Spring Can Not Get Here Fast Enough...

I really wish that spring would hurry up and get here.  It is my favorite season of the year. The temperatures are perfect generally and the days are not super short.  I was excited when we had our first snowfall this year because this was the first year that I was able to take Peanut sled riding.  But now, I have enough.  And for anyone who lives in the Midwest, they know what I am talking about.  Most of today, it has been sleeting, and everything is covered with a thin layer of ice.  But it only gets better, where I live we are under a winter storm warning, which includes a blizzard warning.  I am so not looking forward for all of this snow and ice.  Our forcast for the next few days is snow, snow and more snow.  All I can think is ugh.  Here is what the weather channel is saying for my area: WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST TUESDAY......BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TUESDAY TO NOON CST WEDNESDAY...A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6AM CST TUESDAY. A BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TUESDAY TO NOON CST WEDNESDAY.

* TIMING...LIGHT FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE
EARLY EVENING HOURS...ESPECIALLY FOR AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF A
COLUMBIA MISSOURI TO WHITE HALL ILLINOIS LINE. THE PRECIPITATION WILL
CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW BY LATE THIS EVENING AND PERSIST THROUGH
WEDNESDAY MORNING. THE SNOW WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES TUESDAY AND
TUESDAY NIGHT. THE SNOW WILL END WEDNESDAY MORNING.

* ACCUMULATIONS...MINOR ADDITIONAL ICE ACCUMULATIONS CAN BE
EXPECTED THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL
RANGE FROM 12 TO 21 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE.

* WINDS...WINDS WILL BECOME NORTHERLY AND INCREASE TO 25 TO 30
MPH WITH FREQUENT GUSTS TO 45 MPH BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND
CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

* IMPACTS...EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS ROAD CONDITIONS FROM THE HEAVY
SNOW ACCUMULATION AND EXTENSIVE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW
COULD LIMIT TRAVEL FOR DAYS. WHITE OUT CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED WHERE THE DEEPEST SNOW COVER IS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A BLIZZARD WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WIND SPEEDS OR FREQUENT GUSTS OF OVER 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED FOR SEVERAL HOURS WITH CONSIDERABLE FALLING AND/OR BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. VISIBILITIES WILL BECOME POOR...WITH WHITEOUT CONDITIONS AT TIMES...MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. THOSE VENTURING OUTDOORS MAY BECOME LOST OR DISORIENTED...SO PERSONS IN THE WARNING AREA ARE ADVISED TO STAY INDOORS.

Needless to say, we have stocked up on water and on food that doesn't have to be cooked just in case this really gets bad.  Our local news program is saying that if we get all the snow they are calling for, it will be a historical moment.  The most snow we have ever receieved at one time has been 10 inches and that was back in 1993.  I just really hope that it misses us, or that we only get a few inches of snow.  But know my luck we will get all the accumulations they are calling for.  This is what our news is saying to prepare for the winter storm: In anticipation of the winter storm, emergency officials say it's important to be prepared with basic necessities in case you're snowed in. Officials recommend having 3-5 days worth of food and medicine. When stocking up for a storm, the first thing that comes to mind is getting essentials like milk. But emergency officials say you also need to remember to pick up your non-perishable items. "Things to be looking at is canned goods, you know those will last for a long period of time, don't forget the can opener, pre-packaged meats are often ok, pasta, things like that can be stored for a long period of time and things that can be eaten without - not that you can eat pasta without cooking it - but things that you don't need to cook," said Adams County Emergency Management Director John Simon.  It is kinda scarey for me since I have a three year old to look out for and not only for myself.  I really hope that the power stays on and that we don't get snowed in.  It is really crazy at the local stores, most of them have sold out of their supplies of milk, bread and bottled water.  I am just glad that we had most of this stuff already at home.  And the most scarey thing for me is, since I am a nursing supervisor at the nursing home I work at, I still have to try my hardest to get to work and if the weather gets too bad, I have the chance of being stuck at work until there is enough staff available to cover the floors.  This is going to be an interesting few days, wish us luck!!

Stepping By Saturday

RULES

- Follow All 3 host (First 3 in the linky)

-Grab the button or the linky and add it somewhere on your blog

- Follow some more people for fun

-Follow Guest Host


If you'd like to be a Guest Host follow all the rules and comment.

