SNOW DAY!!!

NMU Snow Globe

Temperatures today range from 39 to 4 with blizzard conditions tonight.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a snow day on Wednesday. I could use a sleep-in day...the problem is every time there is a snow day I'm too excited to sleep in! I can get up and watch all of the morning TV shows that I sleep through or miss because I'm at work.

Hoping that this snow globe storm turns into bad weather and that the person who gets to call the snow day decides that tomorrow would be swell.

Noquemanon!

This weekend is the Noquemanon Ski Race. That means the restaurants in town are going to be packed with skinny skiers and probably some old guys wearing spandex.

On Saturday, the race starts in Ishpeming or Negaunee (depending on the length) and ends at the dome (a block from our house). I think the race follows a similar path to the Ore to Shore bike race in the summer. One of my friends, Nikki, is going to skate the shorter race (25k) and wants to finish under 2 hours.

Last year they had to shorten the race because it was too melty and there was not enough snow. I might walk down the road and watch some people collapse at the finish line while I'm sipping my tea.

Swimming with the big fish...

Sinco had a good life. He was with us for almost three years. He lived in West Hall, Spooner Hall, and our house. He visited with lots of people and did some great tricks. On more than one occasion we thought Sinco was a gonner. The most dramatic was when he jumped into the sink, then slithered down into the GARBAGE DISPOSAL. We really didn't want to have to flip the switch. Both Bill and I tried to coax Sinco into the net and out of the garbage disposal. I even tried to pick him up from inside of it. Luckily, Sinco realized the extent of his decision to jump in the sink and decided to hop (if fish hop) back into the net so he could go back into his bowl.

For the past month Sinco hadn't been eating much and just hung out at the bottom of his bowl. We new this day was coming. The day before he went he had his last vigorous swim around the bowl.

On Sunday morning Sinco took his last breath (if that is what fish do). He is now swimming with the big fish and his friend Gogi Lawrence. Sunday we were driving along the lake and looked up and saw a rainbow. I told Bill it was Sinco telling us he had a good life. We enjoyed your time with us too Sinco! Swim on!

Blue Sky Drive By

Here's our drive home from most places. The drive up Front Street.

My dad always hates seeing men wearing faded red sweatpants. I was going to the grocery store the other day and spotted this guy. ---> Had to get a picture, well 3 of them...

Someone I know just got a tattoo. It is quite large...from the armpit to the hip. She said that she got a little nervous before the appointment. I get nervous before a haircut appointment. I haven't had my hair cut since March last year. Maybe I should suck it up and schedule an appointment...a haircut appointment that is.

Sadie? 8 years old.

Now, I'm not one for American Idol. But when you have a choice of 3 channels and American Idol is one of them you end up watching. And laughing. I especially like it beginning at about 5:20 on the song. Just watch...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAP3ZdXeWAk
Then Paula busts out with her mad dance moves and bumps the guy! Too funny.

Happy Birthday Carolyn!

Seriously?!?! I went to class last night and for the majority of the class we went around the room and introduced ourselves...2 minutes to talk about ourselves, life, why we are in the class, etc. One guy started talking about how he is a computer teacher at the middle school yadda yadda yadda, he's married, his wife works at a bank and also is Miss Midway. Pause, pause. Miss Midway...oh! Miss Midway, you mean the Hooters girl who is in the Midway commercials for cranes, trailers, and other stuff? Yup, http://www.midwayrentalsandsales.com/store/index.php
Good thing he included that in who he is and why he is in the class...Seriously?!

I finally did it. I bought a KitchenAid mixer. I've been using my hand mixer and it has worked perfectly well. I couldn't pass up the bargain price...$159 for a brand new white KitchenAid Artisan 5 qt. mixer!

Bill wanted to get one around Christmas time but nearly crapped his pants when he saw how much they were. Well, today at Amazon.com they had a sale and with the $30 rebate the total price, SHIPPING INCLUDED, will be $159! The full retail at Kohl's right now is $359!!! Holy smokes! Thanks to my bargain hunting site http://wantnot.net/ !!!

I've been trying to post some pictures of my new bike on the MTBR forums, and needed a place to showcase the images. Thanks to Haley for letting me hijack her blog for this purpose.

To those regular readers: don't be alarmed, this site's content will regain normalcy with the next post.

There is a gumball machine in the office and from time to time I snag a gumball. Today I snagged 5. I once got a gumball machine for my birthday. It was plastic and held about 75 gumballs in it. I think they were gone by the end of my birthday week. The gumballs in the office are so old that they crunch when you bite into them.

