Let the force be with you

Griffin has a fascination with Star Wars. I don't know a THING about Star Wars. I watched the first few movies back when they came out in the 70's. We are now the proud owners of the entire set; however, I have not watched even one minute of them. It is a "Daddy and Griffin" thing to do.

So tonight Griffin really wanted to play "light sabers." His first question to me was, "What color do you want to be?" I didn't even know the colors that were available so I had to ask that first. Blue, green and red. I picked blue. So that means I was, oh no, I forget who I was. Well, anyway, Griffin and I were on a team together. He was someone with a very Asian sounding name and he was green. Dallas was Darth Vader and was red. We ran around the basement for a half an hour mostly in the dark with our light-up light sabers. It was a blast and hopefully something G will remember for a long time!

Slow week

I guess we have not had much to write about in the past week. We've just been "living life." School for Griffin, work for Dallas and for me well, going to the gym, volunteering at G's school, cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, and a board meeting for our neighborhood.

Life is good. We are so blessed! Have a good weekend.
Cathi

Fun in the snow

Yesterday was a warm day relative to the last 3 weeks. So when Griffin got home from school, we went over to the park/school to play. I brought my snowshoes along so I could get some exercise as well. And the camera had to come along because well, you just never know when the perfect shot might be "right" there. Griffin did a great job of getting me with my snowshoes on. You should have seen him. I think he might be a professional photographer some day. He laid down on a snow bank, took off his gloves and was holding the camera with the LONG telephoto lens like he WAS a pro. Of course I didn't show you this one
and five others just like it! :)

The cold has returned and we won't be doing this again until at least the middle of next week. It was fun while it lasted!

Something new

Well, that was a workout!

Today was my first time to try snowshoeing. 35 minutes of snowshoeing was a harder workout than an hour of cardio kick-boxing! I wore my heartrate monitor (like I always do when I workout) and was amazed at how high my heartrate was and at how many calories I burned. So I'm thinking this might be a good alternative to going to the gym.

A few things I learned:
-- Always bring tissues with you
-- A bottle of water is necessary
-- Wear a hat, your ears will be cold
-- You will SWEAT!

Thanks for the snowshoes Barbara!!

Cathi

For my Southern friends

Here are a few pictures from a snow storm about 2 weeks ago. We've had several more since then. I cannot see my mailbox from the front windows now because the snow is piled so high. This was taken by me standing INSIDE the house with my telephoto lens. Griffin is out playing with his 3 friends.

Day 5

Today is day 5 of being off school and we've really had a great break. We did not have many things planned so we spent a lot of time in our flannel pants just hanging out. We have greatly improved our Wii playing ability.

Last night our new friends had G and I over for dinner since Dallas is somewhere in the Caribbean doing something or other. (I'll admit it, I'm a little jealous he's there and I'm not!) Then today the same friends came to our house and the boys played and played and Nichole and I just talked and talked. It was really fun.

We are happy to report it's WARM today. It's 18 degrees.

I bet it will be hard to get up and moving tomorrow morning!

Cathi

Day 2

Well today is day 2 of no school for Griffin. It's just too cold to make these kids go outside. Yesterday was filled with Wii tournaments, Play Doh, coloring, tv watching, lots of reading, and some cuddling in my bed when we were just too cold to get warm any other way. So far today on day 2 we've made chocolate chip waffles for breakfast (for Griffin anyway) and played a round of Wii bowling and a baseball game. I won for the first time ever! I just suggested to Griffin that he goes upstairs to get dressed. His response was, "Mommy, I just want to relax some more and watch a show." Like he can't relax with his play clothes on. Oh well, I'm off to clean the bathrooms.

One more thing. Monday is a holiday so this is turning into a 5 day weekend. Had we *known* this, we might have been able to plan a little trip. The only people we know within driving distance are the Stone Family. It would be a great trip but they live in MINNESOTA!! Not sure if I want to go NORTH in this weather.

And, Dallas is leaving Sunday morning for a trip to some Caribbean Island. I guess I'm suppose to feel bad that he has to travel on his weekend but give me a break. He's going to the Caribbean. At least it's suppose to be 20 degrees on Sunday. I think we'll suntan!!

Cathi

Weather forecast

Here is the latest.

Current temp: -18.7°F
Low for tonight: -24°F

Clear. Bitterly cold.
Lows 21 to 25 below.
Wind chills as low as 35 below to 45 below zero.

I want to go to the happy place! God help us!

Today

My hair

Thank God it's fixed. I do realize that this post will be completely useless without pictures however, no one is home with me to snap one. Back in December, I called up my salon to make an appointment with Sarah, my stylist. She was out on maternity and not due back for a few weeks. They suggested a *wonderful* master stylist named Tom. Now Tom would cost a little extra seeing that he was "a master" and all. I was game for this so I made an appt. for the following day.

