Knitting Up a Storm

I'm working on my new collection of hats and mittens for Grandma's next year. Thanks to the snow, I've had a lot a lot of extra time on my hands so over the past week I've been knitting up a storm. I think I currently have about 15 different projects in progress because I get ADD and decide to start a new one when I'm half way finished with the one I'm working on.

I tackled the mitten... normal mittens almost worked, but I'd call baby mittens a success. I also finally tried out the ear flap hat... it's almost finished. I've also learned how to make flowers and leaves that I can use as appliqués. I feel pretty productive.

Infant hat and (thumbless) mittens with matching toddler hat

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!

Winter Advice From Mr. Frost

This is the best advice I can think of for anyone who is expecting another 6-20 inches of snow tomorrow. When it comes to snow... the best way to your car or out your front door or across your yard, is always though. And don't forget... when the winter blues get you down, just remember that the only way to spring is through winter.

Thank you Mr. (very apropos named) Frost.

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.

Rediscovering the Joys of Party Pants

For the past few weeks I've been working on my virtue...

If you'll remember wayy back about 3 months ago, I wrote about my virtue, or lack there of, when in reference to my exercising habits. In that post I lamented about my inability to force myself to go to the gym to stem the flow of my (ever expanding) middle over the waist of my pants.

Well thanks to my amazing parents and grandparents, that's all changing.

As a combined Christmas, anniversary, lets-get-in-shape present to themselves (and me) my parents got a treadmill for our house in December and let me tell you, I've become quite the fan.

I am actually enjoying my almost daily walks of 2 or more miles. While I'm not sprinting or even jogging for any of it, I'm pretty proud of the fact that I walked almost 1.5 miles at a speed of 4.1 mph. And while I have yet to experience that "runner's high" that people always talk about when they "go for a great run," I'm usually pleasantly surprised when I look up at the mile counter or the timer and see that 15 or 20 minutes have gone by and I've already walked over a mile.

But there are two things I love about treadmilling even more than that, my fan and my party pants.

Our treadmill is equipped with a pretty sweet fan. I love standing (well walking really) in front of it with my hair blowing in the breeze... it reminds me of the days at Etown when KT and Lisa would stand in front of the air conditioner or the hair dryer or the fan or an open window or basically anything else that would create a breeze to blow their hair and they would act like silly models. While I never actually participated in these antics, it kinda makes me feel like I'm back at school. The same goes for my party pants a.k.a. leggings. I only discovered the joys of party pants at the end of last year, and sadly, I've not been able to use them since... until now. I firmly believe that my party pants are the key to my treadmilling success!

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?