Snuggling In

Well, here is is, the first really cold day of this Minnesota winter. What better time to batten down the hatches, snuggle in with my laptop and start a blog?

Actually, I've resisted the urge to do this for a long time. It's always seemed a bit narcissistic to me. But a few friends have pioneered this strange land before me, and have inspired me. So -- for whatever reason, I'm feeling the need to express myself, so here goes!

Today was a wonderfully domestic kind of day. I love an at-home day to catch up on the dishes and laundry ... putter around and drink hot beverages ... set up the hundredth configuration of the Island of Sodor for Luke's train fantasy ... write overdue thank you notes.

The only time we ventured out into the 4 degree weather was when Luke and I headed over to Micah's school for our Friday ritual ... hanging out in the lunchroom with about 100 totally wired Kindergartners and 1st graders. Luke, for some reason, loves this. He looks forward to it all week. Not that you'd know it when we are there. He clings to my legs while I walk around and assist children with milk cartons, orange peels and all manner of ecologically unsound packaging. Must be the energy of all those lovely, diverse children. Or the free chocolate milk.

When Micah got home from school, we three went immediately to the basement, where we slid in the Mary Poppins DVD, got under a blanket,and munched popcorn. I love this about the bleak midwinter. It is perfectly OK to hibernate and waste a couple of hours cuddled up on the couch. "Savor it," my friend Penne, a mom of teenagers advised me. Excellent advice.

I must mention here that not only am I new to blogging, I'm also new to the wonder that is Netflix. How amazing is it that you can queue up hundreds of movies that you want to see, type in a password, and for a nominal fee, ta-da! DVDs come to your door! I never have to go to the skanky video store again! I can do all my decision making (that always took forever at the video store) in the comfort of my own home. Granted, I have to wait one day for the DVD to arrive ... but for a movie loving, nay, movie-starved gal like me, this is a dream come true. So Mary Poppins goes back tomorrow, and up next in two days: The Devil Wears Prada. I love it.

So ... no deep theological insights. No psyche-probing meanderings. I'll save those for another day. I'm just getting my feet wet. Stay toasty.