Happy week after Thanksgiving! Whew! What a crazy week! We went to Boston to see Brad's family. We go almost every year and it's always so much fun. I also got to see my friend, Kelly, from RCHS who now lives there. Good times. Brad's aunt and uncle just built a new home and it is gorgeous! I got to play with my nieces, who are a trip. Alyvia and I are buddies - this kid loves me. It's really cute. She followed me everywhere - I think she spent the whole week in my lap!

Back at it this week, but the big news is the winter storm that came through. Ohmigosh! Yuck! It started sleeting yesterday afternoon and into last night. When I woke up this morning EVERY school in the KC metro area was closed except mine. Seriously. So I tried to not be a wimp and decided to go to work - next week is the last week of class and I didn' t want us to get behind. I backed out of the driveway really slowly and slowly drove down the street - which, by the way, isn't patchy ice like I thought - it's a solid sheet. The first left turn off my street left me spinning out (at 2mph) into the curb in front of someone's house. Not a good sign. So... I decided to make a left on the next street and just come home. Well, the street has a bit of an incline and I couldn't get the car to move - lots of engine noise - almost no acceleration. AND, there were cars parked on both sides of the street! I managed to mostly pull over (not all the way to the curb) in front of someone's house. The guy was in his garage so I told him for the safety of everyone I was leaving the car there. He laughed and said it was fine. I gathered my stuff and slipped and slid all the way home. I'm not interested in wrecking the car or hurting myself or someone else so I'm staying home. I've had very happy emails all day from students who didn't want to brave the ice, but didn't want to miss class. It was kinda fun to have a snow day. It's supposed to snow this evening on top of the ice (which hasn't melted yet, btw), which should be interesting. At least I'm always home on Fridays. :)

Here's one for the ages. I accidentally ruined my last pair of decent jeans this weekend (long story) and I'm leaving for Boston tomorrow - no time to go to the mall. So, I thought I'd take a chance and try to find a cheap pair at Wal-Mart that would get me through this week. Since I don't normally buy jeans at Wal-Mart, I picked out about 10 pair in 3 different sizes (women reading this - you understand why) . The heavens opened and the angels sang when the very first pair I put on fit like a glove! Perfect fit! That NEVER happens to me. Usually the best I get is a pair that fits "mostly". The very first pair. That never happens either. Needless to say, I handed the rest of the jeans back to the clerk and moved on to buy kitty food. Five minutes. 18 dollars. Hell, yeah. I'm savoring it because I'm sure it'll never happen again. I wonder if this is what it feels like to be a size 0... Oh, well - I'm having fajitas for dinner and I'm lovin' it!

So, I'm putting together the itinerary for our U.K. trip today. I can't believe we leave in 4 weeks!!!!! We're going to Stratford-Upon-Avon because we both love Shakespeare and it's one of the major sites that I haven't seen yet. However, we were planning to skip a performance by the Royal Shakespeare Company in the interest of time. I know they're the best, but living 20 miles from the Shenandoah Shakespeare players for nearly 4 years has not left us with a want of good Shakespeare. But, I just did a quick check on what is playing and they're doing The Merry Wives of Windsor, starring Judi Dench!!!!!! So, yeah, I just bought tickets.... I love her work - she's such a phenomenal actress - I can't believe we're going to see her on the stage! Yippeee!

More details about the trip coming soon.

I totally stole this idea from my friend, Susan, because I think it's great. I apologize for not updating this at all in about a month. Life is good, but rather unexciting. Those of you who know me well, understand I usually live life at warp-speed, juggling about a dozen things at once. Right now is a bit of a lull in the action - there's really nothing too interesting to write about. But, to give everyone a quick update, I'll mention a handful of minor happenings.

1. My house was invaded by ladybugs! A couple weeks ago, we were outside in the yard and noticed our house was covered in them! Dozens got into the house and have been taunting the kitties. Most have died and of all bugs to invade the house, I can deal with these. I don't mind picking them up and shooing them outside. Any other non-cute bug would have me shrieking!

2. Halloween was really fun now that we live in a neighborhood, but I didn't really have time to really decorate. I carved a couple of pumpkins, and put out a coupld of things, but that was about it. I'll do better next year, now that I know I can expect a lot of kids. My pumpkins are below

3. Vacation plans are coming along nicely. I have an itinerary almost plotted out - just trying to figure out the last couple of things. We leave in 5 weeks, though, so it's getting exciting!

4. My Korea blog is almost done. I have one more entry to finish and then I just need to work on some formatting issues. Coming soon!

5. Mary Beth got a job at the corporate office again and is moving back to Dallas this week! Her store in KY just celebrated their 1 year anniversary yesterday and she's glad she got to stay for that. Now she'll be a communications specialist to run lines of communication between all the stores in the country. Sounds like a cool job and it means she gets to go "home".

6. That's about it. I spend my days writing lectures and grading - no time for much else. Only a couple more weeks left, though. Next semester should be a little easier...

That's it here. I'll try to get on here more often just to say hi anyway.