2.23.2010

...the excellent adventure continues!

when we last left our characters...it was friday--and no school.  MHD went into work...although a very kind neighbor had to help him get up one of the hills, MTSC was in houston at a soccer tournament, and so that just left me and MDE.  well--we did what anyone would do in this situation...we built a snowman.  now it wasn't just any snowman.  no, it had to represent the missing member of our family-MTSC!  isn't it awesome?
we were sure to email the photo to him and a few of the moms' that were able to go to houston so that they could feel our team spirit all the way from the fort!

and it must have worked...they were the 9th seed (dead last) but managed to win their first game....and then, they won their second game. they had made it to the semifinals!

but meanwhile, back in the fort...we still had no power so MDE and i went to chipotle and then i dropped her off at a friend's house where it was much warmer due to the fact that they still had power!  i really don't remember much about the afternoon (maybe i was in some 'cold coma', i'm not sure) until MHD came home and insisted that we go to a hotel.  

it just so happened that the new, very nice omni hotel was offering a 'stay with us if your power is out' deal and upon check in...we saw no less than 4 other families that we know from our area!  MHD was on call, so while he was at the hospital...i was hunkered down in the soft bed, flippin' through channels, and surfin' the web!  i fell asleep not knowing what to expect on saturday....boy, was i surprised when MHD, who had left to go back to the hospital for rounds at 5am, phoned me at 8:30am...

from love field--about to board a southwest airlines flight to houston!!! he needed me to have a rental car reserved for him when he landed so he could zip to the soccer fields.  it seems he just couldn't stand it--with MTSC's team making it to the semifinals against a rival school (of which we have a close friend whose child would be playing...)he just had to go!  and i am so glad that he did...we still had no power, MDE had to work and then had rehearsal...and they won!  up next--the finals!  not too bad for the ninth seed!

now, i wish our adventures had ended there...but no.  the final game was played at 2:30pm.  by then, our boys had already played 3 games and they were so tired.  needless to say, they lost...but a 2nd place finish in division II for a team that really shouldn't have won even one game is pretty awesome!

MHD rode back to the fort with another dad...MTSC rode the team bus.  they didn't get home until 10:30pm...still no power, but too late for a hotel.  so we tucked ourselves in with no less than 5 blankets each and tossed and turned until morning.

sunday morning--still no power, MDE still at a friend's house, MTSC too tired to care that it was 55 degrees in the house, MHD back at the hospital, and me...well, i went to church--without a shower and funky hair.  and just when you think--it may be cold, but at least it's home...although our home is not officially on the market again until march 1, our real estate agent scheduled a showing to a family from out of town.  we couldn't say no...what if they were the ones? 

so, i frantically cleaned the house the best i could with no power...but there was one catch.  the showing was for 1:30pm.  not a big deal, you say?  well, they understood about the lack of electricity (i even graciously set out several flashlights...just hoping  they wouldn't look too close) but the 3 dogs?  i needed to do something with them and 'the back 40' (as we call it) which is where we usually put them, was wet and muddy from all the melting snow. this normally wouldn't be a problem, but MDE and i had tickets to the ballet at bass hall at 2pm!  so after thinking and thinking--i came up with a plan!  see, i would put the dogs in my car, drive to the end of the cul de sac, and let MTSC, yes MTSC sit in the car with the pups and when the showing was over....
drive my car back home and into the driveway!  the fact that he doesn't even have a learners permit didn't matter.  he did fine, we enjoyed the show, and the showing went well.

but...still no power.  by the time we returned home after the ballet, MHD was home from work and a church meeting.  we had tried several times to contact a live person with oncor, but to no avail.  well, that is until MHD, fed up by now, said we had a downed power line.  that worked.  he spoke to someone...but they were clueless.  MDE packed up and went back to the friend's house and we called the omni back.  seeing that it was valentines day, they weren't 'dealing' anymore.  so off to the hyatt place we went.  on the way, we drove around the 'hood looking for an oncor truck.  hallelujah, we found one.  only problem was they weren't from the area, it was pitch black, and they were 'looking for the problem' house to house with two small flashlights.  needless to say, we were not encouraged.

but monday morn after we woke up and drove through chik-fil-a for bfast, we arrived at a home with power!!!
hooray...the adventure was over!  the one thing i have to say after all of this...if i had a nickel for every time i flipped on a closet or bathroom light during this 'throwback to the dark ages (literally)', i would....

have a lot of nickels! haha!

