I have taken tomorrow off of work for a day off. Not because I have an appointment, not because Ella's sick, and not because I have to drive someone to the airport...just for me. Although I am planning on running many errands tomorrow. I run a lot of errands in the afternoon, but it's completely different with Ella in tow. I can't fully enjoy all of my shopping desires when she's in the cart begging me to take her to see the toys. So, I plan on shopping and also registering Ella for Kindergarten tomorrow. They start the registration early. But I realize that they need to plan for next year.
I can't believe that my baby's old enough to be going to kinder next year! She'll be one of the younger ones, but I wouldn't dream of putting her in preschool again for another year. I think she'd be bored out of her mind! She'll be attending our local elementary school. I'm happy that at some point it will not cost us a thing. Although next year I have to pay to extend her Kinder to all day. It's kind of a sham, but it's cheaper than what I pay now for preschool. Kinder at Willow Creek elementary is only half day, but they have a "kinder enrichment" for parents who need all day. Although I don't really work a full day, her school day would end at 11:45 and there's no way that I could pick her up. Here's a link to Willow Creek on greatschools. It sounds like a great school and we're very excited.
Whit and I have plans to go to the Colorado Symphony on Saturday night. Whit's niece is going to babysit Ella at her house. It's for our own piece of mind that a grown up is present. I know that we probably don't seem like the type to buy tickets to the symphony (although Whit and I are truly music lovers), and we actually didn't buy them. The parents of one of my students play in the Symphony and they had extra tickets. One of the perks of my job. The parents are extremely generous. Extremely. In fact, we have fabulous hockey tickets for next month courtesy of another parent. It's a different parent population than I'm used to, but I can get used to it.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Small Miracles
I have come to believe in miracles during this past year. I suppose that prior to 2010 there were miracles that occurred in my life, but they went virtually unnoticed by me. Of course Ella is the exception, every day with her I'm filled with wonder and awe. Typically, I think that I'm the kind of person who really needs to be slapped in the face to notice anything miraculous. From Whit finding a job, our move, my job, our house there were lots of things that happened to us in 2010 that seem nothing short of a miracle.
Something happened yesterday that was too mysterious to not notice. I lost my wedding ring after my morning errands. I came home from errands and began to clean the house almost immediately in preparation for company. I always put my ring in my pocket when I'm cleaning. ALWAYS. In the middle of the afternoon I realized that I didn't have my ring on, so I reached into my pocket to find it. It wasn't there. I thoroughly checked my pockets. It really wasn't there. I looked in the bedroom, on the floor, basically everywhere. Ella, Leigh and Whit even helped with the search. I continued to check in my pockets, even though I had already checked there multiple times. It was nowhere to be found. Then the prayers began. Ella, Whit, and I all said several prayers. I was very distraught. I knew that it would be nowhere else other than my pockets. I talked to my mom and asked her to pray as well. Towards the end of the evening I was sitting with Whit and Ella at the dining room table. I put my hand in my pocket and there was my ring. I must have checked my pockets (every nook and cranny) at least 20 times. I know that it hadn't been there before. It was an absolute small miracle and a reminder for me that there was something beyond my comprehension at work.
Something happened yesterday that was too mysterious to not notice. I lost my wedding ring after my morning errands. I came home from errands and began to clean the house almost immediately in preparation for company. I always put my ring in my pocket when I'm cleaning. ALWAYS. In the middle of the afternoon I realized that I didn't have my ring on, so I reached into my pocket to find it. It wasn't there. I thoroughly checked my pockets. It really wasn't there. I looked in the bedroom, on the floor, basically everywhere. Ella, Leigh and Whit even helped with the search. I continued to check in my pockets, even though I had already checked there multiple times. It was nowhere to be found. Then the prayers began. Ella, Whit, and I all said several prayers. I was very distraught. I knew that it would be nowhere else other than my pockets. I talked to my mom and asked her to pray as well. Towards the end of the evening I was sitting with Whit and Ella at the dining room table. I put my hand in my pocket and there was my ring. I must have checked my pockets (every nook and cranny) at least 20 times. I know that it hadn't been there before. It was an absolute small miracle and a reminder for me that there was something beyond my comprehension at work.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Snow, Snow, and More Snow
It seems as though we haven't had a reprieve from the snow. It snowed several times last week, all weekend, and again last night. We also are suffering from another arctic blast. Today's high is supposed to only be 10 degrees. It's a bit depressing for me to deal with so much snow. My main issue is driving in it. It hasn't gotten any easier for me, although I sort of know what to expect now. I completely dread it. It's like a pit in my stomach. Whenever it's icy and snowy on the roads, it takes me over an hour to get to work each way. One of the most difficult things is just getting out of our neighborhood. They don't plow the side streets and the snow does pile up. On Sunday Whit had to run an errand and Leigh and I had to push Whit's car up the street because he couldn't get enough traction to move. It was pretty pathetic. I'm sure our neighbors love us!
