I hope everyone had a good holiday. Unlike most years, Rachel and I actually dressed up and went out to celebrate. It is the first time since our wedding since she has worn a dress! She looked wonderful in it. She will probably post the pictures we took on her site.

On Sunday night, I was upstairs programming when I heard Rachel call me from downstairs. I hurried downstairs to see what the problem was. She pointed to the candle warmer on the living room table.

At first, I did not see a problem. However, as I got closer, I immediately saw the problem: There was strawberry-scented candle wax everywhere! We initially thought either that the candle overflowed or that one of the dogs bumped the table. A closer inspection revealed a small crack in the candle. A leaf from a nearby plant was touching that crack.

As the weather is starting to turn, it is time to change the direction of our fan blades. However, I can never remember which way it should be blowing. So, I figured that I would write it down now. In the warmer months, the fan should be blowing down. In theory, this creates a wind-chill effect and cools you down. In the cooler months, the fan should be blowing upwards. This circulates the air without creating a wind-chill effect. Now, I no longer need to remember which direction the fans should be blowing; I just need to remember to change them. Of course, your mileage might vary.

As Kermit the Frog often said, "it ain't easy being green." Isn't that the truth? Yes, I try to recycle and such, but it is not enough. A blogger mentioned that her calculated carbon footprint is around 20 tons of carbon dioxide. I was only a bit surprised that when I calculated mine, it was at 100 tons.

We had quite the ice storm yesterday. There was probably a half inch of ice on the driveway and vehicles. Since more freezing way was on its way Rachel and I decided to clean everything off before we went to bed. When we woke up, it looked like we did not clean anything. There was at least another half-inch of ice plus six inches of snow. There were several accidents in the area. I decided that it would be safer to work from home.

I know that behind in my bills. So, I was not surprised when there were messages on my answering machine when I got home. But, I was overwhelmed when the machine indicated ten new messages. Seven of callers did not leave a message. In addition, the caller ID said "unknown." How am I supposed to call these people back if they don’t even leave a message?

Rachel found some pizza in our back yard. Apparently, the people who live behind us were throwing pizza over into our yard. Our dogs, of course, find the food, eat it, and get sick. I have been tempted to throw the waste back over the fence.

So, our sewer backed up once again. It looks like there is a definite crack in our sewer pipe. The roots keep finding their way into the pipe. So, the plumber gets a bit more money this month. Since we can’t currently afford to have the pipe replaced, I am going to try out some root killer. With my luck, it will probably kill the trees and make them fall on the house (again).

Our neighbor's kids recently noticed our security cameras. The cameras are not hidden, but they are not obtrusive. Anyway, the dogs started barking downstairs. I turned on the security monitor to see what was up. The kids were waving and making faces at two of the cameras. I guess as long as it keeps them busy and as long as they stop going on my porch, I am okay with it.

With more wind comes more falling branches. We have one branch that was too large for me to cut up (as I do not own a chainsaw). So, Rachel, Emily, and I loaded the branch in the truck and headed to Rachel’s grandparents’ “farm.” They are allowed to burn their waste, so they said they could handle our branch. Emily sure enjoyed the ride. She was too excited to go the bathroom. We had to stop at a rest stop on the way back home so she could do her business.