I tutor a couple of students in the nearby Lake Winward neighborhood. I’ve been tutoring various students in there for several years now. This is the view that I catch as I drive by on the original side of the neighborhood. It literally is a short glance that I see if I turn my head at just the right moment (which I usually do). I’ve been admiring this view for a while and finally took the time today to stop and take a photograph since it was a decent day (despite the cold!) Through the trees, you can see Lake Winward itself and the newer section of the neighborhood. It is HUGE. It’s practically a small town in itself. Most of the houses that board the lake over there are in the exclusive gated areas and are what can only be described as a McMansion. I have tutored in a couple of those as well! They are incredible. Honestly, I prefer this side of the lake.

Well, after being told Friday the bug was coming, then told he wasn’t but that he was coming Saturday. But after waiting around for an hour, called the office and was told they weren’t coming. Then calling Sunday and being told he came Sunday for someone, but no one thought to inform me… then being told he would come on Monday, I naively put up helpful signs for the bug man since I wouldn’t be there to tell him where the ants were coming and going from. There are little post its all over my kitchen and master bathroom. And if you look closely, those little dots are dead ants. I originally left them there on Saturday since the bug man was supposedly coming out to deal with them that day (I found another batch crawling around my microwave and the wall towards the laundry center. No clue why!!) and now I’ve left them there as proof to the bug man that I’m not making it all up. They are just in this one corner (thankfully) but they still skeeve me out. There are some new carcasses that have appeared. I assume they wandered through the Raid I sprayed there originally. I can’t wait till this incident is finally taken care of! It shouldn’t take 5+ days and even more phone calls to get someone to act! Argh! Of course, no one came today. I called the office and was told someone would call me back, but the office closed before she did. Meaning- another phone call tomorrow to sort it out. Again. This is getting old!!

Well, here I am on Sunday evening (thus the rather look!) sporting my new glasses. I ordered them on December 31 (nothing like waiting till the last minute to use my insurance benefits!) and they came in this weekend. I’m still getting used to them, but I really think the defined frames really suit me better than the previous thing metal frames I used to have. I get to see them most every evening while on webcam, so I have a lot of opportunity to get used to the new look. So, good decision?

Well, here’s the required snow photo! I finally ventured out into the elements on Saturday after staying inside the entire day on Friday! I needed some provisions from Publix, so I had little choice but to get out there. Luckily, there was just a little bit of ice in the parking lot to navigate, however the grassy areas were still fairly covered in snow. I liked the contrast of the green, red and white in this photo. As long as I can get out and about as normal in snow, I love looking at it!

It’s our first (and probably only) snow day off of school. So, there should be some amazing photo of the snow outside here in Georgia, right?? Nope. I walked into my kitchen this morning to make some coffee after a little lie in and what did I find? That section of the counter (toaster, coffee maker, bread, etc) covered completely in ants. They were coming out of the plug socket where the toaster was plugged in. It was like a scene out of one of those “Attack” horror films. Of course I screamed, grabbed the Raid and sprayed mercilessly. ICK. I hate ants more than anything. It was all I could do to be a big girl and clean up the aftermath. The bug man was supposed to come out, but because of the snow the company wouldn’t let him. Greatttttt. Hope I can sleep tonight!

So, at long last, the long talked-about snow finally arrived in Georgia! Seems those snow pants yesterday worked! It started around 2:00 this afternoon while we were still at school. Being in a trailer, ahem, portable, allows me to see what’s going on weather-wise pretty easily! The kids were begging to go out and “play” in the snow. I let them have the last couple of minutes out in it, as much for them as for me! I love snow!! The students were screaming and laughing and really enjoyed the novelty of falling snow here in Atlanta. I actually enjoyed sharing it with them!

The snow continued falling most of the afternoon and evening. I thought it had stopped once the sun set. However, it looks like it is actually starting to accumulate not just on grass, but on the road and pavement! Fingers are crossed for a bonus day off tomorrow! I’ll keep you posted.

ETA: They just came on the news and announced no school tomorrow! Yippee!!

Woohoo! My new passport arrived today and it’s purty! I was already going to renew it in December since it expired in May. Well, I got a chance to go to Madrid in February, so it became a little more urgent to get the renewal done ASAP. The website was saying 4-6 week standard processing times, but that I could pay an extra $60 to get expedited service in two weeks or so. Hm. It was cutting it close, but I took the gamble and just went with regular processing and paid the $14.95 to get it sent express mail. Well, I sent it off priority mail on December 24th. They received it on Saturday the 26th. I assume they were closed for the Christmas holiday and figured this would delay my application some. Well, nope! Not at all. Even with New Years a week later, I checked my status online Tuesday and it said that my passport had been mailed already! I got it today! So, all told, less that two weeks from door to door with two major holidays in between! I’m very impressed and so happy I didn’t pay the expedite fee!

On another note, the passport is so pretty! The pages all have neat scenes of different places or historical sites in America along with famous quotes. I’m even pleased with my photo! Again, I’m very glad I went back to Walgreen’s and had them redo the photos!! I can’t wait to christen the passport in February!

These are what are called “snow pants.” My sister coined the term many years ago to denote her favorite pajama pants that had snow flakes on them. We decided that they are actually able to conjure snow whenever we wear our designated snow pants! Yes, I know that these have pink snow flakes, but hey. I’m wearing them this week! I want to get that snow day on Friday that the news is talking about! Better safe than sorry!

Brrr!! We’ve been in one of the longest cold snaps here in Georgia that I can remember. It’s been so miserable- cold, windy, and dry. Even inside my apartment, it seems I just can’t get it warm enough (without jacking the heat up to 80 which doesn’t seem economically wise!) So, I had casually mentioned to my dad before Christmas that I should get one of those space heaters for myself. Well, guess what Santa brought me! It’s loud (only drawback!) but it heats up so quickly! I have it positioned to blow directly on me while I sit on the sofa. Between this and my electric blanket, I have no reason to go out into the cold!!

Isn’t it so sad?? Here’s my poor little tree post-Christmas. It got really dry after my trip to Virginia, despite having plenty of water, so I decided to go ahead and take it down this weekend instead of waiting till after January 6th. It actually went pretty quickly, especially since I hadn’t put up too many ornaments. I think I got them all off, too! It’s sleeping out on my balcony tonight. I haven’t decided where I want to get rid of it. I would like to recycle it somewhere, but I don’t have any way to take it to a recycling center. I could drag it to the apartment complex trash dump, but I feel guilty doing that! There is the mini-forest behind my building on the other side of the parking lot, though……. No one would notice, right?