It is COLD out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update-who knew that having a furnace less than 5 feet from the washer would be no help. At about 3:30 this morning I got a little ambitious while down in the basement. I decided to sort the laundry and run a load of whites. Glenn woke me at 9:30 to tell me the pipes froze and the water backed up and flooded my basement. So now we get to gather all the dirty laundry and blankets and head to the laundromat when he gets home from washing my car. You can tell I am a Florida girl. We don't have these problems down there. I understand it went to 10 below this morning. It's 10:21 A.M. and it is 1 degree. A wind chill advisory is in effect until noon. The kids are still asleep so they have not been told the wonderful news about spending their early afternoon at the laundry. I don't expect this conversation to go well. Kelly plans to go see Jake today. Now she has to wait until we are done. A good portion of the dirty laundry is hers. She likes to throw it down there and wash as needed. I need a tropical vacation. NOW!

Brrrr! It is cold. Obviously, colder than I've ever experienced. My children also. We woke up to -7 this morning. According to KDKA the last time it was colder than this was in 1994. At least the roads seem to be clear. There was a Steelers rally today downtown. Glenn and I promised that if we were ever here for a rally this late in the football season we would attend. Ummm, yeah, we broke that promise. I told him that if we win in Tampa we will have to go out to celebrate, no matter how cold.

Fortunately, our new house is gas heat so we can keep the house warm and not have to live in one room. We managed to survive on one tank of oil last year. Not without some sacrifice though. No way could we have done it this year. Snow in early November showed what kind of season we were looking at.

The house is finally coming together. We have everything painted except Kel's room. She now says she wants to stay that ugly blue and she'll cover the walls with posters. We've never allowed her to put all the posters up before. I remember doing it when I was her age so I say go for it. She still has a sliding rattan door and hates it. Cam has no door to his room other than the one going into the basement. They both express dislike for this daily. I kinda like it, it keeps the hiding out to a minimum.

Kelly was laid off from Hot Topic a few weeks ago. She was seasonal so it was expected. She went to Cici's Pizza last week with Jake (new boyfriend...don't ask, opinion is still forming) and when she asked if they were hiring they told her she was pretty much hired. She went back this week for the two interviews and should start next week. 8 hours the first week and 15-20 thereafter. This job is much closer than Robinson Mall. 2 miles vs. 9 miles (no interstates).

Cameron is doing well. He actually did his journal entry on time this week. Of course, he liked the topic...His favorite candy. Earlier this month, I had to listen to playbacks and get the topics for him to write his entries to submit for credit. I am taking him to occupational therapy for an evaluation again next week. We had to quit over the summer when my car broke down. His handwriting is still poor and with the rapid growth I think the therapy would be good for him. I'll update after our appt. on 1/23.

Glenn is still working part-time. Ever since I got sick over Christmas, my sleeping schedule is really messed up. I tend to get to bed around 4, get up for Cam between 9 and 9:30 then lay back down in front of the tv. The last few days I have taken a nap after school. I seriously need to get back on a schedule. I did get to sleep last week by 11, but Kelly woke me up asking if she could go to Wendy's. Of course, I needed a float from there and the wake-up was on. Seriously, I'm over this.

I finally made contact with my cousin again today. I'm very excited about that and can't wait til I can see my father's family. This was one of my goals when I moved up here. I moved to Fla. as a baby and did not have a lot of contact with them, other than my cousin and Gram. Gram died in 1992. I have not seen Karen since 1999/2000. Occasional Christmas cards were the extent of our recent relationship. I have always talked about my dad and his family but my kids don't know any of them. One of my fondest memories of my grandma was coming up for Easter to get my sister in 1979 and she made root beer floats. I also remember her setting her bread to rise over the heater vents. In 2007, Glenn took me to see Gram's old house. It was so nice to remember being there with her and my dad. When I came up in 1987, I slept in Gram's bed upstairs because she was sleeping downstairs by then. I recall oreo cookies with her. Yes, I can see that my relationship with Gram was based on sugar, but, hey isn't that what grandmas are for? The other night I was on the phone with Comcast at 3:30 a.m. trying to get my new box in bedroom working right and for some reason the gentleman, Lawrence and I started talking about kids and school. That led to a conversation about Gram and my family in West End....don't ask! He used to be a cop and his beat was right down by Grandma's and Stoney's Tavern. He was the first person other than family up here who had ever heard of Stoney's. Most of my memories from my dad's stories involve Stoney's to some degree. What a validation. I was starting to think I made up the place.

We still follow the Penguins, but this year seems to test my ability to watch. If I ever have a heart attack on game day...you'll know why. They're killing me. Steelers are one game away from the Superbowl. We just need to get through Baltimore. At least we have home field advantage. Not sure how advantageous that is. Last time we won, it was all road games.

My best friend, Danielle lives in Phoenix now so imagine if Arizona plays Steelers what is going to happen. Honestly, I'd like to see that happen. I don't care for Philadelphia, even though my Mom's family is from Phillie and S. Jersey. Arizona has not been to the playoffs in a number of years I understand, so it will be nice for them to get to the big game. I still want the Steelers to stomp them though. Sunday from around 3-11 will be in front of my TV with ham bbq's watching all my boys in Black & Gold play their hearts out. So if anyone calls and does not get an answer, please understand.

On a happy note, Glenn's cousin, Fred will be home from Qatar on Monday. I send a hearty thank you to him for all his hard work and sacrifice. This thank you goes out to Misti, Ashlyn and Nicholas also.

Until next time. If you are on my email list, I love you and miss you. See you soon.