Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Monday, January 26, 2015
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Land yacht to the rescue!
Hubby had an appointment in Towson, MD today. That's over an hour away on a perfect weather/traffic day. I don't know how long it took him to get up there this morning, but I know it took him more than four frustrating hours to get back. He had the company car, so he had to go back to the office to get his car. He said there were cars abandoned and stuck everywhere. There was so much traffic on the road that the plows weren't really doing a great job. At one point, it took him over and hour to go less than a mile. When he finally got to his office, he said he was never so happy to see a bathroom. I think he was pretty close to using an empty water bottle! (I don't know that for sure, but I do know he had to go really bad!!)
Anyway, once he made it to the office, he said he was going to hang there for awhile and get some work done and let some people get off the roads before he attempted to come home.
After the kids and I ate dinner, I went out to shovel the driveway, and the half of the street the plow didn't touch (which always seems to be on OUR side of the street), and the plow mountain so Hubby could get the car in the driveway when he got home. When I was almost done, Keeper Boy came out and said Hubby was on the phone and his car was stuck in the parking lot at his office. I told him we'd be there soon.
I was kind of excited to take the Suburban out in snow for the first time. :) I tore the kids away from the Caps game on TV and put some water bottles and snacks in a bag. I didn't know what we were getting into out there. I've been seeing reports on Facebook all day of people being stuck on roads for hours because of all the traffic. I also took J-Mav's bucket, as he's thrown up twice today... once early this morning, and once at dinner. I even briefly contemplated taking the dog, but then I figured I was over-reacting. The boys wanted to stay home, but I said to them, "what happens if something happens and I get stuck while I'm gone? You want to be here by yourselves without us?" They went and get their shoes and coats pretty quickly. :) We set out a little after 9pm.
Other than dodging downed trees and low-hanging limbs, and going around a few abandoned cars, we had no issue getting to Hubby's office and saw very little traffic. All the wacky traffic must be on the major roads, which I avoided. We picked him up, turned around and came home. The truck was great, and now everyone is home safe and sound. It took less than an hour. Under normal conditions, it probably would've taken 25 minutes at that time of night. So... not bad.
The snow has slowed and is supposed to stop completely within an hour or two. Let's hope. School is already cancelled for tomorrow, so I suspect I will be working from my dining room office again tomorrow while I nervously await my parents' arrival. They are driving down here tomorrow at some point because they [hopefully] have a flight out of Dulles early Friday morning for their amazing trip to Australia (via Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, and New Zealand).
Stay warm!!
Anyway, once he made it to the office, he said he was going to hang there for awhile and get some work done and let some people get off the roads before he attempted to come home.
After the kids and I ate dinner, I went out to shovel the driveway, and the half of the street the plow didn't touch (which always seems to be on OUR side of the street), and the plow mountain so Hubby could get the car in the driveway when he got home. When I was almost done, Keeper Boy came out and said Hubby was on the phone and his car was stuck in the parking lot at his office. I told him we'd be there soon.
I was kind of excited to take the Suburban out in snow for the first time. :) I tore the kids away from the Caps game on TV and put some water bottles and snacks in a bag. I didn't know what we were getting into out there. I've been seeing reports on Facebook all day of people being stuck on roads for hours because of all the traffic. I also took J-Mav's bucket, as he's thrown up twice today... once early this morning, and once at dinner. I even briefly contemplated taking the dog, but then I figured I was over-reacting. The boys wanted to stay home, but I said to them, "what happens if something happens and I get stuck while I'm gone? You want to be here by yourselves without us?" They went and get their shoes and coats pretty quickly. :) We set out a little after 9pm.
Other than dodging downed trees and low-hanging limbs, and going around a few abandoned cars, we had no issue getting to Hubby's office and saw very little traffic. All the wacky traffic must be on the major roads, which I avoided. We picked him up, turned around and came home. The truck was great, and now everyone is home safe and sound. It took less than an hour. Under normal conditions, it probably would've taken 25 minutes at that time of night. So... not bad.
The snow has slowed and is supposed to stop completely within an hour or two. Let's hope. School is already cancelled for tomorrow, so I suspect I will be working from my dining room office again tomorrow while I nervously await my parents' arrival. They are driving down here tomorrow at some point because they [hopefully] have a flight out of Dulles early Friday morning for their amazing trip to Australia (via Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, and New Zealand).
