Two Purchases I'll Never Regret

It's been an interesting week. (I mean, I learned that my English teacher indirectly hates my guts because I followed her instructions to the letter. Oh well.) But when I got home yesterday, I was able to get my hands on two things that made my week much, much better.

Yesterday, I stopped by my workplace (an arcade) to pick up my paycheck from last week. I had more hours on there than I'd had in several weeks, so I was happy to see that I had enough to get $50 cash and still put more than that in my checking account.

Anyway, I check my ticket balance, get my employee bonus (two attractions and $5 arcade credit per week), and walk around to the prize center to see if I see anything I want. Then I see the MAJESTIC WOLF PILLOW to the left. I told AJ, "Please give me the MAJESTIC WOLF PILLOW."

"One MAJESTIC WOLF PILLOW. It's wonderful and will love you forever." 

So now I'm the proud owner of a MAJESTIC WOLF PILLOW (and yes, you must say it like it's in all caps.

Then I get home and find a stack of mail waiting for me. (I love ordering free samples off the internet; I used to have a post about it, and I'll probably have to bring that post back, because I LOVE it! I'll have to update it, of course, but it's mostly still awesome.) 

Anyways, the top of the pile was my shirt, seen to the right. It's a mashup of Disney's Frozen and Game of Thrones, which is my new favorite book series. (Although several of the character deaths are making me want to rip my hair out and curl into a corner and die. But I know there are a lot more deaths incoming. I don't know how Martin still has characters populating his world for a sixth book!!)

I'm going to wear this shirt on Thursday to give me the confidence I need to go through my story's critique in Creative Writing. (I submitted a fanfiction. I hope nobody in the class has played the game it's related to!!)

Anyways, how has your guys' week been? I'm hoping to start talking about happier things, rather than always complaining. You see, my friend Kiera and I have been talking about how we need to get a group of teenagers together and have a blogging circle. Although I'm no longer  going to be in the "teen blogging" group by August of this year (I'll be turning 20 - yikes!), I still think that older teenagers need to have a group of people that they can trust and in turn get support on their blogs and whatnot. What do you guys all think? 

I'm really going to be trying to talk about happier things. I know my post yesterday about my parents was really a downer. But since I've been dating Matt, and really since sophomore year of college started, I've been a lot happier than I have been in months. I'm finally free of the poisonous grip of my ex-boyfriend, and I am truly happy again. So, my promise to you is that I'll limit myself to no more than three depressing posts a month, okay? (Because sometimes depressing things have to be shared so that you don't bottle them up inside and explode on the wrong person.) The rest of the time, I'm going to write about my days and funny little things I've done.

Also, I'm going to try and do what Kiera's saying in the blog post I linked above: try one new thing every week in March. I think it's time to start trying new things. Who knows? Maybe I'll like something. Be sure to look forward to those posts!

Problems

Warning: This post is going to be unreasonably long. But I need to get this stuff out before it poisons me.

Any of y'all ever have problems with your parents? (Trick question: if any of y'all are alive and reading this, then I know you have.)

But how many of you have problems with your parents stalking your every move via social media? I do.

My father sees nothing wrong with keeping track of every little thing I do by following my Twitter and my Facebook. (Thankfully, he doesn't know what Tumblr is, nor does he know that I have a blog.)

Take Matt's birthday, for example. When I posted the picture to the left on Instagram (and, through Instagram, Facebook), my mother immediately texted me and said, "Your dad just showed me the pic on fb - i dont like it!" And so I had to take it off of my Facebook. It's Harley and Joker. It was a superhero (and by extent, villain) themed party. I was proud of the outfit we'd put together. But my father, who had no idea who Harley was, didn't like the "skull makeup" I had on as it was "disrespectful."


Okay. Maybe I can give that one to him. He had no idea who I was. I only had my face painted, after all; Harley's whole body is a corpseish white. All right.

The other day, I was scrolling through Facebook and found a pretty funny picture that popped up on my newsfeed because a friend liked it. I clicked "like" on it as well. Not three minutes later, my father goes, "LAUREN. Did you see this?" And he pointed out the name of the page to me. The G-D Batman. 

"I did not. I just saw the picture. Eddie liked it, and I found it hilarious so I liked it as well." 

