Top ‘o the mornin’ to ya. That’s right, it’s St. Patrick’s Day here (…and everywhere) in the “Emerald City.” However, it’s not so green this morning. I woke up to another blanket of white fluff covering every possible surface outside. AGAIN, we have snow. And, I’m sorry, I can’t help it, but my internal schoolgirl does a small squeal of glee every time she pulls back the curtain to discover a winter wonderland outside. Will school be cancelled? Will we have a snow day? Ooh! We should have cocoa and listen to Christmas music! Yeah, yeah, I know that we’re half-way through March and Spring should be here and this snow is craziness (thank you, Global Climate Change), but it still gets me a bit giddy. And I’ll admit I’m slightly let-down that Seattle – yes, even Seattle – is getting a little nonchalant about the white stuff. They’re no longer cancelling school for a dusting! We used to cancel for a few flakes. (I told Mike – who recently emerged from the bedroom – to look outside. He grunted and continued getting his cereal. OK, granted until about 8 in the morning, all he can do is grunt, but the snow didn’t phase him at all. And I just read this to him and he said, “I grunted.” Like I should be impressed that I at least got that reaction.)

My inner schoolgirl could use a snow boost right now. A monster has been unleashed, and I’m struggling with demons. (Hmm, last week it was Gremlin-Elves, this week it’s monsters and demons. What’s with that? I live in a fantasy world, it’s true; and I’m under attack). As you may have noticed there’s a new little feature – a fancy gadget – in the upper left corner of my Blog. Didn’t see it? See it now? That, my friends, is the new source of my torture. Sure, it looks innocent enough – just a subtle single row of numbers, but really this Blog ‘visitors counter’ is nothing but a blow to the self-esteem on display. OK, I am exaggerating, so before you all start clicking on my Blog multiple times a day (let’s call them “Pity Clicks”), allow me to explain.

Jessica, my fellow Blogger, “official” Blog follower of mine, music teacher, friend from the days of yesteryear (including Symphony Camp!), and newly reunited Facebook friend introduced me to this. She said, “I figured out how to put a blog tracker at the bottom (it will count how many people view my blog!) It's very fun. I gave instructions on my blog, so check it out! Then you can actually SEE how popular and awesome you and your blog is!”…um, or not. I’ve become obsessed with this little row of zeros. It’s like 7th grade all over again. How popular am I? What can I do to fit in more? And I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing, but every time I visit my Blog to see what number I’m at, MY visit is counted as a visitor. So, currently the counter reads 00000045, but people, quite a few of those are ME visiting MYSELF!

Sigh. At least my boys occasionally help boost my self-esteem (though they frequently do the opposite too). Yesterday, after dinner, Matthew looked at me and said, “Mommy, you’re beautiful. Beautiful like a candy cane and rainbow.”