One blog will be randomly selected and be the Guest Host.

Let me know you did all that and leave a comment.

Keepin' Company Thursday

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Rules
* 1. Copy and Paste the 'Keepin' Company Thursday" button and write a blog post about it on your page, explaining to your blog followers how it works and how to join. (You can find this on Traci66 right side bar or on Heck of a Bunch right side bar)


* 2. Follow the first two blogs, which are the hostesses, Heck of a Bunch and Traci66. We will follow back.

* 3. Follow the "LUCKY" #3 spot winner.

For this hop to really work you'll need to follow the 'honor code' and help us spread the word about Keepin' Company Thursday.

*4. Go to as many blogs on the list as possible and follow them.

*5. Leave them a comment saying. "Hey! I'm a new follower from "Keepin' Company Thursday" Check out my blog too! www.yourbloghere.blogspot.com Thanks!" They should all follow you back because that's what this is all about!

*6. If you get a follower via Keepin' Company Thursday please follow them back.

*7. Add your blog name and the URL to your Keepin' Company Thursday Post to the linky below

* You can also grab the code below to add to your post if you want the thumbnails to appear in your post.

How to get to be in the #3 spot

* If you add the Keepin' Company button to your sidebar or post and leave either of the hostesses, Heck of a Bunch or Traci66, a comment letting us know where to find it we will randomly draw a blog to be in the #3 spot next week. We would really appreciate if you did this step so we can spread the word about Keepin' Company Thursdays.

Meet Me On Monday

Blogging is a funny thing...we tell our most intimate thoughts for all to read and yet most of the time I find myself sitting and wondering, "who is this person!?" I know them...but yet I don't know them! I want to know who the person is behind all those words so I thought of a great way for all of us to "meet" each other!


Every Sunday Never Growing Old (the hostess) will post five get to know you questions that you can copy and paste into your own Monday post and we can all learn a little more about each and every one of us!!






Questions:



1. What is your favorite kind of fudge?


2. Is there snow outside your window?


3. What is your favorite meal of the day?


4. Do you text on your cell phone?


5. Waffles or pancakes?

---------------------------------------------------------------


Answers:
1.  I personally do not like fudge, it is too rich for me.


2. Oh yeah, there is probably about a foot of snow on the ground outside of my house...This has been accumulating over several days now!!


3. Supper is my favorite meal of the day.  It is the meal that my family sits down and eats together, and we spend quality time at this meal


4. I am a big fan of texting on my cellphone,  I probably text more than I actually talk on my phone.


5.  I prefer pancakes over waffles, but I really am not a fan of either.  I prefer to have my cereal or my oatmeal for breakfast.

Railroad Safety

This was on our local news the other day, and I thought I would share this information with everyone.  Kinda interesting.
      
ADAMS COUNTY, ILL. -- Look, Listen, Live has been a common saying with Operation Lifesaver for years. Operation Lifesaver started in Illinois in 1976. Back then, there were 800 grade crossing collisions between cars and trains, and 100 fatalities. Last year, there were 78 collisions and 13 fatalities. Chip Pew says safety has improved at the crossings, but he credits Operation Lifesaver for saving lives.


Here's something you may not know. Every public grade crossing in the country is assigned a specific number...kind of like an address. If your car stalls on the tracks, call the 800 number and give the dispatcher the DOT number. That way they can contact nearby trains and tell them to stop.

So where are those numbers? Many of them are on the signal bungalow. This is a housing for the electricity that operates a signaled crossing. Others can be found on a plaque that's on the railroad crossing pole.


"If a train's coming, which way do you run? You run in the direction of the train, but at a 45 degree angle. If you run down the track, you end up not being hit by the train, you get hit by your own car parts," says Chip Pew, a Rail Safety Specialist with the Illinois Commerce Commission.

Pew tells KHQA in the last two years, two people in Illinois have been killed because they ran the wrong way from the train.

"Please, when you approach any crossing whether there are gates, lights, bells, and gates, or a crossing with no appliances, look in both directions. It's the driver's responsibility to yield the right of way to any oncoming train," says Pew.

Just remember, those three words you've heard for decades..

"Look, Listen, Live," says Pew.

