Snow.

As of 1:45am this morning, it was not snowing.  However, as of right now, 7:37am, it is.  I'd say there's at least 3 inches or so on the ground.  How did I come up with that figure?  Just a wild guess.  I definitely haven't gone outside with a measuring stick.  Yet.

Mom, Dad, and Michelle stayed the night last night, much to the elation of Caleb and Molly.  I think to them, especially Caleb, it's like Christmas all over again having them all stay over.  Also, Caleb was so excited about the snow that he kept looking out the window last night expecting it to snow at precisely the time weather.com said it would start snowing.  Then when he went to sleep, he asked me and Joy to wake him up when we see that it has snowed.  We haven't told him yet since he could probably use the sleep.

Anyway, according to the "Winter Storm Warning" that's in effect right now until 1am Sunday, we may get anywhere from 8 to 15 inches total accumulation.  I guess we'll see about that.

Well, I'm going to go start some coffee and, possibly, play Mass Effect 2 for a little while.  Probably not, though.  Sophie is awake and ever-busy.

More to come later...

Snow?

We are currently under a "Winter Storm Warning".  Last night, before I went to work, it was a "watch" and at that time, the forecasted accumulations were between 5-10 inches.  Now, the projection is 8-12 inches.  Hmmm.  We will see what we will see. 

It seems like when we get a forecast for some real snow, we somehow get missed or it all turns to rain.  I don't know if that's how it's going to go this time since I think it's supposed to be pretty cold all weekend.  Anyway, if we do get that much snow, it will be the most we've had in a long time.  Also, this whole area will be closed down, which wouldn't be all bad.  At least then I can get some time in with Mass Effect 2, as long as the power doesn't go out.  I can almost see the local weathermen breaking in on your favorite TV show to give updates about "Winter Storm 2010" (spoken with a deep, gravelly voice).

Well, I'm off to bed.  A long night that wasn't that long might be leading into a very memorable weekend.

Awake

I am awake. 

Sitting here waiting for the coffee to finish brewing.  Joy and Sophie are at Target.  Molly and Caleb have a half day.  They will be home around 1:00. 

I am awake.

Tuesday, January 26th 2010 - Mass Effect 2

Before I started writing this, I really had to stop for a second and ask myself, "Is it Tuesday or Wednesday?"  Sometimes I still get a bit confused on the day of the week due to my work schedule but, thanks to the little time and date thingy in the bottom right corner of my computer screen, I can confirm that today is, in fact, Tuesday.

So, Mass Effect 2 comes out today.  I have a Gamestop gift card I got for Christmas that I've been holding onto for this game, so I'm looking forward to it.  The first Mass Efffect game definitely had it's share of technical problems.  One in particular is the now infamous elevator sequences which were really just long loading screens.  And I do mean long loading screens.  I also encountered a little bug (or is it a glitch?) while I was playing Mass Effect 1.  I agreed to get some information for a news reporter and I went to the location where I was supposed to meet her but, for some reason, she was nowhere to be found ever again.  That really irritated me.

Aside from the reasons I've given, I'm sure there are more people that had worse issues.  But these issues did not hurt the quality of the game, in my opinion, for one reason: the story.  The story in Mass Effect was very good and the voice acting was top notch.

I liked the story so much that I have to make a real nerd admission: I read the first Mass Effect novel and I'm currently reading the second one on my Kindle (which probaby makes me even more of a nerd!).

So, yes, I am looking forward to playing Mass Effect 2.  I've seen a couple of reviews that I refused to read to avoid spoilers.  But the reviews I've glanced at are very positive.

Well, maybe I'll do some sort of mini-review for posterity.  Eventually.

Monday, January 25th 2010

Here I am again messing around with this silly blog.  I've probably gone back and forth over whether or not I'm going to use it as a private or a public blog several times in the last few months.  Well, now it's "public" again and I realize that doesn't matter.  I don't break news or gossip headlines.  I simply write what's on my mind or what's going on in my or my family's life.

The bottom line is this: I like the format of this blog and I really like the layout.  It has worked really well for me as journal of sorts but I am just not consistent enough to really keep it constantly updated.  I think the inconsistency has less to do with the fact that this is a blog than the fact that I am traditionally very bad about keeping a journal.  I've tried to keep one for the sake of those small, beautiful moments (like Sophie's moon fear) but a lot of times I ended up saying, "I've got to write that down," but never do.

Here's to hoping that, in the future, I will keep up with this thing.  At the very least, I will most likely post occasionally about how I want to "really make this a journal". 

More post to come?

Getting ready to drop a couple of books off at the library. Also I'm experimenting with posting this from my phone via text message.

Posting From My Kindle

So, like the title says, I'm posting this using my Kindle. Pretty cool but not very practical. Later.

Afraid of the Moon?

Last night as I was carrying Sophie from the car to our front door, I noticed the moon was very bright overhead so I pointed up at it and said, "Look, Sophie!  It's the moon."  She looked up at what I was pointing at for about a second or so, then let out a slight whimper and quickly put her head down on my shoulder.  I felt bad for her, but it was so cute.

I thought maybe that was a unique reaction, but tonight we were coming out from the Texas Roadhouse restaurant and again the moon was bright overhead.  I pointed up at it again and said, "It's the moon, Sophie."  Once again she looked up at it then immediately put her head down on my shoulder and squeezed me tight.  Right as we were getting to the van she looked back up at the moon on her own for a second and, again, grabbed me tight and held her head down on her shoulder.

I wish I could know what was going through her mind.  Maybe it seems like the moon was following us while the streetlights just moved by as we walked.  I have no idea. 

What I do know is that these moments were beautiful and I love my kids with all my heart.