Last night we went grocery shopping at Econo. We only had a few things on our list so we grabbed a basket and began our trek through the store. First we grabbed some bananas next we were heading around by the deli towards the dairy section. All of the sudden the lights flickered and then it was dark! They popped on and then off again and then stayed off. There were a few generated lights that allowed us to see that there were people in front of us, so we decided to continue shopping. Picked up some eggs, frozen bagels, and were trying to read the flavors of the soup that we wanted when a store employee directed us to the front of the store.

Bill thought it might be terror related. : ) I told him that this is probably one of the best places to be if it was.

As we stood at the front of the store we heard other people talking about what they were going to do. Some continued shopping, others stood in line at the checkout, others abandoned their carts in the middle of the aisles. There were a few people whose carts were FULL. What a bummer to have to either wait or abandon them! After waiting around for a couple of minutes in the front of the store we decided to hit the road. I put the bagels back in the freezer section and put the eggs on the open frozen shelf containing pizzas.

Later that night I asked him what food he would have taken if it was terror related. He said some meat and canned foods. I said Powerbars, even though I don't like them.

Over the holiday break (that was too short) we snowshoed at Little Garlic River on the way to Big Bay. Tim, Sam, and Milton joined us on the wintery adventure. We piled into the car, drove up, had an adventrue, piled back in, and drove around and toured Big Bay. We drove up to the Huron Mountain Club and Tim snuck into the gated area. The guard didn't see him because he ran so fast. He took lots of secret pictures and ate some exclusive Huron Mountain Club snow before speeding past the gate and dashing back into the car. I couldn't believe that the guard didn't see him!

It has been gray and rainy for that past few days. Melty. Drippy. The last day we were able to ski was Saturday. It was so warm on Sunday that we went for a bike ride around town. The bike path was sloppy so we rode the roads.

Saturday night we wanted to go out for dinner. We both wanted pizza but thought our favorite, Vango's, would be busy. So, we went to the Boat Bar. The Boat Bar is a true Marquette secret. So secret, in fact, that we were 2 of 4 customers there. I tried to find pictures of the Boat Bar or even one of the Villa Capri, the restaurant that supports the bar. I'll describe the place. Red walls, black space dividers, red tables with red vinyl chairs, red and black swirreled carpet, and in the middle of it all, serving as the bar, is a giant black gondola with an actual oar hanging from the ceiling. We had two beers and two pizzas and brought home leftovers.

HOLY CRAP!!! I'm totally star-struck. Today at lunch I got a call from Jean Chatzky's radio show!!!!!!! Here's how it went...

Phone rings with a 312 area code.

Bill says: It's probably Nick.

Haley: Hello?

Girl: Hi, Haley? We're going to put you on with Jean Chatzky.

Haley: (HOLY SHIT! OH MY GOSH) Right now?

Girl: Yes

I run to the kitchen, grab a piece of paper so I can write my notes on what to ask. Bill runs and finds a pen. I try to write stuff down as I hear Jean and her friend talking in the background about Hayward, WI. I can only remember parts of the numbers like 12, what does 12 mean? Oh crap!!! What am I going to ask!!! Holy Crap!!!

I manage to write a few things down...12 meaning 12% is what NMU puts towards our retirement. Student loans, mortgage, tax refund, etc. FREAKING OUT, I run upstairs and as I'm on the stairs they begin talking about me...

Her friend: I can tell by the area code of the next caller that they are in my neighborhood in the Upper Peninsula. Gab gab gab, Mackinaw Island Fudge, yadda yadda yadda...

Jean: Hi Haley, we've been talking about where we like to go on vacation and he just mentioned Mackinaw and the fudge they make there...Is it really the best fudge?

Haley: Mmmhmmm yeah, it is delicious. (wanting to say something about packing the fudge)

Jean: I wonder what Atlantic City would say...So, Haley, what can I help you with today?

Haley: Well, my husband and I are wondering what we should do with our tax return.

Jean: You mean refund?

Haley: Um yes. (Stupid, stupid)

I was so star struck and excited that I can't even remember what else we talked about. I tried to sound intelligent and clear, but I totally stuttered and mumbeled my way through it.

I'm not sure when it will be airing on Oprah and Friends Channel 156, but let me tell you, I'm going to be listening every single day until it is!!!!

Not the best decision last week. But they sure were a bargain! 4 for $10 and Jack's thin crust were 5 for $10. 9 pizzas, 11 days off of work, lots of skiing, lots of sleeping.