New Year's Eve!!

Time to resolve! Or not...

Your New Year's Resolutions

1) Get a pet skunk 2) Eat more cotton candy 3) Travel to Costa Rica 4) Study abnormal psychology 5) Get in shape with pilates

What Should Your New Year's Resolution Be?

Okaaaaay. Number 1 is *not* going to happen. Nope - no way...

Number 2? Well, why?? Not a huge fan of the stuff, to be honest. Pink and sticky?? Not my thing...

Number 3? Oh yeah - I would totally do that.

Number 4?? Again with the why?? Crazy is as crazy does. Sometimes you just have to cross the street and stay away from it.

And number 5?? Well, we shall see... Do they have that on the Wii Fit??

Happy New Year!!

Are we there yet???

Mondays.

Sometimes they just go on and on and on... And then lop over into Tuesdays.

I think that's where we are headed...

Yeesh.

A few pictures...

I call this one Lake D'Rich...

(Taken this morning - yay rain?? Yeesh.)

Neighborhood Watch...
Molly's got herself a job.

Experiments with puff pastry...


Ham and Gruyere - this was delish! I see more puff pastry in my future... Oh yeah.

Blue Dog Snowy Face...
She's old but still likes to play in the white stuff. :)

And last but not least - Joy...

Because... Well, just because.

Merry Christmas!

Remember to indulge your silly side too...



And the reason for the season...



I bid you all warm wishes and peace. Above all... peace.

Merry Christmas. :)

Okay - so my house smells like melted chocolate...

And Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is on TV.

Good planning?? Or coincidence??


Okay - totally coincidence... But still! It's nice!!

And I have more powdered sugar to sprinkle...

Naughty or nice??

And there you have it!

You Were Nice This Year

You Were 40% Naughty, 60% Nice Okay, so you weren't *entirely* nice this year But Santa doesn't expect a modern girl to be perfect You were good enough - and you'll be rewarded for it.

Were You a Naughty Girl or Nice Girl this Year?

Well thank heavens! No coal for me this year... Though Tammi was much much nicer than me - I hope she gets what she wants this Christmas... :)

Tunes to be snowed in to!

Provided by a very talented friend of mine from way way back...

Ages ago I posted a little story about my long nights working the graveyard shift at the just off campus Mini Mart - and about the best date asking I was ever on the receiving end of...

Lo and behold (via the magic of the interwebs and search engines) the guy that did that date asking came across my post and contacted me. Could have knocked me over with a feather - I'll tell you... But it was nice!

Even nicer is that he continues to play beautifully and has something fun up on you tube today! Suits my tempo today perfectly!!
Check it --->


And if you are in the mood for something with a bit more holiday flavor, he's got that going on too... (And I have a new you tube subscription - oh yeah...)


Excellent tunes to be snowed in to - thanks Jonathon! :)

Yes! Yes I do!

You Know a Lot About Christmas

You got 9/10 correct You know tons about the history and traditions surrounding Christmas. When you celebrate the holidays, you never forget their true meaning - or all the little fun details. Random Christmas fact: Thomas Edison has the first Christmas lights, three years after he invented the electric lightbulb.

How Much Do You Know About Christmas?

Time to get back to the prep! :)

Digging out...

Yup - that going to be *my* day...

Though it was funny when little miss Molly took a leap out of the back door this morning and disappeared from sight into the fresh powder (about 3 feet of it).

She swam around in a little circle, popped her very snowy head up and looked at me with a classic WTF?!? face. Poor vertically challenged baby...

She didn't have nearly as much fun as this pup!


Heh. Now that's a romp. :)

h/t Leslie and Loretta and Dal

The sun is shining...

...the winds are calm...

And they are already closing schools - for tomorrow.

Issued by The National Weather Service
Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI
10:54 am CST, Thu., Dec. 18, 2008

... WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 12 PM CST FRIDAY...

THE WINTER STORM WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 12 PM CST FRIDAY.

A WINTER STORM WILL GATHER STRENGTH OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON... THEN TRACK ACROSS NORTHERN MISSOURI... REACHING NORTHERN INDIANA BY FRIDAY MORNING. WIDESPREAD SNOW WILL DEVELOP THIS EVENING AND BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. THE SNOW WILL TAPER OFF LATE FRIDAY MORNING.

SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 7 TO 11 INCHES ARE EXPECTED... WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE... WHICH WOULD RESULT IN SNOWFALL RATES EXCEEDING 2 INCHES AN HOUR.

IN ADDITION TO THE HEAVY SNOW... STRENGTHENING EAST TO NORTHEAST WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH... WITH GUSTS TO 30 MPH... WILL PRODUCE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IN OPEN AREAS THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING.

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW IS ISSUED WHEN HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED TO COMBINE WITH STRONG WINDS OF 25 MPH OR MORE TO CAUSE MAJOR IMPACTS TO COMMERCE AND SOCIETY. TRAVEL WILL BECOME DANGEROUS THURSDAY NIGHT... AND WILL BE STRONGLY DISCOURAGED.

This might get interesting...

And of course I am supposed to travel tomorrow - not terribly far, but still. Country Roads with blowing snow will be waaaaay worse than this.

Yikes.

Packages sent - knuckles cracked...

...'tis the season to be sure!

