Reality check

Man, life is so precious.  I've got to make some major changes.  Because I'm so afraid one day I'm going to wake up and it's going to be gone.  So my priority is to take care of myself and get a new job. I don't need the stress, I don't need the 45 min commute one way.  And I don't need to work in an office space with no windows and cold air blowing in the 60 degree range.  It's stupid that I have to layer for work and most of the time I have a blanket draped over my lap.

Everything is CLOSED!!!!

So I got up this morning and looked out the window.  Nothing much there.  But when I turned on TV all the closings started popping up.  Can this be true?  NO WORK!!!  NO SCHOOL!!!  Awesome!!!!

I got Cody all dressed up in his winter gear and we headed out for fun, photo ops and of course sledding, making a snowman, throwing snowballs and shoveling the driveway and sidewalks.

The fun part, I had a great time with Cody.  The bad part, the temps rose and the snow turned to rain.

The only problem with today is the weather forecasters got this storm wrong. So I fear when the next so called storm comes to town, nothing will shut down and we'll have major drama and grid lock.  But who knows, maybe this was the only snow we'll get for the season.  So I'm happy that I spent the day with my little sweetie pie. 

so pretty

I'm so not a fan of sleet and freezing rain but I gotta say, it sure is pretty when it coats all the trees, shrubs and plants. I was able to get a few pictures before it started melting away but of course before I post them, I need to download them off my camera and again, my hard drive is full. 

But I have to admit, I made a mistake.  I turned on the news today and the forecasters said there was a second storm on the way.  Second storm you say?  You've peaked my interest dear forecasters.  But wait!  I've fallen for this line before.  Are you making promises that you might not be able to keep?  Please don't break my heart dear forecasters, I so don't want to go to work tomorrow.  I'd love to have a day off with my family, just watching the snow come down and cooking homemade soup or baking cookies.  I'd love to go outside with Cody and let him throw as many snowballs as he'd like at me.  So please don't let me down.  Let's just see if my heart gets broken or if this great fantasy of staying home tomorrow becomes a wonderful reality, a dream come true.

Channel 7 news, as of 4pm today
The forecasters said around 3am the snow would start and continue through the morning ending around 2pm tomorrow afternoon.  We could get anywhere from 3-5 inches depending on where we live and how the front comes in.  On Sunday they called for 2-3 inches and my mom, who lives a hour northwest of me got 6 1/2 inches of snow.  We got 2 inches with .13th of an inch of ice on top of it.  So they were pretty accurate with the Northern Virginia forecast.  But tomorrow, will it be 1 inch, 3 inches, 5 inches or nothing at all?  Oh the suspense is killing me.

I'll let you know in the morning.  Fingers crossed.  :)

Sleet/Freezing rain

Well, the forecasters called it.  Sure enough, the beautiful snow turned to ugly sleet and freezing rain.  I think we got a total of 2 inches before it turned over to the mix.  We had to go out and shovel the driveway and sidewalks.  So exhausting.  Cody helped a little and then decided that throwing snowballs at us was more fun than shoveling.  Which I do agree but we wanted to get the shoveling done quickly.  It's yucky out and we're tired. But that didn't stop Ken from throwing a few good ones.  For someone who isn't very sports orientated, he can sure throw a snowball. 

SNOW

Ok, so far the forecasters are right.  The snow is here.  I'm not sure what time it started.  I got up at 6am and decided since it was Sunday I had the right to sleep in.  So I forced myself back to sleep.  Normally I would jump up and start my day but Cody was still sleeping so I might as well too.  So I got up a little before 8am and Ken said, look out the window.  I didn't expect to see anything but there was actually snow on the ground.  Mostly the roads not the grass which usually it's the grass first, roads later.  But enough to peak my interest.  I do enjoy a pretty snowfall and having Cody, it makes it more fun.  Cody was beyond excited.  He had no idea that it was going to snow today. 

