The Ninth Day of Christmas

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

9 hours of daylight
8 Christmas carols
7 guns a-shooting
6 Lewis kisses
5 bags of wings!
4 calling phones
3 final tests
2 Praxis scores
And a mid-Atlantic winter snow storm


Today is the Winter Solstice, meaning it is the shortest day of the year. Strictly speaking, we will have 9 hours and 18 minutes of daylight today, from sunrise to sunset, but I decided it was okay to round down to 9.

According, to Wikipedia, "the Winter Solstice occurs exactly when the earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26'. Though the Winter Solstice lasts an instant in time, the term is also colloquially used like Midwinter to refer to the day on which it occurs. For most people in the high latitudes this is commonly known as the shortest day and the sun's daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest. The seasonal significance of the Winter Solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days. The Winter Solstice is also the shortest day or lowest sun position for people in low latitudes located between the Tropic of Cancer (23°26'N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23°26'S). Depending on the shift of the calendar, the Winter Solistice occurs some time between December 21 and December 22 each year in the Northern Hemisphere, and between June 20 and June 21 in the Southern Hemisphere."

Today, the Winter Solstice officially occurred at 10:47 am.

This is very good news for me. I was getting steadily more depressed as the days got shorter and shorter. I never made it home before the sun went down. Even Sundays have been stinky because we don't get out of church until 5 when the sun has already started to set.

But now the days will be getting longer and longer, a fact that is ever so pleasing to me. I'm a fan of the sun, even if it is bitterly cold outside, which I'm sure it will be again soon. Brr.

The First Day of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

A mid-Atlantic winter snow storm

The conditions outside right now are similar to those that would, in Virginia, close school for a week. Snow was falling for most of the day. Thick, wet snow that accumulates to form slush. Slush is a winter staple out east, although they don't usually get it this early in the season (i.e. before Christmas).

Pros:

-This kind of snow is PERFECT for building snowmen. It sticks together like you wouldn't believe.

-Until (potentially) the middle of the night, the temperature never actually dips below freezing, so driving isn't quite so terrifying.

-It's really easy to clean off a car, and driving through banks of this stuff looks awesome as it sprays off the side.

-Seriously, there would be no school tomorrow if we were in VA.

Cons:

-The slush splashes when you walk through it, gets in your shoes, and promptly melts.

-It is slippery to walk through.

-Virginia driver suck and think they are being cautious, when they really aren't. So driving really is still pretty terrifying.

-If the temperature does dip below freezing, forget about it.

-I live in Utah, so I still have school tomorrow and it's finals.

So that's what the first day of Christmas has brought to me! Memories of winters past. Memories that are in no way associated with Christmas, because it would take the miracle of the century to have a white Christmas in Virginia, but still.

The Little Things In Life

Some good advice I've heard is, especially when times are tough, it's important to enjoy the little things. So here are some little things that I enjoy:

1. Crunching leaves (although I get mad when they are soggy)

2. Tackling Lewis and being astonished every time he is able to stand up with me dead weighting trying to hold him down

3. PB&J or just J sandwiches, pigs in a blanket, Kraft macaroni and cheese, tomato soup and grilled cheese - tastes like childhood! (PS: Lewis, I just thought of what we should have for dinner tonight)

4. Lewis said he likes me cause I'm just as big a dork as him - how true that is!

5. When we walk to school together, even though I am glarey cause it's cold (glarey does not equal grumpy)

6. ESPN Game Day will be in Provo, Utah, at LaVell Edwards Stadium: This. Saturday.

7. One of my classes finished today

8. Last Saturday, we shoot our nephew, Caiden, with Nerf gun darts over and over again while he ran around in circles over and over again

9. Sometimes Lewis starts singing the very song that is in my head - it's weird.

10. Waffles with two different kinds of homemade syrup for Sunday dinner (we have three recipes for syrup now - maple, buttermilk, and blueberry)

11. We tried out a new cookie recipe - straight from the introweb - and it was actually really good - in both dough and cookie form! Thanks, Kitchenaid and internet.

12. Yesterday I figured out why the division of fractions algorithm works (I'm turning into my dear aunt Holli)

13. Google Voice

14. Our insanely comfortable bed, especially when it's cold because I can snuggle up under all the covers (sheets, duvet, and quilt) and make Lewis complain that I hog the bed

15. The smell of Lewis' deodorant and/or cologne

I could go on, but there are probably at least a million little things I could think of that I have started to enjoy more since really taking that advice to heart. At least! It certainly makes life more fun. I like it, anyway.

