SuperBowl Weekend

It turned out I had a three-day weekend.  Friday morning I woke up to huge snowflakes falling from the sky.  They were beautiful as long as I was just looking at them.  Driving through them was a different story.  The city streets were slippery and slushy, but I powered through to the turnpike where, surely, the plows would have made traveling bearable.  Not the case.  My top speed was 30 mph on slushy roads in a heavy snowfall behind about a miles worth of traffic.  After a half an hour of that I took the first exit and headed home.  Round trip took me an hour.  I felt bad missing work, especially since I had already been gone two days this week, but I was also scheduled to leave work at 11:30 for a trip to the old hometown and I didn't know what the roads would have been like then.  Better safe than sorry.

Mid-day Friday I was on the road to Salina.  Sarah Palin was the speaker at their Chamber of Commerce meeting, which now takes the title as the largest ever Chamber meeting in the U.S.  Around 6,000 people from all over Kansas and some from out of state were in attendance, including Mom, Dad and #1 sister.  Ms. Palin spoke of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the atrocious budget deficit, the stimulus package and immigration, to list a few topics.  I appreciated her comment on the Kansas motto:  Ad Astra Per Aspera. (To the stars through difficulties.) and how appropriate that is now given the economy.  We also listened to other Chamber members, one of which had me chanting their slogan: "What's good for Salina is good for me."  The event lasted about two hours.  We had eaten in the car beforehand and chatted with acquaintences afterward.  I ran into an old classmate and had a nice visit.  Mom tells me that when she and Dad got into bed, Dad said, "That was a fun evening."  Yes, it was.  Yes, it was.

Sarah Palin in the pink suit.  February 5, 2010

Saturday I headed for home and made it back in time for a hair appointment.  My last haircut was in October and I'd been letting my bangs grow since before that cut.  I'd never had long bangs and wanted to give them a try.  However, I also wanted this stylist to cut my hair into a style that would look good on my face, which I call bowling-ball shaped.  That may be a little harsh, but I've never liked my face shape.  Anyway, I'm now sporting a cut that's similar to one I had a couple of years ago, complete with bangs.  Do I like it?  It's only day four of the new style.  I'll give it some time before I make my final verdict.

Before and after.  February 6, 2010  I don't know...

That evening we attended a going away party for one of our daughter's friends.  Her best friend.  This little gal is around 23 years old and has stomach cancer.  She's been told chemo would not help and she doesn't want to know how much longer she has.  She's a brave soul and she's been a great friend to our daughter since daughter came back to Kansas in September, 2005, after her first husband died (stomach cancer).  We've gotten to know this friend and she calls us Mom and Dad.  We're all going to miss her, but she's going to Texas to be with her boyfriend.  Can't blame her.

Daughter's BFF in purple with our daughter, SIL, me and hubby

We went to Son and DIL's Sunday evening to watch the SuperBowl. No, here's the truth. We went to their home to munch on goodies, watch commercials, play with the granddaughter and enjoy each others company. (I will say congratulations to the New Orleans Saints. They beat the Indianapolis Colts in their first ever SuperBowl appearance.) It was a good time and the end to a good weekend.