Ken had to go out in it.  Not only does he need his Starbucks fix but I think growing up in PA, he has to see how the roads are.  So Ken, Cody and I piled in the car and headed toward Starbucks.  Again, the fun part (sarcastic) about living where we do is that we have to drive 4 miles just to get to a starbucks.  Makes no sense but that's how we roll in VA.  So the roads weren't that bad.  Some roads are really clear, some a a little slushy and some were still covered in a light dusting.  The parking lot had some slick spots and so did a few of the roads.  But overall not bad.  After Starbucks we ran to Safeway to grab some crackers.  We're going to make some homemade soup.  Maybe chicken noodle, maybe clam chowder. Afterward, we went to Dunkin Donuts.  So it was a fun little adventure.  On our way home all the salt trucks were out in full force.  At our major intersection there were 5 of them.  I'm sure they have their assigned routes and even though they are out and about, the roads are getting a bit slick.  It's currently 25 degrees out. 

So when we got home, the neighbors were outside playing in the snow.  So of course we had to go out and play.  I was planning on taking a few photos of Cody in the snow anyway so this helped a little.  But the snow was coming down and my camera was getting a little wet.  So I whipped out my waterproof camera and took some photos and a little video.  Too bad I didn't have my camera taping when a sports car came driving up the road.  All of us adults were chatting when we noticed how fast the car was driving.  He made a left turn on our street and just about took out our mailbox, sliding hard into the gutter part of the sidewalk and into our driveway.  All I can say is on a snow day, we hate shoveling that long driveway but in this case I'm very happy for this super long driveway.  Had it been one of our neighbors houses, he would have hit their cars.  So I'm thankful that we have this long driveway and our cars are safe and sound.

So, it's 11:30am and there's been about 3-4 hours of snow now.  Even though it's been a steady snow, it's not accumulating that much.  So, we'll see what comes in the next few hours.

Snow? Sleet? Rain? What are we going to get?

So the forecasters have been talking about drama tomorrow.  Are we getting snow, sleet, or rain?  They don't know.  That's the fun part (*sarcastic*) about living in Virginia, you never know what you're going to get.  For some reason when it comes to winter the forecasters have the toughest time predicting exactly what will happen.  They predict a storm and nothing happens.  They predict nothing and madness occurs.  So tomorrow they are predicting around 1-3 inches of snow beginning at 9am, changing to sleet/freezing rain by mid day which they say will make it "treacherous" out.  And by the evening/Monday morning (just in time for the morning commute) all rain.  So, I'm anxious to see how this all pans out.  Because me and everyone and their brother was at the store today buying what they could knowing full well that there was that slight possibility that we would be stuck in our homes tomorrow for the entire day.  Snow....no biggie but sleet/freezing rain, that's a completely different story.

So off Cody and I went to the store and I must admit mine was not all grocery shopping.  There was some fun shopping in between.  We actually started out on this adventure because I finally got Cody's Christmas cards submitted to Costco and I quickly went to pick them up.  So what started out as a Costco run turned in to Michael's, Ross, Kirkland's Costco, Kohl's and Target.  Mahhhh-haaa-haaaa!
Let me tell you Cody wasn't pleased but man, I enjoyed every moment of it.

Went to Michael's to get a few more candles for the windows and what do you know 50% off signs everywhere I looked.  I remember the times when everything was 50-75% off after Christmas so it's taking me some time to get use to these nice pre-Christmas sales.  Isle by isle there were deals.  I would have bought a bunch more but I'm just now going through my Christmas stuff and really don't remember what I have from last year.  And I'm not in the mood to buy stuff I just don't need.  Mental note:  Do an inventory this year and score on this sale next year.

Kirkland's was next.  Found 3 pictures to hang on the wall.  2 of them are photos of Santa.  I know that must sound silly but I really enjoy decorating for the holidays and these Santa pictures just add a little something to the house.  My last picture is a canvas with a holiday/winter theme.  It's a picture of 2 sleds, pine trees, snow, birds.  Maybe it's just more wintry instead of Christmassy so  I hope it works out that way I can keep it up till spring.

Ross.  I HEART Ross.  It must sound crazy.  You'd think I'd love Macy's, Bloomingdale's, or Norstrom but nope.....Ross, Ross and all Ross.  I find the most fun things there at such discounted prices.  Like today I got a pair of socks that are so think and warm.  And this is the time of year where I love, love, love thick socks.  I've also got a ton of adorable dresses there over the summer.  And I love DRESSES!  So when I can, I go to Ross.

Costco for the Christmas cards.  I should be addressing my envelopes right now instead of writing to my blog.  I'll do that tomorrow during our so called weather drama day.

