The flu and The snow

After a very nasty nasal swab test, the oldest was officially diagnosed with the flu. She is on tamiflu and an antibiotic. The rest of us get to take a preventative dose of tamiflu for the next 10 days.

Then our weekend was capped off when the snow began to fall on Sunday night. School was closed by 8:00, which allows the lovelies to sleep in instead of getting up early to watch the news and pray for those magic words letting them know about the cancellation.

It appears, upon measuring the snow piled on the patio fire pit, we have just shy of 4 inches of snow. The bigger news is the cold temps. It is going to stay below freezing until the weekend, which means the white stuff could stick around for a while.

I'm enjoying some coffee and going to get dressed, walk the dog (he loves snow) and enjoy an unexpected extra day tacked onto our weekend. I could even imagine the kids being out of school tomorrow...yep, it could happen.

Winter Wonderland in January in The Ville!

germs...everywhere

The oldest is home again today with a fever, so it looks like I will be spending some time with her at the doctor's office today.  She doesn't have the symptoms that forced hubby to visit the doc and get a prescription, but don't like the stuff I'm seeing in her.

So, we wait for 8:00 and make that call and hope we can get in early enough so what should take only an hour morphs into a 2.5 hour visit.

Ugh, ugh, ugh.  That will teach me. I should have made sure we all got flu shots!!!  Ugh.

Anne's book club in a bag program

Shortly before Christmas I went to Barnes and Noble and picked up four boxes of new books. Inside the boxes were 120 paperback copies of 12 different titles. Today I'm going to set up Anne's Book Club in a Bag program for our library. Each bag will hold ten copies of a single title, discussion questions, a brief bio about Anne and a list of the books available through this program. The library will roll this out to the public in February, but in the meantime, our Friends book club is enjoying having this many copies of a title available for their members.

I have a list of things to do in order to promote the program. I have a press release to write and basically a 'media' kit to put together. But, today is all about filling the bags.

The store, which she worked in every Thursday morning, has now grossed over $100,000 since we opened the door. Amazing. The amount of effort from our volunteers and the sheer number of books we have handled to earn that money boggles my mind.

Anne would have been so excited to hear that number and so proud.

beautiful darkness

I've always thought it would be great fun to write a book with a friend. I've read books from hubby and wife writing teams. I've also read one that had a 'ghost' writer.  The Caster Chronicles, I believe, are the first books I've read from two friends.  I had the pleasure of being at our local library when Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl visited to promote the first book in this series, "Beautiful Creatures."  You could tell they were long time friends and they obviously had fun writing the book.

I enjoyed the first novel. They did a really good job capturing teen voices and creating a very interesting world where magic coexists with the rest of us. Setting it in the South allowed for a nice infusion of local color and custom.

This second book, "Beautiful Darkness" is an okay story. At times I felt the book included too much. Too many extra characters, too much teen angst, too much...well...stuff.  It almost read like they were trying too hard. The plot seemed to labor under a heavy load of extras.

My oldest has read the first book and when I commented to her my impressions on this current novel, she said that is how she felt reading Beautiful Creatures.

Whatever my impressions, I most likely will read the next installment. Garcia and Stohl left us hanging with two of the teen characters and I will want to see how their stories unfold.

and so it begins

The second half of the school year begins today for my kids. They have a lot to accomplish in this semester. A final science fair project for the boy. ACT tutoring for the other two and then another shot at the test. College visits. Soccer.

And. So. It. Goes.

Beginnings can be rough, but they were up and into the usual morning routine today without too much grumbling or complaining. Maturity.

I have my usual routine to resume. I have Friends work to finish today. I need to restock the pantry so we can eat. Laundry always awaits in the hampers. Filing and getting ready for the tax packet to arrive from the accountant is on the agenda.

We can't be on holiday all the time because if we were, we wouldn't realize how lovely vacation is!

Happy Tuesday and here's hoping the sun shines on us today as we dive into 2011.

The new year list

Back in my 20's I'd make a list of things I'd like to do in the upcoming year. Not necessarily a list of resolutions, more of a wish list of goals, events and activities. I did that for several years and would squirrel away those pieces of notebook paper in my wallet. Unfortunately, that wallet was stolen in 1992 when hubby and I were visiting the library. Like a dunce I left my purse hanging on a chair while I returned a research book to a shelf. Stupid.

I haven't made a list like that since. Not sure what changed, except we began our family shortly thereafter and my self-focused wish list became 'mommified'.  The focus of my attention took a sharp turn and headed down a road where my goals, events and activities center around the three unique people I parent.

That is not to say that I don't do things for myself. Not at all. I've done some wonderful things in the almost 17 years since I became a mommy.

Last year I set a goal for myself to read 100 books. I fell three books short, by my record keeping. A tremendous effort and a lot of fun. I read a lot of new to me authors and several books out of my comfort zone. I didn't do any fiction writing this past year, but did quite a bit of press release and newspaper writing on behalf of the Friends. And I kept blogging. Almost every weekday.

It is still all about the words for me. If not mine, then others.

As I enter 2011, which officially begins for me tomorrow when the kids head back to school, I'm going to sit down and put together a wish list again. Because writing things down matters.

Christmas Eve

The long awaited day is here....Christmas Eve.  I believe we are ready for the festivities to begin. I've enjoyed a lovely week of baking, spending time with the kids and relishing in a slower pace. We attended hubby's office carry in lunch yesterday and enjoyed good food and good conversation. Today everyone is home and we will have our traditional meal before attending Mass tonight. The gifts are ready to be opened. The food is purchases and ready to be cooked. The camera is ready for its work. We are as prepared as we can possibly be!

I did manage to read another book this week. I snapped up Lili St. Crow's third Strange Angels novel, "Jealousy" and plowed through it. The oldest is now set to read it.  St. Crow is awesome as always. Gosh, can that woman write one mean story. Up next is "Beautiful Darkness" the second book from the duo of  Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I had the pleasure of meeting these two gals when the visited our library last year. Fun ladies and great presenters. The book starts off quickly and given more time, I'd be tearing through this one at a fast clip also.

I returned and then checked back out the Judith Rock novel, "Rhetoric of Death" and plan on reading it next weekend after our company departs. We are looking forward to my brother and his family visiting for a few days.

Merry Christmas to all!  May Love fill your hearts all year long and may tonight and tomorrow remind us all how important Love is.