"When you like things like that you're showing a side of yourself that isn't very Christian. Get rid of it." (Read that in an angry, condescending tone, like he's talking to a two-year-old.)

So I had to get on my computer and go track down one little picture I'd liked and get rid of it. I understand, but he certainly didn't have to flip out about it and scream at me. (He was yelling. And then he told me not to yell [which I didn't] when I tried to explain I hadn't seen the name of the page. He couldn't understand how I could be "so blind as to not see that.")

Yesterday, three vinyl stickers that I had been waiting forever for (okay, about a week) had arrived in the mail. I gave Matt his Joker one (he loved it) and went to put the other two on my car. They were a Hylian Crest (put on the driver's side back windshield) and the symbol from FullMetal Alchemist (put on the passenger's side back windshield.) I put the picture through an app called PhotoGrid and put it on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.

My younger sister sends me a text about fifteen minutes later. "Be prepared for dad to be mad at you." 

"Why?"

"You put stickers on your car. He wants your car to remain 'professional.' And he doesn't like the FMA symbol."

Now, I'm a bit confused. It's my car. I assumed, therefore, that I could do things to it without being attacked. And the FMA symbol? It looks like a caduceus, a medical symbol. It's from a manga. I have several Christian friends who read the manga and watch the anime as well. Hunter does. Tiffany does. So if I want to show my fandom off to the world, just like these people do, it's suddenly inappropriate? I don't understand.

Now, if I'm not at home, my sister stays up in her room 99% of the time, only emerging for school and for supper. She can't stand being around my father, because he's always nitpicky. And since his job ended, he's always been around. He rarely goes out and does anything, and I think it's starting to wear on my mother. I know my sister has been done with him ever since he started questioning her on the way she dressed (SHE DRESSES LIKE A NORMAL PERSON, JUST WITH MORE SWEATERS) and the music she listens to (classic rock and Christian music). He doesn't understand why she doesn't want to be around him. 

I do. She's sick of being picked apart by him, by being yelled at for little things. 

When I dyed my hair a few weeks ago, just the underside, my dad flipped. "THAT'S NOT PROFESSIONAL. I HOPE YOU HAVEN'T DAMAGED YOUR HAIR. THAT BETTER NOT BE PERMANENT. WHAT ABOUT INTERNSHIPS?!"

I'm only nineteen. I'm a sophomore in college. I'm at least a year or two away from being able to get internships IN CLASSROOMS WHERE I WANT TO TEACH. I have NEVER done anything with my hair before, and I wanted to do something fun. 

Looks like I'm not allowed to have fun. My body isn't my own. 

I want to get a tattoo, of a Hylian Crest (as pictured by my car vinyl to the left), on my left shoulder blade. But I know I can't do that until after I get married, because I want a strapless wedding dress and my parents would kill me if I got a tattoo. Which is why I can't tell them about Matt's tattoo. (He has Hal Jordan on his thigh.) It's my body, isn't it? Can't I do what I want without having every single thing questioned?

 Then there's the fact that he keeps track of the Aleve I take when I'm at home. You see, during my period, I get cramps. It's natural. It happens. To keep from saying, "I'M BLEEDING INTERNALLY AND NEED MEDS" to my father, I simply say, "I have a headache" when he asks me why I need medicine. (I'm NEVER asking him where it is. I ask my  mother, and my dad - who's three rooms away - asks WHY ARE YOU ASKING FOR PILLS?!) When he hears me pour out the same number of pills the next day, he asks, "YOU STILL HAVE A HEADACHE?! DO WE NEED TO TAKE YOU TO THE DOCTOR?!" (And yes, he's yelling this whole time.)

I ignore him and I go upstairs. He thinks I'm becoming a drug addict.

I swear. If I didn't have a job, I wouldn't go home on the weekends. I'd stay here in Montevallo. I'm actually enjoying myself this year. I have great friends and an awesome boyfriend. 

Matt's actually the only reason I'm able to stay sane most of the time. My father is getting worse and worse. Matt holds me and tells me that it's not my fault.

It's okay that I like reading books that aren't meant for second-graders. It's okay that I want to express my individuality by wearing comic book shirts and the like. It's okay that I want to dye my hair blue.

Matt's always supportive. If it wasn't for him, I probably would've had a mental breakdown months ago and would've had to go get some psychiatric help. 