Stay warm!!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Open letter
Dear Fairfax County Public Schools -
I get it! Schools are closing two hours early. You have now called me with an automated message on my work phone. You have called me with an automated message on my cell phone. You have sent me an email message. You have posted to Facebook. You have posted to your web page. I would venture to guess I will find a message on my home voice mail when I get home, too. I am well aware that my children will be leaving school two hours earlier than normal. Thank you for your diligence in getting the inforamtion out. You can stop now.
I get it! Schools are closing two hours early. You have now called me with an automated message on my work phone. You have called me with an automated message on my cell phone. You have sent me an email message. You have posted to Facebook. You have posted to your web page. I would venture to guess I will find a message on my home voice mail when I get home, too. I am well aware that my children will be leaving school two hours earlier than normal. Thank you for your diligence in getting the inforamtion out. You can stop now.
Seen...
It's snowing... our first snow of the year (well, unless you count the dusting we got last week that was gone an hour later). The forecast is for 1-2 inches, but if it keeps up at the pace it's going now, I think it'll be more. Schools are dismissing two hours early.
I'm hoping this snow is contained to the east coast as my sister-in-law, niece, and nephew are en route to Ohio right now from Hawaii. It's bad enough that she's flying alone with the kids and it takes HOURS and HOURS and HOURS to get there, with a layover in Texas. If she gets delayed, it could get ugly!
Have I mentioned that I hate snow?
I'm hoping this snow is contained to the east coast as my sister-in-law, niece, and nephew are en route to Ohio right now from Hawaii. It's bad enough that she's flying alone with the kids and it takes HOURS and HOURS and HOURS to get there, with a layover in Texas. If she gets delayed, it could get ugly!
Have I mentioned that I hate snow?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Some semblance of "normalcy"
It appears Mother Nature not only got my letter, but complied. We got only a dusting (less than an inch) of snow yesterday afternoon/evening. Thank goodness. Schools opened back up today, albeit on a two-hour delay. Part of the thinking behind this was that a two-hour delay would give time for rush hour traffic to clear out, thereby making it safer for the children who were going to have to walk on streets due to un-shoveled sidewalks and large piles of snow. It was a good idea in theory. But then the Government announced a two-hour delay as well.
From what I understand, traffic was a nightmare this morning. I handled the problem by taking the boys with me to work armed with books, iPods, and breakfast. I wasn't going to let Keeper Boy walk down to the bus stop (which doesn't exist at the moment because it's buried under a mountain of snow). When it was time to take them to school, we left my office and headed back into our subdivision, competing in what could be the next X-Games sport: Subdivision Mogels. Seriously. The roads in the subdivision are ridiculous.
No problems dropping J-Mav off. While the Kiss and Ride wasn't open in front of the school (his is along the road) because there was nowhere for the kids to get out of their cars and walk, they were funneling cars through the u-shaped drive in front of the school (where the busses drop off) and all was smooth. They had TONS of staff outside directing parents where to go to drop off their precious cargos. It went well. I then did another round of Subdivision Mogels to get over to Keeper Boy's school.
Keeper Boy's school has a dedicated Kiss and Ride drop-off. You turn [right only] into the school, go through the staff parking lot, and go into a separated lane to drop the kids off. Then you leave, turn out of the parking lot [again, right only] and go on your merry way. When there isn't all this snow on the ground, this is a smooth and painless process. Not today.
The crux of the problem was three cars that were parked along the road somewhat in front of the school. High school students (because the high school is right behind Keeper Boy's school, and I guess not all the high school kids have a parking permit or something). Anyway, those cars being there meant that only one lane could get past that point in the road. Stick with me here... I'll call the road that runs in front of the school School Road. Anyone coming east on School Road in the morning has to pass the entrance to the Kiss and Ride, go to the next street, turn left, go up to the first cross street, do a u-turn and get in the Kiss and Ride drop-off line. Anyway coming west on School Road has to merge into the drop-off line with the people who came east and had to do the u-turn procedure. Again, this is normal, everyday procedure and not a huge deal. The problem was getting OUT of the Kiss and Ride.
Everything was backed up because of those cars parked on the street. That choke point was not very far away from a bigger road where there is a traffic light. So the crossing guard (who was trying to do her job AND direct traffic through the choke point) could only let the eastbound cars back up for so long... otherwise they would be backing up the major road, too. That meant backing up the Kiss and Ride line. Keep in mind that you ONLY go right when you leave the Kiss and Ride, so you had no other option but to go past that choke point. It was VERY frustrating.
