Holy Snow!

Okay... first of all, let me tell you that this is the SECOND time that I have attempted this post. I tried to copy and paste what I had already done, but my "copy" got erased so now I have to start over. My friend Amy lives in Hawaii, and after talking to her today several times, I promised her pictures of our "Arctic Blast 2008" scene at my house. I have been taking pictures for days. I have always been a huge fan of snow. My childhood love for a snow day has shifted into a teacher's love for a snow day. This last weeks has been such a treat for me. Not because I missed school, because luckily for the most part I didn't, but because I love the peacefulness. I love be stuck here. I love the quiet, the glow off of the white, and the giggle that comes out of me each morning as I look out the window. So... Amy... here they are. Enjoy.

It started snowing last Sunday. Look at how pretty it is.
Monday morning we didn't have class because we just didn't want to risk it. Because of this, our Three-year-olds didn't get their holiday party. I know, it's very sad. For all of us. But we really didn't want anyone to hurt themselves or their cars trying to get to school so :( Tuesday was super cold, but not very snowy. Then Wednesday I woke up to this. Yippy!
Puma was loving the new sites. I was like a little kid on Wednesday morning and just couldn't help myself. Yep, I did that, in my pajamas... I made a snow angel on my back patio. :) On Thursday it was more of the same and I even had to miss a Blazer game I had tickets for :(. But on Friday I went out again and this time made a tiny snowman to start my day. Yep, I was in my pajamas for this too. He's maybe about 8 inches tall.
So then by Friday afternoon, my snowman had a little lean. We had gotten a bit more snow, but nothing like what we would be seeing.On Saturday it snowed and snowed and snowed all day long, and then it turned into freezing rain. Here's me before the rain hit... look at all the snow! I went out in the evening because there were all of these weird drifts of snow. Some were almost a foot tall. (that is a bad picture... it's at about 10 inches) Crazy. And look at my sad palm tree... wondering what the heck is going on here. I wrapped him up in a towel. Hopefully he will survive this cold.So this morning everything was covered in a sheet of ice. So now we have about 6 inches of snow, topped by about a 1/4 inch of ice and now topped again with another inch or two of snow. It was so much fun to stomp around my yard this morning. For no reason other than getting pictures and just hearing the ice crack. It was so peaceful out there this morning. There were no cars really on the road and everything is coated in a deep blanket of white. Here's the rest of my ice pictures. Each blade of grass was coated in thick ice... I should have zoomed in better. Here's my rhododendron... it looks like it's going to die. These are the berries on a tree in front of my house. I love this picture. And finally... here is my snowman today... nearly buried. I wonder how many inches we've gotten. Can you tell it doesn't snow often here? I love it!

I can't believe it's been so long...

Oh my... I'm terrible at doing most computer related things on schedule. It was only about two years ago that I finally made it a routine to check my email daily. :( So... here I am... and as the snow falls creating a beautiful scene out my back patio doors, I sit with coffee in hand and a fridge with enough food to last me a week. AHHH... it feels great. School got out yesterday for me and luckily that was the case because today school was canceled and this way we were able to have our holiday parties for at least two of our three classes yesterday. I have most of my Christmas shopping done and all of the supplies I will need to craft the rest of them. My house is decorated and thankfully warm and I am feeling generally pretty peaceful. :)

I am sorry that I have done such a terrible job at keeping you all updated. For those of you who have been reading my blog you know that I have been going to an event in Eugene the last few months that is hosted by Ali Edwards (my scrapbooking idol:) and a few other wonderful ladies. Last month I went down there to be part of a "Creative Boutique" and although it was somewhat of a bust financially speaking... it was a lot of fun and the little publicity that it got still managed to get me my first sale on etsy just the other day. Yea! It was great to be able to send something off to someone's mother for a Christmas gift. It feels good to know that someone finds my creations worthy of such a thing. :)
So at the event in early November, Ali did a talk about her "December Daily Album" and it was such a treat because she did her talk to only me and one other gal. It was great to get her one on one and needless to say, I was very excited to give this album a try for this year. So, that is why I have been lacking in the blog department. I have however been documenting each and every day of December in some shape or form. Perhaps (but no promises here :) I will be able to post some very soon. I lost my memory card from my camera about a two weeks ago, so I have been a little down on digital because of the upset. It literally was just gone, removed from my camera sometime in a 24 hour period. GRRR. Hopefully, with any luck at all, it will show up, but I'm thinking it won't. I haven't remembered all that I am missing out on just yet, but each day or two I manage to remember at least one picture that I have lost. :( SO... I will try to update more soon, but for now I wanted you all to know that I am well, and that I plan to update more soon. Happy snow day!