Woo--a busy weekend. Did some things around the house. I got my hair colored (hide that gray), had the wedding rehearsal and the wedding, and even played some golf. It was a little chilly out there though. Yesterday I had a music rehearsal and then went to a wine-tasting fundraiser. That was fun. It was for the new cardiac wing at the hospital. Some very nice wines.

This morning is so cold! I know it's nothing like what you northerners are having, but it's miserable. If the wind wouldn't blow, it wouldn't be so bad.

Oh I wanted to clear up my wedding coordinator task. I'm just the coordinator at the church. I run the rehearsal, set up the church for the wedding and just make sure the Mass and ceremony go well. I even sing at them if the bride asks. I don't do any of the actual planning.

Busy week ahead, lots of rehearsals at night and proposals at work.

Let me know how you are doing. I heard in Pam's area that it's one of the worst storms ever. Did that storm affect you, too, Susan and Melissa?

Good morning! It's a chilly 10 degrees here this morning. Lisa, the storm did affect us--we had 12+ inches on Saturday. I went out in the morning to get milk and some staples and the rest of the day was spent inside. DH was out 3 times snowblowing trying to keep up. It was not pretty! Yesterday was cold and people were trying to get snow cleared but there are still quite a few sidewalks that haven't been touched.

Pam: I heard your area got dumped on and that schools were closed for a couple of days. Hope you're staying warm!

Lala Hope you were able to get in/out in the storm. I heard the Philly airport was shut down for a bit on Saturday.

Susan: Hope you had a good weekend!

There's more snow in the forecast for us today and then I think we're supposed to get a bit of a reprieve. The driving this morning was treacherous because the roads were icy from the wind blowing. If the temps get up past 15 the road crews will be able to get salt/anti-skid down to help clear the roads. Did anyone catch the new program Numb3rs last night?

Hi Lisa and everyone,

I'm in the cathay pacific lounge waiting for my flight from london to chicago. Lovely as I am the only soul in it and its waaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than the American Lounge which looks like a coco's restaurant on a bad day.

Had a great weekend and didn't eat too much. I'm very tired and have lots of reading to do on my flight. I hope to get it all done before we land in Chicago. The movies suck, so I have a feeling that reading is in the works.

The storm looks terrible and I'm glad I'm going through Chicago. I was only delayed 3.5 hours out of seattle on Thursday, so far this month we have 9 hours of delays.

Sounds like you had a great weekend Lisa! I think miss Susan will be really digging out and then Pam and then Melissa. Be careful ladies.

Okay, I just noticed that I have the dreaded SSSS on my boarding pass, so I better go super early to the gate while they go through my smalls.

Later taters and have a great Monday.

Just to note: according to the British press, today is the most depressing day of the year. I have no idea why because I think its been pretty okay, then again, I refuse to check my work email.

lala

Melissa, that's a lot of snow. Do you agree that it's one of the worst storms in recent years? Was Numbers any good? The premise sounded interesting, but I really don't watch much TV, except for football.

lala, I'm glad you had a good trip. Boo on the delays; they are aggravating. What are you reading--anything you would recommend?

Lala Ewwwww, the dreaded SSSSSS...I'm usually the one when traveling who gets that honor Hope it goes well. At least you won't have to worry about delays in Chicago since the storm is pretty much through that area! They had on the news that they were setting up cots for people. I wonder why they consider today to be a depressing day--maybe because it's gloomy with the winter weather and the letdown after the holidays?

Lisa: It definitely was a big storm--at least it was "fluffy" snow and not the heavy, wet stuff that we sometimes get so it made it easier to clear. It was one of our bigger storms. Numb3rs was interesting in how they used math to figure out where the rapist was positioned. The second show will be on this Friday. I don't usually stay up past 10 and watch TV because that's when I get into trouble (snacking) and I need to get my sleep. Generally I enjoy football, Raymond and Two and a Half Men.

Hi Ladies,

What a weekend. We got about 15 inches of snow but the eastern part of the state and the Cape really got hit...up to 38 inches. Unfortunately DH and I got stranded in it. We were in Springfield which is about 20 miles from where we live and the alternator went on the car. We called AAA and were told the wait would be up to 2 hours for a tow truck. The storm began around 2 pm and we got stuck around 4 pm but the snow developed so quickly and it was so cold. The truck finally came after an hour and 40 minutes but by then I was absolutely freezing. The temp with the wind chill was in the negative numbers. Once we got home, we were fortunate and only lost power for a brief period on Saturday night. I didn't venture out for the rest of the weekend.

Lisa this storm/blizzard was huge. We still haven't finished shovelling off the deck which is completely buried. The worse part was the extremely frigid temps and the wind.

Melissa I wanted to watch Numb3rs but fell asleep. I will try and tune in on Friday. Are you an Eagles or Steelers fan? I'm not a big football fan but I did watch the Patriots/Steelers game. I was thinking the Super Bowl was next weekend but it's not until 2/6.

