little moments

A couple weeks ago Doug went out to shovel the sidewalk and porch.

These two goofballs thought it would be fun to watch him.

Yep, my front door is filthy.

But you know who doesn't care? 

These two buddies who just want to watch their favorite person take care of his family.

I am unbelievably blessed.

i hate to say it, but...

Told you so. 

Just a little "Happy Valentine's Day, suckers!" from Mother Nature.

days like today...

... when it's nearly 8pm and it's still 52 degrees, almost make me forget that it's February in Michigan and it was, oh, -8 degrees (NEGATIVE EIGHT DEGREES) last week. 

It was so pleasant that I went for a walk in just a sweatshirt. Um, and jeans. Just to clarify.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go remind myself that February's not even half over, which means we've probably got at least 2 more good snowstorms ahead, and then drown my sorrows in a bowl of ice cream.

& so it begins...

drive slow, homie.

So I started my new job on Monday, and I didn't have to go in until 10:00am because I had to meet with HR to wrap up a few loose ends. The drive took just about 20 minutes. Tuesday morning I had to be there at 8:00am... and it took me about 45 minutes. A little ridiculous, if you ask me. SO, Doug & I got creative and figured out a much easier way for me to get to work. I started out this morning with my Google directions, very confident about the decision to avoid the freeways.

Here is the email I sent Doug upon arrival at work:
"The commute would have been considerably more fun, had Hines Dr. not been CLOSED after Middlebelt because of water over the road! Thankfully, I'm not as dumb as I sometimes act, and just hopped on Merriman until it met Warren, and just took Warren the rest of the way. I did have a panicky moment, when I was like, "Does Warren Rd turn into Warren Ave?!" But thankfully, you didn't delete the map on the directions like I always do, so I was comforted when I saw that yes, in fact, Warren Rd DOES turn into Warren Ave. Also, I almost rear ended someone... hard, because I was looking at the map, and didn't realize that someone was sitting at a green light, so I had to SLAM my brakes on. Like, to the point of tires squealing... if our tires were still in good enough shape to squeal, that is. They more... "squawked," I suppose.

Anyway, it is faster than waiting for 10 minutes on the on-ramp to 39. And less stressful... unless your face is almost in someone's trunk."

I did make it to work safely, despite the obstacles I had to overcome... and amazingly, it only took about 25 minutes.

I figured the drive home from work would be much better, because I already knew where the roads were closed, and I also wouldn't be worried about making it to work on time. So, I was feeling pretty confident and excited about a shorter drive home. Well, until about 3:00, when I started hearing some weird noises against the window. Which turned out to be hail. Around 4:00, it was sort of hailing and sort of snowing and sort of sleeting. Basically, it was just miserable outside. At 4:30, an administrator came upstairs and told us all to go home. I'm pretty sure the fastest I went on the way home was 30 mph. Soooo it ended up taking me 45 minutes to get home.

Maybe tomorrow I'll have a normal commute?