Snowpocalypse

My friend Melissa appropriately named this winter storm we are having: Snowpocalypse. And it is just beginning! As you can see, it's quite the blizzard outside, and we're supposed to get 10-20 more inches of snow tonight. Greg went to let the dogs outside to use the bathroom, and there was already a six-inch snow drift at the back door. Photo #2 here is of the quickest doggy potty session ever. Little Spike took a little more time than Big. If you look up at the top of the photo you can see a black blur--that's Big Spike running back to the house at full speed. He literally ran outside and ran back in :-) But we can't blame him for that. Everything in Springfield is closed, and tomorrow the temps are going to drop below zero, so anything on the ground will turn to solid ice. We're hoping our power doesn't go out, but it might. Good thing we have a fireplace--I think we're going to need it!

Cardinals Caravan

Winter is long and cold, and even though there is football and basketball to watch, I miss baseball season. But Greg and I had a little reprieve from our winter/no baseball blues last night when the Cardinals Caravan came to Springfield! Each year a few Cardinals players--both past and present--travel around to different towns in the Midwest and put on a program. This was our first year going, and it was so much fun!

The past Cardinals players who came included John Mabry, Cal Eldred, Alan Benes, and Ricky Horton. The current players included third baseman David Freese, outfielder John Jay, and rookie Pete Kozma. And of course Fredbird was there. This was my first opportunity to meet Fredbird, and, as you can see, he almost bit my head off! He smelled like baby powder.




Autographs were just supposed to be for kids ages 15 and under, but I have been mistaken for a 15 year old before :-) I was good and waited until all of the kids had gotten in line, then I got in line behind them. I couldn't pass up an opportunity to meet some of the players (I wasn't the only adult to end up in line). Here is David Freese signing a baseball for me. I have to confess, I have a little crush on him--he is so cute and really nice. Don't worry about Greg being jealous--he seemed to have a bit of a man crush on all of the players :-)

Here's a great picture Greg took of the three current players. Pete Kozma, on the far left, is signing my baseball. He was really nice too. John Jay, in the middle, wasn't very talkative, but he was nice to smile for the picture, and then there's David on the right. What a great evening we had! It got us all excited for baseball season, and it gave us hope that winter will not last forever.

The Nap

The Latest

This is a picture of Big Spike--in Greg's pajama pants. You can just see his little tail poking out the back. Poor Big Spike got totally disoriented when Greg put his pj pants over his head. He was running around on the bed, and it was so funny! He finally found his way out. He is a silly pup. Without a job, I've been able to spend some quality time with the animal children. But, I'm kind of back on a regular schedule now that I am volunteering for my friend Linda at the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (you may remember that she was laid off in 2008, but then when the governor was impeached and arrested, Linda got her job back). I've been having a great time working with her three days each week, and this week I'm going to start volunteering for my friend Susan, the curator at the Lincoln Home, one day a week. So I'll still be busy and learning good museum skills. I also get to see and do a lot of cool things, like help Linda pack up all of the artifacts at Frank Lloyd Wright's Dana-Thomas House, which is going to be closed for some repairs. It's pretty neat to touch (with white gloves on, of course) something that Frank Lloyd Wright actually made. I have also found a new favorite way to work out during the winter: EA Sports Active 2 for the Nintendo Wii. It is so fun! I have my own personal trainer, named Devon (but I named him Mario--since eating at Mario's on New Year's Eve, I name everyone Mario), and I can do a lot of great workouts, including mountain biking, basketball, and boxing, right in the living room. So life is good.

Out Like a Lion

Goodbye 2010, and good riddance! 2010 was quite the year. As if the year hadn't been long enough, with Mom and Dad both being diagnosed with cancer and having multiple surgeries, with friends and myself losing jobs, with friends moving away, with the several-month "reign of terror" at the Lincoln Home this past spring, and . . . well, the list could go on. So it has been a long year, but it couldn't just end quietly--instead it had to milk every last minute of itself! It would seem that a little mini two-day vacation to Zion National Park for Mom and Dad in between Christmas and New Year's would be an innocent enough activity, but then Dad ended up in the hospital in St. George! Their two-day vacation turned into a five-day ordeal--sorry Mom and Dad! But thankfully things are going better now and they are safely back home in Orem for the New Year.

Then, yesterday, after weeks of winter temperatures, it reaches 62 degrees here in central Illinois, and we have tornadoes--in the middle of winter! The closest tornado to us hit the town of Petersburg--just west of where we used to live in Athens. Here is a picture of the damage to homes near Lake Petersburg where a couple of our friends live. Their home was damaged, but thankfully it is still habitable. What a way to end the year!

So, when I woke up to sunshine and frigid temperatures this morning, I was grateful--grateful for the cold weather, which means no tornadoes. And grateful that even though a lot of crappy stuff happened in 2010, we and our family and friends all made it through the year in one piece. We're very blessed to have the medical technology that allows cancer to be removed and babies to be born healthy. Babies--cute babies (and elves in training) Ben and Leo--are reasons enough to be happy about 2010. But hopefully since 2010 went "out like a lion," 2011 will come in (and go out) like a lamb!