The best Christmas present ever!

Dad arrived on Wednesday night and we are loving him being here, especially Ned who just cuddles up to him like he has been around him forever. We went to Ned's Christmas party at kindergarten yesterday and helped him make a reindeer hat and he insisted on wearing it when we went out for lunch! Grandpa even painted the red nose on him to complete the look!

Looks are deceiving

Is this not the face of an angel:

No, this is the face of my five year old who had to go to the Principal's Office yesterday! My child, who is in kindergarten, would not do as he was told so was sent to the Principal and had to sit in time out there.

I don't know where he gets it from, I'm sure!

Waiting for a special Christmas visitor

And no, it is not Santa! My dad arrives on Wednesday from England and is due to stay until New Year's Day, however the airline he is flying with goes on strike next week so who knows how long he will be here for!

It's kind of bittersweet him coming, I am so excited to see him and he hasn't been to America in 5 years. But this will be his first trip without my mom, and this will be our first Christmas without her. It will also, as my sister reminded me, be the first Christmas in a long time where there hasn't been an argument! Not that I was always there for those joyous events, but I sometimes somehow became involved just by being on the other end of the phone! My mom always wanted Christmas to be perfect, it had to run on her schedule and she didn't always tell you what the schedule was, but she expected you to know it. If she forgot to do something, she would be annoyed that you had not thought of it and then the day would be ruined in her eyes because of one minor detail that did not go to plan.

So there are no schedules this year, no plans for anything exciting, just hanging out and relaxing which is exactly what my dad needs. And of course, plenty of alcohol! I introduced him to martinis last year and he became a fan, so we will be drinking ourselves silly I am sure.

And of course, giving a little toast to my mom, because even though we disliked her schedules and the arguments at Christmas, it just won't be the same without her.

Winter Wonderland

Last Sunday it snowed. It snowed so much that schools were cancelled and for the first time since 1997, my campus closed. The roads have been awful, the weather has been freezing so the snow hasn't melted. And last night we had some more. And today we have had more. And it is still snowing now!

In my 8 years in Northern Nevada, I have not ever seen as much snow as I am seeing right now. In fact, I many not have seen this much snow in all my life! And I am annoyed it is a weekend because by Monday, you know that the campus will be open and I will have to go to work! Damn it!

Ned got to sled with the neighborhood kids at an empty lot down the street, while me and another mom made lunch and had martinis - the only way to spend a snow day!

These are pictures from last week - I will take more tomorrow!

Get me some cheese!

I haven't blogged for ages and now I am going to whine. Although no one will probably read it because I think that all my blog friends have become completely fed up with the fact that I don't post and have moved on!

We have had a tremendous amount of snow this week and the roads are so bad. While driving today, my car started to shake and it is either my alignment, or my tires, or both. I had a lot of work done in July which included new tires and an alignment, and now crappy Tires Plus told me that there was only a 3 month warranty on the alignment. $75 and only 3 months? I know that they didn't tell me that because I never would have gone for anything less than 12 months. And because I was so totally fed up and told them to shove it more or less over the phone, I now have to go to a different Tires Plus tomorrow to have them check it over in case it is just the tires/balancing, because they are under warranty.

Stupid snow. Stupid Tires Plus. Stupid tires that do not work in the snow!

Did I mention we have a storm coming in tonight and tomorrow night so there should be more snow? The only thing that will make me feel better right now is that we have so much snow that they close my work again like they did Monday. Fingers crossed for a snow day!