Round & round & round it goes, where it all ends.......

I have been so busy I hardly know where to begin. I've been given a few new responsibilities at work, training to become a WW employee (receptionist and eventually leader training once a few things fall into place), and trying to be a good daughter/friend/worker/singer/insert-other-function(s)-here.

One thing I am striving to remember is to make the time care for myself in all this. I have to eat right (which I do anyway), to exercise (which doubles as "me time"), to get enough sleep (okay, let's call it getting by on what I can), and to cultivate my mind through watching documentaries, reading, or word games. I need to constantly remind myself that I am worth the extra care and attention. I not only have to treat myself as well as I possibly can -- I deserve the extra care. And if I don't care for myself, no one else will.

So as everything swirls around me and goes crazy, hanging onto these pillars of care is extra important!

Are we turning the corner?

Well, as much as I would like this thought to be about the economy, the actual thought deals more with the extreme drought that our state has been in for about 3 years now.

Actually, let me back things up just a little ........ we have probably been in at least a moderate drought really since the late 80s. In 1986, we had such an awfully dry summer that farmers in the upper plains sent us excess grain and hay for our farmers. We had done that several summers earlier, and they repaid the favor. It was really odd, since July 1984 was the wettest July we had on record (23 inches of rain in 31 days). In just 2 years, we had so little rain, we went into drought mode. Truth be told, I'm not sure that we ever really bounced back from the '86 drought. Two years later, the same thing happened. Even the foot of snow we got in winter '86-'87 and the other foot in '87-'88 weren't enough to offset what would be the Summer '88 drought.

I can't vouch for certain about the '90s. I wasn't interested enough in the weather to really pay much attention. But this decade has been a tough one on us -- too little steady rain, just buckets at a time. By the end of 2005, we finally had enough rain to not only put us ahead for the year, but to finally bounce us back from the drought-like conditions of 2000-2003. So what was it that brought us back? Tropical storms. All those storms that demolished Florida and the Gulf -- including the double-whammy of Katrina and Rita -- were good for us. Horrid for my friends along the coast, but a blessing for us.

We're back to drought conditions, just 3 and a half years removed from those awful storms. The lake levels this past fall were so horrendous that old roads that had been flooded when the lakes were constructed were coming not only into view, you could almost drive them again. That, my friends, is scary.

For the winter so far, we've had a good bit of rain -- and especially so in the last few weeks. Between the pretty decent snow (3-6"), and a few days of intermittent rain, we've been blessed. If I remember the weather report from the other night, we are finally at or above normal rainfall totals for the year. Let's hope that the spring and summer continue to have good rain, so that we can get out of this drought!!!

I'm still alive....

At least I think so. It's been so busy and crazy the last few weeks...... I cannot wait for the weekend, except I have a buttload of things to do then too. Does the merry-go-round ever slow down.... even just long enough for a quick jumpoff?

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just drove home from Stacey's in more snow than I did in West Virginia last weekend. That's some kind of strange, isn't it?

It's beautiful though! Just gorgeous!!! The one bummer is that tomorrow, I actually DO have to go into work (payroll input day). I have no idea just how that's going to work. So say a prayer for me; I-85 is getting the worse end of it, so......

AHHHH!