Snowday Shmoday

Today all of the are schools are closed and people are staying 'in' due to the snowy weather. I personally love snow days because it is an opportunity to slow down and enjoy being home.

Since the kids didn't have preschool and were up at 6:10am this morning (ahhh!!!) I decided that an Advent craft was in order.

For three decades this ornament has graced my family's Christmas tree.This year while we were decorating the kids tree they thought it was really fun to see mommy when she was little.

So now, here is our own version of this timeless ornament.
The kids painted salsa jar lids on both sides (letting each side dry in between)then we glued green ribbon around the edges of the lid, made a hanger, and pasted their picture inside.

Voilaa timeless treasure

Hello Sunshine

Just a few days ago I wrote about how wicked the roads were in our first snowstorm of the season.

Don't worry, were not still freezing. In fact, there's no sign of snow anywhere; its like the storm didn't even hit us.

In case you didn't know (which you probably do), Colorado weather can change very quickly.

Case in point: The high temperature on Oct. 29th was 26 °F / -3 °C. With the wind shield factor it was only 8 °F.

f f f f freezing!

But this weekend brought sunny skies and a high temperature of 68 °F / 19 °C today.

b b b beautiful!

During my afternoon walk in the neighborhood I said "hello sunshine"!

How nice it would be for these high temperatures to stay. But alas, the temperatures will probably drop again making me even more ready to walk the beaches of Mexico.

it's Wicked out there

Our first Colorado winter snow storm is showing its face. Earlier than some years the snow has been falling steadily for hours and its wicked out there.

The roads are worse in the Denver area than they are here...which we had the pleasure of finding out first hand during our long road trip south this morning.

Even though the roads were icky our trip to the capital city was well worth it. Jeff and I, along with his entire church staff and their spouses met for dinner and a show - the musical production of Wicked.

Wicked is celebrating its 6th year on Broadway this month.

The story is a tongue-in-cheek back story about what was happening in the Land of Oz before Dorothy and Toto were dropped in by a Kansas tornado.

It underscores the social message: don't jump too quickly to judge by what you see happening on the surface - "Things are not what they seem"

I loved the inventive story.

I loved the cast.

In my opinion the stand out was the smart green-skinned "wicked witch of the west" Elphaba played by Donna Vivino. She is a dynamic all-around performer.
Glinda, played by newcomer Chandra Lee Schwartz was also enjoyable as the "good witch". I appreciated her silky soprano voice and her adorable yet ditsy character.

So, even though the roads are wicked, seeing Wicked was worth it!

5 Minutes

Is all the time I have because I vowed to go to bed at 10pm. I often say "I'm going to go to bed at ___ time but I often fall short.

Today was a 'stay at home' day. The kiddos were tuckered out so we spent our morning playing with play dough, blocks, their laptops, and watching a short episode of 'Bear in the Blue House'.

After a snack we enjoyed the beautiful weather outside (a high of 68 degrees today). The kids rode bikes and played in the sandbox which has been dormant for months. And, they 'helped' me rake up a pile of leaves by our front door steps.

Being outside today gave me the Summer itch.

I love Summer.

The hint of it motivated me to work on the yard to prepare it for new growth. But alas, we could get snow this weekend so my hopes for new blooms, fresh veggies and green grass will have to wait awhile.