2.18.2010

dave & sue's...& ems & charlie's excellent adventure

...and what an adventure it has been!  pull up a chair...this may take a while!!

where, oh where, to begin?  let's see--last wednesday night {feb 10} would be a logical place to start.  as i have stated before, MTSC has had the awesome experience of playing varsity soccer for his high school.  because this school is a small private school, they often have to travel.  well, this past weekend was the final tournament for winter sports.  just so happened that this year the tournament was in houston....and in fort worth on wednesday night, the weather was very cold...and the forecast for thursday was snow.  the coach decided that the soccer team needed one last practice and because it was too cold to practice outside on wednesday, he called for a practice to begin at 7am on thursday.  the team buses would be leaving on thursday at 2:45pm, so that meant that MTSC had to be packed and ready to go to houston early, early thursday morning.  

thursday morning we awoke early to find the ground covered with a beautiful light layer of snow...with more snow coming down.  MTSC and i loaded up the car and left for school at 6:40am...i dropped him off at the gym dressed in his practice uniform with his soccer bag, overnight bag, and backpack at 7am {whew}!  the beautiful snow was still coming down....i headed to my pilates class that starts 8am.  traffic was starting to slow due to the snow and so i was a few minutes late to class.  i was then surprised to hear MTSC's personalized ring tone begin to emanate from my phone!  seems in all our 'packing' and 'planning' for the weekend...we forgot to pack the school uniform for classes on thursday...oops!  so i left pilates...still snowing...and headed home to get the uniform and take it to him to change into for classes.  i had about 45 minutes before classes started--no prob, i thought.  well, remember...it's still snowing and by the time i get home and gather the navy pants and white button-down--i am stranded.  it's just not going to happen.  so i call the school, explain the situation, and hunker down at home.

that is...until noon when they called school off.  MTSC is set...they are sending the team buses early--they load up and head for houston.  MDE, on the other hand, somehow had to get home.  and this isn't just any snow day...this is a snow event.  so MHD was actually able to meet her at school, switch cars {his has front wheel drive}, and get her car fairly close to home...there was no way her car would have handled the two major hills by our house.
thursday after dinner, we get a call from some friends who have recently had a baby.  seems their electricity had gone out....it's still snowing--and they were wondering if they could spend the night.  not a problem at our house where anyone is welcome any time.  well, not a problem until 3am when our power went out.  we all woke up friday morning to a gray sky...it had stopped snowing, but the total snowfall on record was 12.5''--can you believe it?  our friends packed up to go, school was cancelled, and MTSC was safe in houston...

...to be continued

2.08.2010

my dream--

ok...i've seen it!
what, you may ask, have i seen?
my dream pantry!!
when we built the house that we currently live in, i had always assumed that this large walk-in pantry would be so fun to organize...you know, alphabetical spices, products arranged on shelves by genre (e.g. baking ingredients, lunch box goodies, canned goods, etc.)
now i will admit that my spices are in alphabetical order and things are relatively organized by genre, but i think what frustrates me most is the fact that they are not in uniform containers. i know, i know, it really isn't that difficult to buy containers that all match, but that's not the point.  i am a visual learner...and i hadn't really seen what i was looking for yet.  until now!
take a look at my dream--
real simple february 2010

just look at the uniformity...the labels (have i mentioned how much i love my label maker?)....the knowledge of knowing what you have!  i am certain that nothing in her pantry is from 2007...which reminds me that i will most definitely need to have some sort of 'expiration dating' system.
but for now...goodbye, disorganized and chaotic pantry--
hello, container store and a dream come true!