Happy March!

Hello hello-- happy March to all! This is an even crazier weather month than usual - and it's only March 5th! We had a record high of 81 earlier in the week. The Rickster wanted to turn on the AC!! Coming up this week, the temps will be in the teens and some snow forecast. OY!! Finally, we had some welcome rain last night and thunder! Thunder always make me think of our dear little Scottie, Muffy! She was terrified of thunder and I spent many a night sitting with her in the basement on the sofa with the tv on loud. Sweet baby! She was the best little terrier! Rest in Peace sweet Muffy.

Of course, Frannie the goofy doodle is a good dog too and thunder does not bother her in the least. Wearing a raincoat, however, bothered her a LOT! HA HA HA!

Last weekend when it was sunny and almost 70, Maddie was home. We spent Saturday afternoon at nearby outdoor mall in Omaha called Village Pointe. The place was hopping due to the lovely weather! So many stores there that we don't have in Lincoln. She found an adorable spring/summer dress at a store called Altar'd State. Bonus - it was on sale!

And we even stopped at the outlet mall on the way home. A little bit of retail therapy always does a person good, am I right??

What can I say about the Ukraine and Russia? My heart and prayers go out to their brave leader and all the people there. Every day I wake up hoping the situation has improved. And I have two very special friends with some dire medical issues and have been praying for them nonstop. I know there is power in prayer. We may not get the results we hope and pray for, but I know our prayers are heard. Sending love and prayers to all.

Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain . . .

Rainy days and Mondays and Tuesdays

 and Wednesdays . . .

basically every day for the last two weeks, it's been raining!

We have definitely had our share and more of

rain this year.

Usually the farmers are praying for rain  --- 

this year, they're praying for

NO MORE RAIN!

Evidently, there are bumper crops waiting

to be harvested, but it's too wet!

Look at how nice and green our grass is -- 

this is not normal for this time of year!

Even my dog wants boots and her own little umbrella!

Weather alert -- the sun may peek out tomorrow,

but more rain forecast the rest of the week!

I think we should all have a day off work

tomorrow to celebrate seeing the sun again if,

in fact, it does come out!

Let's don't even talk about  my hair and this weather -

it's not good people, not good at all!  

What's new in your area??

Please send sunshine!  

I'll even take cold temps

if only we get some sunshine!

Rain, Rain Go Away!!

The Unsung Heroes of High School

There are really so many unsung athletes and heroes in

high school, don't you agree?

The coaches, the trainers, the school  managers

and the ones closest to my heart -- 

the cheerleaders!

Last Friday night, the Pius cheerleaders

traveled 2-1/2 hours away each way to cheer on the

football team!

These sweet girls were totally soaked to the skin, 

but cheered through torrential downpours and dropping temps!
Soaking Wet + Cold = Misery

Still smiling - but soaking wet!

Luckily, they all had packed an extra change of 

clothes so they could get out of the wet uniforms

for the 2-1/2 hour bus ride home!

So, home around midnight then quickly launder the cheer uniforms 

before bed, hang to dry and be up, in uniform and

back at the gym at 8:15 AM to cheer at 

volleyball until noon!

Oh my word!  Bless those girls hearts!

Cheerleaders don't get much credit for all they do.

They're not considered athletes by schoolmates [but they are]

as they put in long hours of training and practice just like the other

athletes and teams.
Yes, they have 6 AM practices at least once a week before classes!
So, I say . . . 

Great job Pius Cheerleaders!
You are all amazing!

While we're chatting about unsung heroes,

let's not the forget the parents who support and pay for 

everything, drive  their student athletes everywhere and often sit on freezing

bleachers to support the cheerleaders and the teams!

Thank you Parents! :)
You're pretty amazing too!

.

Welcome April!

Hello April!

Hello Rainy Weather!

Boo hoo - missing the sun and warm temps here!

I'm hoping that mentioning our rainy and dreary weather will

make it go away! 

Fingers crossed!

In other random news, I took Mr. Tennis to 

the Amtrak station the other morning at 3:05 AM

to catch a train headed East.

Yes, his train departed at 3:20 AM -- not my 

favorite time of day to be out!

I used to take the very same train (well, probably not the exact same train), 

but similar schedule for the train back and forth to college.

I loved riding the rails!  Visiting the club car and  watching Iowa speed by

in front of my very eyes was so relaxing!

Ahhhh - -those were the days my friend!

The el trains I used to take in Philadelphia were not 

quite so clean and relaxing! :)

In other random news -- cheer tryouts are this week!

It's going to be a busy, busy week for Miss M - with cheer practices,  

tryouts and homework too - plus the bandana business 

is going strong and we are sewing a LOT! :)

Soooooo, that's the way our week looks -

hope you have a wonderful week too!

Ice, Rain and More Ice!

Oh my word!

Our area joined the other parts of the country

hammered by icy rain and ice!

I was hoping the weather service would be 

wrong again, but no  . . . this time 

they were correct!

Sleet, rain, icy rain and more ice!

It's such a mess!  I think I would 

rather have a foot of snow

than all this ice!

Maddy is hoping for a day off tomorrow (Tuesday),

we will see -- keep your fingers crossed!

In the meantime, stay safe

and let's all dream about warmer days!

A River Runs Through It . . .

Yep -- had a river running through the basement last night as Mother Nature continued her pounding on the Midwest! That's not very nice, MN -- you didn't read my letter, did you!! Anyway, tornado sirens sounded last night and Maddy and I headed to the basement. Connor went to take shower because he was going out! OY!! So, I was happily reading some blogs and listening to the weather warnings when the torrential rains started. First, a little trickle of water across the old linoleum (now visible since carpet had been torn out after the last drenching), then more and more and more -- soon, I swear there was a current!!! At one point, the water was up to and just above my ankles! YIKES!!!! We had over 4 inches of rain in a very short amount of time. Luckily, the power didn't go out and we had a little pump thingy so could hook it up and pump the water out through a hose into a sink in the laundry room. We worked on trying to keep up with the water from around 7:30 until 10 PM and used every single towel in the house!

Rick and I took a break at 10 to watch the season finale of Top Chef -- yay Stephanie!! We thought the basement seemed in pretty good shape when I headed to bed at 11:30. Rick stayed up a little longer, and wouldn't you know it, it started raining and coming in again!!!! OY!!!

Normally, I would be wringing my hands (and towels!) and fretting about it. But this year, I have tried to adopt a more zen-like attitude and try my best to be calm and figure it will get taken care of eventually -- probably after we end up throwing a lot of cash at it!

Please, Mother Nature, I'm begging you now -- NO MORE RAIN!

Updated: Heard that some parts of town (mine, I'm sure) had up to 8 inches of rain!!