We're definitely convinced that I need a 4 wheel drive vehicle. I've actually been doing some research because I'm very excited. We're on a tight budget, but this seems to be essential. Especially since I'm the one who drives Ella around. It's just not safe with my car. One of these days it's going to get stuck in the snow. It's only by the grace of God that it hasn't happened yet. Because of our budget, we'll probably buy a used car. We'll probably end up with a Subaru. About half of Colorado residents drive one, there must be a reason. I'm going to finish out this season with my Saturn, but I'll use my summer for searching out a car for next year.
On a side note, our burst pipe was a quick fix by a plumber. It cost less than $150 for him to cut and repair the pipe. We were so lucky that I was home and able to turn off the main water line. Otherwise our damage would have been worse. Our basement probably would have flooded. It would have been a mess. The big news story last week was the large amount of pipes that were bursting all around Denver. So we weren't alone with our dilemma. The plumber told Whit what to do so that it won't happen again. That pipe is really our only risky one because it's in a crawl space and is really exposed to the outside air.
The temps are supposed to warm up (40s and 50s) by the end of the week. Hopefully the snow will give us a little break.
We're definitely convinced that I need a 4 wheel drive vehicle. I've actually been doing some research because I'm very excited. We're on a tight budget, but this seems to be essential. Especially since I'm the one who drives Ella around. It's just not safe with my car. One of these days it's going to get stuck in the snow. It's only by the grace of God that it hasn't happened yet. Because of our budget, we'll probably buy a used car. We'll probably end up with a Subaru. About half of Colorado residents drive one, there must be a reason. I'm going to finish out this season with my Saturn, but I'll use my summer for searching out a car for next year.
On a side note, our burst pipe was a quick fix by a plumber. It cost less than $150 for him to cut and repair the pipe. We were so lucky that I was home and able to turn off the main water line. Otherwise our damage would have been worse. Our basement probably would have flooded. It would have been a mess. The big news story last week was the large amount of pipes that were bursting all around Denver. So we weren't alone with our dilemma. The plumber told Whit what to do so that it won't happen again. That pipe is really our only risky one because it's in a crawl space and is really exposed to the outside air.
The temps are supposed to warm up (40s and 50s) by the end of the week. Hopefully the snow will give us a little break.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Uh Oh!
Well, Leigh and I heard gushing water this afternoon and we found out that one of our pipes had burst. Not good. In fact, the news had been reporting just how busy all of the plumbers would be today due to the fact that many people will have pipes bursting after all of the record low temps and now things are starting to thaw out. The good news is that Leigh and I caught it right away, we put a phone call in to Whit and he told us how to shut the main water line off. Fortunately, we did it pretty quickly. Whit figured out how to turn just that line off, so we have water in the rest of the house now. The plumber is coming tomorrow and we'll see how much it costs. Hopefully not too much. Oh the joys of being a homeowner in a cold climate.
Winter
It's snowing again. The temps have improved though. I'm not sure what the current temp is-maybe about 20. That's a huge improvement from the last couple of days. When I left for work yesterday it was -17 degrees! That's not the windchill, that was the actual temp. I thought that my car was going to stop working because it was so cold. My Saturn actually held it together! Yay Saturn! For a compact, almost 8 year old, inexpensive car, it's actually done quite well (knock on wood). Winter is finally here, it's supposed to snow off and on for the next 5 days or so.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Day Off
Today is the first "snow day" in our household. Most of the schools canceled school for today. Although it's not due to the volume of snow. We only had about 2 inches at most. It's mainly due to the record freezing temps. It's currently -11 degrees right now with a wind chill of -31. I haven't been outside yet, but Whit had to go to work. I was pretty worried about his drive in. It'll be like driving on a skating rink. I'm so glad that I don't have to deal with it though. When I was driving yesterday, I actually had to pull over from the highway because there was so much freezing rain dropping on my windshield that I had a sheet of ice. My car defroster hadn't yet warmed up enough to melt the ice. Poor Ella, she has to contend with Mommy's driving. During the summer I would get lost all the time. Now, my car slides around and the windshield freezes. She is such a trooper.
I'm very grateful for a lot of things today. I'm so glad that we have a well-built house with a working furnace. I'm also so grateful that I can be home safe and not outside or driving around. I'm also grateful that these kinds of temps are a rarity in Colorado and not typical during most winters. If winter temps were always like this, I would not last out here. Things are supposed to improve for us by Thursday. If it's cold again tomorrow, maybe there will be another snow day.
I'm very grateful for a lot of things today. I'm so glad that we have a well-built house with a working furnace. I'm also so grateful that I can be home safe and not outside or driving around. I'm also grateful that these kinds of temps are a rarity in Colorado and not typical during most winters. If winter temps were always like this, I would not last out here. Things are supposed to improve for us by Thursday. If it's cold again tomorrow, maybe there will be another snow day.
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