Snow Day #3

On Monday morning, I walked in just a sweatshirt and was actually too warm.  It was over 50 degrees before the sun even came up.  Tonight, the temperature is 5 degrees with a wind chill of -16.  Yeah.  Welcome to Iowa.

Yesterday we had a snow day, our third to be exact, but only the first since the New Year.  I'm busy with musical rehearsals, and like always, we can never afford to miss a day.  This morning we had a late start, and that's much more my style in January & February.  If my school day didn't start until 10:00 every day, I'd be the happiest camper alive.  Even just that extra 45 minutes this morning before the alarm went off was a gift.  There's a big difference between 5:45 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. in this night owl's book.

Now I'm procrastinating leaving school.  I need to venture out into the arctic tundra and go home.  Maybe I could just sleep here.

November Gratitude #27 & #28

November 27: It might sound weird, but I'm grateful that I'm an Iowa girl. Some things I love about Iowa:

* my Hawkeyes

* the Iowa State Fair

* having all 4 seasons and loving each one for its own reasons

* the genuine, down-to-earth people

* the bullheadedness that Iowans have that seems say, "We'll do what we think is right, and everyone else can suck it."

* all of my friends could get married here if they so chose

* that most places in the U.S. don't know what a gem we have here

* culture, good food, caring neighbors, simple values... Iowa is a mix of everything good!

November 28: Today I'm grateful for Puska. Andrew's 19 year old cat, Puska, died in his sleep last night, and I'm going to miss him something fierce. As a dog person, I didn't expect that a cat would get under my skin like Puska did. We called him a cog because he was a cat with many dog qualities. I'll never forget how he liked to sit on my lap and how he would come out and greet me with loud meows every time I pulled into Andrew's driveway. He was a very special cat, and he'll be missed. Pets really make life better, don't they?