PC: Politically Correct, Personal Computer, Park City

We're in Park City.

It snowed.

Conference was grood.

Lewis made me pumpkin pie.

We're going to take the Alpine Loop home.

There's a fire in the fireplace.

Austin Collie caught a touchdown in HD.

I'm going to take a snap.

I love life.

How Was YOUR Birthday?

Cause mine was awesome.

Warning: if you don't like me, you probably won't like this post. It's braggy.

On top of the glorious silver Kitchenaid, Lewis gave me season 1 of 30 Rock and a gift card to Shade clothing (which I will be spending today, cause they're having a sale. Or a sell, as they might say. It's a Utah store). Pretty much, my husband is the best husband of all the husbands.

Even school and work were great for my birthday. I only had one class, and it's a really good class. We had a hunger banquet (because my teacher does cool activities like that), and I was part of the second world. Us second worlders got to eat oatmeal with brown sugar and cinnamon. I haven't had oatmeal for years and I remember absolutely loathing it when I was little. Turns out, it's not that bad. It certainly fills you up.

Maybe this is the vicious cycle of oatmeal. Parents give it to their kids, who hate it, and then the kids grow up and discover it's not actually that bad so they decide to give it to their kids because it's easy and nutritious. And the kids hate it, just like the parents did when they were kids.

Anyway, after class I went to work where I was surprised by a bag of mini-Toblerones by my good friend Paul. I love Paul. Thanks, Paul.

Also, my great boss, Jim, gave me a stylish BYU t-shirt. And a coupon for a free Jamba Juice. I have several of those. I haven't had to pay for a Jamba Juice in a long time. It's great!

My fantabulous parents sent me a bunch of cards with animals of Africa on them (all pictures taken by my talented mother, Mom) and some money. I might take that money with me to the mall today when I go to spend my gift card. I could use some new clothes. Thanks, parents! And grandparents, too, for the card from you!

While the gifts were great, the second best part of the day was getting to talk to all my family! My parents and brother called from Kenya, my sister called from Oklahoma, my brother called from Provo, and my other brother texted from Salt Lake City (we're diverse). And that's just my immediate family! I also got a call from my auntie dear in Idaho and boundless facebook love from a bunch of friends and family members. I'm not very good at calling my beloved peeps as often as I should, so I was really grateful they all thought to contact me. Hugs and kisses all around!

The best part of the day, however, was watching BYU beat Utah State. For having only won one game so far this season, Utah State is actually a pretty decent team. It was an awesome game to watch. We had extra room around us, so several of our friends came to watch with us. I really, really, really love football.

When Lewis would tell people that we were going to the game on my birthday, they would get kind of shocked and say something like, wow, that's so nice of your wife letting you go to the game on her birthday. Yeah, right, like I'd rather be anywhere else.

The game was less fun for Lewis. He bet a friend of ours, Matt Tison (a freaking Utah fan), that BYU would win by more than 24 points. Loser buys the winner lunch at Bajio. Well, Lewis thought he had the bet in the bag. We were up 35-10 until 2 seconds left when Utah State scored another touchdown. Sad day for Lewis.

The birthday greatness has just continued today. We got up early to go get two-for-one massages. I'd never had a real massage before. Oh em gee it was so great. I think I'm going to lobby for my future school district to provide massages for its teachers at least once every other week. They need 'em. I just decided.

Later tonight, Andrew is taking me to a movie. We're going to go see "Cloudy, with a Chance of Meatballs." Should be good times.

Speaking of Andrew, he read my blog about the weather from the other day really quickly and gathered from it that I wanted it to snow on my birthday instead of be nice and lovely and warm (PS, Weather, you were delightful yesterday. Thank you). Because of this, he planned to go find me some snow somewhere and surprise me with it after the game. But, he didn't get off work in time. I was really touched that he planned to do that, even though it wasn't actually what I wanted. It's still really sweet. I've got some swell brothers, I do.

Well, this post about my birthday awesomeness is long enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who made it such an amazing day. You're collectively the bomb-diggity.

(PS: did you know that Red Robin'll give you a coupon for a free burger for your birthday? Just sign up online. It's great! Lewis ans his mom and I went and cashed in on that benefit yesterday.)

