Snow, Snow & More Snow

Dear Snow,

PLEASE STOP.

 

I've shoveled the driveway three times in five days. I never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but I think I’m ready to go back to school.

Snow Days

Happy Friday! So, in case you hadn’t heard, we had a bit of snow over here. Here’s what my view yesterday looked like.

{Front yard}

{Back yard. Look how much snow!!!}

Yikes! Snow-magaddon had indeed hit the Kansas City area. Needless to say, we had a snow day (off from school) yesterday, and since the folks at District Office were on top of things, they went ahead and called it for today, too. (Thank you, Very Important People In The Office, for making a timely decision yesterday afternoon. It made for a much more relaxing evening and morning.)

 

Yesterday, I bundled up in blankets and stayed on the couch, snuggled in with Rascal and some quality (read: reality/trash) TV I had loaded up on the DVR. However, this morning, the sun was shining, and I’d had enough of not talking (or talking to the cat…hmmm), so I figured I’d make the most of my bonus day off and go run some errands. The streets had been cleared for the most part, and I assumed I could click on my four-wheel-drive button in my SUV and hit the road.

 

WRONG.

 

After getting almost-scary-call-Dad-or-a-tow-truck-stuck in my driveway, I managed to spin my wheels and rev my engine hard enough to back out into the street. Bummer. But I’m very glad I managed to get un-stuck. And so, the previous hour and a half  of my mini-vacay day was spent shoveling. Not my fav activity, but hey, I got it done.

{Ta-da! Not too terrible of a job, right? And by the way, this picture does not do my hard work justice.
I swear, there are at least 8-10 inches piled up. That's a LOT of heavy scooping, folks.}

Secretly, I was hoping a Good Samaritan would see me in my car, almost-stuck and struggling in my driveway and think, “Aww. Poor little lady. I should go scoop her driveway for her out of the goodness of my heart.” No such luck.

 

And by the way, mailman, you’re welcome. I threw in the sidewalk and porch, too. I figured, while I’m out here, getting in my first aerobic workout in oh, at least a year and ensuring that I have super sore muscles tomorrow, I might as well scoop it all. Also, I'm hoping this is some good karma and you won't lose anymore of my mail. Like my RENT CHECKS. Thanks!

But I will say, it beats doing what I SHOULD be doing…these 65 essays and annotated articles that I lugged home on Wednesday night just don’t look appealing. Sigh.

{The only thing that is remotely interesting about this pic
is that fresh new pack of Paper Mate Flairs. They are indeed my favorite grading pens.}

Hope everyone has a marvelous (and warm!) weekend! Oh, and please cross your fingers and send a prayer up to the weather gods…we don’t need that other storm to hit on Sunday night. It’s almost MARCH! NO MORE SNOW!

Happy Heart Day, Take Two

Okay, I take it all back! Can’t be grumpy when I see a sweet little Valentine like this one! XOXO, Nova!

 

Happy Heart Day

It’s Valentine’s Day. I have day two of parent-teacher conferences. This is about how I feel.

 

{Meh.}

 

 

I know, I know. Today is about love and flowers and candy and Xs and Os and all that. Sigh.

I do like these sentiments, though…

{Blah blah blah DRINK!}

If that is real, it is awesome.

 

Hope everyone has a lovely V-day!

Gaga, Ooh La La

I made it through my first long day this week. Hooray! As I continue to slug through the workload this week, I have to recap my fun last week—last Sunday, my bestie-best friend from college came up from Wichita. Why, you may ask? Oh, for the LADY GAGA CONCERT! And boy, did we had a ball (a “Born This Way Ball,” if you will)!

 

First of all, I have to say, I was never a huge Gaga fan. I thought her music was just okay; it was fun to dance to, but she was a total weirdo. Didn’t get it. However, two summers ago, Christina (my afore-mentioned bestie) called me up and asked if I wanted to go to the Gaga concert with her, her sister and a friend. And it was
AH-MAZING! She totally puts on a show. It was literally like we went to the theatre—there was rockin’ music, outrageous costume changes, ridiculous choreography and little vignettes in between.  I totally bought into the whole “little monsters” business. And I loved her message. Gaga is all about being who you are. Embrace it, be proud of it, and don’t let others change you. Sounds kinda cheesy as I write it, but when you're there to experience it, it's powerful.

 

Fast forward to Monday, last week. Christina and I made an event of it this time (yep, I took two whole days off from work. Blissful!). We did manis and pedis, went shopping for fun new makeup at Mac, picked out new rock-n-roll outfits at BCBG, then packed it all up and headed downtown to stay at the Ambassador. Her sisters, mom and a friend met us at the hotel, and we all got ready to hit the town. And the show this time was just as awesome as we had hoped. It was new music, new costumes, and a whole new theatrical performance. I’ll spare you all of the details, but watch the “Born This Way” music video. That will clarify a few things. And yes, she did have a huge inflatable set of legs and “belly” (that’s my word choice, by the way…feel free to interpret) and she opened the show by “giving birth” to her "little monsters" (AKA, the fans). Yep. And, (one of my favs) she had an entire set and costume devoted to her infamous meat dress from a few years ago. Oh, and there was a unicorn. And a motorcycle. And plenty of drag queens, dressed like her. Like I said, she did not disappoint!

