I am back. Sort of.

Things in life are all topsy-turvy, as I’m sure you know, unless you live somewhere that the recession isn’t reaching its filthy little fingers into your paycheck and wallet. If you are, let me know, and we’re moving there.

But on a happier note, Owen turned 10 months old a few days ago, and he is changing so much! Three days ago he pulled himself up to his feet in his playpen for the first time and now he won’t stop trying to stand up everywhere. He’s already bonked his head/face a few times on the coffee table. Ouch!

Well its for real - we are going to have a white Christmas, and MORE than that we’re going to have the whitest Christmas ever!  The record is a measly 1.5 inches, and we’ve still got at least 15 inches here - 7 inches fell on Sunday night/Monday morning.  I tried to measure how much total there was, but I got stopped by the layer of ice we had on top of the snow we got on… last Wednesday?  The days are mushing together.

We got about 2-3 more inches of snow today.  Things are starting to warm up across the region, but here its still below freezing.  Our garbage can is under the gutters, under a giant icicle (we removed it once already), and it is covered by about 6 inches of ice.  Its just incredible.  They’re forecasting snow tomorrow (and rain), and some snow on Friday too!  Crazy!

Here’s some pictures of the last few days - I am trying to keep track of what day is which, but my brain is slush. Haha a snow reference!

ACK can’t get the picture uploader to work!  I’ll try again later…

edit: Ah ha it works! I upgraded, borked it, and then reuploaded everything and now it works! A Christmas miracle!

Hey all, just posting to let you know that we are BURIED in snow.  I’m loving it, and hubby is too now that there’s finally enough that he doesn’t have to send people out to work in it.  Yes, buried is 6-10 inches of snow, with about a foot and a half in drifts.  Its so dry and powdery you can’t make a snowman or a snowball out of it, but it IS fun to toss great big handfuls up in the air.

We’re really windy, and I’m sure my older sister is thrilled not to be living in Troutdale for this!  Our across-the-street neighbors have hardly any snow - you can still see the grass in places - because its all blown over to us, I think.  And in our backyard it looks like one continuous sheet of snow, despite our back deck.  You can barely tell where it ends!

Add to that we’re getting freezing rain all day today (haven’t gotten much yet) and chains are required everywhere if you want to be driving.  Which is a bummer because I forgot to get butter when we went shopping on Friday night and now I can’t make any cookies like I had planned.  Argh!

The conditions are  different depending on where you are.  In our side of town we are feeling the effects of the east wind out of the Columbia River Gorge, which is keeping us below freezing, and will be throughout the day.

Pictures to come, I’m on the wrong computer. :p

Its a white Christmas… a week early!  Today is a dry, freezing cold day (literally), but tomorrow we have another snow storm rolling in!

Popcorn, hot chocolate, and movies at my house in front of the fireplace, come on over!

Well, its the first snow on the valley floor of the year here in the Portland area.  We’ve got about an inch and a half and its still coming down, although its a little off and on.  Still, I love it!  Owen doesn’t have a snow suit, unfortunately, but I might be able to get a few pics of him outside after he gets up from his nap.  Some fast pictures!

People on the freeways were already abandoning their cars and risking life and limb trying to chain up on the freeway while other cars were sliding past.  Its madness!  I’m so happy to be snugged up in my house with my family and a fire in the fireplace.

One of my favorite authors, Michael Crichton, has just died.  I didn’t even know he was sick.

Michael Crichton, who helped create the TV show “ER” and wrote the best-sellers “Jurassic Park,” “The Andromeda Strain,” “Sphere” and “Rising Sun,” has died in Los Angeles, his public relations firm said in a news release.

Crichton died unexpectedly Tuesday “after a courageous and private battle against cancer,” the release said.

He was 66.

One of my absolute favorite books of all time was written by him, Timeline.  Do me a favor and read the book, but SKIP the film of the same name.  The movie is awful.  He also wrote a great novel exposing/showing the holes in the global warming called State of Fear, which is fantastic.

Crichton also invited controversy with some of his scientific views. He was an avowed skeptic of global climate change, giving lectures warning against “consensus science.” He later took on global warming and the theories surrounding it in his 2004 novel, “State of Fear,” which attracted attacks in its own right from scientists, including NASA climatologist James Hansen.

