November 17, 2011

Outside Temp: 24 F (and getting colder)



What I cooked today:
Angel Hair Pasta: So lazy today.  I offered 'leftovers' to the kids, either spaghetti sauce or chili.  They asked for spaghetti, without the sauce.  I know, no protein, no dairy, nothing of much use, but it was easy and cheap and they were happy. 

Update:
So, we dropped off the car to get snow tires today.  This has been a long, drawn out discussion on 'All Season' vs. 'Snow Tires', and the snow tires won out.  Then we had the long, drawn out discussion between the van and the Aveo.  The Aveo won out.  I think it won because it get's better gas milage and it's lighter, and the tires were about 30% cheaper.  Of course, we can't fit our entire family in the Aveo, but who cares about little things like that. 

We decided to get the tires from a place in Geyser, instead of Great Falls for a few different reasons.  If I'm going to spend $500 on tires, I'd rather have the profit go to a local company rather than the 'big city'.  And the guys in Geyser were so nice and friendly and they're going to install them for us, included in the price (the Great Falls place would have charged extra for installation).  The guy at the Geyser place is also on the school board, so we'd already met, which was kind of cool.

There is a big storm scheduled for the next 2-3 days, so we figured we should drop the car off early, in case we couldn't get over to the store once the snow started falling.

I dropped Ryan off at school, and drove the 5 blocks across town to the Geyser Elevator (yes, the place that we are getting the tires from is actually in the old grain elevator).  I chatted with Bruce for a few minutes, and gave him the keys.  I almost took a picture of the cute little kittens that were running around the store.  The first one I saw was sitting on top of the internet router next to his computer.  All I could think about was the fur from the cat getting into the router, but I didn't say anything.  Bruce said he would call tomorrow if the tires show up, and he would install them right away. 

I then walked the 5 blocks back to school, which was actually kind of nice.  I got to see the entire town of Geyser, so now I know where everything in the town is.  And by everything, I mean: the post office, the cafe, the bar... hmmm, I think that's it.  The walk was great and the weather was still pretty nice, although the wind had kicked up a couple notches.  I think I was blown the last 2 blocks. 

So, now you may be asking yourself, how was I planning on getting home from school?  Why, the bus, of course! 

Now, I haven't been on a school bus since the swim team at Napa High my senior year, which is going on almost 20 years now.  And before the swim team, I had to take the bus to middle school, which scarred me for life.  So, as I climbed aboard the bus, I felt a wave of nausea, and had to remind myself that I was an adult now, and no one was going to give me nasty looks if I tried to sit next to them.

I didn't need to worry.  Katie, Ryan and I were, of course, the first ones on the bus.  I settled Ryan into a seat and tried to clamp down on my anxiety.  Then, two other kids came on board.  Then the driver, and we were off.  Yep, that's it. 

We had 2 stops to make.  The other kids lived on a ranch about 2-3 miles off the main highway, so we dropped them off first, then headed to our house.  As we were coming into Raynesford, a deer ran across the road, so we all had to comment on him.  Then the driver pulled right up to our how and we got off. 

Yea!  I survived the bus ride!  Ryan even did okay.  I think the time may come when I allow him to ride home with the other kids! 

A few hours later, it was time to pick up the boys from practice.  Fortunately, the storm hadn't really started yet, and the roads were still clear, so I could drive the van to pick them up.  We were also picking up two other boys who live a few miles east of us.  And, as we were getting loaded up, we realized that another player was trying to get ahold of his mom.  She was working, so could we drop him off?  Well of course, where do you want to go...  The bar.  So, I found myself dropping this kid off at the bar.  I neglected to ask if his mom was working at the bar, or if she was just there.  I'll ask her tomorrow, since I see her every day.

Things are a little different around here.  :)