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Good morning!

How was yesterday? About as good as you might expect having had a snow day and a full moon. Actually, I’m not sure when the full moon was actually full. And, really, the day was pretty good, all things considered.

I kind of like this picture. The reflection to the left is from the window on the porch.

In the morning I was terribly mean and made the boys clean their room. What’s the point of cleaning it to begin with if we don’t keep it that way, after all? Then I was terribly mean and made them (and Amena) help pick up the stuff that always seems to accumulate around the edges in the dining room. The floors really do need to be swept daily but convincing anyone else of that (other than some girls who aren’t willing to do it every day) is nigh on impossible.

I really should use a tripod for these things.

When I went out yesterday morning to shovel a path to the goats, it was pretty easy going until I got to the pile Paul had plowed. I stood there for a moment and thought to myself, “Are you KIDding me?” Seth ended up helping me and we had that pile of snow whipped in no time. Seth also did an awesome job of shoveling off the front steps and helping to clear around the cars so I could move them so Paul could plow where they’d been parked. The goats were very happy to have food once they had some.

This is leading away from the basement door. The pile at the top is what Seth and I dug through.

And that reminds me of something else. We got round bales of hay because that’s all Paul was able to find. We kind of have limited space of them in the basement so they’re right next to each other and the one I’ve been using is also right up against some other stuff. That just means that the first quarter of the bale was easy to get at. Past that point, it’s not so easy because these bales are rolled up starting, as you might imagine, in the middle, and the outer layers don’t like to let the inner layers go without sticking in your hands and just generally being hard to get. I’d gotten this bale to about half used and yesterday I wondered what would happen if I tipped the bale over so I could get at the easier outer layers on the other side. Well, I pushed it over and discovered that it would indeed be easier to get hay off but it blocks the way to the door rather well. However, if I tip it over once I’m by the door, I can get out and then I can tip it back up. Win-win. Much easier to get enough hay for the girls without ending up with a piece of it stuck in my hands.

Don't they look happy to have some hay?

Yesterday I figured I should contact Verizon because I didn’t like the new phone I’d gotten and wanted to return it. Well, they told me online that yesterday was the last day I could do that and it would either have to be postmarked or returned to a corporate store. I didn’t know Verizon had such things as corporate stores so I said I knew where one was. As it turns out, I didn’t know where one was. I knew where a Verizon store was but not a corporate store. As it turns out, there is one not terribly far from where the one was that I knew about. Anyway, when Paul and I went out, we went to the first one and they told me where the one was I needed to go to. So, we then went there. That turned out to be good because Paul was able to take care of his phone as well.

While there, I learned a few things and asked a few questions and I think we’re going to switch to the share everything plan because it will save us quite a few dollars each month and I am in favor of saving as many dollars as possible. I’d also still kind of like to get a new phone because mine does have a cracked screen. They’ve got a promotional thing going on until Monday that if the weather is still decent then I’ll go take advantage of. I need to do it before Wednesday because that is the 19^th and that is when I can finally get Laura’s old number off the plan which will save a few dollars (but not quite a few, which is the goal). My goal is actually threefold: get a new phone, save money, not come home with my old phone.

Joseph is sitting here telling me that goose bumps are red and they itch. Where on earth does he come up with these things?

Have a splendiferous day!