It is Superbowl Sunday.....

I remember a time in our lives when that meant something.

I remember years when I had a team I was rooting for.... or years when I played cards during the football-ing and rallied round the television for the commercial breaks.

I remember the little appetizers shaped like football treats.

I remember playing our own games of touch/tackle ball out in the cemetery to blow off steam instead of watching the halftime show.

Today, I was at the grocery store buying a newspaper when the old man walking out the door with me began to say...

"Today's the day I'm get to go home and kick my old lady out' the house!

I'm gonna' watch the big game..." (here he leans in closer to me)

"and she can go to a tupperware party or somethin'!"

(an exxagerated WINK followed by much gaffawing).

I'm not entirely certain why he felt like this would be a nice conversation to have with me. Do I look like a co-conspirator in his plot to alienate his wife so he can live vicariously through another man's battle? Or do I look like I'd enjoy tupperware? ... This afternoon Madyline told me that City Knitting was having their own party ... bring $ to chip in for pizza and your current knitting project and everyone can sit around the couches and work together. If I knew how to knit I might have gone there. I would have been glad to pick the tupperware lady up on my way.

What did we do? I know you are dying to ask.. (because we ARE that exciting around here)...

Well, the entire city is snowed in... no church, no school, even the YMCA and the malls closed down yesterday. So, we've done what we do best... we've spent the weekend in front of the fireplace. Madyline built a snow fort and I tried to enjoy the outside with her and Zoe, but the wind is so bitter that it was hard to be out in it for too long. Ava and Indy didn't even make it past the front yard. People we love surprised us and stopped by to enjoy the warmth with us... we are going to miss that terribly. Billy snuck out risking life and limb to bring me home a dr. pepper... it was fabulous . I wonder if there is dr. pepper in South Africa. I don't have it often, but man, when I need a comfort moment... that is what I reach for every time. We went to celebrate our dear friend, Brian's birthday. Dr Mario and pizza and snuggling on the couch (and I brought my dr pepper)... it was a perfect evening. And I've ALMOST finished down here in my digital dungeon... uh, I mean, darkroom. 21 families, 24 proof books. That's a lot of work and I'm so glad to be this close. Although that just means I have to start cleaning out the house. We did have our first showing on Friday... so I did a great mad scramble to clean the counters and closets. That's all that really matters, isn't it? Saturday morning Billy ran upstairs terribly excited. He had opened the dryer door to find an assortment of perfectly folded clothes stacked inside. He wondered why he'd never known about that magic setting before we put our house on the market!! I remember once, when friends of ours were selling their house, I found all sorts of random items shoved haphazardly into the dishwasher... gotta' get those counters clean somehow!!

Snow day continues tomorrow... good news for us. I will always celebrate a day to sleep in and play with my babies. And I still have some dr. pepper left. The kids and I are going to make carrot cake out of the giant orange wonder we found the other day. I think Mady wants to tell you about that though, so I'll leave it to her for now. As always, you are welcome to join us for a piece. It will be gluten free... and it will be fabulous.