The Ice Storm cometh.

I'm shivering a little, either from my nasty sore throat/sinus illness or from the weather creeping into our home through the dining room window to my right.

The forecast is grim:

Tonight...Sleet in the evening. Light freezing rain. No snow accumulations. Ice accumulations around one half of an inch. Lows in the mid 20s. Temperatures nearly steady after midnight. East winds 5 to 10 mph. The chance of precipitation 90 percent.

Tuesday...Light freezing rain. Ice accumulations of one half to three quarters of an inch. Highs in the upper 20s. Temperatures steady or slowly falling. North winds 5 to 10 mph. The chance of precipitation 90 percent.

Tuesday Night...Sleet...light freezing rain likely and a chance of snow in the evening...then a slight chance of snow and sleet after midnight. Snow accumulations up to 2 inches. Ice accumulations of up to one quarter of an inch. Lows around 17. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. The chance of precipitation 70 percent in the evening...decreasing to 20 percent after midnight.

So... if my math is accurate... we can expect to have up to four inches of frozen mess on our hands, only two of that snow. May God freeze most of it on the way down, before it hits our trees and power lines. Right now, the metallic sound of heavy sleet is positively welcome.

If I were not so shivery, I would love to write more. But I must go brew more tea.

22) Sleet hitting my window instead of freezing rain tonight.
23) A dry, warm (okay, warm-away-from-the-windows) home to shield my family from that sleet.
24) A husband who'll be home from work for the next couple of days to help with the kids, which will keep me from losing my mind as we're holed up in here all together.
25) For Grammy, who turns 63 today. Her birthday dinner here was postponed, but we are still celebrating her. A tremendous gift, to enjoy my mother-- merry, helpful, loving, and hospitable to extremes-- on a daily basis, just a phone call or a short drive away. I am hugely thankful that my kids will grow up knowing her well and loving her so deeply.
26) Hot tea on cold nights and sore throats.

I never do these things.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My middle name, Virginia, is the middle name of both my grandmothers.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
This is embarassing... about an hour ago. I listen to a country music station when frozen stuff or tornadoes are about, because it's the best local weather source we have. Today there was a song on it about a little girl growing up, and her Daddy weathering the difficult times... sleepless newborn nights, leaving her at preschool despite her tears, teenager era, etc... I'm helpless against this sappy kind of stuff now that I have babies of my own.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
It used to be fine, but now that I hardly write anymore, it's getting pretty sloppy. I wonder if it'll be antiquated and quaint to handwrite things someday, like calligraphy is now.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
I actually do like Petit Jean bologna more than just about anything. I hate turkey or ham if its slimy, but like it if it's dryish and smoked and sliced thin.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Two. One of each, three and one year old.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I hope so. I can be hard to get to know, though, and I worry that I'm thoughtless or neglectful of my friendships. So maybe I wouldn't?


7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
I hope not.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
I do.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Not now that I have kids. Roller coasters are about as death-defying as I'm willing to get now that I have two little dependants.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Homemade granola, or Cracklin' Oat Bran. I rarely have either because I cannot stop eating them if they're around.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Not if I can avoid it.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Emotionally/spiritually, yes. Physically, ha.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Mint chocolate chip, or homemade vanilla w/ fresh peaches. I'm not a huge ice cream person.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Where their eyes go.

15. RED OR PINK?
Red.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My ability to distract myself from things I truly need to accomplish. (this is a fine example of that ability; I have QuickBooks waiting for me right now.)

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Jen Dove. And my sister's true self.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO DO THIS?
I don't really care. But it would be interesting to read.

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Black mary jane Dr. Martens.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
french-pressed coffee made from husband-roasted beans. Superb.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The sweet sound of silence. My kids are at Grammy's.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
eggplant. (Is that a crayon color? Dark dark purple, I mean.)

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Coffee. baking bread. clean baby. clean sheets. my grandmother's house. rain. the Buffalo River.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My haircutter. My hair, it is suddenly in sad, grown-out, lifeless shape. She is going to rescue me.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
I got this from Kim, who I like very much, although I've never met her.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
I will watch the Arkansas Razorbacks if I am with someone who is a fan. I can become a fan by osmosis (and alumni status) for short periods. Other than that, I'm entirely indifferent.