Tom's a talker. He talked non-stop for the 2.5 hours I was there getting my hair done. I could tell you his life story as well as all about how *great* he is at doing hair - especially curly hair, his *speciality.*

After 2.5 hours and my ears hurting, my hair was cut and highlighted and I was sent on my way with my hair sopping wet. Out into the Chicago December air you go! Once I got home and my hair was dry, I could tell what a terrible job he did on the highlighting. I called my trusty friend, Ellen, to ask her what I should do. You see, I was at a JC Penney Salon and she knows a thing or two about them. She said I must go back and get it fixed or get my money back. So I nervously went in the following day and guess who was standing right there - master stylist Tom. I told him I was sorry I was back but I was not happy with my hair color. Guess what? He completely agreed - went so far as to say it was "bad." He put me in the chair, caped me up and started on some more highlights, talking the entire time! It was painful. After he finished with the foils, washed my hair and sat me in the chair he said, "I *still* missed some spots and need to do more." So guess what? He had to dry my hair, put more foils in, put me under the dryer for 20 mins., rinse, wash and back in the chair AGAIN. We thought it was enough and looked ok, but it's hard to tell with wet hair. So I was sent back into the Chicago December air with a kiss and a prayer that it looked ok.

Well, it didn't.

But I was not about to go back. I had this very bright blond/yellow/white streak in the front of my hair/forehead area. I was thinking that I was going to have to dye the entire thing brown then start over again.

Christmas came and went and on vacation my good friends and family concurred with me that something had to be done.

When I got home from vacation and was hanging up some clothes in the closet, I saw the sweater I was wearing when Tom did my hair and it had bleach spots all over the back!! That was the deciding factor. I called up JC Penneys and spoke with the manager. I was *very* nice and really wanted nothing more than to make her aware of what happened to me. About 20 minutes later, Sarah called me. She was back from maternity leave and she would fix my hair "on the house." Whoo hoo.

And that happened today. She did a great job and I'm happy with my new hair.

I know, I know, you need a picture.

Cathi

Camera

My sister-in-law, Jennifer is having a fit over not having a working camera. I would feel very much the same way. So I got to thinking about my new camera. I've had it about 3 months now and have really had a lot of fun with it. Over Christmas break I did take about 550 pictures a few of which you've seen but most you have not. There are a few that stand out and I'd like to share them here. Remember, I do not use any photo-editing software (yet) so there are just raw images right from the camera. I look forward to lots of great photos with my Nikon D60. And also to someday learn how to use editing software to make them even better. (Is that cheating?)
My sister Barbara playing Boccie ball.

Barbara and Griffin on a woods walk.
Griffin in the woods.
A nature trail in my parent's neighborhood.
Mr. Squirrel.
A small nature center in Jasper County, SC.
Barbara.
Griffin.
Ellie and Davis.
And my absolute favorite - Miss Ellie. Isn't she so cute? And with that hair - is how I imagine my daughter would look like if I ever had one.

Atlanta, GA - Part II

Ok, where was I?

The second stop was at the Weer's home. I had warned Griffin that he might not have as much fun since Kyle, 11 and Kendra, 10 are older and might not want him tagging along. Boy was I wrong. They were so amazing with Griffin. They let him play with their video games, board games and overall welcomed him with opened arms.
We rang in the new year with silly string, sparkling cider and a few fun games of bowling on the Wii. The Weers and Maham families decided this would be a great tradition and we hope to spend many more new year's eves together.Kendra and Griffin had great fun each decorating a gingerbread house. You can see how well they turned out. Griffin loved the icing. It was by far his favorite part. The house traveled home well and it's sitting on our counter right this minute.


One thing I did on vacation that I am NOT proud of was leave my purse at a Mexican restaurant we had dinner in. I didn't realize it until 11am the following morning. Beth called and they said they did not find it. I had this weird suspicion that it was there so I asked Dallas to drive over and ask all of the waiters if they had found it and a reward would be offered. Dallas walked in the door and the manager said it was sitting right under the hostess stand. And there was not a single penny missing. Praise God. Then the morning we left, I misplaced the car keys and it took us 20 minutes to find them. I'm approaching my 40th year and my memory is going!

Thank you both for a great vacation!

Atlanta, GA and Great friends

Two of my best friends live in Altanta, GA. Well, one in Decatur and one in Peachtree City. We were able to spend a few days with both of them over the Christmas break. We had such a great time. They welcomed us with open arms and we feel like family when we are there.

First stop was to the Driskell's home. Betsy and I have been friends since we were 5-6 years old! Amazing really considering we haven't lived in the same area since we were in 6th grade (plus one other year when we were seniors in h.s.) Betsy's two kids are 6, Davis and 4.5, Ellie so right between Griffin's age. We have been getting them together years since they were born and now they are enjoying growing up together. It was so neat to see their imaginations working together. This picture was on Betsy's front porch. They were on a "houseboat." Griffin was the dog, Ellie was "7" years old and Davis was a teenager. I asked where the parents were and they said they went overboard and died! (whatever!) The had taken all the cardboard out of the recycling to make their boat. And of course they had to have a place to sleep so they got pillows and blankets from inside.Aunt Betsy made the kids a chocolate fountain. What fun! Here is the "during." And here is the "after."
Let me put the second stop in a new post. This is getting long!