Wordless Wednesday

The only problem with 2010 is January seems to be here again.  I asked Santa for one thing, only one thing the big guy had to deliver.  I simply wanted 2010 to forget about January and start on February first.  I must have been on the naughty list this year because I woke up yesterday to January.  It’s the month that won’t end.  A never ending month where we get sunlight for only two hours a day.  We have already had at least a week and a half of this month and yet the stupid calendar still shows January 2nd.  Forget advent calendars in December, we need one for this God forsaken month.  I totally deserve a little piece of chocolate for making it through yet another January day. 

It doesn’t help matters that my darling loving wonderful boyfriend is on a cruise IN THE BAHAMAS while I am stuck here in the frozen tundra.  (His close friend is getting married on the cruise and everything was planned and paid for before I came into the picture…I’m happy for him.  Really.  So.  Very.  Happy.)

It’s so *&$@(!&  cold that Wisconsin makes Siberia look downright balmy.  The high today is 4.  No I didn’t miss a digit.  Just 4 degrees. The high.

I had to take Ben outside because keeping a bored Ben inside the house for too long is like keeping 20 puppies held captive in a small closet filled with crystal glasses.  In the past couple days he has taken to making snow angels in our carpet and setting up a hockey rink in the living room.  His Star Wars Light Saber is the hockey stick with an old ping pong ball as the puck.  I’m going so completely insane that if school wasn’t starting again in a couple of days, you’d see an ad up on Craigslist for a 9 year old boy in the “Free For The Asking” section.  So my point, which I almost completely lost, is that we were out in the elements for maybe 20 minutes today and by the time we came back in my face, earlobes and toes were icicles.  Cabin fever much?

The only thing that is keeping me going in these first couple weeks of January (WHAT??! It’s still only the 2nd?  ARE YOU FRICKIN’ KIDDING ME!?)  is copious amounts of left over Christmas candy (I’m working on a petition so the FDA will give caramels a spot on the food pyramid) and Cupcake ’10 bloggy conference that is coming up this weekend.  If candy, fellow awesome blogger ladies and Matt coming home with a kick ass tan doesn’t help, I’m a goner. 

So here’s to the new year!  To a great 2010!  To January!  And to not giving in and hibernating until April.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Therefore, I wasn’t too shocked.  But because last night was the first time I turned the air on in my new place, I worried that I blew a fuse. I do love my apartment something fierce, but the old girl, well she isn’t the newest building on the block. When I moved the little switch to “cool on” it made a noise similar to that of a propeller airplane. The noise didn’t bother me because at the time I was so hot and sticky, I could listen to nails on a chalkboard just as long as I was cool.

But there in the dark and the silence, my addled-middle-of-the-night-mind went on overdrive. Did I really blow a fuse? If so, how was I going to fix that? Or perhaps this was some bad guy who knocked my breaker and was about to attack?  Did the power company choose ME to shut the power off as a psychological experiment?

Realizing it could be any and ALL of the above, I somehow summoned the courage to go downstairs and find my cell. All the way down the dark steps I muttering to myself “thisissoscarythisissoscarythisissoscary…”

You really don’t realize how much you rely on power until you have none. Profound huh?  But really, with no nightlights, no light on the microwave clock or DVD player. Just dark.  And then there’s the silence.  That’s the worst part of a black out for me. No nice hum of the fridge, the computer or a fans. If I ever get caught by the enemy in the middle of war (which could TOTALLY HAPPEN) in order to torture me, just give me a room with NO SOUND AT ALL.

Anyway, since I was Super Woman and wouldn’t let my boy upstairs die in a blackout (again, could TOTALLY happen) I found my cell and called the electric company. No, not the one that used to be after Sesame Street, but wouldn’t THAT be cool?

After telling them I had no power and giving this lady who was very pleasant for 2:30am, my address I immediately asked, “Am I the ONLY one in this area to lose power!?” She literally laughed at me and said “No. There are many calls coming in…”

As much as I wanted to wake up Ben and have his company during this momentous occasion, I reminded myself that I am in fact his mother, and not his roommate or big sister and therefore I could check on the boy (with my make shift cell phone flashlight) but then I had to take myself, and the now total lack of drama, back to bed.

When the power came back on an hour later, I truly have never been so happy to hear the roar of Bessie (that’s the name I have given my central air) and the breeze from the fan in my face.

I have also made a solemn vow to never be late on my utility bill!

Wordless Wednesday

Hello.  We meet again.

