Things to Celebrate
Two words I love: snow and done. After getting a near-miss Monday and being totally devastated, we finally got our snow day Tuesday. It was fabulous. Not get-your-sled-out-and-somehow-hurt-yourself-then-drink-hot-chocolate fabulous, but great all the same. And it was especially nice because the night before I had finally, finally finished There You’ll Find Me, my next YA. And I turned in that book with the sweet knowledge that I had given myself a big, gigantic much-needed writing break until the next deadline, so it was perfect. I didn’t have to do a thing. By the way, Save the Date releases February first, and if you’d like to show some book love and spread the word, you can borrow my handy widget on the right for your own blog. (Update, this might not be working right this sec. Please check back for updated code.)
If you’re like me, it’s hard to think about summer right now, but one thing that does get me excited is the thought of the Never the Same mission trip, a trek I’m taking with some awesome women and teens to Ecuador in June and July. You should totally check it out and consider going with us. It’s a yearly event put on by Susie Shellenberger, the mastermind of Brio magazine, and now the creator and “mom” of Susie magazine, a monthly publication I sometimes contribute to (like last month), and where I always see a great word by author Natalie Lloyd. We would love for you to go to Ecuador with us. It’s going to be a blast.
On Monday I could not blog because I was too busy tracking the winter system and charting the variances between the dew point and temperature, as well as following the radar. People laugh at it, but you guys have no idea how time consuming it is. My snow work is important, and I don’t take it lightly. My efforts all paid off when I heard the news by eight o’clock Monday night, roads in the county were treacherous (yes!!!) and then at four am when I learned we would not conduct classes at our educational institution (score!!!!).
It wasn’t the laziest day I had imagined, but it was still wonderful all the same. And now, if you will, a breakdown of Snow Day One, 2011.
1. Woke up at 4 when school called.
2. Woke up at 5 when school called again.
3. Exercised grace, forgave them, and went back to sleep
4. Watched scary mother on Today show who has written a book on how making your kids hate you is good for them
5. Turned off Today show and wondered if this principal could be successfully applied to teaching
6. Made break-n-bake cookies.
7. Observed cookies and concluded they looked weird.
8. Took a few bites of cookie.
9. Deduced cookies looked weird because they tasted weird.
10. Went to Wal-Mart and bought cookies made by better bakers than I, the Keebler Elves.
11. Went to nursing home and helped host a tea for lady residents.
12. Met new people
13. Distributed cookies
14. Did not eat cookies
15. Gave self a pat on the back
16. Poured tea.
17. Poured coffee.
18. Experienced fear over filling cups too full and being hard for ladies to hold.
19. Experienced complaint when one resident held up 3/4 full cup and asked, “Is this all we get?”
20. Refilled cups.
21. Cleaned up
22. Got in car and pulled out onto highway
23. Pulled over by cop
24. Dug frantically for registration and proof of insurance
25. Piece by piece, handed cop registration and proof of insurance from years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010…and 10 minutes later, 2011
26. Swore to clean glove box
27. Swore to observe stop signs
28. Swore
29. Prayed and overused the word “please”
30. Thanked and blessed nice cop
31. Drove home giving thanks and wishing I had some cookies
32. Watched all four hours of BBC’s North and South
33. Swooned a little
34. Prayed for another snow day, overusing the word “please”
35. Gave thanks for a great day.
36. Said goodbye to the snow.
So what is your favorite way to spend a snow day? Mine is sledding with friends and eating ridiculous amounts of junk food, but neither one was possible this time around. Not enough snow and I’m being all healthy and junk. (It’s soooo crimping my style…)
See you Friday!
(I would also like to give credit to my finally watching North and South to author Kaye Dacus and Ruth of Book Talk and More. I’ve seen them mention it 100 times, and I finally, FINALLY started watched it. Sooooooo good.)
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21 Comments so far
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Loved the description of your snow day. I’ve never been pulled over (I drive very cautiously at the speed limit and therefore always lead a parade of cars full of angry drivers), but I’ve always been afraid that I wouldn’t be able to find the right thing for the police. =)
I need to see “North and South”! I’ve seen clips of it on Youtube, but never all of it.
Monday was the first day of classes, and I was really hoping my night class would be canceled (it wasn’t, but we got out early). My child care teacher loves snow, so she had us go out to the playground, with the few children who were still left at the daycare, and do a snow dance. We got a lot of strange looks. Mostly from the children. Anyway, it worked, though it was a little delayed. Today’s a snow day for me! I intend on cleaning my room a little, crafting, and finishing a book that I was up late last night reading.
