So. Much. Driving.

Well I'm officially calling my vacation season to an end. Bummer! Throughout the month of December (and start of January) I basically traveled the whole length of the east coast 1.5 times, put nearly 3,000 miles on my car, and saw a whole lot of friends and family.

Here are some of the highlights from the super southern leg of my journey...

Magic Kingdom in the morning... so pretty 

Pretty at night too...

Sea World!

Shamu show!

Getting ready to drive a race car in
the Richard Petty Driving Experience!

My new favorite "family photo"

Apparently I got tired of taking pictures because I basically have none from Christmas/New Years in Vermont, and really have none from my secret santa party in PA. That realization makes me very sad.

A White Christmas!

Sherman Christmas at the Welshes

Getting ready to hand out drinks for
our homemade holiday drink contest 

Homemade Kauhla with milk,
Lemony-Gin Fizz,
Chocolate-Peppermint Martini,
and Welsh Christmas Drink (aka a Scarlett O'Hara)

When I finally got back to Arlington (almost for good)
I was treated to the snow storm we never got in Vermont.
Pretty!

Here's to an exciting 2012!

The Day I Almost Did A Donut

                                        ... in my driveway!

Exactly a month ago we had a snowstorm here in the valley. It was the last appreciable amount of snow, we've had. I wish Chicago would give us some of it's snow.

Anyhow, thanks to the about 7ish inches of snow fall, my mom had to get out the tractor again to plow out our driveway so that we could all go to work, and that required me to move my car so that the tractor could get out of the garage. (The tractor gets a garage... my car does not. See how our priorities stand in this family? Geez.)

But, since the tractor was dead, I had to turn my car around and move it back to its spot in front of the garage so that we could jump the tractor.

In seven inches of snow.

My car's no Buick, but it did very well in the snow... except when it didn't.

Like the time I almost did a donut into a large tree. Great times.

Check it out.

 My car attempting to side swipe a tree

 My fun skid marks... I was trying to back up, not sideways.

 Getting closer!

Success! Barely.

I'm Praying For Snow

I saw this picture while looking at a YahooNews photo stream and dreaming of snow. It was too amazing to not share with the world (or at least my family who are probably the only ones who ever read this). Right now, it is 43 degrees and rainy. Today's high was in the 50s. It feels like summer!

Where did our winter go?

Rebecca Valk walks to her office in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in near whiteout conditions Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011. A monster storm began to bear down on the middle of the nation Tuesday, threatening to leave up to a third of the nation covered in brutal winter weather. 

(AP Photo/Poughkeepsie Journal, Spencer Ainsley)

Really?

When I was in Hallmark today I was informed that they would be revealing the new Christmas ornament collection on July 10 and that I should really be there. Umm really? July?

I guess they take Christmas in July very seriously at Hallmark.

Sarah's Key

Recently, what with all the snow and ice and limited travel opportunities, I've taken to brushing up my reading skills.

My first foray back into the world of reading was Sarah's Key.

Sarah's Key

by Tatiana de Rosnay

I've been wanting to read Sarah's Key for just about forever. I couldn't for a while because I didn't have it, but thanks to my amazing cousins (and Christmas) after December 27th, my only excuse was a lack of time and motivation. But then the epic snowstorms of the south hit and what with 4 snowstorms in two weeks, my car pretty much remained parked in my driveway and my bottom rotated between the kitchen, couch, and (fortunately for my figure) the treadmill.

All excuses gone, I finally picked up Sarah's Key... and read it in about 12 hours. It was amazing!

When I first saw Sarah's Key in the bookstore back in August, I was pretty intrigued by the premise. How could the story of an American in Paris in 2002 possibly intertwine with that of a Jewish Parisian caught up in the horrible events of 1942? And then there was the genre... I've been a historical fiction junkie since I was a little girl (thanks in part to my obsession with American Girls and Little House on the Prairie). Books themed around the holocaust are no exception, although since watching "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" I've been somewhat less enthusiastic about that era in history... it still gives me bad dreams if I think about it before I go to bed.

