24 Degrees Fahrenheit

It’s unseasonably cold in Seattle today – 24 degrees Fahrenheit at 12:20 p.m. to be exact. We’ve had a bit of a cold spell with the weather and it’s not what we’re used to here in the normally temperate northwest. There is also a bit of snow on the ground. At one time, it was close to four inches.

It’s quite lovely, but a real mess too. It all started on Sunday afternoon with some lovely snow. Then it got warmer on Monday morning, but worse on Monday afternoon. The result was a horrible commute for most folks in the Seattle area. I decided to work from home, so I missed most of the ugliness. The DH, however, did not.

Today, it’s much worse. The snow that fell yesterday turned into a big sheet of ice over night. The Microsoft campus actually closed. I’ve stayed home again today and the DH didn’t go to work until 9:00 after the sun came up. Normally, you would expect everything to melt here when the sun comes up. Not today though. It’s only 24 degrees.

Thanksgiving

I'm so thankful for a wonderful husband and great family. I really enjoyed Thanksgiving in Boise with my entire family. It was only a little crazy and mostly really fun. I also got to see some great old friends. I loved seeing Andrea and Kathy. I’m really blessed with wonderful people in my life. I’m thankful for lots of things:

• The great DH
• A lovely family and in-laws
• Wonderful friends in Seattle and elsewhere
• A job that’s mostly good with a nice boss and really fine co-workers (the only exception being that blasted commute)
• Enough money to do most things I’d like to (because of my mostly good job)
• A nice warm house (especially today when it’s 20 degrees outside – and I’m not exaggerating)
• Working out at the gym and feeling really strong and good
• General good health
• A beautiful world to be in and appreciate
• DVR and Netflix
• Fleece and hot chocolate
• Christmas decorations
• Computers and the internet for staying in touch
• And a really good hair dresser
• And lots more stuff that I can’t think of right this moment

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday too and that you remember all the things you’re thankful for.

Happy Birthday to the DH!

Today is the DH’s 50th birthday. We celebrated last night with a party at Sunset Bowl in Ballard. We invited all the best people we knew and most of them even showed up. We had four lanes reserved and had all kinds of good food in the banquet room upstairs. It really was a fun way to celebrate.

Folks that wanted to bowl got one game in before we sang, ate cupcakes, and opened presents. I had a great time getting the present for the DH. Since I’ve met him, he’s talked about wanting a Ford F-150 pickup truck in black or silver. The big 5-0 seemed like the perfect time to surprise him with just that. It took an elaborate plan and a husband clearly lacking in any suspicion whatsoever.

I went to the Ford dealership last Saturday and bought the silver truck. They kept it at the lot for the week. Then yesterday, I told the DH I had a pedicure appointment with my friend Jamie. She came to pick me up, but we went to the dealership, picked up the truck, and I drove it to the bowling alley where she came and picked me up.

When we got home, the DH told me there was a weird message from a car dealership about my appointment. Fortunately, he didn’t think I’d be doing such a thing and didn’t put 2 and 2 together.

I got some decoy gifts, then put the keys to the new truck on a newly purchased Oakland Raiders keychain and put it in a small box. It was the last thing he opened (after bunches of really cool things that his friends bought for him).

When the DH opened the car keys, he didn’t’ get it right off. He thought it was my keys on a new key chain. I had to tell him the rest of the gift was in the parking lot. He was ecstatic! I think I may have done all right with that gift. You only turn 50 once, and it’s a big milestone, so that’s the biggest gift he’ll ever get from me. (And he’ll be helping to pay for it for the next little while.)