And it snowed, and snowed, and snowed....

So, for those of you who don't know about about the Pacific Northwest, we get rain. LOTS of rain, like almost 9 months out of the year rain. Snow, maybe 2 inches a year. It never gets that cold. Well, Mother Nature decided to show us exactly what she is made of. Conversation with my husband:
(weather channel):We are expecting 4-10 inches of snow, ice, and then snow again
Me: BS! I'll believe it when I see it. They couldn't predict a snow storm if they were in the middle of it.
Mark: Honey, it's gonna be a blizzard.
Me: Psh....

Two days later: (this is our pond)


Mark: I blame you for all this snow
Me: Well, I'll be damn.
Mark: Yeah, blaming you.

We did have a pond.....



Any chance to dress up Jujube is a good day for me. The snow is up to my knee. We got about 12 inches and there is another storm coming on Wednesday.


We also use to have a dog, now we just have a snowball with ears and crazy eyes. If you see this beast, run the other way. The cuteness will kill you on the spot.


This storm has really crippled the city. They have closed a highway down in the Columbia Gorge because of snow and ice and wind. We had gust ranging from 40-70 mph. It was just crazy!Some of the buses aren't running and a cab wait is about 8 hours. We aren't even getting mail, cause it can't come in from the east cause the highway being closed. So, lesson learn-I'll keep my mouth shut (yeah right)

It snowed!

Yesterday we got snow. I love snow! Normally in the Portland area we usually get one snow a year if even that. Mainly just rain. Well, it's suppose to snow this whole week and into next. I'm so excited! Here are a few pictures of the white stuff and the pups freezing their butts off. Along with the snow, the temperatures are so cold! The high today was 26. It's getting down in the teens at night. BRRRRRR!



Since it's been cold and snowy a lot of birds have been in our back yard. We have several hummingbirds. Here is one of the regulars. I can't believe how fearless they are. It's so weird to see them stationary. I love hummingbirds!



Mr. Kato decided to stay in. Smart choice.

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree!

Our tree is up and decorated. It's so cute and smells WONDERFUL! The skirt belonged to Mark's mother. The little mouse ornament was her's too. It's so nice to have something from his family. The 2008 Pedersen Christmas CD is done too. Although, I think nothing can compare to my 2007 CD this one comes very close. How can you go wrong with when songs include "Santa wants some lovin'" and "Oi to the world"?

I've also been watching a ton of Christmas movies/shows. Can I tell you how much I love Rankin and Bass Christmas specials? A Year Without a Santa Claus-classic! I've also been watching White Christmas way too much. I save A Christmas Story for Christmas day when I can watch it over and over on TBS.

Oh yeah, and my own personal rant. This morning on the CBS morning show they were doing "Hand made" gifts-because people are so strapped for cash this season (please! Handmade does not equal cheap, ya bastards). The thing that bothered me most was that the hand made stuff wasn't even hand made. They just bought stuff from the store and put it together in a basket or took all the dry ingredients for cookies and put them in jars. Give me a break. CBS morning news, you get the finger.

All the children's smiling faces....

Who doesn't love Santa and Christmas? Apparently, these children.




On other related news-my dad's wife is doing better. She is able to walk now and has a little bit of use of her hand. I want to give a BIG THANKS to all my friends who are so supportive. Even when I thought I was alone, I could jump online and see everyone's smiling faces and wonderful comments and have my spirits lifted.


Mark and I went to a super fun party this weekend. Here's our traditional picture.


More to come! I've uploaded a ton of pictures.

Crazy times

So, I've been a little MIA lately. A lot of really stressful stuff has been going on and I haven't had a chance to catch up. My dad's wife had a stroke on Wednesday morning and I have basically been at the hospital every day since then. She is partially paralyzed but the recovery is looking good. Okay, so that's the first stressor. The second, they found a "lump" on my dad's prostrate and he has to go in on Friday for a biopsy. He is very healthy and should be okay but he is the only parent I have left and so I'm a little nervous. Okay, third stressor-yesterday would have been my mom's birthday. She passed away 7 years ago from a head injury which brings me back to be stressed about the stroke. What, there can't be any more...oh but there is...the anniversary of my mom's death is next week. Yepppers....good times. Did I mention that I am also starting a new part time job? No..well, I am. So-lots of crap going on but I am trying to stay positive.

In the note of staying positive, I have been embroidering like a mad woman and decorating my house.I love Christmas and decorating really put me in a better mood. Here are a few pictures of the house. We are getting our tree tomorrow or Wednesday.





Thanks to everyone who has been so wonderful to me and checking in. I love my friends and family.

The holidays are upon us

Okay, I'll admit it. I love Christmas. I LOVE and I mean LOVE Christmas music. I am listening to it right now. I know, I'm a freak. I love the smell of Christmas, the cold weather and darker nights. I love it all. I love Christmas lights, the tacky decorations. I'm a big ol' marshmallow!

So, what are some of your favorite winter Holiday thoughts (they don't have to be about Christmas) or favorite songs. What about favorite toy when you were a kid?

Favorite song: Christmas in NY and Baby it's cold outside.

Favorite holiday memory: One that instantly comes to mind is last year it actually snowed on Christmas. That was my first one.

Favorite toy: Easy-hands down-Barbie Townhouse. I had that with her jet and her corvette. AWESOME! I loved that she had an elevator in her house.

The interview to end all interviews!

A while back BrookOwens asked to interview me for her blog. How could I resist? She is so awesome and so rad! Can I just tell you how awesome she made me look? LOL! If you want to get all the dirt on yours truly, check out
her blog