Well, my winter wonderland turned into blizzard material rather quickly.

Now is when I would typically start telling you I hate snow.

But I can't do that...

Because I don't.

I can't help it. I still think the snow is absolutely beautiful. Now, if it's still like this Monday, we may have a problem considering I will have to get to class and Clark will have to get to work, and that's going to be rather impossible if the weather is the way it is.

I'm not good at driving in snow.

Yes, I am aware that I live in the mountains and it is basically required for me to know how. I know how... I just kind of get freaked out. I've never had an accident or anything, but not having a four wheel drive car always creates more problems when you live in a snowy area.

Yes, I am aware how ridiculous it is that we don't have a four wheel drive car.

A year ago around October we were buying our first car. It was rather exciting, considering we only had the minivan my parents had bequeathed us. Unfortunately for us, we had never experienced a winter in the Highland Country. What I mean to say, is we had never experienced how rough the winter is outside of Boone. We had plenty of mishaps and hiccups in Boone, but not as many as we had last winter. In Boone the bus was right there if I needed it, 90% of the roads were clear, and anyone who had a four wheel drive car was willing to come get me or Clark because we were in town.

Now we're outside of town. In fact, we're in a completely different town and county. How many people are willing to come get us? Well, I suppose we'll find that out when the weather is horrific and we try to call for help. Hopefully it will be more than last year, because our grand total hit two last year, I believe.

By the way, since I never mentioned it, we ended up with a VW Jetta. Yes, a Jetta. Front wheel drive, not four wheel drive, and not the most reliable thing. At the time we thought we were getting this amazing deal, little did we know we were truly being cheated because we were first-time buyers and since that last October we've put I don't know how much money into repairing our little car. Oh, well. You live and you learn, right?

We've started looking into trading the Jetta in. The van is pretty much a lost cause, and we actually need it more than the Jetta. It seems to do better in the weather, since it did live briefly in Minnesota and Indiana, I can understand why. Good 'ole Darla (that's the van's name) is rather reliable. So, Wendy (the Jetta), is looking at being traded in for a four wheel drive. The problem? Well, we just have to wait until something comes along that truly is a fabulous deal. Prayer, research, and more prayer is what's in store with that bit of our lives... as it is with just about every other bit.

Luna needs to go out and I'm really hoping the wind doesn't scare her. I tried to let her out about an hour ago and she refused to go outside due to the ridiculous wind and snow. She's a fan of the snow when it's just sitting there and she can run and prance in it, but otherwise she prefers to curl up in front of the fire. Kind of like her mommy!

As this blog progresses, you will find that I am positively addicted to muffins. Once again, I think this is something that runs in my family. I grew up with blueberry muffins, oatmeal muffins, pumpkin muffins, banana nut muffins, and so many more. I have learned to love the smell, taste, and feel of muffins in the morning. I know that may sound strange, but it's so true.

This morning with the snow coming down picture perfectly, the fire going, and being up earlier than many cars on the road, I decided it was a muffin morning.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffin Morning, to be exact. (Try saying that five times fast!)

Like I mentioned, I grew up with oatmeal muffins. They were my absolute favorite of my mom's homemade breakfast delights. So, I've taken her original recipe and given it a few tweaks here and there to make it my own.

Supplies:


- 1 C of Oats
- 1 C of Buttermilk
- 1 Egg
- 1/2 C Molasses

- 1 C Wheat Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

-1/4 C of Milk

-1/2 C Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions:

- Combine the 1 C of Oats and 1 C of Buttermilk in a large bowl and let them soak in the fridge for 30 minutes. About fifteen minutes or so in (depending on your oven), preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

- Once the oats and buttermilk are done soaking, take them out of the fridge and add the 1 Egg and 1/4 C of Molasses. Mix well.

- In a separate, smaller, bowl, combine the 1 C of Wheat Flour, 1 tsp of Baking Powder, and 1/2 tsp of Baking Soda. Stir this combination.

