*crickets chirp*

Howdy.

I just realized this morning that it's been ages since I last blogged. Well, maybe not ages, but several days, to be sure.

What have I been up to? Mostly the reading fair. This is our first big school project, and I wish I could say it would be our last - trying to do something like this with my strong-willed daughter is not easy! It's hard to strike a balance between telling her that her ideas won't work (i.e., painting an entire tri-fold project board with a small watercolor brush) and letting this be her project.

If I didn't have my Cricut, I'd probably be institutionalized by now. That thing has been a life saver!

I also experienced another first this week: my first hockey game! And I was on the clock! It wasn't NHL or anything - more like the Central Hockey League - but it was a hockey game, all the same. The team is based in the county just north of here, and they sponsored a morning game field trip event. No fewer than 8,400 screaming kids, each with his or her own folded paper noisemaker - it was mass chaos and confusion!

I was told that two groups from our county would be there, but I couldn't find them. I was doing well to find my place, after wandering around the civic center forever, and traipsing up to the team's office, and finally breaking down and calling my office mate to ask her to find the invitation email giving me instructions and read it to me.

Yes, I had instructions. No, I didn't take them with me. Yes, I'm a well-prepared reporter!

I finally found what I think was the right spot - no one was really sure - in the team's corporate suite. It wasn't half as nice as it sounds. The game was three hours long, and all they had for food was a bowl of fruit, a platter of donuts (which I stayed far away from, naturally), a bowl of fruit juice bottles, and an airpot of mediocre coffee. Where was the catered buffet I'd heard that private suites had? I expected much more. Hmph.

But cold - Lord almighty, it was cold! Even that far from the ice, my feet were starting to get numb by the time the third period started. And you hockey fans out there, I'm wondering, are all those fights staged? Because about 10 minutes into the first period, I looked down to see some guy on the ice, his face mask thrown asunder, and another player on top of him beating the tar out of him.

Once the kids got a whiff of that action, every time two players looked at each other cross-eyed they were trying to egg on a fight. It was like the school cafeteria, only without a principal to break it up.

(Well, I guess there was a ref on the ice to break up the players. And there was a penalty box, which would be kind of like in school suspension. But, whatever.)

Now, we're in the midst of a snow day, only without any snow! There was some sleet here in town (and light snowfall in the county) but the roads seem pretty clear. They actually seemed pretty clear at 6:30 a.m. when the decision was made to close, but again, whatever. Anna Marie came to work with me for a few hours, and then Aunt Manda came to our house for lunch and is staying with her.

(Maybe they'll get some work done on that reading fair project! crosses fingers and toes)

I guess not all the roads are clear though, or at least closer to the church, because I just got a text message that service was canceled. At least we'll have more time to finish up the *coughreadingfairprojectcough* which is due in the morning.

(Did I mention that there's a reading fair, and that I'm well sick of working on it?)

Try to stay warm, y'all, and send some good reading fair vibes my way. I sure need it!