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The image outside our house this morning.



And outside the back:



Icicles on the deck rail and the fence:



And-it's snowing again. We haven't dared to venture out...see the pic out the front door above. There is snow/ice all over our street. And...the mailman just came! His is the only vehicle I've seen driving on our street all day. We weren't brave enough to go out.

My sister and her husband are on the ground crew for the Super Bowl pre, post and halftime show this year. They did it the last time the big game was in Miami and were asked to be on the crew again. My daughter is going to help out, too! Awesome. Oh, and Beth and Jose are going to be crewing the Pro Bowl, also.

Nothing else much is happening. I did participate in a live chat last night with one of my very favorite romance authors, Laura Kinsale! I took a break of about 15 years from reading romance...but the last year I have been back to reading, not just romance, but fantasy too. Ms. Kinsale was recommended to me as a wonderful writer of thoughtful, exciting romances--and none of her books have disappointed me so far. I started with For My Lady's Heart which is a medieval romance in which the characters speak in Middle English grammar. Unfortunately, it is not available except used...

Then I devoured Midsummer Moon, The Prince of Midnight, The Hidden Heart and The Shadow and the Star (which should be read after "The Hidden Heart" luck was with me there, heh.) Right now, I'm reading Seize the Fire and after that, I'm going to read her latest book, Lessons in French. After that, it's on to the rest of her backlist. I cannot tell you how many hours of enjoyment I have gotten from her books so far. And after chatting with her last night, I have to say, she is just as delightful "in person" as her writing would lead you to believe. The Romance Writers National Convention is going to be in Nashville this year...and since we are getting a rather large tax refund due to our home purchase...I'm thinking of going. But it's very expensive so, I doubt if hubby would approve the expenditure. (Especially since we are talking about perhaps taking a trip for our 10th anniversary this year...) I might be able to convince him if my sadly neglected novel was anywhere near being ready to pitch...

However, if Ms. Kinsale does attend, maybe I can arrange to meet her in N'Ville for dinner or something one day...

One can dream, right?

So, this morning, hubby looks out the window and chirps, "It's snowing!"

Then I look and say, "Oooo, pretty."

Then we exchange Valentines (details to follow) and finish getting ready for work. He heads off while I finish sending off the e-tines. I finish, gather all my stuff and head out to my car. I put the key in the door, turn it, pull on the handle...
( and my morning adventure begins... )

So, the gifts. He received two cards: one of the new music cards--with the Barry White song "My first, My Last, My Everything" and a sweet message. The other is a mushy romantic one. He also got (is getting, it's not here yet) an autographed copy of one of his favorite DVDs "The Last Unicorn". Oh, and this:



I received three yellow roses, a huge mushy card, some very excellent chocolates and I get to buy some clothes for myself.

We also had dinner at our "Valentine place" which is a better-than-average Chinese buffet. Our own little tradition of three years. We invited Adam, Nicole and Tyler to join us and had a wonderful dinner.

And after we got home, we got a call from Amanda. She is having her baby tomorrow! She's been in labor for about a week--and is 2cm dialated, 100% effaced. Woohoo! My sister is going to call me and leave the phone line open so I can "be there" when baby Max is born. I checked again for airline tickets, but they are all too much. Shit. I hate being poor. I wish ... well, you know.

That's all for now...guess that's enough. I'll update you with baby details as they become available.

...it happens. We have actual snow in Middle Tennessee. It began early this morning and is still coming down as I type. Ironically, the weather people didn't go all crazy on the news last night. I've posted some pictures behind the cut. ( SNOW! )

Hubby had a fabulous birthday. His team at work sang "Happy Birthday" and gave him a small cheesecake before I arrived. However, he was so surprised by the cake and I had also left him a love note on his desk which he said brought tears to his eyes. Aww. Unfortunately, his gift has not yet arrived, which I am pretty aggravated about--but perhaps it will come today. I hope so.

On a work-related note, I got 100% on all of my assessments (tests) yesterday. Go me!

edited to add pictures of Snowballman!