October, October, October!

It's October! Even though the weather is being less than cooperative, I won't let it get me down because it's October! Do you know what October means?

Pumpkin is in style. That means: Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin carving, pumpkin seeds, and more pumpkin pie!

Tackle Football is on TV, Thursday-Monday.

Lewis warms up my side of the bed when it's cold at night.

Crunchy leaves that you don't have to go out of your way to step on.

My effing birthday. And Evie's! She'll be three tomorrow!

Lots of apple cider and hot chocolate. I need a kettle.

And last but far from least: Halloween. And everything that goes with it.

(Speaking of which, I need costume ideas. I'm going to be doing my practicum during Halloween, and I need ideas for an appropriate costume for the elementary classroom.)

The only downside of October is the fact that it is when it starts to get really cold. I say all the time how much I hate it, but (this is off the record, m'kay?) I actually do appreciate the changing of the seasons, and sort of a little bit like it when it turns cold. Shhh.

To commemorate the blessedness that is October, here is a picture of Lewis, on the night we met (Halloween '07) and Luke, who hosted the party we met at. I mean, how could I not fall for that?


Yeah. I love October.

PS: Everyone should go here to watch the video I made for my technology class, and then validate me. Thanks!

Too Short

Dear Weather,

I would just like to politely point out that it has been less than six months since the last time you snowed.

I saw the weather forecast for the next few days and felt it necessary to point that out to you.

On an unrelated note, Friday is my birthday and my favorite birthdays are the ones with nice, warm, lovely weather.

Love from,

Alyssa

Mobility Photography

The thought occurred to me today that I have a whole slew of random pictures on my phone that I don't really do anything with. I mean, probably the only time I've ever uploaded pictures from my phone to the introwebs (or anywhere) was for the April snowstorm debacle. And I'm sure no one wants to relive that.

But I've got some pretty awesome photos on my phone. Well, they're okay. In any case, I'm going to post them here, mostly because Facebook doesn't offer mobile services for T-mobile (I know, right?).

I've divided them into two categories:

1. Pictures others have taken of themselves.

I leave my phone on my desk alone for ten minutes, and this becomes my wall paper.

Something similar happened here. Although the background offers no clues to this picture's origin.

This next one was from Lewis trying to be cute. Or something. Either way, it was while we were in bed and I did not want my picture taken. That sounds dirty.

I think this one speaks for itself. Clearly, it is the reason I married Lewis.


This is another one that magically appeared as my wallpaper when I left my phone on my desk. I think this one is Lew's caller ID picture now.


And then one of me, that I took right after I got this phone, before I let myself go and also to tell my friends that I finally joined the 21st century and got a camera phone.


2. Pictures of people/things I deemed worthy.

Misprints in the Daily Universe.


Celebrations.

Evie.


Nature.


Weirdies.


And, of course, my own personal sexiness. Like the nightie?


Enjoy!

The Thunder From Down Under

It started on Friday night. It was late, and we were really tired, and we decided to go to bed like normal people. As I was washing my face, however, an earsplitting boom sounded, shaking the whole apartment. Thunder. Lewis was in the bedroom and saw the flash. And then the heavens opened and the rains came tumbling down (the floods, however, did not come up).

Now, as I'm sure you are aware, at least if you've been in Utah for the month of June, or read my blog on June 5th, it's been a wet one. Clouds and rain every day. But not rain, really. Just drizzle. I've been waiting for that day when the cats and the dogs descended from the sky, but nothing. No dice. Until now. Eleven o'clock on a Friday night when Lewis has work in the morning.

So, like the responsible people we are, we ignored the blessed rain, I finished washing my face, and we got into bed.

Yeah, right.

No, we put on some waterproof pants and our ski jackets and took a walk. It was glorious. Lewis got some Gore-Tex pants on Ebay a while back, but he never got the chance to test them out and see how waterproof they really are. He got his chance on this night when he sat in a gutter. And you know what? The pants worked! His bum was completely dry. Word, yo.

Truth time: I am the champion of summer. All things summer are at the top of my list of favorite things to do. Hiking. Camping. Swimming. Playing catch. And how much of that do you think I've been able to do in this weather? We haven't gone on a hike in ages! I will praise the day that the sun pokes her shiny little head out from between the clouds for an extended period of time.