One other thing Chip Pew says, the actual railroad crossing sign that's posted at all public railroad crossings actually means yield.

He says on some crossing with no lights or bars, the Illinois Commerce Commission has been installing yield signs in addition to the crossing signs.

Social Parade On Friday

* Follow the blog in the first spot(That is this one!). I will follow all on the linky as time allows! All blogs participating must post about Social Parade every week.


* Link-up your blog post for "It's a Social Parade" that you made on your blog. See the F.A.Q and Updates for help

* Follow as many as you like commenting on their POST as you do so they can follow back!

* If you do not make a post and link that up, it is unlikely that someone will search around for a post to comment on.



The Rules!

*Absolutely no links to other blog hops or hops like this!

*No Porn!

*No Giveaways!

*No other crap!

*These rules ensure a little bit of fun!

Keeping Company Thursday

Keepin' Company Thursday is a blog hop to find new blogs to follow and get more followers. When everyone post, just think about how many bloggers see everyone post and find out about Keepin' Company Thursday, wow pretty amazing. The more bloggers that post, the more bloggers that get informed, the bigger Keepin' Company Thursday can become. Please be courteous and follow the rules.




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* 1. Copy and Paste the 'Keepin' Company Thursday" button and write a blog post about it on your page, explaining to your blog followers how it works and how to join. (You can find this on my right side bar or on Heck of a Bunch right side bar)
* 2. Follow the first two blogs, which are the hostesses, Heck of a Bunch and Traci66. We will follow back.
* 3. Follow the "LUCKY" #3 spot winner.

For this hop to really work you'll need to follow the 'honor code' and help us spread the word about Keepin' Company Thursday.

*4. Go to as many blogs on the list as possible and follow them.

*5. Leave them a comment saying. "Hey! I'm a new follower from "Keepin' Company Thursday" Check out my blog too! www.yourbloghere.blogspot.com Thanks!" They should all follow you back because that's what this is all about!

*6. If you get a follower via Keepin' Company Thursday please follow them back.

*7. Add your blog name and the URL to your Keepin' Company Thursday Post to the linky below

* You can also grab the code below to add to your post if you want the thumbnails to appear in your post.

Tuesday's Blog Trail

This blog hop is simple, there are no rules, but I sure would appreciate you following me! (Hostess: Six in the nest)


If you follow my blog, I will be sure to follow your blog back

Meet Me On Monday

 Meet Me On Monday is a blog hop that is simple and fun.  It is a nice way to meet new people and find new blogs to follow.  All you have to do it copy and paste the codes which can be found at Never growing old's blog.  After getting the codes, have fun answering the unique questions that the hostess comes up with weekly.




Questions:

1. Do you like your ice cream in a dish, waffle cone, pretzel cone, sugar cone or cake cone?


2. Do you read the newspaper daily?

3. Marinara or meat sauce?

4. Last time you cried?

5. What word/phrase do you find really annoying?

Answers

1. I prefer to eat my icecream out of a bowl.  Not a big fan of cones.

And of course, cookies and cream is my favorite kind

2.  I read/ skim the paper everyday.  Alot of times though there is not much that interests me in our local newspaper.

3. It depends on what I am eating with the sauce.  If its spaghetti or lasagna, I prefer meat sauce, but if its cheese sticks I want my marinara sauce please.

4. Surprising, I can't recall the last time I actually sat down and cried.  It has been a long time.  I am a very emotional person, and televison shows tend to make me cry at times.



5.  It really drives me nuts when people refer to their child's mother or father as "baby mamma and baby daddy"  Seriously, they have names and can't you respect them enough to call them by their name.  I cannot stand when people call other's out of their name.

Peanut's First Slumber Party

On Thursday, January 13th, Peanut went to her first slumber party.  My sister-in-law kept my daughter and my sister's daughter all night.  She is a brave soul.  The girls had pizza, played dress up and even received manicures.  They all had a blast.

Peanut and my two neices

The girls eating their pizza, Peanut is the one to the right

Getting their manicures from my sister-in-law

Peanut letting her nails dry after her manicure

The little diva's showing off their painted nails

All snug in their sleeping bags, getting ready for bed.  They were out by 830pm.  Now only if I could get Peanut  to go to sleep that early when she is at home. 