- Add the flour mixture to the oats mixture. Mix this well. It will be thick, so I always add about 1/4 C of milk to it. Makes it easier to stir and such!

- Add 1/2 C of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips and stir well!

- Scoop the Mixture into a greased muffin pan. Fill each hole almost to the brim.


- Cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes. I would suggest starting off with fifteen minutes and checking on them about every seven minutes or so!

- Remove the muffins from the pan almost immediately, transfer to a cooling rack, and let them cool for at least five minutes. I'm awful about following this rule because I'm typically making them when I'm hungry, but trust me: let them cool.



This makes about 12-18 muffins. Double up if you're having company over, and enjoy!

I've always been a morning person.

It's been that when I was a baby, my parents would walk into the room early in the morning and I'd be sitting up in my crib waiting with a smile on my face. I'm not sure if I'm remembering that correctly, or if they're remembering that correctly, but, still, that's what's been said.

However, as I've gotten older I've realized that the early bird doesn't always get the worm. In fact, if you want to have a social life in college at all, you pretty much need to be a Night Owl instead of an Early Bird.

This doesn't work for me.

It doesn't help that I got married young. When I don't want to go out at night, I have the perfect excuse: Clark.

"No, I need to stay home and spend time with Clark,"

or

"No, I promised Clark I'd cook tonight,"

or

"Sorry, Clark and I already have plans."

I have to admit I do this often. Most of the time my reasons are true, but sometimes they are spat our because I'm tired and don't want to admit that I'd like to crawl into bed at 9pm with a cup of hot tea and read, or talk to Clark, or just drift off to sleep early.

I can't help it.

Now, there are times where I can easily stay up if we have people over, or someones visiting, or we're visiting someone, or we're out to see a movie, or so on and so forth.

The problem is actually getting me into those situations. I'll sit there and think, "Well, if we don't go over there until eight, we're not leaving until at least ten, which means we won't get into bed until some time around eleven or twelve... I think we'll pass."

Yes, I do do that. It's not an exaggeration.

This happens most when we get close to the holidays, which is absolutely dreadful. College students are going out and celebrating the fact that it's almost Christmas break, that papers and exams have come to a close, and that they get to go home away from the mountain-weather for nearly a month. What am I doing? Putting up Christmas decorations, baking cookies, wrapping presents, and figuring out our budget and schedule for the Christmas "vacation."

Yes, it's different. I shouldn't complain. I have as much ability to be a Night Owl as all the other "kids," I just choose, instead, to be an Early Bird.

So, what am I doing this early Saturday morning?

I am making Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins (recipe to follow once they are finished), going over a budget, writing a paper, editing a short story, and being responsible so tonight I can curl up with a hot cup of tea and... study.

Life is good.

The title should say it all. Today has been one of those days. Those days that stick out like a sore thumb and make all the wonderful days you've had previously seem like a dream.

OK, maybe I'm being a bit over dramatic.

Let me face it: it hasn't been that bad. Just within the last 30 minutes it's seemed positively awful and all the good moments of today seem like dust in the wind.

Yes, I will stop being cheesy... or I'll stop being as cheesy as I can muster.

So, this morning I wasn't in my best of moods. Within this moment of stress and tension, I may have said some rather harsh things to my husband which were not called for at all. So, that started off the morning. Though things have been smoothed over and I groveled sufficiently (in my opinion, at least), it just didn't start the day off right.

Then, in Early American Literature I had to use the restroom for a good 30 minutes and it took my professor that long to get to his one point that he proposed within the first five minutes of class. Thirty minutes of constant babble and answering people's questions that had nothing to do with the topic. We went from, "Do you think Alexander Hamilton actually died in a duel," to "Well, federal bonds are like the stock market, in a sense," and so forth. WORST TANGENT MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF THAT CLASS EVER! Or at least it seemed like it due to the fact that I desperately had to use the loo.