And yet, I can't help but enjoy in when it pours. The mostly drizzle we've been having, I can do without. But thunder and lightening and fat drops slapping on the pavement are things that I just love!

Yesterday, as I was leaving the Home Depot after bringing Lewis his lunch, it started pouring in the way that I like again. It was stormy throughout my whole trip home. When I pulled into our parking spot, I stayed in the car for a little while, lying on my back watching the rain hit the sun roof. It was bliss. There was something very comforting about just lying there in the weather but not really. The only way it could have been better was if Lewis was there with me. After a bit, I got out of the car and ran around Wymount until the rain let up. Another of my favorite things.

The moral of the story is, rain - you're sometimes okay. But if you could be gone by this Thursday, that would be great. We're going camping.

Although something about camping in the rain sounds like fun.

Let Me Hit You With Some Knowledge

Fact: it has been rainy and gloomy and looks like not a desert outside.

Fact: there were lots of puddles and snails and worms on the ground this morning.

Fact: my shoes have holes.

Fact: I didn't discover that my shoes have holes until this morning, amidst all the puddles and snails and worms on the ground.

Fact: squishy socks suck.

In other news, I'm only slightly freaking out because I don't have math homework for the first time since April 28th, and I'm not entirely sure what to do with myself. It's like that gnawing feeling you get when you know you forgot to do something, but you can't for the life of you figure it out. I dislike that feeling greatly.

This semester went by really quickly.

And I've probably never enjoyed a semester more.

What was I thinking, you know, before? I've found myself wondering that more and more. I mean, I've spent five ridiculous years in college, getting close to finishing my degree only to practically start over with a new one. I can't say that I've made bad choices, because I felt really secure with the choices I made, when I made them. But now they seem... pointless.

Maybe I'm just scared to leave school. So maybe becoming a teacher is a really good decision, cause then I'll never have to.

Unless I suck.

I might.

Woooo, what a downer! My apologies, amigos.

As a thank you for plowing through the mundane thoughts that I've thrust upon you, here's a little gem from an amusing story, from ksl.com:

"Orem police got a call that a woman was chasing a man outside with a baseball bat near 1200 North 900 West. It turned out the call was true."

If you'd like to read the whole story (and you should, it's a great one), go here. Apparently, the man was smoking near the woman's children, and she did not like that, not one bit. I believe this story happened like in cartoons with a pleasantly plump woman in an apron chasing a crocodile out of her house, or possibly baby nursery, whacking it with a broom. Except you replace the broom with a bat and the crocodile with a man. Beautiful.

Of course, none of this matters, really. The only thing that matters is the fact that we're only ten clicks away from Disneyland, Lewis.

Banter!

T-storm, Holla!

It's been partly to mostly cloudy all week and the weather forecast has been telling me that we should be getting scattered thunderstorms all day. How awesome would it be to get a thunderstorm a la Virgnia? With the crackling lightening and the booming thunder and the absolutely pouring rain with big, fat drops? I would LOVE that!

Can I get an amen?

Things I Learned at Lagoon

1. Disney has not yet noticed that Lagoon ripped off one of the lines from Pirates of the Caribbean for their Terroride.
2. If you are bleeding from the head profusely, you should sit down.
3. Teenage girls who leave the line right before getting on the free fall Rocket ride will be made fun of by complete strangers.
4. Funnel cake doesn't really change its shape during digestion. Just its color and viscosity.
5. I don't care if Kanye and Paris wear them. Shutter shades are stupid.
6. When you go to check out the pair of tigers Lagoon has in a cage for your viewing pleasure, they roar at each other in a menacing fashion, and almost get into a real cat fight, you will worry when you come back and they are gone.
7. The first aid station gives out band aids with Taz on them.
8. Lagoon really ought to properly train their employees on the credit card machine before leaving them to man the ice cream shoppe on their own.
9. If you are dumb enough to go on the Rattlesnake Rapids in 40 degree weather, you deserve to be shot by a 25 cent water pistol. Lagoon should understand this and make sure their 25 cent water pistols are in good repair.
10. It's rather pathetic when your hands are so cold that you turn mood rings and necklaces black. I could only get my old mood necklace to go black when I put it in the freezer.

Snow Day

Tuesday night Lewis and I enjoyed each other's company listening to the pouring rain with the window open. It was delightful! And also quite relaxing.

Wednesday morning we continued to enjoy the rain as we lay in bed well past the time we should get up.

