Snow Day To-Do List **FINAL UPDATE!**

Last week during my 4 days off for weather, I was very busy blogging, tweeting, and immersing myself in my favorite TV shows and chick flicks. I was so lazy that I didn't even read anything. That is sad.

So today, during Snow Day #5 of this season (just in case you're counting), I am going to accomplish the following:

** Final Update: I got everything done that was a necessity! The laundry is in progress, and will be done in soon enough. I'm not in a dig through things mood, so I'm not going to get my kitchen bonus done. Now I'm snuggling down on the couch with Foster to watch Mamma Mia!**

• Kitchen:
• Do dishes
• Wipe down all counters and sink
• Sweep and Mop
• Bonus: Clean out cabinets and make a pile of goodwill donations (I have tons of junk I never use) ... Yeah I'm not doing this today. I've done enough.
• Dining Room:
• Clean off table and actually put everything where it goes
• Living Room:
• Pick up all of my junk that is everywhere
• Go through books and see if I'm ready to donate any of them. (I couldn't get rid of any -- I'm such a nerd)
• Rehang curtains that have needed to be put up since Christmas decor came down. (Technically they aren't up, but my curtain rod got bent -- not sure how -- but they can't go up without a curtain rod, so even though it's not done, it's off my list)
• Sweep & Mop entry way
• Bedroom:
• Wash all laundry including sheets and towels. (Only the towels are left. Just waiting on the dryer!)
• Make up bed
• Find a place for art that has no wall to live on.
• Hang up clothes, and lay Steven's out for him to hang up.
• Clean up my corner that's full of stuff I don't know where to put.
• Bathroom:
• Clean it.
• Sweep & Mop
• Whole House:
• Vacuum (Only the bedroom is left at lunchtime!)
• Dust

I'll be back periodically to update. I'm sure I won't get it all done today, but I hate incomplete to-do lists so here goes nothing! And yes I put things on the list I already did this morning. I like a head start. 

A Real Snow Day

Yesterday we woke up to an actual full-fledged snow day. Snow started falling sometime last night and continued off and on all morning. It was actually a really nice change, because it covered up the ice and made everything (except the roads) much less slippery.

If you look back at my first snow day post, you might recognize this picture ... only it's not the same. We had a total repeat of the ice situation on our very hilly road. It was nuts.

Someone else was also a little nuts for the snow. Much like the last few days it was a big fight to get him to come inside. He loved sniffing and prancing and kicking up the snow. It was pretty cute, and I didn't mind as much this time because I wasn't constantly concerned about sliding down the hill and breaking my neck.

The sun came out in the afternoon and started the thaw, and let me tell you, after the past few days of 15 degree weather, 28 felt straight up warm. We're supposed to get up into the 40's today, so I'm sure everything will melt away. It's been fun, but I'm actually looking forward to getting back to work Monday. Sitting at home all day gets dull!

Kauai -- The Food

One of the things Steven was most excited about when we started planning this trip was the food. He loves seafood, and I'm learning to like it, but we don't eat it nearly as often as he'd like. So we ate alot of seafood while we were there, and I rejoiced every time the place we were going had a burger that had a decent review.

Burger from Brennecke's Beach Broiler on Poipu Beach

But have no fear, we ate plenty of fish. Some of it was not that great, but much of it was delicious. And that's alot coming from me. We had a couple of "nice" meals, but unfortunately food in Hawaii is ridiculously expensive (even McDonalds -- $8 for a "value" meal -- and I wish I was kidding)

Shrimp Burger & Fish and Chips from the Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant

Surf & Turf and the Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi-Mahi from Roy's Restaurant. Yes it's a "chain" but it's yummy.

We also indulged in some sweets (of course). Lapperts was my favorite. It's like a Baskin Robbins and Starbucks combined. What more could you ask for?

Snow Day #2

Yesterday was Snow Day #2. It wasn't as fun as Snow Day #1 for a couple of reasons. Steven had to work. So it was just me and the dog. He took my car, so all I had was the truck, and trucks don't mix well with ice. So I was home with the dog ALL DAY.