27. HAIR COLOR?
Dark brown, shot through with more and more silver these days.

28. EYE COLOR?
Green/blue.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Not usually. I have contacts, but I mostly just wear them for dress-up. My glasses are my everyday wear.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
GOOD pad thai. Indian curries. Recipes from Crescent Dragonwagon and America's Test Kitchen.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Documentaries, actually, which usually are neither of those.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
"The Queen." interesting but also slowmoving.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Blue

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Winter.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Depends on who from.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Tiramisu from the long-defunct Pianalto's. (sigh.)

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
no idea.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
no idea.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
"The Red Tent" by Diamant.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Don't have a mouse pad.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
"The Queen." (We don't have cable and our antenna picks up three spectacularly cruddy stations-- so we don't watch a lot of tv on the tv. We do download a few things on the computers.)

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
My little boy's happy babbling.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Geographically, central Europe.
Culturally, a shantytown in a dry riverbed/junkyard in Mexico.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I used to bake and write and decorate pretty well, when I have the time. Time is rare these days, so those abilities are fading. I can, however, drop off to sleep at a moment's notice, in almost any location or position. Oh, and I love to customize databases. LOVE IT.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Arkansas

47. WHAT ARE YOU BAKING NEXT?
Nothing anytime soon... we're trying to drop some pounds.

48. DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR FIRST LOVER IS?
Yes.

49. WHAT ARE YOU DRINKING RIGHT NOW?
Cooling coffee. Need a warmup.

50. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Anybody's. Everybody's.

Open windows in January.

...and that's not on the computer, folks. I'm sitting here in bare feet, with breezes blowing through my downstairs, and it's nearly midnight. It got up to 77 degrees today, just three hours south of here (which is our nearest TV station in this state, believe it or not, and our source of info when we're at mom and dad's-- we don't have cable or a strong enough antenna to pick up legitimate TV station signals).

Wow. 2009 already. I remember imagining myself at 26, when 2000 would arrive, and thinking that was so far away. What happened?

Our gal has a new dollhouse, a new playhouse/supermarket thing ($15 on Amazon! SCORE), and a new tiny little Ariel doll which is apparently superior to them both (sigh. I can prohibit the movie, but I can't keep Santa from bringing an Ariel doll when it's the ONLY thing she wants in all the world).

(like all these parentheses? It's called LAZY WRITING. If I had time, I'd go through this, editing carefully so I could include all the info while removing 90% of the parentheticals. I won't. Suck it up and stumble through figuring out what I'm saying, please. Time alone in a quiet house is rare, and I won't spend it editing tonight.)

Our fella has... well, a huge multicolored dragon that has yet to leave the living room. A set of MegaBlocks, which he does seem to like in a chewy sort of fashion. An Oball. Not much else. This is the Christmas year of I Love Wrapping Paper for him, after all, and most all of his one-year-old toy needs are met by his big sister's stash.

Me? The best dining room chandelier in all the world, ALREADY INSTALLED. (cue hosts of angels triumphant here) A restored vintage stove, which we continue to believe (what amazing faith we have!) will be delivered in the near future. A WoodWick candle (candleish joy for those with no fireplace of their own), a scholarly book on the Ozarks which has turned out to be rather outdated and dull, and a gift card for Barnes and Noble, already spent in the clearance bins for next year's niece and nephew birthdays.

Last year we took time to think through the Advent season with friends and Andrew Peterson's Christmas album, and it was fabulous. Husband performed some of that music at church, which further connected us to the deeper side of the holiday. I bowed out of giftgiving and cardsending, having a new baby to tend to night and day. It was refreshing.

This year was a bit too much about Santa and a bit too little about Christ, in my opinion. I'd like next year to be a little more thoughtful, a little less frantic. But that's okay. One good thing about the years flying by is that I know that we'll be upon the next holiday season before too long, and I'll have another shot and doing it more meaningfully.

Other goingson...

We're resisiting the urge to resist the cliche, and bowing to our shared desire to eat well and exercise beginning this week. There's a reason this happens for so many people in January... brimfull of baked goods and chocolate, sated with sauces and stuffings and Santa-shaped chocolate-dipped marshmallows and such, we're ready to strip the intake down to the bare minimums, enjoy some cleansing.

I must learn QuickBooks. Like, now. Our taxes depend on it, and I'm 12 months behind logging our expenses in this new business venture already. Eek.