No matter how frustrating and difficult things might get in a particular aspect of life, in general things are great with the Hopper clan. It's hard to see the loads of happy things when there's a gray cloud, but here you go, some "silver lining."

It's hard enough being an adult and dealing with nasty folks. I know when someone doesn't like me that issue clouds my mind with anger and hurt and prevents me from seeing the myriad good things in my life. One mean person and my day, my week, my however-long-until-I-don't-have-to-see-them-again is ruined.

So when the bullying happens to one of my children, I feel not only angry and hurt and derailed, I also feel a loss. A loss for another part of their childhood and a loss in my own abilities as parent. I can't DO anything to wipe that nasty, insecure, rude, violent child out of my own baby's life. And I know that my kid has to go back to the same place, see that same person and deal with the same cruelty day after day after day.

If we were overseas I'd know all the kids or at least recognize them in the hall. I'd talk to the teacher, the counselor, the principal and arrange a meeting with the offending child AND their parents and things would be changed. I know that, because I've been on the other end of bully dealings too (thank you Jonathon and your lack of self-control in Kindergarten). But here, what can we do here? In the land of "say anything and you might get sued.... or worse" what can be done to protect a child who is rammed into lockers in the hallway and called vile names in passing, who has rumors and lies spread, who has to wade invisibly through 450 kids to get to the next class safely? And who has had this slowly escalate since the first week of school as a new kid with no history!? Who is watching out for her?

We've always told our kids to be the better person. Ignore the nasty kids, they will always be there but how we behave matters more. Stick with your friends, those kids who support you and are good people. Trust that the truth is stronger than whatever dirt they choose to throw at you. Stay strong, believe in yourself, keep your head up.

But sometimes that's not enough. It's definitely not enough when periodic snottiness turns into bruises. No one lays a hand on my kid and walks away with a giggle and a sneer. Today the counselor gets involved. Tonight we make a plan. I have no clue what that plan will entail but something will have to happen, and I'm open to suggestions.

This little parasite doesn't get keep hurting my kid with no repercussions.

Moveable Type moved our site from a server in Hong Kong to one in the U.S. It seems everything is still around. I should really back it all up, huh?

We're here, that's all that matters.

It's been awhile, again. Apologies. The kids have been home pretty much non-stop for the past 3 weeks, stuck in the house, bored, getting on my nerves and basically sucking away any and all time to myself when I'd normally write a blog entry. Thursday this week was the first time I'd had any quiet Me Time, and that was filled by an attempt to catch up on homework. How I'm looking forward to Monday when there are no more snow days and no more 2-hour delays. Right? The Farmer's Almanac had better be wrong. My mom mentioned it claims March will be our snowiest month this year.

We're not exactly in permafrost or a new ice age. Snow is a result of moisture, excessive moisture in our case this winter. Do as many people doubt that something is up when massive hurricanes hit? When our latest blizzard finally made it offshore the satellite images captured a Category 2 strength hurricane shaped storm. Just because it happened in winter and took on the form of snow actually continues to display how crazy the weather has become. Don't get caught up in semantics that global warming means everywhere around the world has to be roasting all at once. Our poles are melting, our jet streams are off line, our weather is getting harsher in all climates during all seasons.

Look at Vancouver... the Winter Games are starting up and Canada is having a too-warm no-snow kind of winter. They are trucking in snow from mountains hours away so the skiers have something to ski on. Wow.

Here's what Repower America has to say about it. And The Daily Show clip is well worth watching.

Yeah. I hate winter. Live with it. But I'll suffer in relative silence as long as winter just sucks. But when winter gets mean, I get angry.

Yesterday was Katherine's birthday. She's 14. It's her favorite number, she says, and she's acting more and more like a young lady. Oh she has her moments, believe me, but on the whole there are now more days when I like her than want to toss her out the window. But you know, no matter how difficult a year might be (and this has been an easy one by far), birthdays are special. You want your child, your spouse, your friend, to feel loved and appreciated and, well, special.

Can't be done. They don't exist anymore. I've looked everywhere and kicked myself for not buying the 2-pack from Costco a few weeks ago. I checked Costco, ToysRUs (sign in the window: no sleds), Target, Wal-Mart. I decided rather than traipsing around to more places I'd look it up on-line. Sold out, everywhere, unless I want to wait a couple weeks. Snow is coming tomorrow, can't wait a couple weeks.

Today I figured it was time to get creative so I went to Lowes. I looked at heavy duty floor mats. I looked for large round flower pot bottom things (you know, so water doesn't run all over the ground), I looked at metal tubing to see if it could be cut to something useful, I looked at rubbermaid box tops, I looked at trash can lids and found something that I figured would work pretty well but I didn't need the $17 trash can that went with the lid. Up and down aisles, seeing bathroom things I'd like (oooh, a rounded shower door! French doors for the deck! a storm door for the front! and this way cool stuff for the kitchen counters, a do-it-yourself kit to resurface countertops).

And then I found this. What do you think, will it work?