Facie’s Ramblings

I have a handful of thought in my head (and by a handful, I think I mean about 30). So rather than try to pick one topic, I am going to bullet point some. Let's see how many "some" actually ends up being... When the Penguins are done with hockey, so am I. I am not even sure who is still playing and if we are down to the final teams. I think the Rangers are or were in it. But that is all I know. I really like hockey, but as a true Pens fan who watches pretty much every single game, starting in October, once the Pens are done, I typically have had enough. Let the record show that I rarely complained this winter. So many people talked about how hard/bad the winter was. I did not see it that way. I am guessing that is because I drove to work this winter, unlike last winter, when I found myself waiting for the bus in frigid temps quite a bit. Even 5 or 6 minutes in windchills at -5 or even 0 degrees tends to bring you down. So this winter was like a picnic in comparison. I...

Do you expect a lot from people? I do. Unfortunately I am let down a lot... I expect that when I buy donuts from Giant Eagle that turn out to be bad, that I will be offered a replacement in addition to my lousy $2. I expect that when I buy tires warranted for 60,000 miles, that I won't get fewer than 30,000 miles. I expect that when my child's school is delayed for cold when it is in the low teens, that it will also be delayed when it is in the single digits (or that if won't be delayed for either). I expect that when I call or email someone with a question or request, that that person won't wait weeks to get back to me. I expect that when the bus is supposed to arrive at a certain time in the morning, that if it gets there early, it won't leave until the designated time, particularly when the temps are in the single digits and the next bus is close to 10 minutes away. I expect people who use public transportation to bathe and use deodorant on a regular ba...

I am convinced I have one of the shortest memories. Before I accepted my current job, just before Easter last year, I thought (and by thought, I really mean fretted) about summer child care, which was something I had not had to think about ever. J started out at an at-home daycare when she was about four months old and she continued going there until she went to kindergarten. I was out of work a few months before kindergarten ended, so summer care was not an issue. But this spring, we worried and searched and ended up finding a place for J to go to this past summer with with we were mostly happy. And then school started back up again, where J also attends after-school care five days a week. So I thought we were all set. Yes, there are days off here and there throughout the school year, but between my job's nice holiday time off and a friend and a few relatives, we work it out. It helps that we know about those days at the beginning of the year. But this week, we had something w...

Before I launch into this post (and I am not entirely sure where it will go, but it will need to happen in about 20 minutes because I have lunch duty), let me begin by saying my hubby is pretty darn good as far as hubbies and daddies go. He cooks for us almost every day. Considering how much I love to eat, he could do little else but that, and it would not matter too much to me. [Note that a few years ago, I cooked for the family but was "fired" after a week or several. No one appreciated what I thought tasted good.] He also keeps the "mechanics" of the house running. He has black-topped the driveway, mixed cement to fix our crumbling steps, and planted grass. He moves heavy stuff around, figures out some electrical things, and when I fail at toilet unclogging , he helps me there too. Unlike a lot of dads, he spends time with his kid (though, he will be the first to admit not nearly what I spend with her), and is happy to help out with physical projects and cert...

Did you every notice how bad weather and holidays tend to bring out the worst in people? Sure, many come together in various, and sometimes positive, ways during those occurrences, but there are times when ugliness rears its head. Yesterday, western Pennsylvania was hit with some fast-falling snow, which happened to land on some ice. The roads, from the pictures and videos I saw and the comments I read on Facebook, were quite dicey in most areas. Considering this weather had been forecast for several days and this is PA in late December, not the deep South, the roads should have been in better shape. But on the other hand, you can pretreat all you want; when freezing rain comes down and there are a ton of cars on the road, it is unrealistic to expect smooth-sailing. But to read and listen to the number of complaints, it was clear that many (including the hubby) fell into the former camp. Admittedly, I was annoyed with the road conditions. Our taxes have gone up as has our house ass...

