Funny coincidences.

Today, Easter Monday, it snowed at lunchtime in Atlanta. Only very briefly, and nothing even thought about sticking, but it's still pretty amazing.

The only other time I've seen snow at Easter was when we were in Eastern Europe (Krakow, Poland, to be exact) during my junior year abroad. We were staying in some sort of dormitory on top of a small mountain about two miles outside of the city. The setting was gorgeous, but four of us were staying in a room with one twin-sized bed, so I woke up with an aching head & back from sleeping on the floor to find a snow-covered mountain below our window. Our friend Heather had secretly made Easter notes & decorations (in Polish she learned from a friend!) and put them up around the room. Not one of those experiences you forget.

I should point out that this was well into April, and that when Caro & I were leaving Paris, it was very warm, so we almost didn't take our winter coats on this trip. Thank goodness for the "oh, well, we'll take them just in case" attitude that we developed shortly before we left for the train station.

There are so many good stories of that trip. I won't share them all today. ;)

Just in case you're missing Paris in the Spring (which is not as lovely as Paris in the fall, but no one ever sings about that), you can sign up for a fabulous swap here.

Tomorrow is Sweater Day!

The REAL Mr. McFeeley talking about tomorrow's celebration of Mr. Rogers on what would have been his 80th birthday. Wear a sweater and remember Mr. Rogers.

When people ask me "what's wrong with today's kids?" I have three answers:
#1) Not enough time outside
#2) Not enough personal responsibility
and #3) No Mr. Rogers

And I'm serious.

Fun randomness (or is that random funness?)

I know this will shock all of you.

I have signed up for another swap.

It's been almost a MONTH since the last one, and since I can finally see the light at the end of the traveling-for-work tunnel, I felt like I could actually dedicate enough time to seeing this through. :)

You can participate, too! Just head over to Tamy's Ga-Ga for Garlands site, and sign up.
This is my latest crafting endeavor - a little Q-tip lamb. That's right; you layer Q-tips to get all of that fleece. It doesn't take too terribly long, but there is a point in the middle where you question exactly WHY you have decided to try this. If you're interested, head over to Crafts for All Seasons for directions, though I found this project through the incomparable genius found only at Craftster.

For your viewing pleasure - fabulous pictures of last week's trip to the zoo.

While we were eating lunch, Lindsey decided to make Kenzie look like a librarian by buttoning her top jacket button, & not putting her jacket on her arms. This was very funny to Lindsey, Naomi (Kenzie's mom), & me, but Kenzie will probably never get it, since she'll never have librarians who do this. Sigh...
Here we have the lovely Thompson family. Kenzie is such a mixture of her parents; it's rare to see a kid who looks like she got exactly 50% of her genetic material from each parent.
We had tons of fun at the zoo, but the best part was giving Kenzie her birthday present. We took her to a football game at Lindsey's school this fall, & she absolutely loved the band. Since she's a bit young for brass & woodwind instruments, we settled on percussion. Fortunately, she has very easygoing parents, although Erik (her dad) did say that he would one day return the favor, by passing on the drum when Kenzie outgrows it. :) However, as you can tell by the look on her little face, the drum was a big hit. (ha)
And just in case I don't find the computer again until then, Happy Easter!

Tagged...

I'd be hard pressed at this point to say exactly how I found Julie's blog over at Red Hen Studios, but she's always posting fun stuff. And her kids are involved in the coolest things. Plus, right this second, very cool music is playing from her blog! Stop by & visit.

So Julie tagged me for a 6 Random Things meme. Fortunately, randomness is my forte, so this is not TOO challenging.

The rules for this are easy:
1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Here are 6 things about me:
1. I went to Mardi Gras for the first time when I was 6, was knocked unconscious by a spooked horse, had a concussion, went to the hospital, appeared on the evening news after my dad almost smacked a rude cameraman while carrying me out of the hospital, was mended, & then taken to more parades by my parents. And it's any wonder I went back to New Orleans for school?? :)

2. I have used the phrase "blown to Oz" more times than I can count in the last 24 hours, and my husband is REALLY hoping I won't use it all tomorrow. Or, really, ever again.

3. #1 ended my professional football career, because now I'm afraid to get another concussion. One of my high school friends did a brainscan of me for a science fair project, and one of my brainwaves really does fire early, which is consistent with head trauma. Cool, huh??