I actually ended up doing a u-turn in the street while a bus was blocking the road and I knew on one would be coming the other way and heading back east on School Road and working my way out of the subdivision on another street so I could get back to the office for a staff meeting that I was, at that point, 20 minutes late for. Hopefully something will be done tomorrow to prevent anyone from parking along that street.
Other than that frustration, it would seem that things are getting back to what passes as normal in my world. :) My children left me this lovely artwork on my office whiteboard; it is apparently all the characters from Spongebob Squarepants.
As I typed this, I received an email from the school system that they will resume opening at normal time tomorrow. WOO HOO!
From what I understand, traffic was a nightmare this morning. I handled the problem by taking the boys with me to work armed with books, iPods, and breakfast. I wasn't going to let Keeper Boy walk down to the bus stop (which doesn't exist at the moment because it's buried under a mountain of snow). When it was time to take them to school, we left my office and headed back into our subdivision, competing in what could be the next X-Games sport: Subdivision Mogels. Seriously. The roads in the subdivision are ridiculous.
No problems dropping J-Mav off. While the Kiss and Ride wasn't open in front of the school (his is along the road) because there was nowhere for the kids to get out of their cars and walk, they were funneling cars through the u-shaped drive in front of the school (where the busses drop off) and all was smooth. They had TONS of staff outside directing parents where to go to drop off their precious cargos. It went well. I then did another round of Subdivision Mogels to get over to Keeper Boy's school.
Keeper Boy's school has a dedicated Kiss and Ride drop-off. You turn [right only] into the school, go through the staff parking lot, and go into a separated lane to drop the kids off. Then you leave, turn out of the parking lot [again, right only] and go on your merry way. When there isn't all this snow on the ground, this is a smooth and painless process. Not today.
The crux of the problem was three cars that were parked along the road somewhat in front of the school. High school students (because the high school is right behind Keeper Boy's school, and I guess not all the high school kids have a parking permit or something). Anyway, those cars being there meant that only one lane could get past that point in the road. Stick with me here... I'll call the road that runs in front of the school School Road. Anyone coming east on School Road in the morning has to pass the entrance to the Kiss and Ride, go to the next street, turn left, go up to the first cross street, do a u-turn and get in the Kiss and Ride drop-off line. Anyway coming west on School Road has to merge into the drop-off line with the people who came east and had to do the u-turn procedure. Again, this is normal, everyday procedure and not a huge deal. The problem was getting OUT of the Kiss and Ride.
Everything was backed up because of those cars parked on the street. That choke point was not very far away from a bigger road where there is a traffic light. So the crossing guard (who was trying to do her job AND direct traffic through the choke point) could only let the eastbound cars back up for so long... otherwise they would be backing up the major road, too. That meant backing up the Kiss and Ride line. Keep in mind that you ONLY go right when you leave the Kiss and Ride, so you had no other option but to go past that choke point. It was VERY frustrating.
I actually ended up doing a u-turn in the street while a bus was blocking the road and I knew on one would be coming the other way and heading back east on School Road and working my way out of the subdivision on another street so I could get back to the office for a staff meeting that I was, at that point, 20 minutes late for. Hopefully something will be done tomorrow to prevent anyone from parking along that street.
Other than that frustration, it would seem that things are getting back to what passes as normal in my world. :) My children left me this lovely artwork on my office whiteboard; it is apparently all the characters from Spongebob Squarepants.
As I typed this, I received an email from the school system that they will resume opening at normal time tomorrow. WOO HOO!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Open letter...
Dear Mother Nature ~
What I see happening outside my living room window at this moment is not what I would consider "flurries." Please cease and desist. Immediately.
Thank you.
What I see happening outside my living room window at this moment is not what I would consider "flurries." Please cease and desist. Immediately.
Thank you.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
SnOMG!! '10
THURSDAY, 2/11/10
10:55am: Still quite windy. Hubby blasted through the drifts on our yet unplowed street this morning and got the [rather low-sitting] Honda out to the somewhat bigger road and proceeded without trouble to work.
11:30am: I love my house, but staring at its inside walls for a week is slowing driving me insane. I told the kids I'm taking a break from work and we're going out to lunch. Keeper Boy says to me, "I'm staying here. I don't want to leave the house." WHAT? So I'm sure J-Mav won't want to go either. But. We're. Going.
12:00pm: Problem solved. Told J-Mav we'd go to Toys R Us while we're out. He's been itching to spend a gift card he has. He's on board 100% now. :) Very "sneakative" on my part...