Of course, my father thinks Matt's responsible for all of my "changes." He can't seem to fathom that I'M GROWING UP and want to CHANGE. I'm not the same little kid any more. I want to break out of my shell. I want to get away from what I've been most of my life. I haven't liked myself too much in the past.

Now, though, I'm able to try and do what I want. I need to experience the world. I want to get out there and do things. I want to change. I don't want to be stuck as the same little Lauren I've always been. There are things I want to do. I can't stay in my house forever, and my dad doesn't seem to understand that. He wants me to be quiet and complacent at all times. He doesn't want me to grow up. And yet when I act like he wants me to - the kid who doesn't go out - he wonders why I won't grow up. It's really starting to make my head hurt.

Anyways, I'm sorry for this long rant, guys. I know it's long. It's extraordinarily long, and I know I don't do long posts any more. I just needed to get all this out. Hopefully someone out there will see this post and talk to me. I just need someone to talk to.

I've Started Collecting Comics...

...which is the one thing my dad told me not to do when I started dating Matt.

Oops.

It's my money, anyways, and I'll be spending it as I want it. I'm the only one in my family with a job at the moment (although my dad does get retirement pay). 

Which comic have I started collecting, you ask? 

It's Harley Quinn, from the New 52 DC series. She's got a great art style, and the story's brilliant. Basically, after (who we assume is) the Joker blows up the shed she's living in, a guy comes by with a will from a former patient of Harleen Quinzel's (which was Harley's real name when she was a psychiatrist) and says that the patient left Harley a four-story building in Coney Island. She promptly moves there.

 So far, she's stopped two cases of animal cruelty and chopped up a couple of hit men. Oh, and there's a hint of a relationship between her and Poison Ivy.

I'm really enjoying this series. Only two issues (plus the zero issue) have been released, but when Matt and I go back to the comic book shop next week, I'll be getting issue three. (At least, I hope we can go back next week. He may or may not still have money. He's really, really bad with budgeting.)

At the moment, I think Harley's the only series I'm going to collect. Maybe there will be another series, someday (I thought about Suicide Squad, but that's been out for almost three years and catching up on the back issues would be ridiculous), but for now, Harley's good. I think I'm going to have a lot of fun reading these.

And yes, I did get them bagged & boarded. You kinda have to, if you don't want them to get ruined over the years.

Do any of y'all collect comics? Are you more of a DC or Marvel fan?

My First (Couples') Valentine's Day

I've had approximately eighteen Valentine's Days before this one. The earlier ones were filled with Transformers and Barbie Valentines, all placed into my bag by children who were forced to do so (although there were a few that actually really liked me). The middle ones were awkward, with the guys thinking all the girls had cooties. The later ones, though, have been a bit confusing. There's the time the Stalker admitted his feelings to me (and I ran like a bat outta hell) and the time that I spent Valentine's all alone, even though I had a "boyfriend" at the time (I use that term in the loosest manner possible). 

All through this, my parents would always get me roses and a box of chocolates. My sister got six roses, and I got six roses. This year, I got a box of KitKat chocolates as well. 

This year, though, for the first time ever, I had an actual Valentine. And we had a bonafide blast. We were supposed to go out on Wednesday, but that got postponed due to the weather, so we stayed in, exchanged presents and watched My Cat From Hell instead! I received a Batman & Catwoman tank top (he couldn't find a Joker  & Harley one, and they didn't have my size in Superman & Wonder Woman), a Harley Quinn reusable tote bag (Hot Topic was selling them), & a set of Batman earrings plus a Batman necklace.


I got Matt a Harley & Joker shirt from Walmart, a new tank and some wicks for his Halo E-Cig, and a Harley Quinn statue from his favorite comic book store (really the only comic book store around, Legion). The Harley came a little later than the other two things (well, other four, technically), because we weren't able to go to Legion until we went out to eat the next night. Where did we go, you ask?

We went out to the Genghis Grill. It's a Mongolian barbeque place that's absolutely wonderful. You get to pick what goes into your stir-fry! You can pick the meat, the spices, the sauces, etc.! You can even watch the chefs cook it up for you if you so wish (plus, the chefs get to ring a gong whenever an order comes up!). I had a fantastic time eating with Matt, and we had a wonderful waiter. The only problem with the whole night was that the restaurant we went to was so new, they didn't have their liquor license yet (and that probably put a damper on Matt's enthusiasm for the evening, but the way he ate more than made up for that!).

