Growing up in tornado country, you spend a lot of time cleaning up after storms. You spend at least one weekend every summer shoveling muck out of a basement, cleaning up downed branches or picking up debris. And then serving a mission for my church in hurricane alley... Well, let's just say I saw my fair share of floods, over-turned trailers, ( Read more... )

It's been such a beautiful week that I decided to head to the Mall on my lunch break to look for some signs of spring in DC. And within minutes I found all the sure indicators that winter is finally over.

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It almost feels like spring. Almost. Most of the snow has melted, except in those scattered areas where it was once pilled higher than my head. We're starting to talk about the community garden plot we'll be renting this year. And I bought my first concert ticket ( Read more... )

Free at last! My roommate and a friend helped me dig out my car this afternoon. We planned on going to see An Education but the theater was closed thanks to the snow. So instead we went to the post office and then blew all our money on crazy things like bread and milk. So it's back to the grind tomorrow as long as the ice from today's melt doesn't ( Read more... )

It's official. When it looks like this outside...


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This snow is driving me crazy! Being cooped up in the house, you'd think I'd be productive and, I don't know, read one of the 50 books I have sitting next to my bed or finish my SCBWI WIP Grant application or get some homework done for my web design class. The least I could do is barrow a shovel and dig my car out of the two feet of snow it is ( Read more... )

This is the sight I woke up to yesterday. I thought I was back in Idaho or Utah or Illinois. But no, this really is Virginia. You can kind of almost see my car parked across the street. I didn't get home until late last night after the snow had already set in, and because I live on a hill, I knew there was no way I would be able to park in my usual ( Read more... )

I spent last night doing my taxes. I know-for those of you who take weeks to do you taxes and are in and out of accountants offices countless times between February and April, this might make you sick. But I'm single, own nothing of consequence and spent most of the year unemployed while I finished up school. I thought taxes this year would take ( Read more... )

 Do you ever feel like you have 57 million things to do and can't seem to be able to get any of it done? Or if you do get one thing done, ten more things come to takes its place? That's how I have been feeling this past week. I am working on applying for a couple of grants, have a freelance article due, a have friend coming to visit and ( Read more... )