4:10pm: Once Keeper Boy figured out we were going to Toys R Us, he wanted to go, too. Shocker. We went to Red Robin, Toys R Us, and Target. Ran into some co-workers at Target. Small world. Felt good to be out and about, but I think it's gonna be July until some of these piles of snow melt!
Our street... still no plow since the last batch of snow...
The street we turn onto off or our street, on which we can get out of the subdivision. Sort of plowed and packed down into an icy skating rink...
A bigger road that borders our subdivision. PAVEMENT!! The first I've seen in a week!!
5:05pm: I took some pictures of icicles today that are kinda cool... some of the icicles formed on an angle because of the wind yesterday.
7:10pm: OK, driving up to Subway (less than one mile and still within my subdivision) has put me in a worse mood than being cooped up in the house with my children all week! Here's is what I learned:
That's all for now. I'm tired of talking about this. Nothing will change...
7:19pm: HOLY CRAP!! A plow just went down the street and back up. And now he's coming down the street again! WOO HOO! Of course, this means I'll need to go out and shovel the plow wall from the end of the driveway before Hubby and Keeper Boy get home from hockey practice...
8:00pm: False alarm. Plow guy did two passes down the street and two back up and then disappeared into the night. Guess we're stuck with a single lane until all the white stuff melts. In June. Good news is he did such a half-assed job that there's no plow wall to go out and shovel.
10:55am: Still quite windy. Hubby blasted through the drifts on our yet unplowed street this morning and got the [rather low-sitting] Honda out to the somewhat bigger road and proceeded without trouble to work.
11:30am: I love my house, but staring at its inside walls for a week is slowing driving me insane. I told the kids I'm taking a break from work and we're going out to lunch. Keeper Boy says to me, "I'm staying here. I don't want to leave the house." WHAT? So I'm sure J-Mav won't want to go either. But. We're. Going.
12:00pm: Problem solved. Told J-Mav we'd go to Toys R Us while we're out. He's been itching to spend a gift card he has. He's on board 100% now. :) Very "sneakative" on my part...
4:10pm: Once Keeper Boy figured out we were going to Toys R Us, he wanted to go, too. Shocker. We went to Red Robin, Toys R Us, and Target. Ran into some co-workers at Target. Small world. Felt good to be out and about, but I think it's gonna be July until some of these piles of snow melt!
Our street... still no plow since the last batch of snow...
The street we turn onto off or our street, on which we can get out of the subdivision. Sort of plowed and packed down into an icy skating rink...
A bigger road that borders our subdivision. PAVEMENT!! The first I've seen in a week!!
5:05pm: I took some pictures of icicles today that are kinda cool... some of the icicles formed on an angle because of the wind yesterday.
7:10pm: OK, driving up to Subway (less than one mile and still within my subdivision) has put me in a worse mood than being cooped up in the house with my children all week! Here's is what I learned:
- Our street is, literally, the only street in our subdivsion that hasn't been plowed.
- They way the streets have been "plowed" in the subdivision, it may have been better to just them be... I think my kidneys are bruised from that drive.
- People around here are stupid, moronic, impatient drivers under normal conditions; add 40 inches of snowfall in the last two weeks and they turn into complete a$$hats! Some advice from observation:
- Do not drive down the middle of a road that is barely two lanes wide in your F150/Suburban/4x4 while I'm trying to drive on the same road, in the opposite direction, in a Honda Civic.
- Do not slow down to 1 mph if you hope to keep moving on a street that has a build-up of loose snow... especially if I'm behind you.
- Do not drive one car length behind me when I'm driving on a skating rink.
- Do not pull into the middle of an intersection when you can clearly see you're going to be stuck there through a light cycle, thereby rendering the people on the cross street unable to move. Anywhere.
- Do not honk your horn at me when you can clearly see that no one is moving in front of me, either.
- If you're driving an 18-wheeler and trying to make a tight turn to get behind Giant to make some deliveries... yeah, good luck with that. He was stuck when I went up and he was still there when I came home. Bet he'll be there for a good while, too.
- Do not drive down the middle of a road that is barely two lanes wide in your F150/Suburban/4x4 while I'm trying to drive on the same road, in the opposite direction, in a Honda Civic.
- We're going to have snow piled up in parking lots for MONTHS.
- It's going to be quite unsafe for anyone who walks to school or a bus stop when it's time to go back to school on Monday.