When we got back to his apartment, we were going to watch The Dark Knight, but wound up watching Watchmen instead. It's actually a really good movie (although I have to wonder, who had the job of animating Dr. Manhattan's man-parts?), but it was so dark. Matt calls it a "deconstruction of the superhero genre." It's based off a book by one of his comic heroes, Alan Moore. Then we cuddled on the couch and he eventually walked me back to my dorm for the night (where, much to my surprise, my room mate was still awake).

Then I got to come home today and get my new phone (I now have a Galaxy S IV) and my chocolates and flowers from my parents. It's been a good Valentine's Day, and I think my date proved that things don't have to be overly romantic for you to have a good time. You can just hang out and do dinner. Heck, you don't even have to do that. You can watch a favorite movie and snuggle on the couch. Just don't pretend that your significant other doesn't exist - that's a very bad way to spend Valentine's Day. (That's what happened to me last year. I nearly lost my mind.)

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I hope everyone had a great day, and remember, it doesn't matter if you're taken or if you're single, as long as you remember to be yourself and take on the world! I promise, things may look grim now, but they will get better. Things will always get better. 

How was your Valentine's Day? Did something happen that you weren't expecting? Talk to me in the comments! I'd love to hear from you!

*flips table*

This is going to be more of a ranty post than anything else, so if you're uncomfortable with those sorts of things, you can just go ahead and skip this. I swear, I don't rant all this often! It's just lately - the winter weather's really getting to me.

Let's see... Where did today go wrong? 

Well, first of all, I had a Spanish test that I was completely unprepared for. I was kinda hoping for the University to close and the weather to save me from it, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. I mean, I've studied for this test, I've looked over all the material, I've tried my hardest to understand this stuff... but it just didn't work out for me. There were things on the test that I swear we didn't even go over! At least I know I got all the bonus questions right, and I do my homework so hopefully the tests won't impact my grade quite so much.

Second, school was cancelled at 1:00. I had to go to my first two classes, but I didn't have to go to my Chemistry lab, which was something very, very good. I can't stand science, and I loathe chemistry especially.

Third, my family tried to upgrade their phones today. Since I'm still at school, I can't upgrade yet, so my dad tells the AT&T person to just upgrade the THREE phones. Mysteriously, around the same time, my phone stops working, so I use my boyfriend's (Matt's) to call my sister. Apparently, AT&T burned my SIM card along with everyone else's, so they could get new ones. So I'm without a phone until I go to the AT&T store on Friday to upgrade my phone.

Fourth, I'm having a female problem. (TMI upcoming, y'all. So if you're male or squeamish, you might want to look away.) I have a yeast infection, and it's not very awesome. But I went to CVS and bought myself a little kit and hopefully everything will be better by Saturday morning. Otherwise my life is kinda gonna suck.

BUT LET'S GET TO THE FLIP SIDE. Now that I've flipped the table, the good things are starting to appear.

First, Matt and I exchanged Valentine's presents today. We couldn't go out, unfortunately, because the roads are all iced over. I got him a purple tank for his e-cig and a Harley & Joker tshirt (from Wal-Mart!). I'm hoping to get him a Harley Quinn figurine when we go out to his comic book shop on our date. He got me a set of Batman earrings & necklace, a Batman & Catwoman kiss tank, and a Harley Quinn reusable tote bag (all from Hot Topic). It was wonderful, and I'm not at all sad about missing going out tonight. There's always tomorrow, or next week!

Second, I learned how to play Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Matt taught me how to play Halo last week, and now this week he's teaching me how to play Black Ops. I'm not usually one for shooting games, but it's actually pretty interesting. (I usually play RPGs more.)

Third, I'm starting to get more hours at TreeTop! I talked to my "Momma Bear," Russia, who talked to the owner and got me more hours and in café, where I love to work. (Mostly because I don't have to deal with as many little children as I would in, say, Laser Tag.) So while my last few paychecks have been TERRIBLE, at least this week they're going to start getting a little better!

Fourth, I've started saving all my tips in a tip jar that I made myself so that I can go and buy Bravely Default in a couple of weeks. I'm so excited to go and buy this game, because I've played the demo and it's really, really cool. Plus, I absolutely LOVE SquareEnix and RPGs. So hopefully this is going to turn out okay.