Weekend Blog Hop

*It's OK to Follow... it's the Weekend* Blog Hop! this link-up will be hosted every WEEKEND, beginning on Friday.


A Few BASICS...

1. Grab the button above and place it on YOUR blog, so we know where to find one another.

2. Add your link to the list below

3. Visit at least two of your FELLOW bloggers and follow the one's you FANCY. (commentENJOY and HAVE FUN! to let them know you're following... as a general rule, follow those that follow you *wink*) Finally,

4. ... and of course, ace and friends LOVES making new friends, so we would appreciate a follow! happy weekend everyone!

Wordy Or Not So Wordy Wednesday

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Just a little note to let everyone know what Wordy or not so Wordy is:

Wordy or not so Wordy Wednesday is where you write a post add 1,2 ,3 or several photos that you would like to share with everyone. Then you tell about your photos or not. You can be very chatting if you like or say nothing at all. It is up to you. You can grab the button from my right side bar to put in your post if you like, but this isn't required. You may also grab the code below to add to your post so all your readers can see the linky list. Totally up to you. This is a great way to share photos with everyone and get to see what everyone has taken photos of. You can hop around and check them all out and hey feel free to leave a comment or two, we all love comments.


I live in central Illinois, and over the last two days, we have received about four inches of snow.  I personally am amazed how each and every snowflake is a different shape and size.  Not a single one is the same!!!  To entertain Peanut this evening, since it was too cold to play outside, we decided to make our own unique snowflakes out of construction paper.

Our four snowflakes we made.

First, we folded a piece of construction paper and cut it into a square

Then, we folded the square into a cone shape

Next, we used scissors to cut out different designs into the paper. Peanut is really concentrating hard on what she is doing. I ended up cutting them all out because she wasn't really quite sure what to do.

Peanut holding up the piece of paper after cutting the various shapes into it

Peanut is proud of her snowflake

Of course Peanut had to decorate her snowflakes.  She loves to use markers.

We both enjoyed making our snowflakes.  I love doing crafts with Peanut.  She never fails to amaze me at whatever she does. 





Tuesday's Blog Trail

This blog hop is simple, there are no rules. but please follow the host Six in the nest.

My Favorite Nursing Quotes

Nurses are the heart of healthcare. ~Donna Wilk Cardillo


Nursing is an art: and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter's or sculptor's work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God's spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts: I had almost said, the finest of Fine Arts. ~Florence Nightingale



When you're a nurse you know that every day you will touch a life or a life will touch yours. ~Author Unknown



Nursing is not for everyone. It takes a very strong, intelligent, and compassionate person to take on the ills of the world with passion and purpose and work to maintain the health and well-being of the planet. No wonder we're exhausted at the end of the day! ~Donna Wilk Cardillo



Nursing care comes in many forms. Sometimes it is the ability to make someone feel physically comfortable by various means. Other times it is the ability to improve the body's ability to achieve or maintain health. But often it is an uncanny yet well honed knack to see beyond the obvious and address, in some way, the deeper needs of the human soul. ~Donna Wilk Cardillo, A Daybook for Beginning Nurses



"Nurses are Angels in comfortable shoes."

-- Anonymous

                                            

Weekend Blog Hopo---It's okay to follow!!!

It's a weekend blog hop! it's ALL fun. Feel free to link up your blog, twitter or your Facebook accounts too... I {heart} making new FRIENDS!






*It's OK to Follow... it's the Weekend* Blog Hop! this link-up will be hosted every WEEKEND, beginning on Friday.


A Few BASICS...
1. Grab the button above and place it on YOUR blog, so we know where to find one another.
2. Add your link to the list below
3. Visit at least two of your FELLOW bloggers and follow the one's you FANCY. (commentENJOY and HAVE FUN! to let them know you're following... as a general rule, follow those that follow you *wink*) Finally,
4. ... and of course, ace and friends LOVES making new friends, so we would appreciate a follow! happy weekend everyone!

Having Fun Blog Hop

The rules are simple:
1.Follow A Mom Having Fun via Google Friend Connect.

2.Leave a comment if you are a new follower so I can follow back.

3.Grab the Having Fun Blog Hop button, and post it on your page or in your post

4.Link up your blog every week, and follow as many blogs as you want!

