With regards to Siberia...

It is snowing here. Really snowing. It was actually thundering and lightening this morning! I think we have 8 inches or more so far. All the roads are closed. I love snow! The more the merrier I say. I really don't know of anything prettier than snow. Doug's been home all day as school was cancelled this morning, and he'll be home tomorrow too. The girls are so excited. They've been out twice today. There's nothing like frozen nasal drip dried to bright red little cheeks to remind you that you're a mommy. (As Fancy Nancy would say, "That's a fancy word for snot!") So, it's been a hot chocolate, chili, fire burning, smore kinda day around here-- at least for the girls anyway. Doug and I are on a diet, so we just licked our chops and drooled. When Doug went for his physical for the home study, our doctor said he wanted to see less of him in 3 months--he's already dropped close to 25 pounds! I wish I could say I have melted 25 pounds in 30 days. That is such an injustice to all the hard working dieting women everywhere. Even though I wasn't given a directive at my physical (I'm sure he was just being nice because I have folds where there should be no folds!), I'm on the diet train as well. AlthoughRussia obviously doesn't care about one's physique, it'd at least be nice to say the only reason we didn't choose Korea was because of our age and not because of the BMI!

Here's a picture of winter in Siberia. It is truly beautiful, don't you think? I was reading some guys' blog this afternoon about their trek across Siberia a few years ago. The pictures are amazing. It was -60
degrees most days. They have pictures of their ice and snow covered windows that their car defroster, running on high, could never melt. It is the middle of the day and because of the snow on the windows, they have lit candles inside their car so the passengers can see. Later in their trip, they learned to put double windows onto all their windows. That looks like something out of the Roger Moore 007 movies! Vodka froze. Yikes! Didn't know that was even possible.

Keeping with the Siberian theme, reading about their adventure today reminded me of a book I read several years ago that is awesome! It is a true story about a soldier during WWII who was thrown in to a Russian prison and eventually sent off to a Siberian work camp. He and 7 others escaped on foot and made their way to British India. It's like the Diary of Anne Frank on steroids. Worth every penny to buy!
Tomorrow I leave for San Antonio to spend the weekend with my sister. My plane will leave on time...my plane will leave on time...my plane will leave on time. This will be the first time since Annsley was born (5 1/2 years) that Doug will have the girls by himself for more than a few hours!!!!! The three of them have been planning their menu since I booked my flight several months ago. I don't like seafood, and Doug, now with free reign in the kitchen for the next couple of days, has convinced his daughters that shrimp and salmon are the way to go. They were planning a field trip to the junk yard, but I'm sure the snow has put a damper on THOSE exciting plans. Please pray that my house will still have some resemblance of what I left when I return!