Snow Day

It snowed last night, big time. Not as big time as the snowpocalypses of last winter, but enough that it took me more than 3 hours to get home and it took Frank nearly 4 hours to get home.

The good thing about this storm is that I have gotten to stay home today, and the hounds enjoy playing in the snow!




I'm not looking forward to the part where our back yard become a giant mud pit....but for now I'll just enjoy sending the hounds out to play in the snow.

I'm Excited About: Terra Cotta Warriors, Finally!, Edition

Frank and I are going to National Geographic this evening to see the Terra Cotta Warrior exhibit! We've been trying to see this exhibit since December and the day is finally here.

In December we got snowed out. First, they moved our tickets to a Sunday, but the snow was so intense (Snowpocalypse 2k9) that our tickets were later canceled altogether.

After some minor issues with their online ticketing service last month, I ordered 5 sets of tickets for this evening. I eventually got someone on the phone to cancel 4 of the sets and confirm our other set of tickets. I also just heard that we may get flurries tonight. Not cool.

Tonight is also the kick off for our anniversary weekend! As of this coming Monday, Frank and I will have been married for 2 years. That seems impossible! I still feel like our wedding was only a few months ago. Although, I guess when you start ticking off all of the things we've done since March 2008 it starts to make more sense.

Happy anniversary, Frank! Thanks for choosing me!

Still Here

I haven't been into the office since Thursday, February 4th. We're still looking at 2 feet of snow on the ground outside and we're expecting another 10-20 inches between noon today and 9pm tomorrow night.

That's right, I could see 4 feet of snow on the ground for the first time in my life. At which point I am packing up my husband and my hound and we're moving south.

Not really, but I had a dream about it last night and it was awesome.

Frank assures me that his camera is in the car so I'll make sure I get it out of the car before the snow starts up again and buries our car, again.

Hamilton is tiring of the snow and I am tiring of being in the house. Our road is still covered in snow/ice and is essentially a one-lane road at this point. Metro buses aren't running on side roads and the metro rail service isn't using outdoor tracks.

I used to think snow days were fun! Free vacation, an extra day to do stuff, but now after this many days cooped up and at least two more staring me in the face I'm over it.

On the plus side we have not lost power, we have plenty of food, and lots of painting and unpacking has been getting done.

I'll finish painting the bedroom today and maybe even start on the living room. Maybe I'll even have time to take "before" pictures of downstairs, too.

I hope you're day is lovely and full of sunshine and blissfully lacking in snow!

Happy Groundhog Day

Am I the only one that thinks this should be a federal holiday? I bet Punxsutawney Phil would agree.

The DC area is celebrating Groundhog Day with rain, freezing rain, and snow...again. We're expecting anywhere from 4-6 more inches tonight and tomorrow, on top of the 1-2 inches we still have on the ground.

The good news is we're already moved into our home and we have plenty of unpacking to do should we get snowed in. Also, more good news, our dog loves snow! He's content to romp around in it, dive into banks of it, and sometimes try to eat it, and now that we have a fenced in back yard he can do all of that without one of us being outside with him!

My awesome boss just came and broke the weather news to me, but he also told me to head home early so for that I am grateful.

I hope it is more snow than ice, and I hope there is at least a 2 hour delay in the morning to make all of the worrying and driveway-salting worth while.

Happy Groundhog Day, here's hoping your 6 more weeks of winter are dryer than ours!

I never knew cold until this week

Let me refresh your memory with the snowpacolypse we had in December.

This is a picture of a fire hydrant - and it continued to snow after this picture was taken...

And this is my knee (I'm wearing two pairs of pants), proving how high the snow was.

Right now, I would gladly go back to the balmy temperatures we experienced during the snowpacolypse because it has not been above 30 degrees in DAAAAAAYS and with the wind chill (winds up to 30mph, mind you) has kept it in the single digits.

This kind of cold takes your breath away when you step outside, and it doesn't matter how many layers you are wearing, or how many wool scarves you managed to put on at once. I saw a baby at church in a lambs wool sleeping bag and I wondered for a moment if I could make one for myself. But that would require going to JoAnn's and I would have to go outside twice to get from the car to the store and then from the store to the car. Just in case you are curious, I still don't have my own personal lambs wool sleeping bag.

We're moving in 25 days, I'm praying for a heat wave to take us to at least 38 degrees. Something above freezing, something livable. And if we don't get it, I may be hiring day laborers to do the moving part while I stand inside and direct traffic, sending the boxes to the right rooms.

Anyway - here is a less whiny note with with to end the post.

Christmas puppies! (not puppies given as gifts, that is often a bad idea - these are puppies that are already loved and owned who just happen to like to nap near fireplaces and Christmas trees)

Snow Check

Frank and I were supposed to go see the Terra Cotta Warriors today but it was snowed out. Our tickets have been rain checked for Monday and Tuesday night. We'll be going on Monday night, as we'll be driving to SC on Tuesday night.

So, instead of trekking into the city today we stayed here and did mostly nothing. There are at least 20 inches of snow on the ground already, and it hasn't stopped yet. Sunday school has been canceled and our church is only having one service but suggesting that we all tune in on the radio to avoid driving in this mess.

Most of you know that I am not a fan of snow and this storm (blizzard?) is no different. It hasn't even had the decency to be nice snow! It has come with a lot of wind and little tiny snow flakes that get in your eyes - none of the nice, big, floating snow flakes that you see in movies and post cards. There are drifts around our complex as tall as me, the fire hydrant near our apartment is completely covered, and my dog looks like a dolphin leaping through the snow that is taller than him.

(Yes, that is me out there with him, and yes, I kicked snow at him - it usually inspires him to run around more and chase me, which is what I was going for.)

Even though he can't see where he's going, he seems to love playing in the snow! He buries his nose in it, bounds around in it, and whines to go back out as soon as we bring him inside.

Please notice that the snow is up to my knees in this picture - and this was in the afternoon. It is 10:45pm and still snowing.

Frank and I take turns taking him out while the other take pictures and video from the warmth of our apartment.


The funniest part is that the only way we can tell that he is 'doing his business' is that he stops moving, holds really still, stares straight ahead, and keeps his tail at a perfect salute.

I'm looking forward to having a yard for H, I only wish we had it now so that he could play out there until his little heart is content. For now he gets to romp every few hours for a good 30-45 minutes at a time, as that is as long as Frank or I can stand to be out there!