Only 362 days until CHRISTMAS!!!!

So Christmas is over now, I guess. it didn't really feel much like Christmas, I didn't think. probably because every other Christmas of my life I've been in Nowhere Minnesota to celebrate it with my extended family. this year, however, Nikki and I were able (somehow) to beg and scrape and plead with my parents to let us have Christmas at our house instead.

I love being at my grandparents' house, but it's really really not relaxing at all. all ten of us cram into two, two bedroom houses for two weeks with other random family and friends popping in (uninvited, usually) at all hours of the day with all their kids and pets and whatnot...so there's really never a moment of silence or peace anywhere, unless you take the 4-wheeler out for a drive into the woods. the problem with that is if you stay out for more than 20 minutes, either Grandma calls Search and Rescue or you catch pneumonia from prolonged exposure to Minnesota's sub-zero temperatures. so I'm sure you can see why Nikki and I asked/pleaded/begged on our hands and knees to have Christmas at our house.

Anyway. we got our way. it's funny, cause usually if Nikki and I join forces and team up on our parents, we get what we want. the only thing I can think of that we never got was a cat. oh, and a horse. we wanted those and asked and asked and asked but never got 'em. but I'm not bitter. I'm not upset that my dad would never let me have a cat, even though it was my favorite animal ever and I even found a nice cute stray white one that had no home. I'm not angry that he chased it off the property, that he hated it just because it was missing an eye! can you believe that?! the cat is missing an eye and he can't have some compassion on it! you cruel, cruel man!! pfft. really. I'm not bitter. anyways. where was I? right, I remember now. and now Christmas is over and, once again, it doesn't feel like it happened at all. kinda like I slept for three days and just woke up and all I've got are a few sketchy memories of Christmas.

I've also been staying in Nikki's room, since mine has been inhabited by my grandparents who came to spend Christmas with us. I sleep on the floor, which didn't bother me for the first few nights. but as the week wore on it really started to bum me out. but thankfully, Nikki, probably because she doesn't have a job or school, habitually stays up into the early morning hours like I do, so I haven't had to adjust my sleep schedule at all! :D (hence, me writing this at 1 a.m.) It's been really fun, in fact, to be in Nikki's room. we don't really talk all that much beyond the occasional "Hey, do you know what Mom's making for supper tonight?" or "Can you move your car so I can get out of the driveway, please?" or "Hurry up in there!". but since moving my abode into hers, we've had quite a few good times and laughs. it gets a little tense, though, since I'm a naturally messy person and she's a natural neat-freak, but I've been trying to be better while I live in her room (really, Nikki, I am trying! I'm sorry about leaving my clothes on your bed, okay? I'm sorry. so sorry.)

So anyways, I'm bored with this so I'm gonna end it right here. Merry Late Christmas, everyone!

Perfect

Okay, so my car has been in its dark and lonely tomb (or perhaps more commonly known as the garage) for almost a week. because of the ridiculous number of people living at my house nowadays, and the ridiculous number of them who own cars, there are usually about three in the driveway, two on the street, and one in the tomb. so whichever lucky car gets nominated as the least important one and stuffed into the tomb is also the lucky car that can only escape if all the other cars are gone from the driveway or parked far enough back (which rarely happens). it was so sad, not being able to take Snoopy out for a drive or to work or wherever else I needed to go. oh, there was always somebody else's car to use...but it's not the same. cause then you have to fix the steering wheel and the seat and the mirrors and it's just a big pain. oh, and all the radio presets are all messed up and you cant find your favorite radio station.

So anyways. today I had no work and school is over (hallelujah) so I was so excited about doing nothing at all, or at least doing whatever I felt like. and so I decided on going to the mall to finish my Christmas shopping. I look outside and sure enough, my car is still trapped inside the garage. mom says not to worry, just take her car. no, I had had enough. I wanted Snoopy, and I wanted him now. I would not wait another day to free him from his prison. I even went through the pain and toil of moving Nikki's car, a half dozen 2x4s that were stacked behind my car, as well as the snow blower. I never knew snow blowers were so heavy! seriously...it was all I could do to move that thing. but finally, finally, after a week being in the tomb, Snoopy was free and we were tearing down 70th street, having a jolly good time.

