Surprise, surprise.

There's snow in the forecast. Again. We got a light dusting of 11 inches on Monday, so why not bookend the end of the week with a few more inches? That'd be really great. Thanks.

Have I mentioned that I keep my thermostat at a balmy 62 degrees in the winter? And that I work from home? Just so you get the full picture of my suffering this winter.

Spring? Spring?!? Where are you? Please come quickly! I don't think my spirit can take much more of this white stuff.

Some days?

Some days do you just feel like you're frantically paddling just to stay afloat and you're not getting ANYWHERE? Yeah, me too.

Sunny Days are (NOT) here again!

This just in... we have a new record here in Iowa! 55 consecutive days with 4+ inches of snow on the ground. I'm starting to think we live in the U.P. Awesome. And just in case you were wondering, the 10 day forecast is calling for more snow. And no temps higher than 33. I'm thinking we're setting another record tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. And the day after that. Probably up through Easter Memorial Day.

Home, sweet Iowa. Oh, how I didn't miss your dreary dismal winters when I lived in Denver. Thanks for the constant reminder of what the color gray looks like. I had almost forgotten, that is until the last 55 days came.

Okay, I'm off to refill my Seasonal Affect Disorder prescription, buy a sun lamp, and scope out Internet sales to warm, tropical climates. Who's with me?

PS- I'd post a picture, but it would look something like this:

Snow Day?

Today is the fourth day in the past two weeks that the DM area schools have had a late start/early dismissal/cancellation due to the weather. Last week it was super icy, today it's blizzardly. And so windy I swear our holiday wreaths on the window are going to come crashing right through the panes with the very next gust. (No, there's no need to chastise me on still having our Christmas wreaths up outside! I REALIZE they should come down, but in case you didn't pay attention to my first sentence, it's been CRAZY COLD her the last two weeks and they've been packed with snow and ice. Plus, that's outside stuff. And LC is in charge of outside stuff.) I feel a bit like Winnie the Pooh did when he sang Blustery Day, provided it was 10 degrees outside when was singing and not just a beautiful spring day with a bit of a breeze. Oh, what I would do right now for a beautiful spring day.

And here's my other thing about snow days- I DON'T GET THEM. Ah, yes, yet another "advantage" to working from home. My office closes when the local school district closes. They were closed two days the past two months for bad weather. Our local school system here has been closed 6 days so far this year due to weather. But here at Casa de Cunningham, I keep plugging away. It's never too bad outside for me to not be able to make it work from my bedroom upstairs to my office downstairs. Great. That's just great. Not that I don't love my job, but ever since those of us north of the Mason Dixon line were five it's been ingrained in our heads that on really crappy days you shouldn't be asked to produce anything at all, minus a cup of hot chocolate. So I can't really be expected to retrain my brain now after 25 years of alternative thinking to be productive when the outside world shuts down, can I? And please don't give me that "but you get to wear your slippers to work" line- I wear my slippers at my office in Denver, too. Ask my coworkers- I keep a pair under my desk. I know I should just be happy to have a job. And our health. And our safety that we've made it through all these crazy winter storms. But is it too much to ask for a snow day (or two!) also? Yes, I think that would be nice.

Cozy Little House!

Don't you just want to curl up with a good book and sip hot chocolate out of this cozy little mug with its cozy little house? Me too. I want the one with the snowflake sprinkles, please. I have SO MUCH work to get done this week before the break and SO LITTLE motivation to do any of it. Ugh.

If you are feeling crafty (and have more free time than the rest of us), more pictures and a tutorial on how to make a little house of your very own can be found here.

Career Change

After checking out this amazing site a bit, I've determined that I should have definitely gone into the field of infographics rather than student affairs. Mind you, my graphic design skills leave a LOT to be desired and although I'm good with numbers, I'm not so sure I've got the right mind for these types of statistics. But gosh, other than those minor details I am destined to be an infographic designer (or is it infographicator? or infographer? hmmm... maybe I should figure that out before the career change).

Either way, aren't the images so, well, pretty, and darn-right informative all at the same time? I love it! And the website has a whole section on infographics! Do you think Lawrence would mind if I decorated our house with prints like these?

http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/0911/education/flash.html

http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/0912/dirty-water/transparency.jpg

Brilliant Bunks

Reading through a few blogs this morning during my first cup of coffee and I came across this piece of brilliance:

It's from Resource Furniture, but I found it through Apartment Therapy.

Um, yes, please! Almost makes me want to move to a 100sq foot loft just so I have a reason to have to fit one of these babies underneath my Christmas tree. (Although if I were in such a loft, I would probably have to have a smaller tree, too, but you know what I mean!) I'd like it in yellow, please. Honestly, it's like the Jetsons meet Traditional Home. Isaac Mizrahi meets the Space Shuttle. The sheer fabulousness of it is almost too much to boggle my not-quite-caffinated-enough mind this morning. But just in case you're already on to cup two and can handle such a thing of beauty, I thought I would share.

PS- I have quite the travel story to share but that WILL have to wait until I have a few more glasses of wine cups of coffee in me before I can share. Stay tuned!