Wednesday afternoon the rain turned into wet, sticky snow.

Wednesday evening we went over to Lewis' parents' house to watch Flash Gordon with his brother. Throughout the duration of the movie, the snow continued to fall and began to accumulate quite rapidly. By the time we left to go home, the roads were so bad we decided to turn around and go back.

Wednesday night we slept at Lewis' parents' house.

Thursday morning we woke up to a foot of snow on the ground.

Thursday is today, April 16th. Almost a month after the spring equinox.

Whiskey. Tango. Hotel?

Okay, Weather. Fine. You win. Over the past few months I've been trying to tell you how you should behave, only to be met with steadily worsening conditions. Clearly you've been trying to prove a point. I mean, how dare I tell you how to go about your business? It's not my place. I should be bowing down to your magnanimous power, not sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong. I get it now. I've learned my lesson. You win, Weather. You win. Touché.

For my readers' delight, here are some pictures from this morning, taken by my cell phone:

My in-laws' deck at 0700 hours.


The tree in their front yard. Lots of snow and
blossomed trees do not a good combination make.

See those little bits of yellow poking through?
Probably not. This is where my father-in-law
planted his now poor, frozen daffodils.

A slightly more fortunate tree across the street.

And for my own delight, here's an absolutely charming picture of Lewis:

After taking out his contact lenses for the night and
subsequently becoming blind, Lewis discovered that
his dad's eye prescription is quite similar to his own.

In other news, does anyone else find it heartily hilarious that the one day of the school year that could qualify as a snow day under Provo School District standards (a foot after midnight) happened during spring break?

Barbecue

For dinner tonight, we cooked hamburgers over the barbecue. Do you know what that means? I mean, really, do you know what that means? Warm weather and happiness, that's what that means.

I smell like a campfire and I love it. So, so much.

People Who Have Annoyed Me Today

I've been trying to be less annoyed by stupid people. Really, I have. I forgave the person who insisted on taking the elevator down one flight while I was waiting with an overloaded cart of table tents that kept falling off. I decided the girl who filled up her water bottle at such an angle that made the other water fountain inaccessible was simply ignorant. I even refrained from throwing a dirty look at the guy who spat on the ground right in front of me as he walked past. That one was hard to do. It was really gross.

But today, I feel like being annoyed. I have the right, don't I? So, by golly, I'm going to do it! Also, I'm bored and wanted to post a blog.

To the couple making out on the lawn outside the HFAC:
Just because it's a nice day for once and you are technically under a tree doesn't mean it's okay to display that level of PDA. For goodness sake, the tree doesn't even have leaves yet to obscure you from the absolute plethora of people passing by. At least cut it out between classes when half the campus is outside.

To the fourth grader who tried to steal my cell phone:
"I was just playing with it to see if it worked so I could take it down to lost and found," is not a good enough excuse for putting your mangy paws on my phone. Also, I don't believe you.

To the girl who thought it was okay to take off her shoes and socks and leave the socks grossly on the ground in front of her while sitting in a very narrow hallway:
Dirty socks are sick, sick, sick. If you must be barefoot, at least stow the socks out of sight, like neatly inside your shoes or behind your backpack or something. Really, it is a quite narrow hallway and I do not want to be anywhere near your stinky socks. I got enough of that from an old roommate.

To the guy who left a stack of fliers at the front desk for me to put in the table tents:
Just because you told the front desk you scheduled a spot for your fliers with me does not make it true. And just because you left a professional-looking business card with your fliers does not mean I will think I made a mistake. When I said I didn't have room, I meant it.

To the people who made the mistake in the Daily Universe:
Actually, I'm not annoyed with you. Quite the opposite, in fact. Thank you very much for the laugh. Quorum of the Twelve Apostates, indeed!

April Fools Day

I just had an appointment with a first grader. When he saw me, he said, "There's a booger hanging out of your nose. " Since I've been sick, this was entirely plausible, but as I touched my nose to check, he shouted "April fools!" He got me. He got me good.

In other news:

Dear Weather,

I don't know if you noticed, but it's April. Just thought I'd point that out to you, cause judging by the snow and ice I had to remove from my car this morning, you forgot.

Cordially,

Alyssa Young

I'm Trusting You, AccuWeather.com!

I was all set to force my opinion of "lol" on all you devoted blog readers of mine, but then something more pressing happened: it started snowing.