If you look at it, there's really no reason for me to be stressed. I guess I'm gonna have to calm down and just take things one step at a time. Otherwise, I'll probably end up as a smear on the sidewalk when I collapse under the weight of all the stress I'm carrying.

What have y'all been up to lately? Had trouble with school? Sick of this winter weather? Talk to me!

Crying Wolf

I'm sitting in my pajamas at 11:34 a.m. on a Tuesday morning.

What's wrong with this picture? Well, the University is closed today. Again.

Last Thursday, they also let out early, because of the fear of Winter Weather. Alabama's become very, very skittish about snow and ice and possible freezing rain, ever since we were woefully unprepared two weeks ago for what has become known as The Snowpocalypse. We've become so terrified of causing another twenty-plus-hour standstill that we're scared to send people to school.

And in some ways, I get it. You don't want people to get trapped again. (My sister spent 30 hours at the high school. There were commuters trapped for DAYS on Montevallo's campus. People were stuck in cars for over 24 hours.) But at some point, you're going to have to wake up and start thinking.

What about all the stores that have run out of milk and bread? Everything's gone haywire. You can't buy milk OR bread anywhere in Montevallo because everyone went out and bought it yesterday. (I don't know what it is about the South; they run out and buy the two most perishable items the moment that snow is forecasted).

It's a madhouse. I can't even begin to imagine what it's gonna take for us to get back to normal. I'm almost ready to go and get back to school (although I'm also kinda hoping I get tomorrow off, because I don't want to study for my Spanish test!) because I'm really getting bored of sitting inside all day. And all the after-school activities are cancelled because somebody might get hurt in the rain.

I'm getting sick of this.

Come on, Alabama. You can get through this.

Update on my Car

Apparently, it's a good thing Garrett noticed my flat tire on Saturday. That was my right rear tire, for any of y'all keeping track. Why's it a good thing?

My right front tire had a huge gash in it, and was essentially a ticking time bomb for a blowout. I could have had a wreck and been either seriously injured or killed, depending on where the wreck happened and if I'd been able to keep the car under control. (I've never been in an accident before, you see.)

I'm thinking that my tire probably got the gash when I had to run into a curb. I was trying to pull into this last parking space at TreeTop, right next to the fence, and all of a sudden, this kid throws open his door and hops out, forcing me to make a choice: I could either hit him or the fence. So I chose the fence. Thankfully, I didn't hit the fence, but I did scruff up my rim really, really bad on the curb (and also probably gashed my tire at the same time). 

So, my car will be fixed...sometime. No idea when. At the very least, the car place was able to catch this before it got any worse. Thank goodness they do all-over inspections!

Anyways, I've got a paper to get back to, so I've got to wrap this up. Have a great day!

English 300: "Jane Eyre"

Welcome to a little mini-series that I'm starting! It will only go on for this semester, and there will only be ten or so entries into this series. This series will be about each book that we had to read this semester. Just a few short thoughts on the story and whatnot.

What better way to start off this series about books than with Jane Eyre? 

I actually got this book for Christmas last year (2012), but I had never been able to read more than ten pages into it. I have to be in the right mood for "old" books, and I was never able to get in the mood to read about Jane. Now that I had to, though, I was able to finish it in just a few days (I would've finished it sooner if I'd had no other homework).

Jane Eyre was...iffy. It was a good story, don't get me wrong, but it just read like a really, really long morality tale. You know the type, from Victorian England: poor humble girl is so pious and righteous that she ends up winning big.

So, (spoiler alert?) that's how it was with Eyre. I predicted what would happen before it actually happened, and I wasn't disappointed. I knew she'd end up with Rochester, but something bad would have to happen first. There were too many suspicious things happening around Rochester's estate for anything to go smoothly for them.

I don't know if I'd read the book again, but I did enjoy it the first time through. It just seemed so long-winded. I really prefer Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights to Charlotte's Jane Eyre. The villain is more pronounced, and I love the relationships between the Catherines and Heathcliff. (Also, is there not a better name than Heathcliff? So Britain-y.) 

Long story short, if you like romantic Victorian novels, you'll probably enjoy Jane Eyre. Although I'm not quite sure if it was billed as a romance, but there was way too much of the lovey stuff and the doubting in there for me to see it as any other sort of novel.