Lala I certainly find the middle to end of January the most depressing time of the year. The weather is at it's coldest and the end of winter still isn't in site. Tomorrow is DH's 48th birthday so we'll try and do something festive to brighten things up. Glad the yucky weather didn't cause too many delays for you. Sorry about the SSSS ...bummer.

Hi to Susan hope all is well and you're not too buried in the white stuff.

Well back to work. This will be a short work week for me. My DD has doctor's appointments on Thursday and Friday. She was suppose to have surgery in December but it was postponed to February 22nd...so lots of doctor's appointments until then. Talk to you all later.

Had a quiet evening at home last night. That was good as I have songs to learn and lines to memorize for my upcoming shows. Our temps are slowly getting back to normal.

Pam, what a scary story. I'm glad AAA came through for you. I dropped them years ago because they left me stranded (albeit not in snow) in pouring rain for over three hours. 38 inches of snow! That is a bunch. Stay warm. I hope your daughter is going to be all right.

Melissa, the fluffy stuff isn't too bad, but it's still cold.

lala, I hope you made it home safely.

Hi, Susan.

Re: the Super Bowl, I guess I need to root for the Eagles as they're the underdog (sorry, Pam).

Good morning! Well, the temps here are warming up to a balmy 32 today--it's already 27 so it feels considerably warmer than yesterday's 7 when I came into work. There's more snow in the forecast but it shouldn't bring too much accumulation.

Pam: Glad you were able to get your car fixed--DS got stranded last year and waited 3 hours for AAA; the hard part is that they service so many people and when the weather is bad the wait is longer. We didn't get as much snow as you but we're still digging out. I was surprised to see this morning that the plows hadn't gotten the street where I work done; you can't park at a meter because the snow is so high! I enjoy watching football--my team is the Browns but I'll be rooting for the Eagles since they're the underdog. DS #1 is a Packer fan and DH is a Raider fan.

Lisa: DS #2 had a basketball game last evening so we had to go out; it's fun watching 8th graders play and he started last night I had planned on going to bed early last night but ended up watching Medium again.

Hi to Susan, Lala!

Well good morning everyone. Back to work after another unexpected Monday off. If this keeps up, a five-day work week will be a thing of the past!

It's been an interesting 7 days. Two Sunday blizzards and a run-of-the-mill snowstorm on Thursday that also shut things down early and made driving treacherous. In all, I think we got about three feet of snow - the same amount that fell during White Juan last year, the difference being that it was over the course of a week instead of one day. Schools are closed again today; the sidewalks are rough and still too dangerous for the kids.

Saw Hotel Rwanda on Saturday nite with my sister. Overall it was pretty good, but Nick Nolte did a miserable job of portraying Gen. Romeo Dallaire who tried desperately to get the UN and the world to pay attention at the height of the genocide. Nolte plays him as a blundering idiot IMO.

Good news on the weight-loss front: despite two nites of pigging out on sweets, I managed to lose 1/2 a pound, bring the total to five since the start of January. I'd dearly love to lose another five pounds before we leave next week but I know that's not reasonable. I'd be very happy with 3 and content with 2

Melissa: I used our snowblower for the first time yesterday; my arms and shoulders are quite sore today. I'm afraid I've underestimated the effort it takes and will never again take DH's hard work for granted.

Pam: Happy to hear you're safe and sound after that experience. The wind that accompanied this storm was wicked. After we got the deck and driveway cleared yesterday, we spent an hour in our friends' hottub. It was weird cause the wind was still strong. Our hair was frozen but the rest of us was toasty warm!

lala: I take it that SSSS on the boarding pass means you're targeted for closer security inspection? We need to know these things as we're travelling via Northwest out of Boston next week to Thailand. As "foreigners", we always get nailed with the extra attention - at least we did the last time we were in Hawaii.

Lisa: It's funny to hear you gals talk about football. Of all the team sports, that one is the most mysterious and least interesting to me. I used to watch hockey but quit when the league expanded past the 12-team mark. Now that's showing my age

Started pulling together some clothes for my trip on the weekend. Beyond 4 bathing suits, what else should I take??

Susan

Regarding Jan. 24th being the most depressing of the year - here are the reasons they gave on the radio yesterday:

1. It's a month after Christmas and the bills are arriving.
2. It's cold/snowy etc.
3. Most people have "failed" in terms of their new year's resolutions.

I'm happy to report that I'm only experiencing #2. Fortunately, I have accepted the fact that I live in Canada, that Canada gets winter and that, eventually, this too shall pass.

Susan: Great job on the loss!! I'd check the weather forecast for Thailand and go from there on what to pack. Definitely sunscreen and aloe gel in case of a burn.

I caught the evening news last night and they did a piece on the 24th being the most "depressing" day...I have to admit it's a long stretch until the next holiday for us but like Susan, I have to agree #2 is my nemesis these days. At least the days are getting longer and it's not dark when I'm leaving work.

