A place to hide your treasures: priceless.

1 green straw

1 small screw

1 action figure belt

1 crumpled note from sister

1 closure sticker from a purse sized kleenex pack

26 silly bands

$15 and change

The contents of Lew's piggy bank when emptied out today.

Broken record

5 inches and still coming down heavily.  Still have power (but we haven't had the freezing rain yet).  Kids played in the backyard and could barely walk because the snow is so deep.

winter storm update

Power is still on (always a good thing).  Plow finally came by.  15 inches and still coming down.   Warm and snuggly inside.

Another year older and wiser too!

Here are 33 things you might not know about me--one for each year of my life.

1. If I had a dog it would be a chocolate lab.
2. I love the smell of coffee.  It reminds me of my grandma's house.
3. I've always wanted to visit Iowa.  I don't know why.
4. I like my drinking water at room temperature.
5. I heart NPR.
6. Were I to get a cat, I would choose a calico.
7. Had I been born a boy my name would've been Austin.
8. I don't like odd numbers.
9. My favorite number is 8.
10. I give money and food to homeless people.
11. I am deathly afraid of mice and snakes
12. Christmas is my favorite holiday.
13. Someday I want to live in NewYork City.
14. Someday I want to live somewhere incredibly rural.
15. I love peanut butter.
16. I hate snow.
17. I had a horse named Copper while growing up.  He was white.
18. When I eat I like to have a little bit of everything in each bite.
19. After college I was surprised to learn that all my high school teachers assumed I would major in journalism.  Never even considered it.
20. I refuse to pay more than 99¢ /lb. for fresh fruit or vegetables.
21. My first niece was born this week.
22. Jimmy Stewart is my all-time favorite actor.
23. Judy Garland for actress.
24. I say some things with a New England accent just to bug my kids.
25. I didn't eat an avocado until I was in college.
26. I was a cheerleader.
27. Dishes are my least favorite household chore.
28. Folding laundry is my favorite.
29. I've been asked if my heritage is:  Native American, Hispanic, Iranian.
30. I have an innate compass, except in malls.
31. I can't sleep with socks on.
32. Pragmatic.  That's how I would describe myself.
33. Someday I'd like to go to law school.

small town traditional

Double chimneys, red brick, green roof.  Facing the town square in a tiny Vermont town.

Dogger turns six

At age five I throw my kids a "friends" birthday party.  They seem to really want one at that age, and are able to enjoy it.  I'm sure there will be other years when they really want a party, but so far they've chosen a birthday "experience" for all other birthdays.  We've done a trip to Thanksgiving Point, a Fall Foilage Train ride, a Blue Man Group performance, day trips to the seacoast and family trips to the movies. 

This year Dogger wanted to stay at a hotel with a swimming pool. 

 He opened his gifts and had his cupcakes at the hotel too.

And now he is six!

I love this kid so much.  He has an amazing brain.  Did I tell you that at 5 years old he was able to formulate the idea that a black hole's gravity was so strong that light can't escape it?  (The only reason I know that is I'm married to a physicist.) 

This kid is going places. 

He's also a mama's boy and probably my biggest fan.  And who wouldn't love that?