The One with the Muppet Picture.

It's been a wonderful couple of days.

I had my glorious class on a rainy Saturday, ate out a billion times with Mike (SO many delicious, non-chain restaurants around here!), was actually social with another couple (amazing! the hermits emerge from their DVD-watching stupor!), bought some new clothing and shoes, and enjoyed a crazy windstorm courtesy of Ike.

Sunday evening, we came home from a barbecue at our supervisor's house - in a windstorm that threw branches right and left around as we walked home - to find that our power was out. Instead of watching the Browns game like we'd Mike had planned, we sat on the back porch talking by candlelight. Mike played his guitar and I found myself wishing, once again, that I was born in The Little House on the Prairie era. Seriously. I loved those books and the TV show - I love making things from scratch and enjoy candlelight. It would be wonderful! Uh, minus the whole incurable diseases part.

The next morning, our roommate called up to say that the university where we work was closed until 10am due to power outage. SCORE.

My roommate and I (no, not Mike. If you haven't been playing along: we live with my female coworker. She lives on the bottom floor of our house, we live on the top. It works out quite well.) went out to breakfast (Which, by the way, is my favorite meal ever to go out for - so much sugary goodness! It's quite delightful to get a pile of pancakes and drench them in maple syrup. Yum. And then you balance it out with some salty potatoes and you have a meal, my friend.)

An administrator from the university was eating breakfast there as well, and he told us the university was closed for the WHOLE DAY.

Which means? A day off work. Oh yes. And I didn't even have to use vacation time. Can you think of a more perfect way to begin your Monday morning?

We spent our day shopping and cleaning and enjoying the general electricity-free goodness of the day.

Mike came home to a sparkling clean bathroom and house (Uh, I sort of dragged him around, rubbing his face in my work: "Look! I cleaned behind the toilet! And swept my hair off the floor! And organized my makeup basket! Oh, and can I please quit work?"). Being home during a Monday afternoon was more delightful than I can express. There's just something special about being home on a weekday afternoon. Everyone's home on the weekends, but a weekday at home? It's so quiet and much less busy.

Just to prove that I'm usually a goofball and far less serious than I've been appearing lately on here, I want to present "Ashley, the Friend of Muppets Everywhere:"

Is my mouth really that large?!