Destiny Skywalker

I found out that our local schools are considering moving up the school start date to late August because of all the snow days we've had the last few years. School currently doesn't get out until June 18th (and now the school districts have started to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday, which means we get that day off and then the kids have to go back). Seattle schools had a teacher strike so now those kids are looking at possibly being in school until after July 4th. I'm kind of a fan because the end of June seems so far away, but I liked how easy it was to spend Labor Day away.

They'd probably drown in the snow.

Oh it's not within the family. I was just making the joke about cousin Roger because the closest hits I get are like 1st cousins 1x removed. So obviously people are asking who the heck I am. And I'm not getting concrete hits but I figured it out doing a lot of tracing way back through his mom's lines and stuff like that. I had to basically do process of elimination for about 10 different men who were the right age. And he denies it to high heaven. So either he was drunk and doesn't remember, or he is really worried his ex wife will find out. Your MIL is like my MIL, except my MIL is cheap. She hates the stuff I put on Q's Wishlist. It's not girly enough for her. So she will buy Q this hideous old lady outfits that she refuses to wear and I end up returning. She wants a mini me, but her mini me is about 60 years younger and likes sweatpants and hoodies, not flowery pants and tunics.

Do you guys make a lot of returns? I feel like an ass but I feel like people aren't very good at buying me gifts, and I have an Amazon Wishlist. My MIL got me snow boots off of my wishlist, but I had 2 pairs because I forgot to take one off, and she got me the pair I really didn't want as much. Then my stepmother-in-law got me a wool poncho and matching bucket hat. I mean I guess it's nice but am I ever going to wear it? It just feels like a waste to have things I will never wear in my closet. So I'm really considering taking it back to Macy's since she left the tags on it. My dad is actually kind of hilarious how bad he is at giving gifts. He picks things off of my Wishlist but then sometimes I have to say no dad. Like this year he was like oh I am going to get you the running belt you want and the Princess Peach costume. Dad, the costume is for Halloween next year, do not buy me a freaking Halloween costume for Christmas even if it is on my list.

So my dad really isn't that bad, but I wish he'd take better care of himself. He has been here for 6 days and polished off 4 bottles of wine and numerous cocktails. He won't drink water, he needs something a little sweet like juice or sweet tea. I made a cake for his birthday and dozens of sugar cookies for him, they were gone in 3 days. Today he was hunting through my pantry after eating a sandwich and asked if I had any cookies. No, but if you need something sweet, we have a basket full of fruit. Decided to grab some glazed almonds instead. Sigh. Since type 2 diabetes is pretty much airborne in rural Nebraska, I'm concerned. Much as I joke about wine and our wine collection, my husband and I rarely drink a bottle between us in a single night, unless it's a celebration or with friends. My mom went through a period of depression and drinking when I was younger. I don't think my dad necessarily acts drunk or even obnoxious, I feel like it's boredom or just trying to relax.

Oh that looks sweet. Honestly, I don't enjoy riding that much but Q does. She's been begging me to ride around the neighborhood with her because she finally got too fast for me to run while she rides. There are a lot of beautiful paved trails around here so I figured it would be a good way to get out on a summer day.

Haven't been up since last week because my dad is visiting, but its been pretty lousy snow anyway. A lot of pass closures and freezing rain, limited terrain and lifts open. So at least I'm not missing out.

My husband and I bought our own gifts this year. He got himself a PS5, and I got myself a bike that dropped to half price on Cyber Monday. My husband thinks my bike is ridiculous, but I'm too damn old for a mountain bike and I've never liked road bikes. Let's face it, my old lady butt is looking for comfort. We also got our son a bike that might be easier to ride. It's closer to a big wheel than a bike, but he really needs the extra stability and he's outgrowing bikes that have training wheels. Our daughter got a remote control car that goes up to 30 mph, so hopefully we have good insurance for property damage.

Trying to convince my husband to take his new mug to work.

Cousin Roger got some rando 18 yo knocked up while he was married. More like a Wisconsin situation. Hence me. I think I have a My Heritage account too, but its because I uploaded one of my kits to someone who got bought out by them.

Oh that is nice. Any pretty patterns in the granite? Colors or no? 23andme or Ancestry? I'm that annoying person that popped up on people's branches and got cousin Roger in trouble.

Oh no! How deep was the water? Do you have a place to stay tonight?

I've had years like that. I think it was 2017. I hope 2023 is a fresh start for you, I know I was relieved when that awful year was over. I hope you are able to stay warm. Which kitty passed? I'm so sorry to hear, I know your kitties mean so much to you.