I’m sure you are very pleased with yourself.  It’s so like you to not only come early to the party (you aren’t supposed to start until December 21st.  Just sayin’…) and come with such gusto.  Really?  Did you really need to use every trick you had yesterday? 

You had it raining, and then snowing and then my favorite… raining ice.  I especially loved coming out of work yesterday afternoon to find my car an ice sculpture.  A beautiful ice castle with wheels.  I could make out your laugh, Winter, when you realized that not only had I forgot my gloves but this Midwestern girl didn’t even have an ice scraper.  

It started to rain harder when I took out a CD case to scrape off the windshield.  And I’m fairly sure that was you laughing to tears.   (p.s. Thank you Norah Jones.  Excellent job chipping off the 4 inches of ice on all my windows.  Atta girl!)

And today you are SO proud of yourself I bet.  Get all the kids in Madison on your side with a snow day.  Yes my kid was over the moon this morning as he packed his boots and snow pants for Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  But is 10 inches of snow REALLY necessary? 

This sure doesn’t make for us ADULTS, who still have to show up for work and shovel the crap, get on your good side.   Wait?  Do you even HAVE a good side?

I’d like to take a moment to make a special shout out to Blade.  Without you Buddy I wouldn’t be here right now.  You, in the winter, is the reason I refuse to get a new car.  My son doesn’t call you Blade for nothing.  Thanks man.

So Winter, with your storm lasting until 9 pm tonight, all school cancelled, some businesses cancelled, many a person breaking their back to shovel out the stuff, I hope you are proud of yourself. 

And so help me, if you don’t allow the pizza delivery guy to get here today, I will personally be talking to Mother Nature about your very inappropriate attitude.

I’m sure this won’t be my last letter to you this year.  Seeing as how we are stuck together for another 5 months.   Sorry… I just puked all over this letter.  My bad.

Until then… go stick your tongue on a flagpole!

Me

Since it’s not very well known, it’s never crowded.   You can also bring in all your own food and beverages (juice and water of course… jeez what kind of mother do you think I am?  Bringing in chilled wine would be so great inappropriate) unlike the local pools where they want you to just eat THEIR concession food. 

And isn’t there just something about a beach?  Coming home with sand still in between your toes and on the bottom of your beach bag?  Sigh.  Heaven.
Days like these make me 1) want to marry Madison 2) make me so depressed that summer is almost over and 2) almost let me forgive Winter for the nightmare that it put us through this last year.

Key word ALMOST. You’re not off the hook yet Winter…

Coax Mother Nature into more days like this with a very long summer, and we’ll talk.

As Henry James so eloquently said: “Summer afternoon – summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. ”

Because I am who I am, I had a full day planned.  We were going to have scheduled lazy time this morning, followed by some scheduled cleaning, followed by a full afternoon at the pool with one of Ben’s friends in tow, so I could read and bask in the sun.  Perhaps afterwards we would grab dinner with other friends and be home in time for some bad TV and bed.

Well Ma Nature had her own plans today too.  She had plans to rain.  ALL DAY!  She wasn’t feeling sunny today.  Nope, she was in a clouds and thunderstorms mood. 

At first I found myself feeling physically anxious by this Not In My Control change of plans.  What would we do today?  ARGH!  I took off of work to sit at home?  This sucks!

Then, something hit me and I stopped and looked around my apartment.  I really looked.  It was 12:44pm and Ben and I were still in our pj’s.  He was happily sitting on the couch watching PBS kids while eating fresh cantaloupe.  My eight year old boy wasn’t playing some “shoot ‘em up” video game or watching a violent movie.  He was singing along to “Teletubbies” and excited that “Mr. Rogers” was going to be on next.

When he caught me looking at him he said, “I’m glad it’s a cozy rainy day Mommy!  And I’m going to draw a Super Hero after Mr. Rogers too!  Wanna sit down next to me and watch ‘Teletubbies?’”

And so I did.  I let go off all the plans I had and I realized that this was truly a day off.   I realized that the rest of August is going to be a whirlwind of activities and soon summer would be over.  Heck, the rest of this week was even going to be busy.  Sometimes we just go and go all the time, we don’t even know how to truly relax. 

So thank you Mother Nature of making us slow down. 

I guess Mother really does know best.

********UPDATE***********
Oh who the hell was I kidding?!  Ben and I were bored out of our skulls!  So… we went to the pool with friends, despite the clouds.  And now?  We are off to dinner with those friends.  I’ll do the lazy day in the winter, when we can’t physically leave the house.  Until then, summer calls.  Clouds and all.