Snow

In Portland it only snows once every other year or so. Except for this year. I think the snow loves my face. The morning of my graduation we got 6 inches of snow, making it hard for us to get to campus, let alone have my loving wonderful grandparents come in from out of town. Now I'm sitting at a laptop at the kitchen table of my brother-in-law's apartment, looking out the window at the blizzard outside. For the 4th time this week. We wanted to go to OMSI today (which is supposedly a really cool science museum, but I wouldn't know - I've never been) but because of an inch of snow, the museum closed down. And the Portland drivers? Don't even get me started. They have no idea how to drive in the snow. And the lines to buy chains for their tires are ridiculously long. I only see one positive aspect to this craziness of snow: this apartment is on a steep hill and we have a great view of the road, which means we get to watch the people slip and slide down the hill and crash into trees because they don't know how to drive. And that can be funny.

Portland

We're here! Mark and I are here in Portland visiting his brother (and his family). Remember the cute baby with the amazing sunshine in the hospital pictures? We're with them.. and that baby is SOOO dang cute! In fact, as I sit here typing, I am only using one hand so the other can hold this baby-smelling little treasure. Seriously adorable. Anyway, as some of you may know, Portland got an inch of snow yesterday. And when that happens, the whole city shuts down. Eric came on the bus to pick us up from the airport. We got to the airport right as the trains shut down (the switches and switch defrosters were frozen). Anyway, the trip from the airport to their house that should have taken 20 minutes ended up taking 5 hours. And it was really really really cold. But we're here now, and warm, and having fun. Yipee!

Cousins and Husbands and Dreams. Oh My!

Last night I had a visitor in my dream (probably thanks to trublubyu's dream giveaway). It was my cousin. He and I were good friends all growing up, but he lives in Idaho now so we don't see each other often. Anyway, it was nice to see him again last night. Sort of.
He and my husband were trying to blow up a bank with a nuclear bomb. And I knew it. And of course I had to save the bank, so I was calling 911 pretending I was talking to my mom so that Mark wouldn't get mad at me for snitching him out. You see, the cops had been looking for them for a while, and when I found out it was them, I was MAD! I just had to turn them in. I don't remember if the cops ever showed up. But I do remember that when my cousin shot the bags of chemicals with a paintball gun (to scoot it over a little bit for a better position) it blew up and he got burned. Really really bad. Serves you right, cousin. As for Mark, he never caught on that I was on the phone with the police and not my mom. And then I woke up.

Let the Good Times Roll

Or bend. Whatever is your preference I suppose.

This is my friend, Mary, whom I met in Yoga class this semester. She's good at things like this.
Oh, and the other two pictures (the blue shirt ones) are me.

Also, here are the pictures that I promised would come after I recovered from the delivery. Here is my question: usually when you see the new one you know right off whether it's a boy or girl. This one I'm not so sure on. Ideas? Name suggestions?

Delivered

This picture was taken with my phone (pretty good, I know). Real camera pictures will be coming, but I just couldn't help myself! YAHOO!!! (Can't type much today; my fingers are sore.)

I Want to Share

From Moosh In Indy and HP Computers; A Giveaway! I love things things. I stole the rules from her blog so you can see what this post is about. Take it away, Moosh In Indy!

HOW TO ENTER (these are my rules, and they only apply and qualify you for the giveaway here, at mooshinindy.com):

I want to know. Who would you share all this magic with and how would you do it?

1. Compose a post on your own blog, telling me what you would do with $6,000 worth of the latest HP technology. Who would you share with and why? Creativity counts, but it’s not everything. I’m going to be awarding this prize package to whomever captures the magic of sharing the most. Don’t have a blog? Go ahead and compose your entry in 200 words or less and post it here in my comments section, leaving a valid email in the email field. Video entries on YouTube, posts on MySpace and Facebook will also be accepted.
2. Somewhere in your post mention and link to HP’s Magic Giveaway along with a mention and link to this post on moosh in indy. When your post is published, leave a link to your entry, wherever it may be, with your name and valid email address in the comments section below.
3. Contest is open NOW! and will run through 10 p.m. EST December 9th, 2008. Comments will close at 10 p.m. EST on December 9th, 2008. So get to it.
4. That’s it.