Finality

If any of you remember the beginnings of this blog (back when it was still named Not in Nottingham), you'll recall that it started out as me trying to get over a really, really nasty breakup. 

I'm happy to say that I have moved on. Completely. In fact, I've done something that has absolutely sealed the finality of this, something symbolic.

I've burned everything.

 Please, let me explain before you go all, "WHAT?!" on me. I had all of my ex's stuff sitting in a box on my dresser. Letters and pictures. (And wrapping paper from my present last Christmas.) The only thing this boy ever "gave" me (and even then he did it grudgingly!) was five books. Four for my birthday, and one for Christmas. He wrote me two letters from BCT, I wrote him over 400 pages.

He had given me his bandanna for my birthday as well, so maybe we'll count that. Anyways, I decided it was time to burn that stuff. My boyfriend offered to add stuff to the pile. (You can see it to the left.) I ripped apart all the pictures (I tore them between my ex and me) and laid out all the letters nice and neat on the bandanna. Matt got an Build a Bear certificate to light the fire.



You're probably thinking, "Why did she do this? Why did she burn all this stuff?" It's not like he ever gave me anything fancy. He gave me some friendly letters; that's it. He didn't get me anything for Valentine's last year (even though he said he'd send me a love letter, he didn't do that, claiming "it got lost in the mail"), he never gave me any jewelry or anything like that; he simply existed. He was a thought. And how do you get rid of thoughts?

You burn them.

And so that's what we did last week. I had gathered up everything (including the mask I had received at his prom, which was masquerade-themed) and wrapped them in his bandanna. Matt got a pot his ex-roomate had left behind (he had not left on good terms), and we dropped the stuff inside.

Matt picked up his certificate and used it to set the stuff aflame, then fed it with some hairspray. 

It was glorious.

It burned and burned, and left me with nothing but ashes where this jackwagon had been in my life. There is absolutely nothing keeping me from loving Matt with all of my heart. He treats me with dignity and respect, and actually believes that I have feelings.

I never knew that love could be so fulfilling, so complete. 

And now I'm free to enjoy that love. There is nothing holding me back.

I am free.

(Also, Let It Go was the soundtrack to writing this post. It fits. It fits so well.)

Weekend of Ugh

While the past week's been pretty good, the past few days haven't been as great as I would've wanted them to. So this is just a little bit of a ranty rant so I don't go crazy.

First of all, I'm going to be carless for a week, and it's a bit upsetting, to be honest. I mean, I have places that I would like to go this week. Well, honestly, only one place: stopping by Sally's Beauty Supply in Alabaster to obtain some hair dye. (I was going to try and dye my hair this week. Just the underside. Dark blue.)

So, why am I carless this week? Poor Marcelline got a flat tire, and I didn't discover it until too late, and now my car's been towed and my parents won't be able to get it back until Monday-ish.

Second, I got scheduled to work tomorrow (Sunday) even though I've asked off three times. I sent several emails to my boss telling him that I could not work tomorrow. And not because of the Super Bowl - four of my friends are getting their Eagle Scout awards tomorrow, and I want to be there for their ceremonies. So add that to the list.

Third, my kitty got into a fight and had to go to the vet to get an antibiotic shot. He's still limping, but I think the worst is over. 
[Edit, 19:08]: Sylvester hasn't come in from outside. We heard a cat fight a while ago, and we all went out looking for him. He didn't respond to the food can banging, or any of our calls. We're worried about him, so hopefully he comes home!

Fourth (or maybe three and a half), my aunt's cat Bingo got into some sort of fight or got attacked, and his jaw was shredded. Thankfully, their vet was able to save him and he's back home now, doing fine after surgery. He just can't eat. At least he survived, because if he hadn't, how would she have explained that to her kids? They love Bingo like a sibling; he lets them dress him up and do all sorts of things with him.

Fifth (or fourth?), there's a giant mess of homework stacked in front of me. I suppose it's all my fault, to be honest, because I didn't do any of the homework I had to do last week. Oh, well. Guess I'll learn to be a bit more careful with my snowdays, and not spend all of them watching movies or hanging out with my boyfriend! (Although I doubt I'll ever see this much snow in Alabama ever again...)

Wishing you a much better weekend than mine has been!