I love the way we are starting Daylight Savings early again this year. I wonder if it is a permanent thing now?

The easy way to remember how this works is to remember this little saying:

“Spring Forward and
Fall Back.”

Can’t you just make a mental image of springing forward, like in a race? And then to fall back, like that team building exercise where they tell you to close your eyes and let yourself fall backwards because you have to trust that your team mate is going to catch you. That’s what I think of when it comes to Daylight Savings time.

This morning I was reading Jeremy Herndon’s blog and he had posted about vanity license plates. He mentioned that some vanity plates are a way for charities to raise money. I had not thought of that and it seems a relatively painless way to support a worthy cause by buying a decorated tag for your vehicle.

My car needs to have the tags renewed next month, so I think I will head down to the Clerk’s office and see what choices they have for a vanity plate that I can order and help out an organization that could use my support.

A good friend of mine, Jim, has been caring for his dad the past year or so, but his health has been failing at an alarming rate these past couple of weeks. He has had to rush his Pops to the hospital several times each week and they keep telling him to put Pops in a nursing home. But they both feel strongly about staying at home for family to care for Pops and they never did make the arrangements for a nursing home or even hospice.

Sadly, Pops was rushed to the hospital again late last night with chest pains, and this time he didn’t come home with Jim. I know Jim did everything he could for Pops and was a great son to the end. RIP Pops Walker.

The weather has finally broken from the nasty bitter and wet cold winter. We are looking forward a full week of mild weather and much warmer temperatures – in the upper 50’s and low 60’s during the day. Woot!

It just worries me that March is coming in like a lamb and might end up going out like a lion. On the other hand, I’m glad the groundhog was right and Spring is coming early this year!

Tonight we are going to clear the decks and watch the Amazing Race. this is a fun reality series where people are teamed up as husband and wife, two brothers, or even a grandmother and granddaughter to compete against other teams in a race around the world.

It is a little like a treasure hunt, a little like a scavenger hunt and a little like a foot race. Approximately each week one team is eliminated from the leg of the race we watched that night and eventually there are three finalists who end up racing flat out for the finish line. Really like this show – it is great human interaction and team work, and testing of the team’s problem solving skills and stamina.

I’ve only been to Mardi Gras once but it was a total blast. It had some great moments and a couple of bad moments, but OMG – what a party! I do love New Orleans for their craziness and some of the best food anywhere in the world. Wish I had a fantastic costume like this one to wear for a day. Wish I was there right now. FML

Today is the day for lover’s, all over the world. Well, at least I think it is recognized all over the world. Maybe not in the muslim countries, though. I don’t even know how to check on that . . . but I hope the muslim countries celebrate love and caring somehow, even if they don’t recognize and celebrate St. Valentine’s Day. We all need a little love in our lives, even if it doesn’t last. Sometimes we need a reason to stop and look around, and appreciate what we have or what we could have.

This morning the groundhog sets our fate for the next 6 weeks. I beg of you, don’t see your shadow. I REALLY need an early spring. This winter has been too cold and too snowy for us to endure much longer. We have record setting snowfalls all over the country. Enough of that mess – let’s have warm days and pretty flowers blooming. Spring is soooo much nicer than winter!

I know that I have family members with birthdays in January, but I can’t think of who they are. Isn’t that awful? I know my brothers and sister’s birthdays – in fact I remember each of them actually happening except for my sister Linda, as I was only 18 months old when she was born. But all the rest of the brothers and sisters I do remember the excitement in the household, the phone calls from the hospital, and the little babies I held in my arms that were only a couple of days old when I first saw them.

Now I rely on Facebook to remind me of people’s birthdays – both family and friends. That is one of the best features of the social networking web site – the access to people’s birthdays and current email addresses. But if you hid your birthday or fail to list it, then I won’t be reminded to wish you a happy birthday. So if I missed it, check your Facebook profile and don’t blame me!