick and it's probably the flu since everyone in my family and a few friends either have it or have had it.

Yay. And since it's raining, I don't mind being sick. It's a good reason to stay inside, curled up in front of the heater, and tucked in my quilts watching the America's Next Top Model marathon on Bravo.

Except. Yeah, there's always an exception to just about everything around here.

The dog. Who becomes so FULL of anxiety when it rains that he will NOT go outside. He stands on the inside of the screen door on the back porch and stares.

And if I force him to go out, he just stands in one place in the muddiest part of the yard and stares, getting all wet, and hoping I will open the door so he can run in the house with his muddy feet and jump in my chair. Every time. You would think that one of us would have learned from this by now.

I'm glad you stopped by... Happy Monday!

Sometimes it's just gray

Normally, when I take a photo, I warm it up in post processing. I adjust the tones, take out the gray, and make it pretty.

But sometimes, when it's been raining and cold for weeks, I realized that you need to just leave it gray. It reflects the moment. The mood. The day.

Makes me appreciate the blue skies and sunlight I know is just around the corner.

Neighborhood Watch

Well, the weather has finally warmed up a little, but it's been raining for days now. And when it's not raining, it' so foggy that I can't see my mailbox. I did hear on the news tonight that December 2010 and January 2011 were in the top 5 for the coldest months EVER in Tallahassee.

Yes, I was aware of that. And I have the electric bill to prove it. I'm pretty sure that my heat didn't turn off for 8 long, cold days in December.

But things are looking up, at least for the next couple of days. And I happen to see this little cutie yesterday in my neighbor's yard, just hangin' out, keepin' an eye on things.

Missed me much?

Yes, I've been MIA for the last few days and I've got lost of excuses why. Here are the top ten:

1. Grocery shopped
2. Had a carpet picnic at Tyler's new apartment
3. Applied to Tallahassee Community College and filled out my FAFSA.
4. Cindy came by for a visit.
5. Saw the Capital City Kingsmen Drumline at their January camp
6. Processed the 300 images I took at the camp (I posted them on FB photo page here)
7. Sold Tyler's jeep.
8. Drove Tyler to look at a T-bird.
9. Drove Tyler to buy a T-bird.
10. Rode with Tyler to have his utilities turned on, change his insurance, registration and title, have his car washed, get a couple of new tires and an oil change.

Excuses not reasons. Ha ha. That was preached to me by my dad when I was younger because I was always late. And I had lots of excuses. 

But that having been said, I must have really been busy because generally I don't sleep that much, not more than 4 or 5 hours a night, and I CRASHED last night about 10:00pm. And slept until 6:30am. Bliss.

That was until I pulled back the covers this morning and the frigid conditions in my house hit me in the face like a ton a bricks. Chance has a small heater in his room and I rushed in and curled up beside it until the shock wore off. Which took about 20 minutes. And then Chance started yelling at me to get in the car and take him to school. Kids, right?

So besides Tyler getting an apartment, selling a car, buying a car, drum camp, and work --and Chance's school days, hanging out with his girlfriend (thanks Cindy), dismantling an xbox, planning his next big project and foaming at the mouth over Tyler's t-bird -- my big news is this...

I'M HEADED BACK TO SCHOOL.

And that's why I've been MIA. Yep. It was a little scary on Monday when I went to take the College Placement Test (scored much better than I thought I would and no remedials for me, btw) to realize that I'm old enough to be most of those kid's MOTHER. And I had to laugh as I maneuvered through the throngs of all those new students who were trying to figure out what had to be done next, just like me. Application. Check. CPT. Check. Financial Aid. Check Check.

I just hung up with enrollment services and I'm all set except for those pesky transcripts, which were sent to TCC on Tuesday by my last school. Now just waiting on them to be posted so I can officially register. Yay! And my schedule should be manageable since I already have a lot of basic classes completed. Double yay!

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you about the new occupant in our house...

photos made with blackberry phone

Chance's sweet girlfriend got him a build-a-bear MONKEY named Scarlett with a recording of her voice in it's left arm. There's a little giggle she made at the end of the recording and it cracks me up every time I hear it. She arranged to leave it on his bed so he'd be surprised when he got back home on Sunday. And boy, was he surprised. The little thing is wearing a Paris shirt with a frilly, black skirt and has this tuft of hair sticking straight up. The MONKEY I mean... not CHANCE.

He had made her one for Christmas and named it Patrick and gave it to her a little early so she would have it for the holidays. Now they have a matching pair, boy and girl, to keep them company. So sweet. :)

And here are a few pics of Ty's new car. The first is of him driving it for the first time and then one of him parked at the utility company. The last one is not of Tyler, but of the squirrel traps on the building of the insurance company. I took it because I've gotta get me some of those. Seriously.

photos made with blackberry phone

I'm off to wait with Tyler at the new place for the utility guy to light the pilot lights. If you are still reading, I do have a little bit of a surprise coming... I'm having a giveaway in honor of 2011 and those who are graduating this year. I have a little soft spot in my heart right now for those that are closing one door and opening another. I'll post the details soon.

I hope your day is joyful and that you are near some source of heat that keeps your hearts (and your hands) warm.

great tallahassee blizzard of 2010

Chance and I left the house this morning because the word on the street {i.e. facebook} was that it was snowing in Tallahassee. We knew it probably wouldn't make it to our house and we didn't want to miss it so we headed north as fast as we could. In our pjs.  

But we only had to go as far as midtown to find the flurries that made my baby squeal like a little girl. Merry Christmas, sweet boy!

brrrr!

Really? Really!

Homemade Hot Chocolate

I made this last night and it was so very yummy! And I always add mini marshmallows to the bottom of the cup before I pour the hot chocolate. So they melt a little. Oh my. So good.

1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
4 c. milk
a bit of vanilla

Combine cocoa, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Heat it on low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the paste from sticking to the pan. After about 1 to 2 minutes, add milk and vanilla. Mix it all together until it is hot.

You're gonna love it.