Snow...

Is cold. And yucky. And slickery.

But, I've otherwise had a great Thanksgiving Break.

I got to go home, which is always a treat. James and Jessica (my brother and his girlfriend) came down on Wednesday and I rode back with them. Thursday was food, family, Tripoley, Dominos, and an insane trip to the Zona Rosa shopping Center from 11 pm to 3 am. (Really good deals from midnight to 3. Like 50-70% off EVERYTHING.) It was cold, and people were CRAZY. Never again. The deals are not worth the amount of trouble it is. Friday was sleeping in, then having my nephew, Sage, for several hours, then shopping with mom. I got 2 new shirts and a new sweater and a digital camera for James and Jessica's Christmas present. With Sage and the next baby (fingers crossed for a girl), it will get plenty of use. Also got my Taco John's fix, a must on any trip home.

Then on Saturday, Hanna and Chris took us to the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert as our Christmas gift. It was awesome. All I could think while I was there was that Bryan has to go see them. He would have been in symphonic rock heaven.

Today has been football, carpet cleaning and hiding from the snow.

This week is Christmas decorating time!!! I cannot wait to get my tree up and my lights strung. I love the whole event. Cocoa and carols and baubles and sparkles. Bring it on, baby!

dreams do come true!

Last school year, Melody came up with the idea that we should write a grant for Smartboards for mine and Charles' classes. Putting our heads together this year, we wrote that grant.

Today, happy visitors came to my room and gave us a check for $6,259 to buy two Smartboards, two projectors, 2 installations and 1 set of interactive response pads!!

We are so excited!

toothbrush confusion

I bought a new toothbrush. It is a Colgate Max Fresh. I bought it for the same reason I have bought every other toothbrush in my life. It was blue and pretty.

However, this toothbrush confuses me.

The front part of the handle is made of a hardish blue gel instead of plastic and has little confetti pieces embedded in it. The package boasts that that part of the handle has a "refreshing mint scent to enhance the brushing experience." When I opened it, I found it really did smell just like minty toothpaste. It is not a bad smell.

But I have to wonder...if I am already brushing my teeth with minty toothpaste, what is the purpose of the scented handle? Wouldn't I already have a "refreshing mint scent" from my toothpaste? Does extra mint smell truly "enhance" my brushing experience?

Truly, no. After you have mint toothpaste on the brush, you cannot even smell that the handle is scented.

So it seems that the handle is meant to be sniffed when you are NOT using toothpaste already. Weird.

I'll keep my new toothbrush, though. Like I said, it's still blue and pretty.

hot TV

The other night as Donald and I were watching The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, a commercial for the new CBS show The Mentalist came on. I mentioned that I thought the guy in it was sexy. Donald was mystified by this comment. But, seriously, I have actually watched The Mentalist, twice, despite my dislike of crime dramas and procedurals. I watch no CSIs, no Law and Orders, no Bones, no Numbers. It's not my thing. I prefer my TV people alive and not cut open. But for the eye candy that is Simon Baker, I've relented on occasion.

I've now decided he has made my Top 10 hot guys list. Since my list from #3-10 is not in a stable order, just a clump of guys I think are hot, I'm not totally sure who he has bumped. I do know it is NOT #1 or #2, as those two spots are firmly claimed and completely stable.

Simon Baker does not hold a candle to #1, the yummy hotness that is my Johnny.





















Or #2, the utterly attractive Taye Diggs. No one has a smile like him.















So, I am still mulling who to bump. But someone is getting the boot.

two things

I've had a couple of random things bouncing off my skull. Neither of them are important, but here they are.

1. The movie Four Christmases. Seriously people. Does ANYONE in the universe think that the adorable, talented Reese Witherspoon would marry the obnoxious, sloppy, vulgar Vince Vaughn? I know, I know, Jennifer Aniston dated him. But she was rebounding off of the loss of Brad and is allowed to make a bad call. But putting Reese and Vince in a movie and asking me to buy that match up? I don't think so.