Almost done.  I had a what I thought was a 25% coupon to Kohl's.  I should have known better.  It was really 15% so I was a bit bummed when I checked out since I knew I had a 20% off coupon somewhere at home that I couldn't find because I pulled out all my Christmas stuff and somehow it got buried.  Drats!

Last but not least, Target.  That's where I got my groceries.  I'm so not a fan of the typical grocery store.  We have Harris Teeter by our house and it's so out of control expensive that I only go there when I have to.  It's sad because it's walking distance from our house.  But instead I drive miles to enjoy shopping at Target Greatland.   So yes, I grabbed a few things to ensure that my potential day locked up in my house would be well worth it.   I'm going make some homemade chicken noodle soup.  That will be so good on a cold 30 degree day.  I also got some milk and other types of food that will get me through the week.

Three hours later...and my shopping was done.  Cody was also done.  Like fried chicken done.  He told me he thought we were only going to Costco.  Silly boy, he should know better by now.  :)

So, the point of this long winded story is....will we get snow, sleet or rain?  Time will tell and I'll certainly let you know.

It took a few months but I finally did it

Did what you ask?   I finally downloaded 1900 pictures off my camera to my computer.  Why is that a big deal you ask?  Because now I have a bunch of photos to add to my blog.  So check it out....


I still have a bunch more photos to add but I did sprinkle in some photos throughout June, July and August.

More are coming I promise.

Our 1st Christmas Card

So excited that I got our first Christmas card in the mail today.  Man, I just love getting cards.  Most of the cards these days are photo cards and I love seeing how all my friends kids have changed over the year.  I also enjoy sending out one for Cody.  Normally he's decked up in his Christmas outfit attire but this year, I got so behind, we didn't do our annual photo shoot.  So this year's Christmas card will be different then previous years.

Anyway, our first card came from Ken's Uncle Gary.  I've never met him because he lives in Chicago but Ken likes to keep in touch this time of year.  Normally Ken opens up cards from his side (I get so many cards that it only seems fair) but this time I opened it.  I don't know why, maybe I was meant to.

So I opened the cute little card up and it said...

I became a breast cancer survivor too this year.  Thank God for modern medicine.

My heart just dropped.  I felt sick yet so happy for her.  A woman I never met, a family member by marriage, no relation at all, yet we shared the same thing....Breast cancer.  WOW.  It's still so hard to hear and I do agree with her 100%.    Thank God for modern medicine.  I am so happy she is a SURVIVOR and I hope that we both can continue on this great path of healthiness for a long, long time.

Thanks David

Thanks to my friend David, Ken and I were able to get our 2 Christmas trees down from our shelf in our garage.  I just don't have the strength in my left arm to support the gi-gando trees.  So having another man come help Ken out did the trick.

Now the hard work....unpacking all the bins and tree boxes to decorate.

Cody and I started on the front yard since it was a pleasant day out.  We put garland on our front porch railing followed by red bows.  Each bow is attached to either garland, outdoor light fixtures, the mailbox and 2 large shrubs in our front yard.  I'm almost decorated out since I hung cobwebs and spiders in the same area in October, Pumpkins for Thanksgiving and now garland and bows for Christmas.  Ken started working in the yard pruning back the shrubs, and raking leaves so he didn't get to the lights.  And there's no way I can do it.  I actually don't mind since he purchased the brightest of the bright LED lights and it's almost like our house is a new run-way for Dulles Airport.

Cody and I helped dad a bit which to my surprise took a little longer than I expected.  I think we had 12 bags of leaves, 4-5 pumpkins and all the summer plants that just couldn't handle the frost we got the other day.  In fact, I was wondering why my mums were dying.  When I dug them up the soil was frozen solid.  Humm....that has never happened in the past.  Wonder why now?

Once inside, Cody and I put the candles up in the windows.  8 in total and that's on the top level of the house, front only.  It looks so pretty from the outside. 

We ran down to the basement and put up Cody's tree.  We've got some fun decorations that are just to small to put on my trees.  Yup, plural.  I have 2 more to put up.  Anyway, we strung up the colored lights and had a blast watching him decorate the tree.  Took some photos and video.  He's such a ham.

Christmas is on the way....and we're 1/2 way done with decorating.  Thanks Dave for coming by and helping us out.  If not, those decorations and tree would still be sitting in the garage.