So sad… I have no idea of his personal beliefs, but I know he was a great writer and I’m sorry I won’t be able to read any more of his books.  Well, no new books, anyway.

I found a t-shirt that I need.  Immediately.  Actually I take that back.

I found SEVERAL t-shirts that I need, immediately.

Star Wars Election - custom products.

Oh yes, yes!  I saw Tina Fey wearing a t-shirt with this logo on it on some SNL episode that I had recorded (I think it was the one starring Michael Phelps… unfortunately the poor boy cannot ACT, but he sure can swim!).  I loved it immediately.  I must have one.

“Must have” means generally that I’ll drool over it for weeks and never actually buy it.  BUT - I might.  Maybe.  You can make any sort of product you want with this image on it and they have several other that are hilarious, including a Chewbacca ‘08 (Let the Wookiee Win) that is hysterical.  A onesie, perhaps, for Owen?

I’m becoming increasingly pleased with myself at the way my main page is progressing.  So if you’re wondering where I am, I’m at my desk hunched over photoshop and dreamweaver, OR I’m playing with Owen.

Main page is here: http://jainhollie.com

I know, I know.  I’ve been neglecting my blog.

You should be pleased to know that I have not been neglecting my child or my husband, however.  I’ve not had a lot of time to sit at the computer (and when I have had time I’ve been too ashamed to blog).

Ashamed?  Yeah.  I’m two weeks overdue for a Looking Fine by 2009 update… I didn’t exercise all last week.  The previous week I did workout three days, but then we had 6 of my oldest sister’s kids over for the weekend and I didn’t get a chance to exercise while they were here.  Not because I couldn’t find the time, I’m sure they’d of had a blast pretending to work out with me, but I simply don’t have the room.  My living room is barely big enough for me to move around in during a work out, let alone 6 kids and perhaps Owen as well.

Plus I haven’t been doing well at watching what I eat.  The good news is, however, I have managed to stay at the same weight.  I seesawed up and back down for a week (now that I have a scale I was weighing myself every time I got into the bathroom - not good!) but the last time I weighed in I was right where I’d started at.

Anyway, muscle weighs more than fat, so if I gain muscle first I might gain weight.  Right?  Then the extra muscle would burn off the fat… okay I haven’t gotten there yet.

This post is getting long.  The Readers Digest version is that my husband got sick and now I’m sick and NOW Owen is getting sick too.  Its a sore throat thingy and it moved in to my sinuses.  Owen is getting snuffly and having trouble staying asleep.  Did I mention the unending nose drip that comes with this illness?  Oy vey!

Any suggestions on infant medicines for cold relief?  I have given him some Tylenol today when he was especially fussy during the middle of his nap but I don’t think that’s a great solution for long term.  Or, is it?  We’re looking for a humidifier tomorrow to hopefully help him with the stuffy nose.

I’ve also been working on a new blog design and I’ll be migrating my blog to my own website!  Woohoo!

Last year we had the show COPS in our backyard, tracking down an illegal alien hit and run driver.

This year we’ve had police stand offs and shootings and arsons all within a ten block radius of our house.

TODAY: since 6 am this morning, about five houses down from us the SWAT team is trying to get a person with a gun out of a house.  This is two houses down to the end of our street and then two more houses down that adjoining street to the left.  So… sort of catty-cornered?  Its out of sight, at least.

The end of our street is taped off with a squad car and policeman standing there.  This is not the first time this has happened (see aforementioned episode of COPS when they cordoned off the neighborhood so they could search for the guy).

There was just a really loud boom sound, which I think might have been the SWAT team breaking down the door?  I don’t know.  It was kind of scary.

Its really sad - this is a nice old neighborhood which has just gone into the toilet.  Our city thinks that population density should be as high as possible, and there are so many apartment buildings going in and having been built nearby in the last few years…  There’s an area near us called Rockwood which is pretty much where the illegal aliens from south of the border live, and low income whites and blacks too, and its where most of the crime in the area happens.  Well, Rockwood’s boundaries are stretching out towards us.  I think we’re in the crime zone now.

Just a few weeks ago some tweaker stole the catalytic converter off of my brother’s Toyota 4-runner.  We have a big problem with metal thieves in Portland.

Yay!  I hope the street is open again by the time our friends come over for our football party!

As a side note, I really want our fence fixed so we can get a Dobermann.