can we say cold?

so i am back from west virginia (in fact, only about an hour back) and have caught up with my digital life, as well as most of real life, too. the cats are happy and playing, clothes are in the washer waiting to be washed, and all of the e-mails have been checked. time for a post...

i would like to rant on UPS and how they have made my life difficult. i have a package from j.c. penney's where i ordered a couple of cocktail-type dresses for upcoming events where i need something like that. i can never be at home when they try to deliver, even when the first attempt takes place at 7 pm and they say they'll deliver after 5 pm the next day and i get home at 4:45 and they tried to deliver already. but how about this--after making their final attempt on wednesday, i end up having enough time to go pick it up at the big shipping place on thursday afternoon. i go in with my slip to pick it up--and the lady tells me they put it back on the truck today. "after they already made the final attempt to deliver yesterday?" i ask, slightly letting the sarcasm get in. "yes," she answered, "can i have them hold it for you for tomorrow?" argh... i'm going to go pick it up tomorrow afternoon... if it's not there, i will be upset.

so, the trip. well, we managed to get out of town thursday afternoon at 6:30--not quite when we planned, but good enough time to get us to warrenton, VA by 10:45, where we stopped for the night to break the trip up. back on the road friday morning, where we made it to morgantown, wv, by 1 pm without too much trouble. lunch with justin's grandma and some social time with her, and then on up the mountain to his dad's house. we went out to dinner in town that night and i got to see what a friday night was like with the locals... pretty quiet, to say the least, but we all had a good time.

saturday was skiing, and we had been waiting to see what the weather was like before we decided where to go. when i woke up saturday morning, it was snowing and there was already an inch and a half on the ground. predicted temperatures for the moutains? highs in the teens, lows in the single digits with wind chill in the negatives. let me just say that short of the trip to cleveland where the great lake up there was frozen over, i have rarely been exposed to temperatures like that, and certainly not for long periods of time outside. but we bundled up and headed towards wisp in maryland. along the way, snow continued to fall along the backroads, and though i felt very safe in justin's dad's four-wheel drive jeep, i told both of them, "where i'm from, if we see snow like this, we put a pot of soup on and call it a day." but not the case here--we made it to the resort by 10:15 and were on the slopes by 11. i did great on the greens, had one bad run down a blue and made it for it with one decent run down the blue, and then finished out the day with some more easy greens. by 4:30, my hands were numb and the battery in my phone was about frozen. i did get a few pictures in before my camera batteries went dead, and they revived themselves enough to get some sunset shots on the way home. pardon the blurriness, they were taken from the car.

my new favorite family member? river, the seven month-old son of mandy, one of justin's stepsisters. she was about to pop in august when we were up there, and this time i got to meet the little guy. i must admit, i was smitten and he did enjoy being infront of the camera. we got to spend time with the family all saturday night and sunday, which was nice since we were definitely sore from the skiing (i've still got a few spots where i'm trying to work out the kinks). and today--yeah, it was 10 hours straight on the road, with stops all along the way. it's a long trip, but after a good weekend like this one, i know it was worth it.

the surprise i got when i got home? alan, who had been taking care of the cats while i was gone, cleaned my apartment. and my car. seriously, i know it was a little cluttered, but was it really that bad? anyways, i am appreciative and i suppose i will make sure it's in better condition next time before i leave and put him in charge...

this was a great trip for me and justin, again. just when i think we can't get closer or understand each other better, it happens. gotta love that--and i certainly love him.

alright, that's all for now. time to get ready for bed and see what the weather's going to be like tomorrow... i'm thinking cold...

later, y'all!