Sarah's Key is a whirlwind of events from the present and the past. It follows a young girl who is betrayed by her country and sent to an earthly version of hell, first in the form of a stadium and then in the form of a camp. At the same time, it also follows one woman as she struggles to discover the story of this girl from the past, a girl that is inexplicably linked to her through the actions of her in-laws.

In Sarah's Key, Tatiana de Rosnay manages to create a story that is gripping, terrifying, exciting, and poignant, but most importantly she creates a story that is unforgettable.

Can't get enough?

Check out these other books also themed around the holocaust...

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy - a book that weaves a traditional fairy tale with the story of two Jewish children who are trying to survive in German occupied Poland. One of the most haunting and amazing books I've ever read.

Joop by Richard Lourie - a story about the betrayal of Anne Frank (originally published in Hardcover under the title A Hatred for Tulips). This book lets you see the other side of the story, from the perspective of the betrayers of the Holocaust.

I'm Mr. Icicle, I'm Mr. Ten Below

There is a crazy icicle display outside my window right now... although they may all blow off tonight in our crazy winds! Hopefully they won't bring the gutter down with them. Notice the double layer caused by icicles hanging from either side of the gutter.

Some of them were starting to melt yesterday, so I took a couple pictures. I think they turned out pretty cool!

Up To My Eyeballs In SNOW!

Well not really my eyeballs, more like my knee-caps, but it sure felt like more than that when I was digging out my poor car! The final total, 14 inches, was a little short of the 18-28ish inches they were calling for, but I'm totally cool with that! I have nothing but pity for all the poor souls in Washington D.C., MD, PA, and southern NJ who got walloped with over twice that amount.

Here are a few pics from the VA version of the "snowmaggedon" as both Obama and our local weather guy called this past weekend's storm.

Me and the Buick

Giant snow bank mom's plow created on the driveway curve...

It's taller than the shovel!

We had to pour water over the satellite dish to melt the snow. I didn't want to get my sweatpants snowy, so it was just easier to go bare legged... the snow was literally up to my knees!

Ahhh! It's Coming!

At least, I think that's what just about everyone in the valley is thinking. According to the weather channel, we can expect anywhere between 16 and 36 inches of snow.

Everyone is stocking up on gas, food, shovels, ice melt, bread, milk, and about everything else you could possibly want to help survive being snowed in. I think the entire town was in the grocery store this afternoon! And I do kinda think it's a good idea, considering that the last time we got a major snow (Mid-December, 27 inches) my house wasn't plowed out for 3 days!

In anticipation of the precipitation, most of the schools in the area have already closed for tomorrow.... because of the snow storm last weekend and then the one on tuesday, the County schools have been closed all week. Crazy.

Looks like its going to be a very snowy weekend.

If Mom's in her Tractor Suit... It Must Mean Snow!

This weekend we got almost 9 inches of snow at my house, good plowing and shoveling times were had by all! Don't you just love mom's get-up?

It's Glittering!

There are very few things I enjoy about glitter.

I'm occasionally ok with it on cards, rarely when it's on or in clothing, and on shoes, almost never (unless you are under 6 years old, then as far as I'm concerned, you can go to town and wear all the glitter you want!).

Yes, it's pretty and it sparkles and it can make things look kind of magical, but it also has a tendency to get all over you and everything else in a 20 foot radius. "Fairy dust" is the worst. It's this super fine glitter that they use at my ballet studio as a reward for all the little kids when they do something right. Occasionally the big girls get dusted, too. The one time I was fairy dusted, my teacher pretty much coated my entire body and it took two showers and some intense scrubbing to get it all off. My laundry glittered for a week. Good.

But there is one kind of glitter that I love. The snowy kind.

I love all kinds of snow, but there's nothing better than the kind that glitters as it falls and sparkles when it's on the ground. It's glittering outside right now. That makes me happy :)

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

While I was warm in Florida, it snowed 23 inches at my house. That 1. is unheard of and 2. makes me a little sad.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

Today mother nature finally gave us a taste of winter! It was our first snow of the season and I basically died of happiness. Not only did it snow all day, but as a result, we now have somewhere between 6.5 and 7 inches accumulation on our deck. I hope it does this again in 20 days in Vermont!

Snow on the deck in the morning

Soooo pretty!

Snow on the trees around my house