We got to go today. A little later than planned because I had to get all the gear pulled our and accounted for, but it worked out. We only got in 6 runs because it was stupid cold. I think it was 17F when we got there and 7F when we left. Definitely need to move the stash of hand warmers to my ski bag. New skis took some adjusting. The first few runs were pretty rough. These are about 8 cm longer than my old ones, but my old ones were pretty short. I'm trying to make the skis do the work instead of my knees. By the last few runs I was much more comfortable. I wish I was one of those skiers who look super relaxed. I fully admit that I have a very aggressive stance and I look like I'm fighting the mountain the whole way down. Q did not seem as comfortable today. Not sure if it is her vision or the skis. I don't think these are as nice as last year's. I think we better get her contacts in this week so she can ski with those and see if it makes a difference.

That sucks. When is it supposed to hit? Can you head out early or go late?

Snoqualmie is predicted to get 2 feet of snow tomorrow. WSDOT has basically told everyone to stay the eff home. If they are open Wednesday I am totally bailing on work.

I think Garmin is better for sports users in general, and they have a lot of affordable options now. I believe it should track things like elevation change, it does for my runs. Platform agnostic with automatic sync is a good idea. I'm in.

I might be up for steps. Do you have a Garmin, by any chance? It tracks that automatically and you can view your friends if they make that available. I'm finally down 5 lbs. I've had a few girls nights out where I've had some wine and a nice dinner with my family but I've managed to compensate by doing lower carbs on those days, and it turns out a glass of wine is only 3 carbs (but 125 calories, so that's more what I need to worry about). I do plan on being a little more lax over the holidays. My dad will be here and he likes his wine and Christmas cookies and angel food birthday cake. But you try to keep it to 1 cookie a day and a glass of wine or two.

I'm thinking about Wednesday. I was going to go up today but then World Cup final and Q didn't feel quite right when she woke up. We just got a bunch of lowland snow and more expected this week. Gonna be some good pow up there soon.

I only know because I used to follow college football. But you know how people out here are about their sportsing.

He was the Wazzu coach for awhile.

I think Dave Ramsey is good for people in debt just like religion is good for people who suffer from addiction. Agreed, though, that I'm not swimming through my hoarde of money like Scrooge McDuck, I'm going to spend it and only hustle as much as I need to. I've never understood workaholics. There's so much to life beyond work. Especially when you're salaried and don't get overtime benefits. I laughed so hard at Boomer financial advice. I think he tells you to put your money in envelopes so that you budget properly. I get that some people may need that visual, but it feels so tedious. And then you have my dad, the Boomer, who I swear thinks when he has cash that it's going to light his pocket on fire so he needs to get rid of it. That method would totally backfire with him.

Snoqualmie just opened last weekend, so we picked up Q's season rentals. I was a little disappointed in the quality and let the kid helping us know that Q is not a beginner, which he never asked either way before picking out some skis for her. Fortunately the first pair didn't pass the binding test, so the owner stepped in and picked out a new pair for her and made sure the bindings passed. They're still a little beat up, but we will see how the season goes because they were like half the price of Play it Again's season rentals. I think we will try to go next weekend. I got her signed up for Friday night lessons, they start in January, but definitely planning on going a few times the next few weeks.

I think I align with that thinking. I find it rare that someone is intelligent in all areas, and as the last reality mentions, intelligence can be limited by motivation. I think that some people have a level of giftedness or talent that may make it easier for them to obtain knowledge or skill, but its not just automatically there and success is not guaranteed. I've run into a lot of people over the years who just said well I'm smart but never did anything with it or put in the work. They thought being smart was good enough. Resources is an interesting point, though. It's hard to make a fire when all you have is a wet match, even if you know how to strike a match or make a fire without a match. A kid in a 3rd world country with no access to education isn't spontaneously going to discover a fourth law of thermodynamics. But give him the right resources and motivation, and he might, even without being gifted. I find that as I get older, "success" takes on a different meaning, or maybe just becomes less important. And while it looks like I'm finally on my way to achieving some of my personal career goals, I've realized that the important part is that they are my goals, and they may look like a failure to some, or way too much sacrifice to others. I can tell you there's a lot of whispers behind my back that I'm not smart enough or don't have enough education. But that's mostly said by people who just have an advanced degree and are content to sit on their laurels and think those titles should be handed to them, just because they're "smart".

Q has rapidly progressing myopia. FML guys. This kid needs a break.