snow day

Today is our second day off from school due to the weather, although, really, it's the first day it's actually necessary. There is literally only one school district in all of western Washington that didn't get cancelled today, and, in fact, our snow has become national news. Yesterday I logged out of my Yahoo! account and was very surprised to see that the first news story they had was "Massive Snow Storm to Hit Seattle."
And boy did it ever...

Can you believe how deep it is?? Almost to the top of her rainboots! Whoa! And the van is hardly recognizable at this point:

I am most definitely not complaining though. I love the snow! It is so utterly peaceful and beautiful. Falling snow silences the world in such a wonderful way. It never gets old.

And today we even found a stubborn little rosebud all frosted over in the front yard:

Just lovely.

So, of course I had to make a snowman...or two...

They're a sweet old snow-couple...get it? :)

And, finally, just in case you haven't quite grasped just how much snow we have, this is what was waiting for us when we opened the front door:

happy new year everyone!

Can you believe that it's already 2012? I hardly can. A month from today I will be turning 18...yay for my upcoming legal adulthood! Not that it will change anything. But still.
This last year has been a tough one. I'm so lucky and amazed to have made it through in one piece. I am so very very thankful for all of the wonderful people in my life who helped me get through this past year. You all know who are and I love you all so much and can't wait to start this new year with all of you - 2012 is gonna be a good one, I can just feel it.
So happy new year everyone, I hope it's as amazing for all of you as I know it will be for me.

goodbye dearest . . .

Today was Maya's last day. She made it to 9 but now has been in pain and losing bladder control and kind of bit me last night...so it was time. But man oh man will she ever be missed...

 We all love you so much.

You will be greatly missed...goodbye my dearest dog...

summer solstice

Today is the Summer Solstice. The longest day of the year. A day to celebrate the sun (which is actually out and shining brightly today). Today is a good day.
I don't have much to say about the Summer Solstice. I'm glad that it's here and the weather completely agrees with its presence. Too bad I can't go celebrate the day at Stonehenge...oh well, maybe some other year. For now I'll just have to bask in the sun and paint something wonderful.
Oh and Happy Solstice everyone...enjoy the day :)

our declaration of independence: my rant about our now-gone tyrannical "patriarch"

Yes, I know that it isn't the 4th of July yet - but that's fine, because this is a different kind of independence that I am going to be talking about here. This is a personal, familial, emotional independence. The kind of independence that this here little family of mine has been waiting for for years now.
Independence from him, from the evil stepfather, from Richard. It is long, long overdue, but we have finally made our declaration. He has used up every last ounce of patience that my mother and I had for him. He has pushed the boundaries and been a complete @$$ way too many times. So now he has been evicted from our lives. Last Saturday was negotiation day between him and my mother. On Sunday he found an apartment. On Tuesday they approved it for him. And today he is gone. Moving out. Most of his things are already out of our house, and the rest of it is being removed right now (I am hiding out at Starbucks, avoiding the drama). By the end of the night, we will be officially free. No more getting treated like absolute shit by him. No more 8th grade drama from a 56yr old man. NO MORE HIM!
Let us just take a moment here to appreciate how much better our lives will be without him darkening our home. Let us just acknowledge that he is done damaging us, done neglecting us, done hurting us, done being a lying, cheating, selfish old fuck around us. He no longer has access to our house or our lives. I mean, of course, my mother will have to make contact with him every now and again to arrange when he gets to see their son, but other that, she and I are just done. I can't even begin to really express how happy I am about him being gone. It is just.so.awesome.
We are free now, this family of mine. Free from the oppression of his sad attempt at being a husband and father. Free to live our lives happily, free to have a good day all day, and not just from morning until his return from work. Simply free. So thank you, mom, for staging this coup and getting him out. Thank you, Universe, for letting everything work out so well for this. Thank you thank you thank you!

gluten-free chocolate-on-chocolate action

The last week-and-a-half have been, on-and-off, incredibly stressful. I can't say why right now because it isn't my place to disclose other peoples' business on the Interwebs. Maybe later I will explain it though. But for now, just ask me personally if you don't already know what has been going on. Anyway, it got even more stressful/depressing yesterday, so today I really needed to just have some down time and do some stuff for me.
So, after I got home from my therapist appointment (yes, I have a therapist - don't you dare judge me for that), I showered and baked what looks like a really delicious chocolate cake (gluten-free, of course). I iced it with chocolate icing and sprinkled crushed peppermint on top. I cannot wait to have a piece later - chocolate, in nearly all forms, makes everything better.

Looks good, huh? :)
After the cake, I pampered myself in a girly way and painted my nails, and then I went and had some fun with my watercolors...

 I wasn't particularly skilled artistically today, but the simple act of painting (no matter the quality), helped. So I painted that flower, and then I found a paper plate and did this to it:

Throughout this whole day, I have had the house to myself, which always means I was blasting music - today's artist of choice? Eminem <3 This is my new favorite song of his:

how a trip to the library turned into a small adventure

Today the boyfriend had a half-day, so we decided to meet up at the library after he got out to work on our history projects. I was at the library about an hour and a half before he would be, so I took the time to get a head start on my own work (which I made a wonderful amount of progress on). His school got out at 11:45, and at 11:50 he called me. At first I thought that he was suddenly unable to come, but then he told me that his mom (an elementary school teacher) had just called and asked him to come pick up a lost boxer puppy they had just found on their playground, and did I want to come along? Well of course I wanted to tag along - any opportunity to see a puppy is one I want to take :)
So we went on over to his madre's school to get the lil pup, and ohmygoodness she was just the cutest darn little boxer ever!

Irresistible, right?!:) [Yes and the puppy is pretty cute too...hehe :P]
Well, we took her to the vet and they scanned her for a microchip - there was none (which his mom called and informed us of a few minutes later, when the owner showed up). At the vet, though, there was a great sign that read "If we see you smoking, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate measures." Gotta love that.
Since the owner had turned up, Bailey (apparently that was the adorable little creature's name) had to be returned :( But it was still fun to get to spend some time pretending she was ours.
After the dog was no longer any of our responsibility,  the boyfriend and I went and spent some time in his mom's classroom. That was so much fun :) Kids are so great!
So then we finally left and went back to the library to get that history work tended to. But...what a fun interruption :)