Now, I'm okay with the seasons going where they belong: winter is supposed to last from December to March, I get that. In fact, I downright encourage it. But, Weather, once you start in one direction, you gotta commit. At this time last week, it was 60 freaking degrees outside. I know the old adage, "In like a lion, out like a lamb," but if that's what you're going to do, then that's what you need to do. None of this, in like a lamb, then maybe some more lion, and then I'll think about going back to a lamb or something. Maybe a camel. I mean, really! I do not need this stress!

As any concerned citizen would do, once it started snowing, I decided a check on the weather forecast was in order. AccuWeather.com told me that tomorrow I could expect "Plenty of clouds" with a high of 42. Wednesday should bring "Partly sunny" with a whopping 47 degrees of highness. And for the next fifteen days, it is only supposed to get better. Now, on Sunday, March 15th, there's the possibility of a rain and snow shower, but with a low of 32, I have hope that that won't be too big of a deal. On the 19th and 20th we're supposed to be all the way in the mid-60s. March 22nd has been labeled as a day of "Brilliant sunshine." Similarly, the 23rd has been forecasted to bring "Abundant sunshine" - abundant! Abundant! I want that abundance!

Now, I realize that weather forecasting is a very imprecise science, and that it would be completely irrational for me to be so thoroughly annoyed if it doesn't pan out the way AccuWeather.com says it's supposed to. But I don't care. AccuWeather.com, you will face my wrath if Weather does not deliver. You've been warned.

Let it Snow...Okay That's Enough...No, Really, I Have To Drive in This...

Since I've known Lewis, I've come across many handy tidbits that I didn't know about before. Take for example, Central Bank time and temp. You call some number and a friendly male voice will give you the current time according to the US Naval Observatory's atomic clock (so you know it's correct. They gotsta keep up on their credentials) and the current temperature. And then he announces Provo's only official forecast and a friendly female voice lays it out for you right there on the phone. It's delightful! Since this discovery, time and temp has become a dear friend, making sure I always have the most up-to-date reading of the temporal and weather situations.

Except when they're DEAD WRONG!

On Sunday night at about 8 PM, Lewis and I left his parents house to head home for the evening. The misery of that bitterly cold day (we're talking 9 degrees) was somewhat lightened by the fact that it had just started snowing. Snow can have that effect. It can somehow make everything softer and nicer. However, since we were starting school again the next day, we wanted to find out how much snow to expect so we could plan accordingly for travel purposes. So we called those friendly male and female voices to give us the current time and temp, and also Provo's only official forecast. We were told by that voice that we trust oh-so-much to expect an inch. If that. So that's what we expected.

Monday morning we woke up to this inch. And several of its inchy friends. Great. That'll make driving fun. But at least it wasn't snowing anymore. Lewis decided to give time and temp another chance. Sure, they were wrong the night before, but maybe they just decided to prank us. That's what friends do, right? Just a prank, no one understands that better than us, we still love you and trust you. I mean, an apology would have been nice, it's true, but we're not going to write you off for a tiny joke.

So Lewis called and Provo's only official forecast told us again to expect an inch. If that. At this point, I was a little wary that maybe they did think the same joke would be funny two times in a row, but right at that moment snow was not falling from the sky, so I determined it would be best to trust their judgment of appropriate jokery. Off to school we went.

At approximately 12:45 PM, our fresh inch showed up. At about 1:30 I was suspicious when this "inch" doubled in size. At 4:30, I was ready to give time and temp a piece of my mind. All was forgiven at 7 when it stopped snowing. But at 7:30 it started again.

It's now 6 o'clock PM, the next day. It has not stopped snowing since 7:30 last night, except for a few possible pauses over night while we were all sleeping. And those don't count. But really, it's my fault we got this much snow. You know what they say: fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I had the naivety to trust time and temp when they were so obviously pranking us again. They did nothing wrong, really. They were just trying to be funny. At the end of the day, it's the intent that matters. Not the fact that their little laugh got me soaked up to my kneecaps in my brand new pants or made a pile of snow fall onto the seat of the car when I opened the door or meant I was late for my first day at my internship. Just the intent. It's all good!

Well, tomorrow's Wednesday, and I have to walk 3/4 of a mile to get from my internship to school. I'd better call time and temp to see what I can expect weather-wise. Oh, just an inch? No problem.