Yeah I know, it’s been awhile since I posted. Sorry about that! Like I said in my last post, I’ve been extremely busy right now. Plus with this last snow storm, I ended up with a cold. It had been awhile since I had one, I guess I was overdue. So that knocked me out for a week. I won’t lie, I enjoyed a few days on the couch doing nothing, but I now I have to catch up with some things.

I officially am over snow, at least for this year I still love snow, but we’ve seen enough. It can stay away until next Christmas. So rest assured, I will not be wishing for anymore snow this year.

Spring break is coming up and I am so looking forward to a week off of teaching and getting other stuff that needs to be done done. Also Monster Mania is coming up next weekend, which is always a blast. So hopefully I’ll have some photo posts to go up soon!

What else . . . oh we finally broke down and got cleaning ladies! They come every few weeks, but it’s been a help. They do a good job, and it means I don’t have to stress out over cleaning every weekend. More time for me to do what I have to get done done.

I guess that is about all the excitement going on right now. I might have to start doing various memes I used to do long ago like “Five on Friday” and “Photo Friday” to make sure I keep posting on the blog so people don’t think I’ve up and died on them.

Yes I know I have been MIA lately. I’m sorry about that. Getting back into the swing of work has been kicking my ass, and I’ve been feeling run down a lot lately. Not sick, just run down. I do need to go in for a physical soon, it’s been awhile (I know my mom will read this and worry!).

Aside from my work load, the snow hasn’t helped much in terms of getting out. It’s fun to look at from your window, but trekking out to a bar or club, heck even go to dinner to meet friends in it, not so much fun. Also it just keeps coming! It’s not even March yet either, which is generally the really crappy month for weather.

Another bummer is that everyone seems to be sick lately. Something is going around the region for sure, so with my friends sick, I’m locked up in my house even more so than usual.

Anyway, I just wanted to check in. I’m still alive, I’m here, I’m just busy and without much to say lately. Heck the movies I’ve rented as of late have stunk so I can’t even give some fluff movie reviews. (Okay not totally true, I started a review for Whip-It and forgot about it!)

The question is how much. It’s blowing so much that I can’t find anywhere to get a good read. Anywhere from 9 inches to 24! I think about 15 is probably right, but this morning they were saying Philly had 18 already. It’s supposed to continue all day too.

Anyway, some photos! Nikko wants to run into the snow as far as he can, Princess meanwhile wants to run the other way, back inside where it’s warm. Also a shot looking up and down the road. The road ironically is pretty clear, though keeps getting covered as soon as it’s shoveled. Still there are people driving, where they have to get to I don’t know. I think they’re going to end up stuck somewhere though.

So my weekend plans have basically been ruined, all the way around, thanks mostly to snow. I was planning to see one or two friends tomorrow, but both are now ill, and even if they weren’t the snow probably would kill at least tomorrow night’s plans. Yes it looks like a blizzard is coming! I guess we won’t really know how bad it will be till tomorrow, but we could get at least a foot of snow. To the south, where my mom is, they are looking at 2 feet! I was also supposed to go to NY Saturday/Sunday and that’s out now too cause of the snow.

Tomorrow should be interesting. I have to get up and compete with everyone for the last loaf of bread and jug of milk I also am low on soda, and John commented there isn’t enough alcohol to make it either. It’s also looking like a second storm is coming next week. At this point (see the next paragraph) I am praying it knocks out a day of classes for me!

So while I’m sad at my ruined plans, at the same time it seems they may have gotten ruined for a reason. I found out this week (actually yesterday) that an abstract I submitted to an “Upcoming Scholars Conference” months ago was accepted, and I now have a month to get a paper in order to present at it. Ack! I had written it off, as originally we were supposed to have heard about a month ago if we were accepted (or this was my take on it at least). So I now really need every available free moment I can get to prepare for this!

Panic Attacks to occur regularly over the next month I really now need to call my doctor for that prescription for Ambien or Lunesta

At some point I will have time to finish editing and tagging all my vacation photos. I’ve been really busy as of late, and unfortunately don’t have much to blog about. Fortunately some fun nights with the girls should be coming up this weekend, so hopefully something story worthy there.

Other than that, the only thing on the horizon I’m excited for is the Olympics. Yay Olympics! It’s the only time I really get into sports, and I love the fact they are in Canada this year because it means they should for the most part be live and can’t be spoiled because of tape delays. I’m always too tempted to cheat and read who won what.

Post Note: John and I are going back to Swanky Bubbles for V-day this year, mainly cause I couldn’t think up anyplace else and we liked it, it was nice and quiet actually. Meanwhile a package from Amazon came and I’ve already been told it’s my gift. He pondered giving it to me early, and idiot I am said I could wait. What was I thinking! He hinted though it’s something I could use now (which makes me think it’s a sleep machine or something lol).

We drove down to Virginia today to drop the dogs off with my mom and then fly out in the morning. Waking up at 4:45am and then off to the airport by 5:30. Kill me now! Oh I will be sleeping on the plane, I just hope there is no nightmare like the HotLanta mess or even when we flew out last year for our annual vacation (planes delayed forever due to an ice storm up in Boston).

Twitter posts should start back up tonight and be daily digests around midnight each night, detailing whatever I sent out that day. Of course once we get on the boat on Sunday, twitter recaps will drop off. Last year I somehow lucked out and the internet was broken or not working right, so it never subtracted my pre-bought minutes until the very last day, so I was on all the time Here is hoping I can get that luck again?

