These two are getting ready to spring ahead. Are you?

Oscar Orange and Larry Lime have been complaining about the winter for months. “Most snow I’ve ever seen” and “Who knows if we’ll ever get our color back.” Well, guys, it looks like spring is just right around the corner.

They already have their clocks ready for Saturday night’s spring forward. For me? Well, I’ll  miss the extra hour of sleep but I also can’t wait. Daylight savings time means: driving without headlights, running on the streets after work and wearing lighter coats and jackets. Maybe even skirts without tights – which I’ll miss but simultaneously love!

Even the lobster placemat is excited. Although you might not be able to tell.

Are you looking forward to springing ahead? Why or why not?

We’ve dug out the cars, we’ve broken up the ice and the street is finally [somewhat] usable again.

Some cars on the street may not be in their best condition, but they’re surviving – leading the pack to the final destination.

There are still some cars buried under the snow and ice, waiting to emerge – though no one has taken a shovel to them. Sometimes I wonder if those cars will just fall into a hole in the ground, never to be seen again.

So why am I at home instead of work? Why another snow day? Because they say another 20 inches is on its way today and tomorrow. All that work breaking up the ice will soon turn into this:

\

Two snowstorms in one week. Feels like a record. What do you think about it (whether you’re in one or not!)?

There is a party going in lobster land this morning, and the gang’s all here – the almond brigade and their friends chocolate thunder and don’t forget the blueberry bunch. These kids know how to party.

Everyone meets at the Shiny Rock Cafe, where they have open-air seating – even in the winter!

It doesn’t matter the weather – as long as they have each other and music and the night.

Things tend to get a little confetti crazy by the end of the night – but they don’t care.

What was the last party you attended? Was it as wild as this one?

I have not been to a party in quite some time. I was hoping to either 1) throw or 2) be invited to a a holiday sweater party, but that did not happen.

PS: Can you believe Christmas is 9 days away? Are you kidding me?

Something strange is going on in the lobster house.

I found this dude on the window sill. Apparently this is the creature that helps you wrap up one year and go smoothly into another. You could call him a bucket list evaluator. Or a wish list proofreader. He’s our New Year’s guru.

This is the guy who helps you discover what you’ve done and what you want to be doing. His name is Fred.

Apparently Fred is kinda psychic. But just a little bit.

If you could ask Fred one question about your future, what would it be?

I have  a lot of friends who are very much like me.

I also have a lot of friends who are very different.

Either way, we all come from the same fruit.

Last night I had a dream where various people from all sections of my life were present. There was the girl I worked with at Burger King in high school. There was a friend of a friend, who friended me on Facebook, but we aren’t truly friends in real life. There were bloggers. There was Bill and Cat and other close friends. The whole thing was entirely surreal.

The dream reminded me that all of these people fit into my life in some way or another. Moments bind us to one another in unique ways.

I wonder what it would be like to get all of these people in a room together? Easy answer: connections would be made, hearts would be broken and some would be offended.

Are the people in your life vastly different from you? The same? A mix?

I feel like every childhood is marked by the “three peas in a pod” expression. Either you’re one of three, and you’re a pea in the pod. Or you’re waiting to be part of the three, waiting outside, thinking of ways to get in.

Growing up, my cousins and I were of a different breed when it came to the three peas in a pod mantra. I like to think of us as three berries in a banana peel.

I was reminded of this bond over the weekend when my cousin Marissa and I swapped stories on the way to Ohio. She and I were inseparable during our youth. She has a younger brother – Ryan – who we are now close with. During childhood? Thats another story. Even though we belonged to the same peal, our alliances were not the same.

Brothers and sisters fight, and girls always gang up with girls. That sums up childhood for the three of us in one sentence. It was Marissa and I who ate cake icing straight from the can in my grandmother’s pantry. And it was us who left notes for each other under knick knacks above the piano. The bond with Ryan didn’t come until later  - much later – when the three of us were teenagers at least.

No matter how close we were and when, I feel a unique bond with Marissa and Ryan unlike two other people in the world. They grew up with me. We made discoveries together. We began figuring out the world together. We got into trouble together.

The best part? Getting to relive and tell the stories into adulthood. I love when a sentence starts with.. “I can’t believe that was 15 years ago….”

Who are your three berries in the peel? peas in the pod?

All I wanted this morning was a tasty bowl of oatmeal. Nothing too silly or even too fancy. Just an ordinary bowl of oatmeal for a normal Tuesday.

For the first time in longer than I can remember, I made oats the old fashioned way on the stovetop. I’ve been microwaving lately to save time – but I think it really only saves me three minutes max – and it doesn’t taste better. I prefer the texture of stovetop, most definitely.

I added a banana to the mix this morning and used Kristin’s style of cutting – right inside the peel. I’ve been pretty jazzed about this idea since I read it on her blog.

From an artistic perspective, I sort of like the lines it creates in the peel. I like how dark they get

After stirring for about five minutes, I decided to throw this all together in one ordinary bowl. I can’t remember the last time I used this bowl for oatmeal.

For old time’s sake, I added PB to my spoon.

And you know how I feel about berries on oatmeal.

A normal, ordinary but so so tasty bowl of oatmeal. I always love doing things the old-fashioned way and getting back to basics.

What about you – do you do anything the “old-fashioned way”? If so, what?

When the leaves stop falling, and the trees become naked, some go back to what they had months before. A summer camping trip, a dip in the pool – or even a day at the bay.

There’s comfort in visiting new places, warmer locations (especially if you’re already seeing snow). And who doesn’t love a mid-year vacation? I know the farmyard animals are loving their day under the umbrellas.

Everyone’s getting some sun except for one little bugger who’s off on an adventure.

Vacations and relaxation are rejuvenating their spirits for a possibly long December. Get in the sun while you can, they say.

How do you escape from the cold? Or don’t you?

Do you remember the first time you ate a chocolate covered strawberry? – Ok, let’s open it up wider (for the sake of my story) – How about a chocolate covered something, anything?

Growing up I remember chocolate covered goods being somewhat of a delicacy. There had to be a special occasion in which they were around. I honestly don’t remember the first chocolate covered strawberry I ever had – but I do remember the first chocolate covered oreo (talk about intense.)

It was Halloween and  - get this – me and my friends were hanging out in the Dairy Queen parking lot cause that was the cool place to be. A friend of ours pulled up with her mom behind the wheel, and she brought out four little treat bags, each carrying an Oreo. I remember giving her a look, like where did you get these? Am I supposed to eat this? She told us that she and her mom had made them for trick or treaters.

Back then I didn’t care much about food, so I shoved the entire thing into my face, just like that. It was incredible. It was like nothing I had ever tasted – until I got a belly ache.

When comparing then and now, it’s interesting to see how my definition of “chocolate covered something” has changed and how much healthier it is. Even if it’s chocolate in the morning

When was your first chocolate-covered-something experience?

Maybe it’s just me, but daylight savings time really freaks me out.

The main trouble is that it almost always catches me off guard -before and after. I never realize it’s daylight savings time until the day before and after it happens, I get confused when it becomes dark at 5:30 p.m.

I’m sure it will just take my body a few days to adjust and then I’ll go into my winter mode.

Have you been affected by Daylight Savings Time?

PS: I’ll put some pictures from Halloween up at lunch today!