And just to keep things interesting, there are issues with the electrical grids in Texas, so we had rolling power outages yesterday. My dog is a big chicken, and flipped out every time it went off or came back on. So he spent a large amount of the day in my lap.

Don't worry though, he recovered and got back to napping.

(This was my lovely view for most of the day)

I also made chili for dinner last night. I LOVE that I can make chili in my crockpot. It's so much easier (especially on days when I work, or when I want to be lazy -- like yesterday)

(Also, that's my new can opener ... It cost more than $5, and you can tell. I'm kinda in love)

It was yummy. Today is Snow Day #3, and I don't really have high hopes that today will improve much. I really thought that I'd be back at work today, but according to HR the streets by the office and our parking lot are basically ice skating rinks. To top things off, we have another (good) chance for another round of weather tonight, so I'm not sure I'll be back at work tomorrow.

Well it's off to more (really bad) Daytime TV and my chick-flick movie collection.

In other words, I'm bored.

Really, really bored.

Wings Over Kauai

When planning this vacation, Steven and I decided pretty quickly that we would NOT be doing a helicopter tour. The costs were outrageous ... almost $500 for a 50 minute ride. Even if we COULD have afforded it, we just refused to pay that much even if it was a "must see" with all the guides we read.

Once in Kauai, we found something that allowed us to get the views without the price. Steven found a company called "Wings Over Kauai" in a magazine. They were able to get us in the same day, and the costs were significantly less (we're talking less than half). I did a full review on trip advisor, but I will say that we were beyond satisfied (even if I did get a little motion sick... yikes!). Here are most of the pics from the trip. I was honestly so overtaken by the views and the experience, that I didn't take as many pictures as I intended. Our pilot, Bruce (who also owns the company with his wife), encouraged us to not just look through our camera lens, but to really take in the view.

This was the shot that was taken by Ellen (Bruce's wife), and they sent it to us via email. No extra charges for photos (and this is one of many reasons I love small, family owned companies -- they don't try to rip you off). 

Norwegian Cruise Lines "Pride of America." It exclusively tours the Hawaiian Islands.

These are all shots of Kauai's coast line. It's all absolutely gorgeous. We loved that Kauai is still very "rustic." No huge towns, no skyscrapers. In fact, there's a law in Kauai that no building can be taller than a coconut tree ... which means nothing's more than 4 stories high. It's a nice change from the city environment we see every day!

This is the only shot I got of the famous Napali Coast. You can't get to it by car. The only way to see it is from the air, by boat, or by taking a 20 something mile hike. It takes an entire day to get there and a day to get back. The view was beyond breathtaking.

These two are of the Waimea Canyon or "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific." You can also drive up to this and see it, or hike down into it. We drove up, but skipped the hiking (shocking, I know). 

This is one of the last things we saw was this gorgeous waterfall. I want to say it's the one from Jurassic Park, but I could definitely be wrong. Anyway, it's pretty, so who cares!

So there's a quick look at the views we got to enjoy from way up in the sky. I'm so glad we decided to do this tour. Not only was it less expensive, but since I do get motion sick, it was much easier for me to deal with. A helicopter tour would have killed me. If you're going to Kauai, I highly recommend the company. Check them out at http://www.wingsoverkauai.com/. 

Snow Daze...

Sometime late last night our torrential rain turned into torrential sleet that come sunrise turned into snow. Combine that with temperatures barely in the 20's (make that the teens now that the sun has set) and you have a good old fashioned Texas "Snow" Day. Lucky for me, my office closes with the school district and Steven was able to take a vacation day, so we stayed in and snuggled and watched the cars attempt to make it up and down the street.

Foster loved exploring his little piece of the arctic. We went out three or four times and I had to drag him or carry him in every single time. He just wanted to stay out any play!

Our office is closed again tomorrow, so I'm home again. Steven (unfortunately) will be at work, so Foster and I will have a chick flick day, and wait and see if it's going to thaw out any time soon.

Stay warm and safe!