4. I listen to a LOT of NPR. A lot. And now I get my favorite shows' podcasts to listen to while I drive all over Nowhereville, Georgia. And I am actually seriously annoyed by the fact that it costs MONEY to get Prairie Home Companion's podcast.

5. While 85% of all statistics are made up on the spot, 92% of all listreaders don't read #5 on any given list.

6. I will buy all of my clothes used, and pay full price for books. It's not a hard & fast rule, but it happens A LOT, and says a lot about what makes me happy - shelves full of books. :) And on that note, I'll be sharing some fabulous bookie finds with you tomorrow, as well as a nifty Easter craft, not to mention some cute pictures from last Sunday's zoo outing. PHEW!

I TAG YOU!:
* Melissa, of Sparkly Like a Holiday
* Natalie, of Betternat Squash
* Lennye, of Life is Hard, Enjoy the Ride
* Jeannie, of Put Some Polka Dots On It
* Sarah, of The Misadventures of Mama & Jack/Making Projiks
* Kristin, of My Polka-Dotted World

And a little free advice...

This is the second seriously close call we've had. The first was a few years ago when we were living in Hampton & a tornado tore through the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Anyway, what I've learned is that when there's constant lightning going HORIZONTALLY through the sky, you get a tornado. I've seen it twice in my life, & both times, there's been a wretched tornado.

My mom taught me when I was little that if the sky turned green, there would be a tornado, and I think that's true in the Midwest, but not so true down here. Of course, it's also not helpful when they come at night.

Public Service Announcement is now over. Thank you for your attention. ;)

We're fine...

Thanks to those of you who called last night to check on us. The tornado in Atlanta appears to have gone by the north side of our neighborhood (Grant Park) into another neighborhood called Cabbagetown. The division between these is literally a single street. Lindsey drove through on his way to do some work at the church this morning, and said that it's pretty awful. The pictures online aren't too encouraging, either.

Since we don't watch TV, we were woefully underinformed last night. Turns out that Atlanta radio doesn't give out ANY information except the actual warnings. After people started calling to tell us that our neighborhood was on the news, I did look at the streaming footage online, and figured out what was going on. I also grew up in a community with tornado sirens, and there certainly weren't any going off here last night, so I don't know if we don't have them, or if there was so little warning that they never turned them on.

Regardless, it did give us a nice taste of how ill-prepared we are.

Anyway, my yardwork plans for today are officially scuttled, since worse storms are on the way. I think cookie baking might be in my future.

Those of y'all who are close, take care. *love*

Snowing...

This week: 70 degrees, then thunderstorms like it was July, now it's snowing. This is the first Atlanta snow I've seen this winter, though, since I've managed to be out of town the three previous time. The flakes are big & pretty. I'll upload some pictures later.

Now, though, if you'd like to do something fun & un-wintry....

...you could try the Spring Reading Thing from Callapidder Days. Amy brought it to her readers' attention, and I think it sounds like a good time. I do have a stack of things to read, which often get overlooked for something else, so this is a good challenge for me.

Some of you will be shocked to know I've been up since 7:30. :) Weekend Edition has been really great this morning, including a discussion about the spate of recent faked memoirs. It's funny - when I first heard about this (where a gal claimed to be half White/half Native American, raised by an African-American foster mother in the hood where her foster brothers were in a gang & she sold drugs, etc., etc., etc.), I was instantly skeptical. However, the author hoodwinked a whole bunch of authors, editors, reviewers, and journalists, until her own sister called her out. Turns out she grew up in a tony suburb of L.A. Nice. Appropriating other people's tragedies as your own to sell a book. She claims she was just trying to share their stories, but I don't believe her. (Imagine that....)

Home.

Kenzie
Originally uploaded by sarahblascovich

Despite crazy weather & NASCAR traffic, I made it back from Macon in record time. Lindsey is doing some NASTY dishes that he left at school for way too long, and then we're going to have Mexican. Cheese quesadillas & beans = Lenten staple. :)

Guess who I get to see this weekend?

That's right - this precious little one & her parents. We're going to the zoo! Now, let's hope it's not snowing on Sunday afternoon! Happy weekend.