Last night, while my kid was (very slowly) getting ready for bed, she announced those words above. I was in the next room and had no clue what she was talking about, although the day before she asked me what V with three lines means (referring to VIII). So I walked into the hall to find Jordan standing in front of the full-length mirror, clearly pretending to wear a toga. I laughed out loud and said, "Oh, you are pretending to wear a toga. You are funny." Then Jordan asked if I was going to put that on Facebook. Of course I did (the exchange, not the picture). When I asked her today how she knows about togas and the Romans, she said she saw something about it awhile ago in a show called "Time Warp Trio." Good to see there are (or at least were) some educational cartoons out there (but for my money, "Phineas and Ferb" rules!). Seven is an interesting age. My kid is so much more independent. She can actually play by herself for an hour or more (I realize a...

I cannot believe the last time I did a "random ramblings" post was way back in May of 2010. Since I have a handful of things (and by handful, I mean at least 10) on my mind and not any one thing heavily weighing me down, I figured I might as well ramble. So here goes. Earlier today, the weather people were calling for 3 to 6 inches of snow, with the snow to start in the mid afternoon and one of those inches coming before midnight. I cannot speak for the rest of the Pittsburgh area, but we have gotten at least three inches so far, at around 10 p.m. Brian has twice shoveled our driveway and sidewalks as well as our neighbor's, and each time everything was covered by the time he finished. Speaking of snow, I am scheduled to substitute tomorrow, which also happens to be "Steelers Dress-Down Day." I will be so bummed if I don't get to wear my Hines Ward jersey while teaching, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that we will have only a two-hour delay (already c...

Snow is coming, ladies and gentlemen! Go out and buy your bread and milk. Cancel all plans. Get ready to hunker down. I almost hate to joke about an impending snowstorm. Last February, my mom was all freaked out about the predicted six to eight inches of snow (today and tomorrow's "snowstorm" is calling for three to six inches). She was convinced, like so many others, that she would be snowed in for days, that her power would go out, basically that the sky was falling. Like the good daughter I am, I made fun of her, reminding her that it was February in western Pennsylvania, and snow is not that uncommon for that time and place. I also laughed at her fear of losing power. Really, what damage could six lousy inches do? Well, we all know how that turned out. And, as I blogged about, the joke was on me; not only did we get about 22" of snow, we (Brian, Jordan, and I), were without power and cleared roads for days. So for that reason, I am hesitant to make light o...

Last week while at my mom's, my brother, his wife, their three kids, my kid, and I went sled-riding down a smallish hill speckled with snow. On the surface, that might not seem like a lot of fun, but I am here to tell you otherwise. The last time I went sled-riding was in college, via a dining hall tray. I think I did it only once, but I seem to recall it was fun (those trays can actually move on the snow). Or maybe it was just one of those things you have to do before your graduate. Anyway, because Brian and I are overprotective, Jordan's sled-riding experience consists of Brian pulling her on a sled down the approximately 10 percent-grade hill that is our side yard. As you can imagine, there is no speed involved.  But over the last year, I am proud to say I have been letting loose a little as far as my kid is concerned, so when my mom's across-the-street neighbor offered us the use of three sleds, we jumped at the chance, thinking the hill would be tiny (in other wor...

As part of my embracing the holiday/Christmas season, I am trying to be chipper about the snow. Seeing as how we most likely will be seeing a lot of that white stuff over the next three months and all. Well, maybe chipper is pushing it a bit. I guess I am going more for not loathing it just yet. But, already, we have had our first delay of the school year. A delay that was rather pointless, in my opinion. Sure it is cold today. It was maybe 18 degrees with a windchill at or just below 0 degrees when I woke up around 6 a.m., turned on the TV, and discovered we were on a two-hour delay (FYI, this "discovery" took some time; our school's automatic call system did not go through this morning, so I found out about the delay after staring at the bottom of the TV screen until we got to the saints). The low temp was no surprise; the weather people had been calling for it for days. The same weather people did not, however, tells us that by mid morning, the mercury was going ...

Yesterday, the Burgh woke up to a bit of snow. Just a trace amount where I live, but enough to dust the roads and create some slick spots (it was worse in other areas). Pretty much every year without fail, the first time it snows, I get a teeny bit freaked out. I worry about sliding my car into another or getting stuck trying to make it up the hill out of our area. And our steep, downhill driveway is no picnic either. Back when my kid went to an at-home, city neighborhood daycare just off a hilly street, I was pretty much a nervous wreck anytime it snowed. With cars parked along both sides, you had just one lane to drive up and down the street, often making it impossible to turn around. So I was often forced to head down the very steep perpendicular road near her caregiver's house. Said narrow street often had cars parked along the side. Gives me the willies just remembering the many times I had the car in the lowest possible gear, holding my breath and clutching the steering whe...

