marshmallow majesty ...

I am in love with a good snow storm. I always get so excited when I hear the forecast saying "measurable snowfall". Immediately I start planning out my snow day. I don't usually look forward to storms that occur during the work week because that is just stressful and dangerous for everyone - but a weekend storm is always welcome here. On Christmas night we began to hear that the predicted storm was being upgraded to a blizzard. The term blizzard has lost some of its scariness over the past few years. What we have seen lately is nothing compared to the notorious blizzard of '78. But it is fun to think that you might be snowed-in ... with movies and pajamas and hot chocolate. The power outages, car accidents and dangerous break-downs, however, are not so fun.

Gregg was supposed to work today but eventually his employer made the right decision and closed the branch for the day. We spent our morning shoveling ... and shoveling ... and shoveling. I loathe it. I find it is a great workout but it really wears me down, quickly. Gregg always tells me to stay inside and that he will take care of it all but we do have a decent sized circular driveway, walkway, car and Jeep and the curb to tackle. It is a LOT of work for one person. All complaints aside I did enjoy watching the snow fall last night and took some pictures of its progression...

Also some pretty, little swirly pics...

And naturally Gregg captured some shots of Brody, the little snow fox...

Just like Gregg and me, Brody is all tuckered out and we'll all be spending the rest of this day quietly in our favorite resting spots. Hope those of you who got the snow enjoyed it and those of you who didn't don't envy us! Have a good day!

blizz o'nine ...

This past weekend the forecast called for a blizzard and to our surprise - the forecast was right. I have always enjoyed the snow- when I don't have to drive in it, that is. Shoveling isn't my favorite thing to do but, to me, the good outweighs the bad in any snowstorm... especially when it falls on a weekend and people can stay off the roads and at home to enjoy it.

It started around 8:45 on Saturday night. Gregg and I were watching A Christmas Story with our tree lit and our heat crankin'... all cozied up.

Within an hour the winds had started picking up and the "white-out conditions" began...

During the night it obviously continued pretty heavily and Brody could not WAIT to get outside to enjoy it. He actually woke us up at 6:30 so he could start running around - just like a little kid. He barely managed to sit still while we put his collar on and opened the slider to the deck ...

Shoveling was no easy feat. We had to lift the snow in three sections due to its height. I believe we got 15" in our area. I had a lot of trouble trying to brush the snow off of Gregg's Jeep just because it was piled so high. We each had our own section of the circular driveway to take care of ... and the city plows did nothing to lighten the load. Don't ya just love that giant packed pile at the ends of your driveway?? That took a while to chip away at.

When the shoveling was finally finished, we got into our super warm clothes, lit a fire and had hot chocolate. That is one cliché that I don't mind at all.