 

After the show, we headed out on the town (on a Monday night…why not?) and danced until 2am. I had so much fun with these girls! Can’t think of a better way to use two personal days from work. Love you all!

 

P.S. All the pics were taken by Christina’s oh-so-talented sister, Savannah. Thanks for sending them my way, Vannah! I, of course, forgot to take pics pretty much the entire night. Get ready to scroll—I had to narrow the visual support down to 12(!). Oh, and I left off the pic of the “birth” scene…I figured my grandma probably didn’t need to see that.

 

{With Christina, before we went out. This was the only pic I took, of course.
You can't even see our outfits. I had a fur vest, with INTENSE shoulders. I loved it. So Gaga.}

 

{Latex dress, cape and pink hair. Of course.}

 

{You can kind of see the giant leg, behind her...use your imagination for the rest!
I love this pic though, because you can see all of the "paws up."}



{Costume change}

{Another costume change. And she has a zillion of those keyboard thingys.}

{The set was HUGE. Not sure how the castle played into the whole unicorn/alien/meat theme, but it was amazing.}

{Meat dress!}



{At the end of the night. I kind of look like a drag queen, but hey-when in Rome...}

 

It’s Going To Be A Rough Tuesday

{Beads on Bourbon}

Today is Fat Tuesday. If I was still in college, I’m sure I’d make the executive decision that today is a holiday and I shouldn’t go to class. (Back then, I pretty much made a lot of days "holidays.") I’d probably round up a few friends and head to the ‘Ville to celebrate debauchery (isn’t that what Fat Tuesday is all about?) with some day drinking. Sigh. I miss college sometimes. Instead, I’m here at school, gearing  up for my day. And I have a feeling it’s going to be a long one. Reason number one? Read on.

 

So. I watched The Biggest Loser last night. Oh wait, no I didn’t. I watched the KU/K-State game. Ha! Poor Wildcats. Those Jayhawks had something to prove. It’s a bummer it had to be against us. After halftime, I gave up and switched to a rerun of The Office. That’s how bad it was. And today, I’m sure I’m going to hear all about it from my students and KU friends. Blah.

 

The other reason today is rough? It’s parent-teacher conferences week. Ugh. Long days today and Thursday. Yep, that’s right—I’ll be spending my Valentine’s Day talking to parents about their students. How much fun does that sound? At least we have Friday AND Monday off. Four day weekend? I’ll take it!

 

Hope everyone has a fab Fat Tuesday. Drink a cocktail and eat a cruller for me!

Big Monday Night

{Lookin' good, KSU, lookin' good!
Oh, is anyone surprised I have an ESPN app on my phone? Yeah, I kind of am, too.}

 

Hey, Kitty Cats. No pressure, but…let’s try and keep our ranking of #1 in the Big Twelve, okay? Don’t let those dumb Jayhawks starting winning now. I mean, TCU? Really? I think you guys can handle them this time.

 

{Rodriguez and McGruder are my favs.}

 

 

Let’s goooooooooo, K-State! (I added some extra "o"s in there for luck!)

Hip, Hip, Hooray...

{Yay for Friday!}

 

 

For Friday! I know, I know, I haven’t posted in a while. Had a super busy week (both with work and play), but I’ll update soon. Have a fab Friday and a marvelous weekend!

Little Letters

Hellooooo, February,

You sure came fast. Looking forward to see what you have to offer in the next 28 days. If you could, please think warm thoughts… It was 5 degrees when I walked into school this morning. FIVE degrees. Brr. At the very least, could you keep up the sunshine? It’s making these chilly days bearable.

 

Dear J. Crew,

You’re amazing and bright and very stripe-y/pattern-y/floral-y  this season. I dig it. Feel free to gift me anything from your spring catalogue. I just got one in my mailbox yesterday, and it made me very happy.

 

Dear Kansas City United States of America,

If you must have them, please, please lock up your guns. Nope, your kid doesn’t need one in his backpack. Nope, it sure doesn’t need to be out on the coffee table. I can’t tell you how many news stories about innocent victims being shot I’ve heard in the last few months—please, be responsible and put your weapons somewhere where your kids can’t get them!

 

Dear Lumineers,

You guys ROCK. Seriously. I could listen to this album over and over and over. Oh wait, I do. Love the sound, love your vibe. I think you may have made a hipster out of me.

To all cars who take 69-Hwy South in the mornings,

The left lane is for passing. Not for driving next to cars that are going the same speed as you. That is all.

 

Dear Nova,

You’re pretty much my favorite, EVER! Who knew that being an aunt is the best job in the world? Keep smiling, pretty girl!



{Nova Sophia}

{Yep, that's a moustache binky. She's a cool kid.}

{Love her!}