Here is what is on my noodle today, in no particular order:   Yes, the snow is pretty and all. And I won't even say that it would be fine with me if it does not snow again until December (except I just did). But I will say, I am done with excessive snow and the ensuing snow days that seem to keep on coming. And I am even more irritated that some schools want to get out of teaching 180 days. The kids need it, and I pay a lot for my kid's education besides. I read a somewhat disturbing but not too surprising article about how being laid off affects your health. I am really trying to be positive about my situation, and most of the time I am, but I can't help feeling a little down and of course worried sometimes. Not as worried as Brian, however, and we all know what worry can lead to. Speaking of health, which leads me to health insurance, is it any wonder that people ignore their health problems when they have little or crappy insurance? I was having some weird pa...

As much as I wanted to write about something other than snow, I, once again, am penning some thoughts on those all-too-common white flakes around here. For the seventh time this year, Jordan's school has been canceled. On top of that, I think there have been two or three delays. In my opinion, there was no reason for today's cancellation. What makes it worse is that last night around 9, we received the automated call that there was a delay. I thought it might be a bit premature to announce that; we had received a few inches, but that was almost a daily occurrence lately (when it was not snowing several feet). Although I was disappointed that Jordan would be missing her first two classes yet again this week, I looked on the bright side that we would get to sleep in. This morning, just after 6:30, I was jolted awake by a ringing phone. The principal wanted to know if I could sub, and I readily (if not sleepily) agreed. Unfortunately, I became wide awake after that conversati...

At this point, I have no idea where all the snow is going to go. I don't think I am exaggerating when I say it will take weeks, surely a month, to melt. Especially if it keeps on snowing. I don't think it has stopped snowing for more than a day in the past six. Ugh! On top of that, I am a little frustrated that school is closed tomorrow (Friday), which we knew Wednesday night. Why not wait until Friday morning to make that call, or how about at least Thursday night? I was scheduled to sub, plus the kids were having their Valentine's parties, so not sure what will come about with either. Guess I did not need to brave the elements yesterday afternoon to go out and buy valentines for Jordan's class. Oh, well. Regardless, we don't live in MD or VA; shouldn't western PA be better equipped to handle all this snow? I guess I should quit my bellyaching and be glad that a plow has hit our street several times in the last few days, that our leak inside the LR window h...

Like everyone else who experienced the great snowfall this past weekend, I thought I would share a few pics. Growing up, I don't remember it snowing a lot at one time. I don't know if the schools had fewer delays or cancellations then, if I just don't remember them, or if it really did not snow that much. I do recall two snowstorms of my (more or less) adult life. One came at the end of spring break my senior year at PSU. I wrote about it in another post (though not so much about the snow). I also recall the next year, 1994, we got a ton of snow in January or February. I had just graduated from PSU in December, had no job prospects, and had recently broken up with my boyfriend. I spent most days in January crying and watching soaps. But I do recall during that snowstorm shoveling something like 20 inches off our large driveway with our neighbor while my mom was at work. I also remember eating almost an entire can of cheese spread after. Ah, memories! Fortunately this time...

In my next life, I want to be a weather forecaster. I am sure there are a number of science coursed involved if you want to be a meteorologist, but once you get through school, it seems as if you can make mistakes on a regular basis and still get to keep your job. During Thursday night's news, the weather guy said we could expect 2 to 4 inches of snow beginning around 5 p.m. on Friday; in fact, at choir earlier that evening, someone told me she had heard between 2 and 10 inches (talk about precise!). Not wanting a repeat of what happened the previous Friday, when it took me well over an hour and a half to drive the 10 miles home because of much more snow than predicted, I decided to leave before 4:30 on Friday, hoping to beat the impending snow. The snow never came. But it was raining on the way home, so it took me a leisurely 50 minutes to get home instead; Pittsburgher drivers and precipitation do not mix well. When I was out shopping today, I was actually excited to see a rain-s...