- Intersections, though they may be plowed, are quite dangerous because of all the snow piled up.
That's all for now. I'm tired of talking about this. Nothing will change...
7:19pm: HOLY CRAP!! A plow just went down the street and back up. And now he's coming down the street again! WOO HOO! Of course, this means I'll need to go out and shovel the plow wall from the end of the driveway before Hubby and Keeper Boy get home from hockey practice...
8:00pm: False alarm. Plow guy did two passes down the street and two back up and then disappeared into the night. Guess we're stuck with a single lane until all the white stuff melts. In June. Good news is he did such a half-assed job that there's no plow wall to go out and shovel.
Friday, February 5, 2010
SnOMG!! '10
Depending on what news source you are watching/listening to, our area is predicted to get anywhere from 18 inches to five feet of snow between now and tomorrow afternoon. I guess we'll wait and see.
9:54am: I don't know when it started, but I just looked out my office window and it's definitely snowing. A little ahead of schedule at this point. Nothing sticking yet.
10:30am: Snow begins sticking to cars in the parking lot. Told to leave work.
10:45am: Home from work. Boys are playing Rock Band... still in their PJs. Hubby working at dining room table... still in PJs.
11:30am: Make meatloaf for dinner and put in fridge. Banking on any power outages we may suffer kindly waiting until tomorrow.
11:45am: Mailman delivers mail. Wonder when we'll see him again?
12:21pm: And the bickering has begun in earnest.
12:56pm: Hubby headed to Giant for last minute provisions. Keep thinking of things we should've gotten. I didn't get bread the other night because we had almost a full loaf. Suddenly we're down to a few slices...
1:21pm: Kids have gone outside to sled/snowboard on the neighbor's hill. Ahhh... nothing but the sound of my keyboard tapping and the space heater and furnace kicking on and off.
2:15pm: Checked in with my friend who is scheduled for a c-section tomorrow at 11am. Asked what her plan is for getting to the hospital tomorrow... or if she just plans on heading there tonight and camping out. She says her husband says their Land Rover will get them there...
4:58pm: Sticking to the road now. Up to 6+ inches. Meatloaf in the oven. Heading outside to burn some energy off J-Mav. He's a wildman.
5:45pm: Inside again. The boys (big and small) are still outside pummeling each other with snowballs. Attempted to do down the hill on the snowboard. Fell on my butt twice. Hubby didn't do too much better on his first couple of attempts, but then improved a little. Time to get dinner together... Caps game at 7.
7:00pm: Wind definitely picking up...
7:45pm: Rink closed tomorrow. J-Mav's skating class and Keeper Boy's game both cancelled. We are officially off the hook for the weekend. Nothin' to do but hunker down and wait for the plow.
9:40pm: Over a foot of heavy, wet snow now. Caps game is over and the win streak is alive (lucky number 13 tonight). Tried figuring out my learn to knit kit... got the casting on, couldn't figure out what to do after that and gave up. Thought it would give me something to do this weekend. Oh well...
9:54am: I don't know when it started, but I just looked out my office window and it's definitely snowing. A little ahead of schedule at this point. Nothing sticking yet.
10:30am: Snow begins sticking to cars in the parking lot. Told to leave work.
10:45am: Home from work. Boys are playing Rock Band... still in their PJs. Hubby working at dining room table... still in PJs.
11:30am: Make meatloaf for dinner and put in fridge. Banking on any power outages we may suffer kindly waiting until tomorrow.
11:45am: Mailman delivers mail. Wonder when we'll see him again?
12:21pm: And the bickering has begun in earnest.
12:56pm: Hubby headed to Giant for last minute provisions. Keep thinking of things we should've gotten. I didn't get bread the other night because we had almost a full loaf. Suddenly we're down to a few slices...
1:21pm: Kids have gone outside to sled/snowboard on the neighbor's hill. Ahhh... nothing but the sound of my keyboard tapping and the space heater and furnace kicking on and off.
2:15pm: Checked in with my friend who is scheduled for a c-section tomorrow at 11am. Asked what her plan is for getting to the hospital tomorrow... or if she just plans on heading there tonight and camping out. She says her husband says their Land Rover will get them there...
4:58pm: Sticking to the road now. Up to 6+ inches. Meatloaf in the oven. Heading outside to burn some energy off J-Mav. He's a wildman.5:45pm: Inside again. The boys (big and small) are still outside pummeling each other with snowballs. Attempted to do down the hill on the snowboard. Fell on my butt twice. Hubby didn't do too much better on his first couple of attempts, but then improved a little. Time to get dinner together... Caps game at 7.