Then, in Oral Interpretation we found out that our presentation we've been working on for nearly two weeks is three minutes short of what it needs to be. I know that doesn't seem that long, but trying to find content that fills in holes here and there when you already have a good flow of things is difficult. The final presentation is a week from tomorrow and has to be completely memorized and... it has me frazzled, to say the least.

Finally.

I parked in the parking deck this morning due to running behind because of groveling and doing last minute homework and all that jazz. I should also mention that I was driving the lesser of our two cars: a 1998 Mercury Villager Minivan. This particular van has a tendency to not unlock. So, normally we'll lock the car but leave the trunk unlocked or leave one of the doors unlocked or something that guarantees us the ability to get into the car. Due to my semi-frazzled state this morning, I remembered to lock the car... but neglected to leave one of the doors unlocked.

Do you see where this is going?

I get to the car with frozen finger tips (due to forgetting gloves and it being like 25 outside) and cannot get any of the doors open WITH the key. It doesn't matter how much I jiggle, if I use both my hands, or any sort of method-- it won't budge. I stood there for at least fifteen minutes looking like a total idiot trying to get in to my own car. It's quitting time, you see. Everyone is leaving the parking deck and heading home or what have you, and they're all trailing down (and of course I'm on the second floor where everyone passes) staring at me wondering what the heck the girl is doing to the minivan.

I call Clark.

Clark is thirty minutes away, supposedly heading out of town, and I call like a damsel in distress begging him to come and get me. This is not before I tried called two other friends with no success. Unfortunately, I do not have many friends with male counterparts, and therefore my choices were limited.

Clark is on his way. I'm the library sweating like a pig when it's 25 degrees outside, writing this blog, waiting for my prince on the white horse to come and save me.

Yes, I'm aware that I went back into cheesy mood and how horribly pathetic my situation is.

I hope your day has been much better than mine. Comment if to the contrary! I'd love to hear about your ridiculously awful day.

I have to admit, I always complain about snow. OK, so I complain about a lot of things, but this blog is snow specific.

As mentioned in a previous blog (Christmas: A Guilty Pleasure), I tend to start celebrating Christmas relatively early. It is usually because we have an early snow and suddenly I'm ready for the season. This year, surprisingly, we only had one early snow and it was at the very beginning of November. Now, however, it is December first and it is snowing.



This, to me, is perfect.

I often tend to tell people that I only like snow from December first to January first. It is a time for there to be cold, hot chocolate and marshmallows, snowmen and snow angels, snow ball fights, curling up next to a warm fire, and so forth. It's "The Season." However, considering we live in the mountains, it tends to always snow before December.

Last year it started snowing the day after Thanksgiving and didn't stop until March. No joke. It was constant. There may have been a few rain storms here and there mixed in, but ultimately it was snow, snow, and more snow.

This year, however, we only had that one early snow and now we have snow in December. How wonderful is this?




I was complaining around Thanksgiving time that it was too warm and not like it has been in the past. Go figure. In the past I complained it was too cold and too early for snow, and this year I complained it was too warm and I was ready for snow.

No. I will never make up my mind.

Well, since we have had our first real snow on December first, I am going to make an effort to not complain the rest of the season. Car accidents, if any, or car incidents are exceptions to the effort. Just saying in case it happens and you attempt to hold me accountable.

I have always been a stickler for Pottery Barn. I think I get this unhealthy obsession from my mother and my older sister. Unfortunately, it's not in my price range, as I'm sure it isn't for many.

After my melt down the other evening of wanting new stockings and a Christmas tree skirt, my husband told me to do some research for something affordable. That's the key word: affordable. Affordable for us is much different than affordable for some.

First I found these lovelies from Pottery Barn:


Channel Velvet Quilted Tree Skirt: $129


Hand-Knit Bell Stocking: $29 each

Unfortunately, these are not as affordable as we need them to be. No, they are not badly priced, and they would last a lifetime as far as I'm concerned, but we have to think to-scale as of right now.

So, next I checked out LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, Target... and I just couldn't find anything that quite matched what I had found on Pottery Barn.

