I've had enough blinding sunshine.

The banner photo is from two years ago. See? We really do get snow here on occasion. Anyway, just some wishful thinking on my part...it might work.

Bring it, Mother Nature

We all have this internal clock that requires it to be light and dark out at appropriate times in order for us to sleep and wake up at normal times of the day. (I know this because I watch Bear Grylls take his clothes off, I mean, attempt to sleep in the Arctic with only two hours of darkness a day.) I think I must also have an internal thermometer which controls what I can and cannot accept as appropriate celebrations in the seasons. 40 degrees out on July 4th? Probably not going to feel like having hot dogs and watching fireworks. 79 degrees and sunny in December? Really not feeling the whole Christmas spirit right now. I don't know how people in Arizona or Florida do it during the holidays.

It warmed up enough today that here it is midnight, and the inside temperature in the house is 73. That's one degree away from when our A/C was kicking on a couple months ago. So while I'm supposed to be Christmas shopping and getting gifts in the mail, instead my body thinks I should be mowing the yard and working on my tan. I don't like being cold and I don't like winter, but I'm realizing I need a little of both to be "feelin' it."

Grin and Bear It

I had to cover my flower beds and window box yesterday with sheets and plastic covers. And our heater is not working. Do these two statements sound reasonable for April? NO! (said in my most evil Amityville Horror voice.) Currently, it's 28 degrees with rain and sleet falling.

By the way, let's recap the past five weeks: broken car, air conditioner, fridge, and now heater. Mother F***er! I don't mind a few things breaking now and then, but how about something small like the toaster or a hair dryer?

Ruidoso, NM

The tourney was fun, and the change in scenery was awesome. Bailey played great, and a couple of parents even commented that she was a critical player for our team. We had the tourney all day Saturday and then went tubing Sunday before heading back home. We had a great time! Click on the pictures for larger views.




The Ruidoso High School gym was really nice.








Bailey and her best friend Marle were so crazy and so much fun to be around.

Alan and I riding the tube lift:

After tubing, the girls just wanted to play in the snow. When Alan joined in, it became a snow fight.

Ruidoso at night was really pretty - they still had Christmas/Winter lights up in Midtown, so it looked very festive. Much more so than showing in this photo:

On the drive back home I had to get a picture of aliens in Roswell:

It was a fun but short trip. Lastly, here's a video of when the four of us hooked together and rode one of the tube runs. (I couldn't get Google to post the video, so hopefully the link will work instead.) http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8053255165352757624

Finally

We take pictures when it snows here, because it melts away as fast as it arrives.

Tiki torch snowcone. Behind it is the little guest house:

Flocked Oleander:

Out my window:

Hunkerin' Down

School's out today and the library's closed, so I've got to find something to read since I will NOT be running around in the cold and could use something to occupy my mind. Plus I finished the book I was reading last week, Drowning Ruth (very good and suspenseful - thanks Elizabeth). All I can find around the house is Brian's Winter, which is the sequel to Hatchet, one I'd recommend for anyone if you didn't already read it in school. So all I need is my coffee, my down blanket, and my spot on the couch.

I just saw one of the Head-On commercials where they complain about how annoying their own commercials are. So it reminded me of another bad one lately - the pregnancy test commercial where they show a PRETEND STREAM OF PEE spraying the indicator. I can't wait for that one to play during dinner.

Winter exists in Midland

So this is Midland this morning. Bailey had three friends spend the night and they bravely stayed in the cold, cold guest house. I was pouring some rock salt on the sidewalk and steps that lead up to the little house and fell flat on my butt.

I may not ever make it out of my pajamas today.