7:00pm: Wind definitely picking up...
7:45pm: Rink closed tomorrow. J-Mav's skating class and Keeper Boy's game both cancelled. We are officially off the hook for the weekend. Nothin' to do but hunker down and wait for the plow.
9:40pm: Over a foot of heavy, wet snow now. Caps game is over and the win streak is alive (lucky number 13 tonight). Tried figuring out my learn to knit kit... got the casting on, couldn't figure out what to do after that and gave up. Thought it would give me something to do this weekend. Oh well...
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Grrr...
And school is closed for tomorrow on the prediction of a buttload of snow.
I would laugh if it doesn't happen. I mean, it seems like a slam dunk that we're going to get at least a foot, so I suppose it's the right call, but why not send them and then dismiss early? I guess the thinking is that they'd rather not have all those busses and kids on the roads when the precipitation starts, but the worst is predicted to be tomorrow evening into the early hours of Saturday. Of course, when has a weather forecaster around here ever given an accurate forecast? We were only supposed to get a dusting to two inches for last weekend's six inch mess.
Logically, I know it's the right call. It's just annoying. This school district seems to close if someone sneezes. So even when it's warranted, I'm annoyed. The kids lost Presidents' Day from yesterday's closure (snow day #4). For tomorrow's closure (snow day #5), they lose a teacher work day on April 12. I'm not to torn up about that one. The elementary teachers in this school district get a half-day work day EVERY Monday afternoon, and one or two days at the end of every quarter. I'm not a teacher, but that seems like more time than a lot of teachers get.
Anything after tomorrow, we alternate between getting freebies that don't need to be made up snow days #6, 8, and 10) and tacking days onto the end of the year (snow days #7 and 9). If we get to snow day #9, the kids will be a week shy of going to school into July. Ridiculous.
Alright, I'm done complaining now. I'll be at work tomorrow waiting for the big event to occur. It's Hubby's turn to stay home with the kids...
I would laugh if it doesn't happen. I mean, it seems like a slam dunk that we're going to get at least a foot, so I suppose it's the right call, but why not send them and then dismiss early? I guess the thinking is that they'd rather not have all those busses and kids on the roads when the precipitation starts, but the worst is predicted to be tomorrow evening into the early hours of Saturday. Of course, when has a weather forecaster around here ever given an accurate forecast? We were only supposed to get a dusting to two inches for last weekend's six inch mess.
Logically, I know it's the right call. It's just annoying. This school district seems to close if someone sneezes. So even when it's warranted, I'm annoyed. The kids lost Presidents' Day from yesterday's closure (snow day #4). For tomorrow's closure (snow day #5), they lose a teacher work day on April 12. I'm not to torn up about that one. The elementary teachers in this school district get a half-day work day EVERY Monday afternoon, and one or two days at the end of every quarter. I'm not a teacher, but that seems like more time than a lot of teachers get.
Anything after tomorrow, we alternate between getting freebies that don't need to be made up snow days #6, 8, and 10) and tacking days onto the end of the year (snow days #7 and 9). If we get to snow day #9, the kids will be a week shy of going to school into July. Ridiculous.
Alright, I'm done complaining now. I'll be at work tomorrow waiting for the big event to occur. It's Hubby's turn to stay home with the kids...
Provisions
So. It is predicted that we will be pummeled (again) with snow this weekend. Considering we didn't see a plow for four days the last time we got more than two feet of snow (right before Christmas), AND the Superbowl is on Sunday, we decided one of us should head to the Giant last night for some provisions. In no particular order, here is what I got... first the non-superbowl-related stuff:
~ DIET COKE
~ shredded Mexican cheese
~ tortilla shells
~ Egg Beaters
~ Eggs
~ Whole milk
~ Skim milk
~ bananas
And the stuff I got for munching on during the Superbowl:
~ shrimp
~ wings
~ 7-layer dip
~ Scoops
~ taco shells (for the taco fixin's we already have)
~ cheese (to go with the crackers and ring bologna we have)
I may run back tonight (late) to grab some batteries, kidney beans (for chili makin'), and onions. Then again, maybe not. We'll see. I've got Diet Coke. That's all that really matters.
