When Aaron came to Calgary to meet me for the first time, he laughed at the fact that Canadians plug their cars in during the winter... He had never seen a vehicle with a cord hanging out of the hood before. I explained that the cold winter weather froze the batteries and we kept them warm by plugging them in during -30 Celcius temperatures.

He's not laughing anymore. The midwest has been hit with the worst cold sweep in years. My car won't start without a jump because it's so cold. Today we finally took the Jeep in to get fixed. The AAA is backed up, and mechanics are overbooked. I tried to get a new battery put in my car as well, but the wait was over three hours! Stores and schools are closed. With the windchill, temperatures are -20 Farenheight! I refuse to do the math conversion, because I don't want to know how cold it really is.

My friend Liv celebrated her 30th birthday this weekend, which was so much fun. Friday night was filled with us just being us... silly and a little bit 'special'. Her husband had booked us a huge suite at a hotel, so after dinner, it was back there to hang out and take pictures. We literally spent hours acting stupid in front of the camera. After a few more antics and a late start on Saturday, we made it out to the mall, where my girl Liv got to buy herself a whole new wardrobe. Being the fucking fashionista that I am, I was asked to be her stylist for the day. It wasn't hard to dress her- the girl is gorgeous! Although we had our frantic moments; it was a huge success and we had a fantastic time. If anyone deserved a little getaway and a whole new look, it was Olivia. That girl has a heart of gold.

By 7:30 Saturday night we were done, and it was time to head back for Liv's surprise birthday party. ( I think I kind of ruined it a little- I have such a big mouth!!!) The drive back to her place was brutal because of the weather, but we made it in one piece. When we got to her house, it was decked out in tropical gear and all of her friends were waiting. It was just the right sized party, and a great time was had by all.

Sunday morning I had to head back out into the storm, so that I could go home and prepare for the Superbowl. I was exhausted and wanted nothing to do with any more activity, but I forced a smile, drank some coffee and decided to just go with the flow. I hadn't seen the basement furnished, and I was blown away when I walked downstairs. The room is beautiful. I'm proud to say that I had a huge part in designing, though I didn't do a lick of physical labor. The real props go to Aaron, and ahem, our buddy Chad. Of course, now that most of it is finished, Aaron is going over all of the reciepts and asessing the damage. We'll be waiting to add the additional asthetics we want to complete the look. The budget? Long surpassed. But it's equity in our home, a really cozy place to watch movies, and an awesome place to entertain people.

Which leads me to the Superbowl party. It was in many ways, exactly what I expected. All of Aaron's friends immediately assumed our house was the new place to party every weekend. They made fun of us when we told them that wasn't going to be the case. Aaron was actually surprised at how brazen they were, but I predicted they'd think we were a cool, free place to drink on Saturday nights. There were only five girls out of the twenty five guests, so the testosterone level was high. One of the guys brought a date; a sweet baby faced 20 year old, who is going to be on an MTV show. The single men were stepping all over one another trying to get her attention. You would think the cameras were already following her.

A few surprises were in store for me. Aaron's best friend Brad took me aside in the kitchen and actually told me he thought I was an amazing, talented, strong and beautiful woman. He knows enough about me to know that I come from a fucked up family (not that people don't have it worse that I did!!) and battle my own demons. It's never something we've talked about, but he brought it up, and told me that most people who feel overwhelmed and depressed just quit trying. He actually got tears in his eyes when he told me he could see I was a fighter, and had changed so much over the last six years. He told me that I was the best woman for his best friend. I was nearly speechless. Clearly, I misjudged him. Sincerely I thanked him, and when our eyes met, they overflowed with tears.

By the time the football game was over, I could see that nearly everyone was feeling their liquor. So when someone brought up religion, I immediately tried to distance myself from the conversation. I hadn't had a drink all day, and knew that it would be futile to try and reason with the loopy god talk. Here I was, trapped behind the bar, at my own house, defending my beliefs to a bunch of drunk "Christians." I tried to walk away, but was unsuccessful. I stated simply that I was pro choice, believed in equal rights for gay people, and didn't think the bible was the absolute truth. I might as well have said 'god is a motherfucker,' and they would have taken it the same way. Nothing I said had any validity, because I'm not a Christian. They were shocked when I said I didn't think there was one religion that had it right, appalled when I proclaimed that I saw benefits in many religions, but didn't think there was a heaven or hell. I'm sure they saw little red horns grow from my head as I was speaking. Finally, after at least an hour of being preached to, I threw my hands in the air and walked away. I didn't care if they were looking at me with pity and fear. Enough was enough. I don't try and force my beliefs on anyone, so why do people feel they need to shove their faith down my throat?

Our Jamaican getaway is in jeopardy again- but we've found a costly way to insure it so that we can take it at a later date. Everything is in limbo. Aaron spoke to the joke we call The Department of Homeland Security yesterday and was informed that I was NOT able to fly without my passport. So, we got back on the phone with Customs and both the Canadian and Jamaican Consulates. Again we were told that I because I have a green card, I don't need my passport. Aaron thinks we should just go now, but I am scared shitless of getting stuck somewhere because my ID isn't up to par. It's possible for the Consulate to issue me a temporary passport, which would be the easiest for the trip, but the biggest hassle before and afterwards. Right now we are waiting on several phone calls.

Whew. It has been a crazy few weeks. I can't imagine what's in store for the next month, the next year... There will be no shortage of change.