~Kristin
I forgot to say that I’m so excited for “Save the Date”!
~Kristin
Oh I wish I still got snow days! Monday TN was hit by the snowpocalypse and work didn’t close…and my carpool coworker & I got in a wreck (one of those stupid HOV signs got the better of the back panel of her van). Needless to say neither of us made it to work that day.
So happy you loved North & South! Thanks for the link shout-out!
Oh Kristin, you HAVE to watch North & South in its entirety!!!
I love to spend a snow day in my warm fleece jammies all day while reading & playing games with my kids. They are on a 2 hour delay this morning, but it looks like they are going to have to go to school. Bummer. In honor of them, I think I will still stay in my jammies and read and play games with the one child that has not started school yet. I am doing it for the children, of course
Snow days? I’m on day three and it was fun for awhile but enough already!
We are frozen here in north Alabama — snow, ice and I’m flat sick of seeing white. Bring back some green. But let me also state that I’m THANKFUL for power, satellite, and for Internet…. life is good even though I’m stuck inside my winter wonderland.
Read. Read, read, read. I got to spend my snow day reading (altho it was technically for work), and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love drinking hot cocoa and watching movies too. I started watching Band of Brothers (OH MY WORD THIS SERIES IS GOING TO BLENDERIZE MY POOR TENDER HEART), which felt like a movie, so that counts, right?
i LOVE sledding and coming back to eat junk food too! too bad i had to work and pass on sledding on capitol hill on monday. yeah i am talking to you…thomas nelson.
I’m hoping to go to never the same mission trip
turning in my application soon.
and i cant wait for save the date!
LOL! I love your snowday list
I can’t believe I am saying this, but I miss having a snow day. I live in northern Maine and for some reason the storms keep going out to sea instead of visiting us. We are hosting an Olympic Biathalon next month, which could be a little tricky with so little snow. I’m a bit afraid to pray for it. You know the saying, Be careful what you pray for, you just might get it.
i went on the never the same mission trip to Guatemala in 2009 it was amazing!!
i have a friend thats trying to go this year. im so jealous.
what is this “snow” you speak of???
i actually remember school activities being cancelled because of excessive heat here in my neck of the woods.
glad you got your snow day!! and i gotta say, you were mighty productive Jenny! my list would have ended with #10… possibly #11 being falling into a sugar coma after consuming said cookies. the end.
Dude, you got pulled over? Glad to hear you are keeping up with that diet. You’ll have to let me know how you feel by the end of the month. Also, so awesome you had a snow day
Awe! You helped with a tea party for the elderly!? Wait…you didn’t slap a cop or something and got community service did you? I would both be amazed and be afraid.
And then have another aaaawe moment over the fact that you, regardless of the reason (though I’m POSITIVE they were sweet, sincere, and oh so you and not law breaking related in any way) did that!
Congrats on your finished new YA! I couldn’t be more excited to get my grubby hands on it!!
First of all, love your books and cannot wait for the february release of Save the Date. I’m counting the days till I get to read another great Jenny B. Jones book!
AAhhhh. Excellent choice !!!!!!! North & South is my all-time favorite movie…in fact I was just thinking of giving it another go today. Again.
Sounds like you had quite the day. Snow is the best.
North and South!!!? good choice
So glad you got your snow day. And love the digest of how you spent it. Don’t you love grace
omigosh,you got pulled over by a cop???that.is.awesome.
you.are.my.hero.
ahhhh…my mom disagrees.lol,jk
i guess the perfect snow day would include…oh wait,idk.my school puts an insane emphasis on edjumication (like i need it…) and so we never have snow days!!!i consider myself touched by the hand of God Himself if we get a delay.
sad face.
You’re so lucky! You actually got a snow day, we just got a delayed start on monday… But my favorite way to spend a snow day is being as I live on 2 acres and my father owns a large tractor, I invite a couple of my friends over and we rope sleds to the back of the afformentioned tractor and sled like that until the gas runs out… Then it’s time for hot cocoa and Disney movie marathons
Funny, tomorrow will be snow day numbero seis since school resumed. I was out last Thursday and have been out ALL STINKIN” WEEK
Oh, the joys of Tennessee 
Oh my goodness! I’m going on the mission! Can’t wait to see you there! Hopefully I can fit all my books in my bag.