Then I got on to Pier 1.

As my mom has observed, Pier 1 is like a cheaper Pottery Barn. Just as cute, just as stylish, just as... well... everything I would say.

I found these AFFORDABLE things on Pier 1:


Plaid & Reindeer Tree Skirt: $40


Plaid & Reindeer Stockings: $14.95 each

They may not be quite as "classic", but they excited me just as much as those from Pottery Barn. So, if your stalkings and such are a little worn down and you're looking for a cheaper way to spruce up your Christmas decorations: Pier 1 is the place to go!

Since we just got home from a vacation, things have been slow to return to normal. After all, Monday we went and got our tree and yesterday we had multiple errands to run, including to the grocery store.

Whenever we come home from a vacation, my pet peeves seem to come to haunt me. Right now they're heightened due to stress revolving around school and such as well. Not a good thing. Poor Clark has to deal with me being super happy one minute due to the Christmas season and dreadfully upset the next due to school or our house being a disaster zone.

Yes, we did leave our house as a mess, but that only makes matters worse when we're busy. Now, not only does it have the mess it had before, but it has more added to it.

We brought in the Christmas tree but haven't stored the table that was where the tree is standing now. The, now empty, box that holds our Christmas decorations is still in the middle of our kitchen floor. Our suite cases from our Georgia trip, I'm sad to say, are still downstairs and full of dirty clothes and things that need to be put away. My laundry basket is still full of clean clothes that need to be folded. There are bags on the counter full of necessities that need to be put away that have been bought within the last 72 hours. My back pack and school books have taken over the couch/coffee-table area. My writing room is an absolute disaster full of pillow shams (I'm not sure what from), school books, papers that need to be discarded, and so much more. The trash can in the kitchen is close to over-flowing.

The list goes on. I know I shouldn't be telling you how awful of shape my house is in, but it is pretty necessary for my next rant.

Clark and I have specific "duties," if you will, that we do around the house. He washes dishes by hand, I load and unload the dishwasher. He takes out the trash, I clean out the cat box. I do laundry, we both fold and put away laundry (sometimes). He makes the bed in the morning (when he remembers), I make his lunch in the morning. He lets the dog out when it's cold and blustery, I make sure the cat gets all of his medicine. I dust, he vacuums. I clean the bathrooms, he mops.

You see what I mean?

So, when we're busy, my list still gets done for the most part. I must admit I probably wouldn't have dusted if we hadn't put up the Christmas tree, but I still did it. I haven't folded laundry, but that is supposed to be a chore for the both of us. I've made his lunch every day thus far, he hasn't made the bed in I don't know how long. I've been cleaning the cat box everyday, and like I said the trash downstairs is close to overflowing. I haven't cleaned the bathrooms since we got home, but it's on my list of things "TO DO" today. His stuff is lying all over the kitchen counters, and I just recently got mine put away.

As you can see, my pet peeves are being challenged. So, what are they? Things not getting done.

Period.

When things are done around the house, I get really pissy/anxious. I know it. I have no problem admitting it. Have I worked on it? Yes... to some degree. I just don't understand why it's so hard for some people to remember to do the things they're supposed to do. No, I'm not a prime example, which is mildly entertaining, but I do my very best... and my best tends to be sufficient.

The thing is, it doesn't bother Clark when the house is a mess. The car? Yes. He hates when the car is a disaster. His stuff? Not really. He doesn't like it when his shirts aren't ironed or when his pants aren't pressed correctly (that's the Marine/Southern man in him), but I've left that to him. He doesn't like it when I'm careless, like if I forget to turn off the oven or I leave the cider on when we leave the house. So, I know in the end it balances out... it just doesn't feel like it does.

I'm going to go clean up my kitchen, now, which is full of things that do not belong in a kitchen. I'm doing this because I need room to cook Chicken Tetrazzini for dinner and Sugar Cookies to bring to my classes tomorrow, seeing as they are my favorite classes.

Don't worry. My house will be clean by tonight.