So New Years started out with a good inch or two of snow falling all morning, then by evening it was just miserably cold and at times pouring down rain. Fun! We ended up staying home as predicted, a friend came over, and we just kept it low-key with lots of movies.

On New Years Day John and I headed out to take in a movie. We finally went to see “Avatar.” All I can say is wow! This is a film you must see, must see on the big screen, and assuming it doesn’t make you ill see in 3D. We really wanted to see it on the IMAX, but those shows were all sold out.

I basically agree with comments almost everyone else has said. The story is not original and has been done before, as well as mimics history. It’s colonialism taken to the level of space/other planets, with greedy corporations looking to exploit the natural resources of the planet, not caring about the destruction they bring or indigenous life they kill in order to exploit the resource and doing so with the muscle of a bought army behind them. While the story is not original, and you will see every single “twist and turn” coming a mile away, even up to how the movie ends, it is just a really fun ride. It’s a beautiful film to watch and a marvel of technology. I predict it will also be used to market the Real3D technology line of HD TV’s set to be released late next year.

Now however, with the weekend over, we turn to making sure we have everything set for our trip. We leave for my mom’s on Wednesday, and assuming there are no snow and ice delays take off for Florida on Thursday . . . . where it’s apparently cold and freeze warnings are in effect . . . . At least it won’t be cold in the Caribbean . . . I hope!

The annual cruise is coming up . . . like NEXT WEEK! Of course I’m all kinds of not ready. I’m at least 10 pounds heavier than I was last year, so I’m not happy about that at all. I’m all about the Atkins diet till next week, but that will never last I’ve got to get my courses planned as I start teaching when I get back, but at least this year I have something to go on and am not working from scratch. I know I need new shoes, and an Old Navy/Gap run will probably be made for some t-shirts. Every year I swear I won’t over pack, will just send things to be washed. It never happens. However this year with the fact that greedy airlines are now charging 20+ bucks for each bag period, it might happen. So might my muche overdue and planned speech about how their lame excuse that this is about fuel charges is crap since I am sure to get stuck sitting next to someone who alone weighs as much as me and both bags combined.

Hmmmm, what else? Twitter will be back on the blog for updates, as that shit was my sanity last year. Here is hoping I won’t need it this year though lol! Oh and I’m weak, I did go back to my iPhone. It became obvious I was paying a hefty phone bill for a piece of crap phone that all I could do was text on, since I don’t really talk much on my phone. Oh my Razr also crapped out on me. It works mind you, but the battery lasts about 2 hours max. I guess I should have anticipated that, it does say CINGULAR on the back! Also a friend warned me about pay-as-you-go phones, which I considered moving to, as in fact they are really just “use because you have no other choice otherwise they’ll suck your wallet dry” phones. Plus the piece de resistance was that John got an iPhone. Yeah, he was one of the reasons I tried doing with out because he used to always tease me about how addicted to it I was. He of course thinks it’s just fabulous!

Anyways, New Years seems to be a party at our place. I don’t know how many people will show, I have one for sure, a possible friend of the for sures, and one maybe. No matter how many people come, fun will be had. Oh and I’ll make sure to broadcast it on cam!

So New Years is fast approaching, and unfortunately I have no idea what the plans are. Emily was gunna come over, but now she’s not. My other friend Jen (maybe she’ll see this lol) suggested possibly going out, but I haven’t heard from her on any ideas yet. John’s sister and her hubby from Texas are coming in and staying with his sister up here, and because of the other half I have no desire to do New Years up with them (i.e. him). Sorry but I refuse to be “put up with” when I know he won’t want me there and will give nasty looks all night long. Plus he doesn’t drink so it’s not like we can ply him with booze to maybe make him tolerable or have him pass out. Of course there is now a threat of snow storm #2 coming in that weekend, but as of yet nobody knows what it will amount to. That could just make sure nothing happens.

If it snows and we don’t want to go out in that (which I don’t having done it on New Years before, Philly is cold and miserable in those conditions!) or I don’t here from people, an open invite might go out on Facebook saying anyone with nothing to do is welcomed at our place and we can put you up for the night if need be. Movies, Singstar, Buzz Quiz World . . . um and whatever I can find for people to do. We even have dirty board games we’ve never played! We can watch the ball drop at midnight of course, but I don’t think I have any desire to watch New Years Rockin Eve on any channel unless they have someone good on.

I was determined to go sledding, but we didn’t have any sleds. I had planned to use an old skateboard deck, but couldn’t find them. They may have been thrown out . . . GASP! This is what we had used in the past few years if we ever went sledding (and it’s been years, but I know we had them circa 2006 as I have photos of us on them that Christmas).

We had old old metal saucers in the back corner of the yard . . . under two feet of snow of course! I’ve never had luck with those things unless your sledding on a sheet of ice (which tonight we will probably have out there). However the saucers have been there for so long, and are pretty dented.

I headed to the attic hoping maybe the skateboards were up there. They weren’t, but and old old old “you’ll shoot your eye out” era wooden sled with real metal runners was! I had struck gold.

So my brother and I headed out to sled down the street. We kept having to wait as stupid idiots were out driving. I’m tempted to go out after dark when it’s a sheet of ice (and hopefully nobody is stupid enough to be driving, but you know they will be). Usually most people in the past have gone down this street after dark because cars don’t traverse it too much.

Anyway, enjoy some photos and videos! (the videos may need time to be fully uploaded and converted to HD quality as well).