SNOWMAGEDDON 2014!!

It happened folks.  We had snow.

And it wasn't just the dusting of snow that we had last week.  We had some serious snow!

 Yes, that's my car.

Now, before y'all call me a soft southerner, let me explain something.

There's like 4 plows down here.  So the side streets were simply awful!

from wavy.com

from wavy.com

And look at those totals!  Those are snow totals that would make a New Yorker proud!!

Needless to say, everything in the area was shut down.  The schools released early, so people would be home in advance of the storm.  The next day everything was shut down.

I don't want to think about how empty the grocery stores were!!

So Wednesday dawned to the snowfall totals you see to your left.  I got up to take Misty out (who was unpleased by the snow) and decided immediately to work from home.

Then the College called, and told me that the college was closed for the day.  Woo Hoo!  Snow day!!

What did I do?  Well, I finished watching season 4 of Downton Abbey (available on Amazon Instant Video).  I cleaned my bathroom.  I made tea.  The Dachshund alarm went off all night.  She knew that animals were around and she couldn't find them!

Today started out bitterly cold I think my car said it was 6 degrees out.

6!!!

Well, it's sunny and slushy out.  Time to wrap this up before everything freezes again.

I'm tired of being cold!!

It's been bone chilling-ly cold around here.  Both outside and inside my house.  We shrunk wrapped our windows over the weekend.

We were pleasantly surprised, and the temperature inside the house went from 55 to 65 overnight!

Unfortunately, it might snow again.

Yes, more snow.  I have a feeling that by tomorrow night there will be no more bread and milk to be had in the area!

So we're going back to sub-zero weather for another week.  So we'll see if my house can keep up to temperature.

But of course, what have we planned for the weekend?

Ice Skating!

But y'all... the Olympics are coming!  I'm already planning snacks and drink!  (Margaritas, perogies and Irish cheese.  I'm going international!)

(And I know... Russia is bad.  But I LOVE the Olympics!)

Too much of a good thing

As we all know, I get easily overwhelmed.  About every six months or so, I get overwhelmed with the amazing Social Justice-y and Environment-y work my church does and decide that I'll never live up to their standards and that I should just go live under a rock.

Apparently I'm not the only one.

I've run across a couple of articles lately that have totally hit the hark with people calling out the "holier-than-thou" attitudes in do-gooder community.

This you're-going-to-burn-in-a-hell attitude isn't exclusive to vegans. The broader environmental category of do-gooders can be the same way. Those who care about the Earth can be judge-y and dogmatic in the name of advancing the cause. And some love to play the gotcha game. Al Gore has a big house that requires lots of energy! You had to fly to get to that eco-friendly resort! Ooohh, I found some bleach under your kitchen sink! (Seriously, I once had an apoplectic commenter excoriate me for eating chocolate.)

It's especially bad when it comes to corporations. As soon as any corporation sticks its neck out and takes a step forward to more sustainable and ethical business practices, the blame game begins. When Chipotle, who tries to source local and organic ingredients and even gives its employees organic t-shirts to wear, made a beautiful commercial about factory farming, Grist turned on the snark spigot, saying it was "brainwashing" consumers, and encouraging them to "buy more shit." Ugh, spare me. (from here)

I get it.  Everyone wants to save the world.  But the Captain Planets of the world declaring that your efforts aren't good enough doesn't help.

But it's not just the Environmentalists.  It's everyone.

Remember the guy in college who would only listen to Polish post-Industrial Pop, because German post-Industrial was total mainstream swill? Remember the vegan who asked how it felt to be eating rotting flesh just as you were about to bite into your burger? Remember the young professional who gave you that withering look in the waiting room while you were reading People, then pulled out her own copy of The Economist? (from here)

Everyone has to start somewhere.  And everyone has their likes and dislikes.  Everyone has their levels of comfort and levels of participation.

I don't cosplay because I see the criticism that Cosplayers face when they play out of their body type.  (And honestly, who can?  Some of these anime chicks are huge boobs and no waist!!)

I'll never understand why every subculture and movement have these sentries.  The guardians of what is "enough."

Why can't we all do what we can, which what we can?

Because by claiming that what we do isn't "enough," they are forcing people out of their movements, subcultures and organizations.  And that isn't doing anyone any good.

So we had some weather!!

image from wavy.com

Yes folks, the Bread & Milk Index was at a 3 last night.

Schools closed!

Businesses Closed!!

The college delayed opening!!

We had snow!!

Well, we had maybe an inch

 This was the scene that I woke up to  That's maybe an inch of snow.

With a thick layer of ice under it.  Driving to work this morning wasn't pretty.

The dog was also not amused, since going potty on grass wasn't an option.

Along with the inch of snow, it's also hovering just under 20 degrees here.

Yes.  20.

It looks to get above freezing tomorrow, but not too much above it.

I hate to say it, but I really miss snow.  I don't miss the massive amounts that Syracuse gets, but I miss having snow in winter.

And now, it's time to drive home over the hard packed snow on the roads!

Recovering from being sick is worse than actually being sick!

I came down with, well, whatever it was on December 27th.  I started to perk up around the 31st.

Unfortunately I'm still drowning in post nasal drip and am coughing.  And my lungs aren't the happiest with me.

The combination of feeling better, but not feeling up do doing much of anything (because the lungs aren't cooperating) is going to be reflected in the scale.








Despite feeling tired all the time, and a marked increase in inhaler usage, I'm
starting to exercise again.  I decided that this week I'm going to exercise inside (where it is warm) and that I'll take it outside to run next week.

Hopefully then I'll be able to get my weigh ins going in the correct direction.

But until then... it's aerobics in the living room!

Again... it's too damn cold!

So, it's no secret that it's cold out.

And, predictably, it has zapped any sort of motivation that I might have ever had.

Not only do I not want to go out to run right now.  I don't think I can.  Ever since getting sick, my lungs have been a bit fragile.  I'm using my inhaler more.  I'm coughing.  I can feel the post nasal drip choking me.

Add to this, I just haven't felt well in weeks.  Through in some cold and all I want is cookies and my blanket.

Today is Wednesday.  That's the day that my Weight Watchers points reset.  Tomorrow I'm going to work out with something a little more challenging that the Just Dance game on the Wii.  I have a pile of workouts on my Hulu queue.  Time to get working!

It's cold, and I'm a wus!

Yesterday I looked at the weather report for today.  Low of 12.  High of 26.

Seriously?  This is the weather that I left New York for.

And the kicker?  It's too cold to actually snow!

Well, since I'd have to drive the Spousal Equivalent to work in the sub-zero o-dark-thirty, and I had 4 hours of leave that have to be used in the next few weeks... I took today off.

I had grand plans!  I was going to build my storage furniture and clean up the storage room!!  Well, one went together like a dream, and one I simply gave up on because I could not get it to go together.

So I left the half built shelves upstairs, and decided to wait for reinforcements.

And clean the kitchen in the meantime.

Through, while I sat on the couch and watched How the States Got Their Shapes, I decided that my next course of action was curtains.  I could feel the cold air seeping in through the glass!  I contemplated pinning a blanket up, but I couldn't find the thumbtacks.  I'm hoping to prepare for the next brush of cold that we're going to get this winter.  And I have a feeling it's coming.

So to sum up:

• I used vacation time rather than get out this morning
• I tried to get work done, but was outsmarted by Closet-maid shelves.
• I've been watching the History Channel all day.

Yup.  Sounds about right!