2. McDonald's Chicken Nuggets. Pay attention people. McDonald's has exacted a "bad math tax" against you. They now have a 4 pc. nugget for $1.00. The 10 pc. is $3.39. The 20 pc. is $6.19. But, you could get 3 of the $1.00 4 pieces and have 12 rather than 10 nuggets for only $3.21. Save 18 cents and get two extra nuggets. Also, you could order 5 of the $1.00 4 pieces for $5.35 instead of 1 20 pc. and save yourself 74 cents on the same amount of food. You are basically paying extra to have fewer boxes, which I guess is better for the environment but kind of dumb for you. Do the math. I'm just saying. (Yes, I know too much about McDonald's nuggets, but it has bothered me for a couple weeks now. Ever since I saw the 4 pc for $1 sign, I wondered if the price of the other sizes went down. They didn't.)

Just curious

Today, they released the secret service "code names" for the Obamas. Barack will be Renegade, Michelle will be Renaissance, Malia is Radiance and Sasha is Rosebud.

But, I have to ask...isn't the point of a "code name" that no one else knows what it is?

What good is a code name that you announce to the whole world?

How will it be any different to say "Renegade is standing too close to the man with the strange duffel bag," than to say "Barack (or President Obama) is standing too close to the man with the strange duffel bag?"

Yeah, I hate cars

We had our car back slightly longer than 48 hours when I left school today. I turned the key and it revved a bit before actually starting.

I went and got gas and started the car to leave, it happened again.

I drove to O'Reilley's and got their free electrical system test.

Bad battery.

$85.00.

I'm kinda pissed.

Plus, I need to actually change the battery and I don't have a socket that fits the bolt, so I have not been able to yet. It still starts, but it takes a few seconds and sometimes 2 tries.

Hopefully I can get it changed before it strands us.

Verdict

Bad fuel pump. Better than the transmission being bad (approx. $2000), worse than it being the alternator (approx $450). Final total will be around $650.

We can swing it, but it will be super tight for the month, since Donald'd final tuition payment comes out this month, also.

Thanks to everyone who has helped us and prayed. You relieved a lot of stress from us!

We should have our car back by closing time tomorrow.

Friends and Kindness

Hanna and Chris have made our lives considerably easier. For the time that our car is out of commission, they are letting us borrow Mithril Rae, Hanna's Intrepid. That means I don't have to take the bus to work each morning or figure out rides home from work for both of us.

Between them and Joey today, we are blessed.

We have great friends and for that we are so tremendously grateful.

Please pray that our car is fixed quickly and inexpensively.

Poor baby car

Today, on our drive home from church, our car started acting funny. The RPMs started going really low, then back to normal and it was acting like it wouldn't let me accelerate. We decided to try to drive it to O'Reilley's and get the free alternator/battery check. The car decided otherwise and stopped entirely on the corner at Sunshine. Some kind men helped Donald push it into a parking lot.

Now, I am immensely grateful that in August I decided to add Alltell Roadside Assistance to our cell phones. They came and towed our poor baby car to Daytona's. This service won't cost us anything, and all because we have been paying $3 per month to have the service. $9 later, we needed it.

Joey came and picked up Donald and took him to work for us.

Now, comes the real challenge. Donald can take the city bus to work as always. (Also, his classes are all cancelled this week because of a conference his instructors are going to, so that is of no concern.) I can take the bus to work, if needed. (I'll have to be on the bus at 6:30 in the morning.) But, he cannot ride it home, as he gets off work so late. I could ride it home some days, but this is parent-teacher conference week and I have to be at school until 7:30 pm each night. The bus to our house only runs til 6pm.

So, we will be relying on the kindness of friends.

Hopefully the problem is quickly fixed. My dad says it sounds like an alternator or fuel pump. I hope it is not a super expensive fix, whatever it is.

I hate car problems.