THE NOT SO FINE PRINT:

• My family, friends and people I know in real life are not eligible. Sorry dudes. It’s just not fair. But you are more than welcome to enter any or all of the other 49 giveaways. (Although you can only win one.)

• Anyone who doesn’t fall into the above category, in any part of the world, is eligible to enter.

• All taxes will be taken care of by HP.

• You must SHARE part of the prize package with someone who isn’t you, preferably someone who doesn’t even live in your house. While I have no way to police you once the prizes leave my doorstep, I can assure you that if you don’t share, bad juju’s will follow you all the days of your life. Okay, so I can’t even promise that, just don’t be a selfish jerk okay? You’re a lucky fool if you win all this stuff. PAY IT FORWARD.

• The winner must provide me with a real street shipping address, P.O. Boxes will not be accepted. Items you choose to share can be shipped to the person directly at no cost to you (and is actually preferred. Who doesn’t love getting magic surprises in the mail?)

• By entering, the winner agrees to provide me, within two weeks of receipt of the prize, a 250 word story (at least) on what happened when they shared one or more of the products. Their story will be posted on moosh in indy. at a later date. Stories from those who were surprised with the magic would also be fantastic. Pictures optional, but strongly encouraged. I won’t post any personal information without permission.

• I have been using (reviewing, coveting, checking out) the hardware (dude, I don’t get to keep any of this stuff) but they will all be restored to factory/like new condition before I ship them.

• I will pick and announce a winner December 9th, 2008 at 12 a.m. EST.

I will be the sole judge and my decision is final. I cannot be bought with promises of cookies, lavish riches, goods, products or services. So don’t even try. Okay, so you can try, but just know it won’t work.

So, here's my entry. As many of you know, I am a college student who delivers pizza to pay for school and living expenses. Also, I'm starting graduate school next semester and a laptop and printer would be mighty handy. Everything else in the package is extra to me. As a pizza deliverer, I get to drive around town and see all sorts of homes and happenings. A couple of weeks ago, one of the houses that I often drive past caught on fire and the family was devastated. I still can't drive past that house without wondering where they are staying and how they are doing. Granted, they hopefully have insurance, but who wouldn't love to get 3 computers and a bunch of other stuff FOR FREE, especially right after your house burns down. This is the family I would pass everything else on to. During this Christmas season (especially with the economy the way that it is) it's really hard to feel poor. I don't know this families financial situation, but I know that if I were in their shoes, I couldn't be happier knowing that strangers are thinking of me and praying for me.

New Baby

The sun'll come out tomorrow! Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow... there'll be sun..

Do you know why? I do.

My Dad! He's the best. When I was young(er than I am now) and just getting into piano lessons, my daddy promised me that if I kept up with piano and music, he would buy me a piano. So, tell me now. Why does the sun come out tomorrow? Because my piano is being born into my world tomorrow!!! I've made an appointment with the delivery crew, and hopefully the birth goes well. He/she (we haven't found out the gender yet) might come right on time or a couple hours later. The longer it takes, the more painful it is. But when he/she is born, it is all worth it. This will be my second baby. (My first is my motorcycle. She's a beaut, but she's getting to be pretty old.) (Come to think of it, my first baby is my car named Baby. She's also a beat up beaut and getting old. Second is Mota (would have been Moto if she were a boy) the Motorcycle. And third will come tomorrow - name and gender to be decided upon arrival.)
You might think I'm crazy comparing the arrival of these inanimate objects to childbirth, but I'm not crazy. After all, many people have dogs that they call their children. They even let them eat at the dinner table! At least I keep my babies where they belong. Also, think of my items and childbirth in parallel: you're excited to receive it, it's hard to wait for, causes you stress if it gets injured, nice to sit on, etc. Too bad they don't make widgets with pictures of a piano (car, moto, etc.) coming closer to you (getting bigger) as the arrival time gets closer! I would be ALL over that. Pictures of the beautiful baby coming tomorrow or the next day (or whenever I recover from the delivery)!