Snowy in Seattle

It's snowy in Seattle! Yes even moving to the west coast did not allow us an escape from mother nature's white stuff. It is the coldest its been since we moved here (32 degrees) with wind and it feels like true winter. Everyone was so excited to see snow and even more excited with the possibility of a late start or early dismissal for school (although not going to happen tomorrow). Those of us that have experienced snow and all that comes with it were just hoping for it's dismissal as quick as it appeared. It was very entertaining to see our neighbors trying to clean their cars off with brooms, plastic plates, and a dust pan. I wanted to just tell them to turn it on and let it warm up and they'd be good to go but it was funny to watch:-)
It was a weekend of white elephant christmas parties. For those that don't know what white elephant is (I had to look it up online) it pretty much means you bring something that you don't want from your house, wrap it up, and exchange it for someone else's junk. It's pretty funny with a big group of people. Last night was my school's christmas party at one of the teacher's houses in Sammamish. Gorgeous huge house that was decorated beautifully for Christmas. It was lots of staff and significant others. One of the traditions they started last year was to offer $50 to anyone that jumped into the pool and swam a lap. Last year only one person did it. This year six people were brave enough to take the cold and one of the people was Joe. They swam in heats and then ran directly into the hot tub. Then there were 6 envelops to choose from containing $50, $20, 76 cents, and nothing. Needless to say Joe got the 75 cents but he was a hit at the party:-)
Today I went to another white elephant party at one of the teacher's houses in the city. I was excited when he invited me as I always like to check out condos and lofts and see how people decorate. It was a nice mix of some people from work and some of the teacher's friends. I reused my elephant gift from the night before and ended up with something slightly better today so I guess it was a good trade. I enjoyed getting to talk to my collegues outside of the work environment and it makes me feel even more a part of things at school which I'm glad for. I even got to rub elbows with the head honcho of the education association at today's party and he recognized as a new SLP so that was a plus! :-)
Well I'm off to face one more week before my two week holiday break begins. Can't wait!
Hugs to all~