So that evening when I came home, I was very tired (I'd been shopping all day...but be proud of me, I got all my shopping done!) and was anxious to get home. and it was like, all of a sudden, everything was perfect. the slight vibrations of the car were perfectly in sync with the rhythm of the music pumping through the speakers. and then (magically, I'm sure of it) this awesome song comes on the radio with just enough guitar and drums (and a piano), sung by some guy I don't know (but he had an awesome voice), and the song was about loving thunder and rain.

It was so neat...I was coasting at like, 50 mph on deserted streets at night listening to an awesome song in an awesome car. it was perfect. I didn't want it to end. I came to the place to turn to go home, and whoops...did I pass it? darn. gotta go the looooong way home. blast. I hate it when that happens. *turns up music*

Let it snow, let it snow...but let's skip the driving part and just sit inside and watch it.

I love snow. I've always loved snow, forever. I will always love snow, forever. snow will always be my favorite thing, forever and ever. BUT (you know there was one coming) I never really respected snow before today. it was just something fun to play in and eat, in my younger years (younger years being the last time it snowed), but I never really said, "Snow, I respect you. you are so cold and beautiful and deliciously dangerous." and I still haven't said it...but I thought it many times today.

So there I was. it was about ten minutes to nine o'clock in the morning and I was frantically grabbing my bookbag, filling up my Broncos travel mug with that fabulous black stuff and running to the front door. I was delighted at the fact that we were getting a heavy dose of snow, and about time, too. I had been ready for snow since march.

My mother, being, of course, a mother, reminded me to put on my coat (yes, my mother still has to tell me to put on my coat, not because I forget, but because I hate coats with a deep and burning passion), to "have fun" at school (poor mom...ignorance is bliss), and gave me a ten minute talk about safely driving in the snow (this would mark the very first time I've ever driven in the snow), which I involuntarily tuned out. so mesmerized was I at the beauty of the falling snow that I actually managed to not hear a single word of what she was telling me.

And so, with a wave of the hand and a yawn and a simple, "Yeah, yeah." to my mother, I left the house and pranced blissfully through the snow (about two inches by now) to my car, Snoopy. it was going to be a fabulous day.

So, Snoopy and I haven't been on the best of terms lately. we've both said some things to each other that we regret, and so our relationship had become rather stressed. "Going to be good today?" I asked him once I sat down in the front seat. funny thing about Snoopy...he'll talk before and after I put it into Drive, but never while I'm driving. weird.
"Like always." he snapped back.
"Stop talking back. you don't even have a brain."
"You don't have an engine."
"Touché." I quickly put the car into drive to make him shut up. nothing can put you down faster than your car getting the better of you in a battle of wits.

Well, to make a very long story not quite as long, I slipped and slided...slid...slidded? well, I did that the whole way to school, and all the way back, just hoping I was actually in a lane, and not in both lanes or driving through some person's backyard. I pretty much just picked a car and followed it, hoping that he was not as much an amateur of snow driving as I. but Snoopy did a very good job of keeping us on the road. thanks, Snoop. you're not so bad after all.

And tonight (my day just keeps getting more and more exciting) as I was driving off to work, I rounded a corner not two blocks from my house, fishtailed big time (seriously, like half-circles) for about half a block, and then somehow ended up in somebody's front yard for real. luckily for me, though, the people did not seem to be home, the number of people gawking at the scene were few, and I had been going almost 20 mph, so the momentum carried me safely back onto the street where I continued on my merry way. after the shock and utter terror faded, I realized that it had been awesome. on my way home from work later tonight I slowed down and pointed at the tracks I had made in the person's yard and let out a merry laugh. what fun. then I got going too fast (again) and started to slid sideways down the street thinking, "Um, yeah, so my steering is gone and my breaks are out, I guess." this continued for half a block until I arrived at my house and finally got the car stopped in a safe location, my nerves all but irreparable. yes, very awesome indeed. not bad for my first time driving in the snow, eh?

I've learned something very, very important today: Snoopy has serious thrill issues.