~ DIET COKE
~ shredded Mexican cheese
~ tortilla shells
~ Egg Beaters
~ Eggs
~ Whole milk
~ Skim milk
~ bananas
And the stuff I got for munching on during the Superbowl:
~ shrimp
~ wings
~ 7-layer dip
~ Scoops
~ taco shells (for the taco fixin's we already have)
~ cheese (to go with the crackers and ring bologna we have)
I may run back tonight (late) to grab some batteries, kidney beans (for chili makin'), and onions. Then again, maybe not. We'll see. I've got Diet Coke. That's all that really matters.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Thinking...
VDOT (or whomever is in charge of plowing our street) sucks.
So, it's been approximately 36 hours since it stopped snowing in our little slice of Northern Virginia. The final snow tally was more than two feet. As of 8am this morning, when I hiked to the end of my street to meet a co-worker who came to fetch me for work because I'd driven out of my driveway I'd promptly have been stuck in two feet of snow, STILL NO PLOW.
Every other road in our subdivision seems to have been plowed already. Except ours. There is historical precidence for this. I'm not sure why my street is discriminated against. I think I might need to figure out who to write a nastygram to. How fun! I haven't written one of those for awhile. :)
So, it's been approximately 36 hours since it stopped snowing in our little slice of Northern Virginia. The final snow tally was more than two feet. As of 8am this morning, when I hiked to the end of my street to meet a co-worker who came to fetch me for work because I'd driven out of my driveway I'd promptly have been stuck in two feet of snow, STILL NO PLOW.
Every other road in our subdivision seems to have been plowed already. Except ours. There is historical precidence for this. I'm not sure why my street is discriminated against. I think I might need to figure out who to write a nastygram to. How fun! I haven't written one of those for awhile. :)
Friday, December 18, 2009
Let the wild rumpus begin!
We have the first inch or two of the predicted "15 to 20 inches" of snow we are to get between now and the wee hours of Sunday morning. This snow storm, while it may provide us with the white Christmas that has eluded us for the past many years, is just not happening at a convenient time for me.
At work, we are in the final stretch of a proposal cycle... I will be spending all day tomorrow on final editing and formatting in preparation for final approval on Sunday and production/shipping on Monday. That means while my family is out playing in said snow, I will be inside. Working. Which I've been doing too much of lately. Bleh.
More importantly, if we get all the snow we are supposed to get, we won't be going anywhere for awhile becuase we probably won't see a plow on our street until at least Monday. That poses a problem because we are supposed to driving to PA to my parents' house on Sunday for a big family Christmas dinner. I have been looking forward to seeing some members of my family that I don't get to see too often. Now, with each unwanted snowflake that falls, the chances of us making the journey to PA on Sunday become more and more slim. Bleh.
There is one bright point. Regardless of how much snow falls tomorrow, we will still be able to go to the one Christmas party we've been invited to. It's our annual neighborhood party. We simply need to step out the front door, turn right and walk across the yard, and walk into our neighbor's house. I think we have the shortest "commute" of all the neighbors!
I think we've already had more snow this year than we have all of last year... and it's not even the end of December yet. Lord help me. The kids are aleady not getting out of school until June 18... if it's this bad all winter, they'll be in school until July!
So anyway, if I wanted to have snow, I'd live somewhere like, say, CANADA. I live below the Mason Dixon line... technically, I live in the South, y'all. I don't need this. I like snow for about the first ten minutes of the first snow. That was two weeks ago. I'm done now. If I didn't see anymore snow this year, it'd be too soon.
And yet I'm looking out my window at what appears to be a surprisingly accurate forecast by the local weather people. And again I say bleh.
At work, we are in the final stretch of a proposal cycle... I will be spending all day tomorrow on final editing and formatting in preparation for final approval on Sunday and production/shipping on Monday. That means while my family is out playing in said snow, I will be inside. Working. Which I've been doing too much of lately. Bleh.
More importantly, if we get all the snow we are supposed to get, we won't be going anywhere for awhile becuase we probably won't see a plow on our street until at least Monday. That poses a problem because we are supposed to driving to PA to my parents' house on Sunday for a big family Christmas dinner. I have been looking forward to seeing some members of my family that I don't get to see too often. Now, with each unwanted snowflake that falls, the chances of us making the journey to PA on Sunday become more and more slim. Bleh.
There is one bright point. Regardless of how much snow falls tomorrow, we will still be able to go to the one Christmas party we've been invited to. It's our annual neighborhood party. We simply need to step out the front door, turn right and walk across the yard, and walk into our neighbor's house. I think we have the shortest "commute" of all the neighbors!