So at least I am beginning to catch up with myself... Now there are just cards to send and umpteen *more* batches of treats to be made -for local friends (I am looking at you Dave...) ; ) And that's okay...

At least round one (the sending) is done. And that is something to celebrate.

Also - a "Please Mom - I NEED a Santa hat for tomorrow!! It's pajama day!!" request was filled in fairly short order. (Side note: Yeah riiiiiight - because you wear a pointy red and white tufted hat to bed every night. Totally need the Santa hat for pajama day...) Got it.

Snark in check - for now at least.

Watched the Muppet Christmas special tonight - new! And cute!! And maybe the Christmas spirit will find me at last... One can hope, if nothing else...

Hey Santa? Could I get a "self driving" snowblower please?? That would be great.... 8 - 12 inches expected tomorrow - you know?? K. Thx.

I am tough, apparently...

Richmond. Stronger than Pain.

That pretty much sums you up!

The Slogan Generator

Well, alrighty then...

Hat tip to Mrs. Who

You know it's cold out when....

You go to let the dogs out and discover that the sliding glass door going to the back yard is frozen shut.

No kidding - I had to go all Hercules on the thing to get it open. Good grief...

In other news...

Well, to be honest, I don't really have any other news. Seriously. I am just trying to get all of my ducks in a row and treats made for Christmas. Between all of that and the normal everyday stuff I am just plain busy. With some busy sauce.

But at least I got a gazillion peanut butter balls made yesterday. Today's task?? Snickerdoodles. They are my absolute favorite cookie. Mmmmmm....

So anyhoo - just for fun I took this quiz. Because really, why not??

Your Spiritual Number is Six

You bring communication and empathy into people's lives. You are very open and understanding. You can accept difficult people. Right now, your life is about being understood. You have trouble with your own vulnerability. You end up playing the role of therapist in relationships, and it's hard to get people to ask about you. You will take time out for those you love, even if you don't have much time. You can't help but be nurturing. You are very responsible and ethical. You deliver on your promises.

What's Your Spiritual Number?

Is it weird that these quizzes keep getting it right?? Seriously - this is creepy accurate...

Stay warm out there!!

More Christmas funny...

Seriously... Is anyone else reminded of the UAW at all?? Poor Santa... He needs to restructure.

Snowy Lovin'...

Heh. ; )

Just for the record...

I *hate* Eggnog...

You Are Eggnog

Rich, sweet, and probably a little drunk. Everyone who knows you tends to get a little fatter.

What Holiday Food Are You?

Though one could write the sentence: "Rich is sweet and probably a little drunk. Everyone who knows her tends to get a little fatter."

And *that* would be true. So maybe this quiz is spot on after all... ;)

Found via Mrs. Who.

Snow Day.

I think I will have one too!

: )

It must be close to Christmas...

Not that the drifts outside aren't a subtle clue - but I have eight pounds of butter in the fridge right now...

Mmmmmm... Butter. It makes lots of things yummy. Toffee anyone?? Oh yeah....

If you need me I'll be in the kitchen...

Snow Fun!

So what do you do with oodles and scads of snow when you have a friend over??

You start to build a fort, of course!
Sporta and her buddy tried to find a way to do some sledding, but alas - no good hills are nearby. They experimented a bit with rope + sled + bike but that didn't work out as well as they might have liked...

The solution?? You get your sister to bury you! They assured me it was fun...
I will take their word on that one...

And me?? Happy to be indoors. I already did my time with the snowblower today. That was plenty.

And yes - I made hot chocolate. There are traditions to be followed, you know??

And now for the daily adrenaline rush......

Alternate title: Holy crap - I am a dumbass!!

Just as I got home today pulling into the garage I was formulating my plan to unload groceries. I parked, shut off my car, and looked over to grab my purse.

No purse.

Got out to see if I had put it in the back of my rig with the groceries....

No purse.

SHIT!!!

Fortunately, I live pretty close to the store so I knew I could be back there in short order. So I scrambled back to Wally World to see if it was maybe still in the cart...

No purse.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I ran into the store, cut through the customer service line and got right in front of this bored looking CS gal. "Excuse me? Did someone just turn in a red purse in the style of a small back pack??"

Blank. Stare.

(Internally) AIIIIIEIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

And then she motioned to another chicky and said - "She's here - will you get it?"

WHEW!! And all of the other folks in the Customer Service line celebrated with me...

They had it locked up. THANK GOD!! And nothing missing!

'Course I am the dumbass that left it. Thank God I live in podunk Wisconsin where people are still fairly honest - if for no other reason to save my from myself!!

And thank heavens for for the generous soul who saw my bag and thought to return it rather than see what it could yield.

Does think this means my karma is a-okay?? Or do I owe the karma gods big??

I think I will hedge my bets.... And try to lower my heart rate.

Oh the weather outside....

*IS* frightful.

And just because I can - for the curious or uninitiated (Christina and Pamibe come to mind) - here was part of my commute to work today...

Lovely, eh?

So I thought maybe some Christmas music might help...


It didn't. **sigh**

And just for the record - this really isn't a bad storm at all. We will only get maybe 4 inches or so... Either way, buckle up kids! And remember to pump your brakes - it's slick out there!!

Now I have a date with a shovel... Bleh.

Decorating...

Hark!! The stoner shepard boy returneth!

Miss Molly is supervising, of course...

She's a taskmaster, that one... ; )

Christmas here we come!!