Hi everyone,

Sounds like everyone is still digging out, sounds awful. Here's to thinking that soon we'll be complaining about hot weather and mowing the lawn.

Susan -- fantastic losses! If you have time, I would check out the lonely planet website and the thorn tree message board for thailand. They have good things posted. I would say pack basics and accessorize. I believe in minimalist packing. I think I wore everything I brought for london except one pair of yoga pants (capri and my tennis shoes -- wore my danksos everywhere). I would also bring sunscreen and mosquito repellent and a really good bunch of books.

Pam -- I am hoping everything goes well with DD. I think the waiting is the hardest part. Did you get the alternator fixed? I have triple A and use it at least once a year. I even used it to get my neighbor a tow. Losing the power sounds so great until you realize you have also lost your water and heat. Defective I say.

Melissa -- I am the SSSS queen when I fly out of Heathrow, Never gatwick. Go figure. It wasn't bad. I presented myself earlier than I would to the boarding area (they usually announce in the lounge when boarding is and we all trundle over there), but I wanted to give extra time for the excessive fondling of my smalls. I believe my next flight will be out of heathrow, bummer. It was interesting, I didn't buy a thing at the airport. Not even a stinking magazine. Very strange. I usually buy lots of magazines and newspapers to read. I didn't and then was quite happy to have a lighter bag on the way off the plane. The guy sitting next to me got up and moved to the middle section so I had the seat next to me empty. It was a lovely empty flight. The food was even decent. I had a chicken breast on spinach with rice and some salsa and it wasn't greasy like usual.

Lisa -- I am supposed to be reading the known world for my book club and I just finished the The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and really liked it. I'm in the middle of reading some obscure architectural theory, which I will not recommend.

I will post a short trip report, it wasn't all that interesting, but nice to get away.

Well, back to work. I will say, that I am feeling blue, but not yesterday. I had a nice putter through Kensington Gardens and enjoyed walking around a less hectic london for part of the morning... However. my credit card bills were high last month, but they'll still get paid off and so I didn't stick to all my resolutions. There is always chinese new year, hmong new year, persian new year left.

lala

Hi Ladies,

I'm trying to post and every 2 minutes I'm getting an instant message from one of my daughter's friends who is on-line. I'm kind of amazed how kids can keep conversations going with all of their friends at the same time via instant messages. I get so distracted.

Well today was all about more car trouble. When the garage opened yesterday morning the mechanic said it was the battery and not the alternator. They put a new battery in and that should have been the end of the problem. Today while John is driving to work the check battery light comes on. He makes it back to the garage, they look at the car and decide it's a "bigger" problem than just the battery. Unfortunately, they were so backlogged with cars being towed in because of the extreme cold weather we're having they couldn't work on John's car today but will first thing tomorrow. So, today and tomorrow we are going to have to survive with just one vehicle which is going to be difficult. Honestly you don't realize how dependent you are on your vehicle until you don't have it for a period of time.

Melissa I enjoy watching kids play basketball. My son was a pretty good player. He started when he was in 4th grade and continued to play through high school. Good for your son for "starting". What position does he play?

Lisa good luck with the songs and learning your lines. I'm kind of rooting for the underdogs too.

Susan you are doing so well with the weight loss. 5 pounds is a very nice loss. I can't believe it's almost time for your trip already!
Hotel Rwanda is a movie I would like to see also. I think I heard that Don Cheadle was nominated for an Oscar for his role in that movie.

Lala yes waiting is definitely the hardest part. I will be very happy when the surgery and recovery period is over. Lauren is not nervous about it all...I tend to worry enough for everyone in our family.

Well ladies it's getting late and I should get some sleep since I'll be waking up earlier than usual to carpool to work with DH in the morning. Talk to you later.

Hi ladies. It will be warmer here today (I won't say anymore about that). I want to get two proposals out in the next couple days. Then I can relax a little. Tonight is a rehearsal for the Shakespearean event I'm in (Sonnets and Chocolates). Yesterday I overdid it on sweets--today is another day.

Susan, woo-hoo on the loss. You are on the right track. As far as your trip, I agree with lala. Pack light; that way you can buy things. : ) I hadn't heard all of that stuff about the most depressing day; interesting.

lala, I'm glad your trip went well. Wow! An empty seat next to you. That rarely happens anymore. Thanks for the book recommendations. I'm reading a Robert Parker mystery.

Melissa, I hope it's warming up there.

Pam, so sorry about your car. You are so right; we don't know how much we depend on our vehicles. DH and I had to use one car last year for almost a week. That was a pain. I hope DD is doing all right.

I can't believe it is snowing here again. We've already got another 6 inches on top of the 15 we got on Saturday! All the schools are cancelled again... I really hate winter.
I'm hoping it doesn't snow on Saturday. DH and I are going to NY to see the Broadway show "Wicked". We love spending the day in the city and it is his birthday present this year.
Hope you are all well. Melissa I think it may be snowing out your way too. Have a great day..I may be back later.