Keeping Company Thursday

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Keepin' Company Thursday is a blog hop to find new blogs to follow and get more followers. When everyone post, just think about how many bloggers see everyone post and find out about Keepin' Company Thursday, wow pretty amazing. The more bloggers that post, the more bloggers that get informed, the bigger Keepin' Company Thursday can become. Please be courteous and follow the rules.


* 1. Copy and Paste the 'Keepin' Company Thursday" button and write a blog post about it on your page, explaining to your blog followers how it works and how to join. (You can find this on my right side bar or on Heck of a Bunch right side bar)


* 2. Follow the first two blogs, which are the hostesses, Heck of a Bunch and Traci66. We will follow back.

* 3. Follow the "LUCKY" #3 spot winner.
For this hop to really work you'll need to follow the 'honor code' and help us spread the word about Keepin' Company Thursday.

*4. Go to as many blogs on the list as possible and follow them.

*5. Leave them a comment saying. "Hey! I'm a new follower from "Keepin' Company Thursday" Check out my blog too! www.yourbloghere.blogspot.com Thanks!" They should all follow you back because that's what this is all about!

*6. If you get a follower via Keepin' Company Thursday please follow them back.

*7. Add your blog name and the URL to your Keepin' Company Thursday Post to the linky below

* You can also grab the code below to add to your post if you want the thumbnails to appear in your post.

How to get to be in the #3 spot

* If you add the Keepin' Company button to your sidebar or post and leave either of the hostesses, Heck of a Bunch or Traci66, a comment letting us know where to find it we will randomly draw a blog to be in the #3 spot next week. We would really appreciate if you did this step so we can spread the word about Keepin' Company Thursdays.

Welcome Wednesday Blog Hop

Welcome to the Welcome Wednesday Blog Hop! This hop has been created by Frugal Invitation for socializing, and to help blogs get more followers

Here are the rules:


*Follow Frugal Invitation via Google Friend Connect

*Leave a comment if you are a new follower so can follow back.

*Grab the Welcome Wednesday button, and post it on your page.

*Link up your blog every week, and follow as many blogs as you want
 

Wordy Or Not So Wordy Wednesday

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Wordy or not so Wordy Wednesday is where you write a post add 1,2 ,3 or several photos that you would like to share with everyone. Then you tell about your photos or not. You can be very chatting if you like or say nothing at all. It is up to you. You can grab the button from my right side bar to put in your post if you like, but this isn't required. You may also grab the code below to add to your post so all your readers can see the linky list. Totally up to you. This is a great way to share photos with everyone and get to see what everyone has taken photos of. You can hop around and check them all out and hey feel free to leave a comment or two, we all love comments.

The new decorations for my bedroom that I recieved on Christmas from family.  These are star mirrors and a plaque that is now placed above my headboard.

Up close shot of the plaque above the headboard

Moon, star and sun plaque.  I love my new decorations

This is one of my favorite quotes.  This quote is not only now in my bedroom, but it is also hanging in my living room.

This is where the previos pic is located, above my dresser.

Now if only I could paint my walls a light blue with white clouds, I would really be excited.  For now I am stuck with these bare white walls.



Meet Me On Monday

This is a blog hop.  It is a nice, fun way to get to know people.  Its simple!  Link up using the code found on Never Growing Old's blog (the hostess) become a follower of the hostess and answer the five fun simple questions provided by the hostess.  Feel free to look around my blog and become a follower.  Remember if you leave me your blog address, I will follow you back !!!!

Questions:



1. Do you have any New Year's resolutions?


2. What food item are you craving right now?


3. When is your birthday?


4. What were you doing an hour ago?


5. Last thing you cooked?


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Answers:
1) I don't make New Year's resolutions, they are only meant to be broke.  I try to set goals.  Right now my goal is to get started back on my Weight watchers plan and try to lose about twenty more pounds, to equal a total of 40 pounds.

2) Right now I am actually craving a caramel mocha frappe from McDonald's.  Those things are so delicious.

3) My birthday and the best day ever is March 23rd, 1985.  I know I know I am stil a young pup. HaHa

4) An hour ago, honestly, I was laying on my couch trying to get rid of my migraine and listening to peanut play toys while watching a Blue's Clues movie.

5) The last thing I cooked was ramen noodles for my daughter, Peanut would eat them all day if I would let her.