I think we've already had more snow this year than we have all of last year... and it's not even the end of December yet. Lord help me. The kids are aleady not getting out of school until June 18... if it's this bad all winter, they'll be in school until July!
So anyway, if I wanted to have snow, I'd live somewhere like, say, CANADA. I live below the Mason Dixon line... technically, I live in the South, y'all. I don't need this. I like snow for about the first ten minutes of the first snow. That was two weeks ago. I'm done now. If I didn't see anymore snow this year, it'd be too soon.
And yet I'm looking out my window at what appears to be a surprisingly accurate forecast by the local weather people. And again I say bleh.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Snow day!
I went to bed just before midnight last night, a little bitter that school had already been cancelled for today, yet there was little more than a dusting of snow on the ground. Hubby made it home from his 11pm hockey game just before 2am this morning and said the roads were awful, though there still wasn't that much snow. I went back to sleep feeling a little better about the snow day.
When I got up this morning and looked outside, it didn't appear that there was more than a few inches of snow. Later, when the kids decided they were going to go out and play, I went out in my PJs and boots to take some pictures and realized there was more snow than I originally thought. Maybe six inches. More in places where it had drifted in the wind. Probably a good idea to cancel school since it takes plows forever to get to the neighborhood streets around here. Our street just got plowed about an hour ago.
Keeper Boy, as it turns out, has outgrown his snow pants and doesn't like being cold, so he was back inside from the foray into the great white tundra in about five minutes flat. Done outside for the day. J-Mav stayed out for about 45 minutes, playing with a neighbor girl. Then the wind got the better of him, too. Or maybe he was just hungry. Either way, the grand sum total of the playing outside time was less than an hour. Not that I blame them. It's windy, making the temperature feel like less than 10 degrees, and the snow is not good for packing.
Even snow, however, does not stop the J-Mav Social Machine. Four playdates in four days! He is down the street playing with one of his best buds. Helps a lot when you can walk to your friend's house!
Keeper Boy worked ahead a little in his math workbook (without too much grumbling) and is now perusing YouTube for hockey clips. What a sad day it'll be when he stumbles on the fact that there's more on YouTube than great hockey moments caught on film!
As for me, I've been working all day at my dining room table. In my PJs. Gotta love that! Not quite as comfortable as my chair at the office, but a nice change.
Our school system gets one more "free" snow day before the kids have to start making them up. Hopefully March will start turning more toward the lamb end of the spectrum right soon! It's snowed twice now this year. That's more than enough for me, thank you very much.
When I got up this morning and looked outside, it didn't appear that there was more than a few inches of snow. Later, when the kids decided they were going to go out and play, I went out in my PJs and boots to take some pictures and realized there was more snow than I originally thought. Maybe six inches. More in places where it had drifted in the wind. Probably a good idea to cancel school since it takes plows forever to get to the neighborhood streets around here. Our street just got plowed about an hour ago.
Keeper Boy, as it turns out, has outgrown his snow pants and doesn't like being cold, so he was back inside from the foray into the great white tundra in about five minutes flat. Done outside for the day. J-Mav stayed out for about 45 minutes, playing with a neighbor girl. Then the wind got the better of him, too. Or maybe he was just hungry. Either way, the grand sum total of the playing outside time was less than an hour. Not that I blame them. It's windy, making the temperature feel like less than 10 degrees, and the snow is not good for packing.
Even snow, however, does not stop the J-Mav Social Machine. Four playdates in four days! He is down the street playing with one of his best buds. Helps a lot when you can walk to your friend's house!
Keeper Boy worked ahead a little in his math workbook (without too much grumbling) and is now perusing YouTube for hockey clips. What a sad day it'll be when he stumbles on the fact that there's more on YouTube than great hockey moments caught on film!
As for me, I've been working all day at my dining room table. In my PJs. Gotta love that! Not quite as comfortable as my chair at the office, but a nice change.
Our school system gets one more "free" snow day before the kids have to start making them up. Hopefully March will start turning more toward the lamb end of the spectrum right soon! It's snowed twice now this year. That's more than enough for me, thank you very much.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Thinking...
It would be nice to live somewhere in which people could actually deal with snow without freaking out and shutting everything down. Then again, it'd be nice to live somewhere that never got any snow...
(Though I shouldn't be complaining... this is the first snow we've had all winter.)
(Though I shouldn't be complaining... this is the first snow we've had all winter.)
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