Snowmageddon II

FINALLY! The snow finally stopped falling from the sky around 4:30 or so this afternoon. Yippee! I still can't find a yardstick to measure the total accumulation in the yard but, suffice it to say, it's a LOT!

Let's back up a smidge and take a look at the 1:00 pm images:

The snow was still coming down hard. We would shovel for 30 minutes only to turn around and see the ground with a fluffy layer of white stuff covering it again. *Sigh.*

This is the first time we made it to the sidewalk in front of the house. We worked sooo hard to get to this point and I'm bummed that the depth doesn't really show here. Drat! But can you see the mailbox? It's on the right side of the driveway and seriously buried.

 

Remember my neighbor's green truck from earlier? All you can see now is a tiny green sliver just to right of center. I don't think he's going anywhere in that truck any time soon. 

And now...drumroll, please...we present the 5:00 pm pictures: 

The light at the end of the tunnel - litterally! You can actually see where the winter storm ends in the cloud definition. It was teee-frickin-rific to see the sunlight and realize that all the shoveling was actually [finally] working. Yee haw! That is a shovel's-width of sidewalk between our house and the neighbor's. And sunlight might as well be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!  

It was hard to tell how deep the snow was in photos, so I took this:

 

That's my waffle weave sweater and sweatpants. The snow is well over my knees and heading up to mid-thigh. Yowser! 

I referenced the mailbox a couple times today and now I was finally close enough to get a good shot of it. Again - yowser! That's a LOT of snow! 

When I finally got near the end of the driveway I was able to get a glimpse up the street. A truck was stuck (see the headlights?) and a neighbor was walking in the middle of the street. You can kinda get an idea of how much snow we had by the cars in the street. (Yes, those are cars!)  We still haven't seen a snow plow, but hopefully they will visit tomorrow. Hopefully. 

The front of our house with snow in piles and piles and piles! 

Whew! I finished shoveling the driveway, took pictures and then quickly slumped back in to the house. I. Am. Tired. Shoveling is hard work! I know there will be more tomorrow as soon as the street gets plowed so I'm counting on some good sleep tonight. (Hear that, sheep? COUNTING on a good night's sleep? Ha ha.)

Snowmageddon 2010

Is it Snowmageddon or Snowpocalypse? Do I really care? Um. No. I just know that we are in the middle of a historic snow storm here in the DC Metro area. The largest snow fall on record was 28" in 1922 and we are well on our way to burying that in a new snow drift. Seriously. The forecasters this morning are even upping the initial thoughts on our totals, now calling for 24"-30" before this is all over. Waaaaa! I can't even imagine what that will look like, much less how "fun" (*cough!*) it will be to shovel.

To give you an idea of what's on the ground after last night, here are the morning photos:

That's our mailbox on the far left, and our neighbor's green truck is barely visible in the middle of the picture.

 

Another shot of the mailbox, this time towards the right. (Somehow I don't think USPS will be delivering today.) 

The pink turkey herself modeling Winter 2010 Haute Shovel Wear. Don't you know Stacy and Clinton are seriously jealous! Hee hee :-) 

The front porch pre- snow removal. Yes, it is February and that is a Christmas wreath on my front door. It looks good with the fresh dusting of snow, dontcha think?

There was somewhat of a path to the front door by 9:00 am. 

Then it was the Turkey's turn with the shovel. We got about 1/3 of the driveway dug out before calling it quits for a while. This is heavy, wet snow and NOT easy to move. And it's still coming down in droves. Sigh.

And once it's out of the driveway it's in a huge pile. Somehow I know that pile will be getter bigger and bigger throughout the day. Sigh. And another sigh.

I am planning to get back out at 11:00 am for another turn with the shovel. It's daunting to know that the earlier shovel work is already buried, but what the heck. Better now than trying to do it all later, right? (That one gets an *audible sigh.*) It is going to be a looooong day. Come back and check out our progress throughout the day. Blog updates will be posted between shoveling and baking and watching movies and anything else we can do inside, so stay tuned for more updates from Snowmageddon Central. 

Oh, and feel free to come over and take a turn with the shovel. :-) 

Chicken pimpin'

The Turkey likes chicken.

Wait. Let's do that again....

The Turkey LUVS him some chick-kun! (insert hearts here)

Better. Much better.

He likes it so much he has started inviting his friends over for dinner when he knows we're having chicken. The last friend that was subjected to our chicken went home a very happy camper. And today, as we left the grocery store with fresh chicken breasts, the Turkey reached for his cell phone and simultaneously asked if So-and-So could come over for dinner tonight.

Um. Hold the phone! How about asking if I purchased enough chicken to feed not one but TWO teenagers? How about that tonight is a school night? And what ever happened to asking before inviting? And while we're at it ... this is the kicker, folks ... ready for it? ... you sure? ... here goes ...

"Why are you pimping my chicken?!"

Yes, folks. I accused my son of chicken pimping. *heavy sigh*

I don't think chicken pimping is a punishable offense so we're probably safe for the time being. Well, as safe as one can be when they are laughing so hard there are snorts and snirks. (What's a snirk? Dunno. I just made it up. Like it?)

Anyway, the laughter subsided and dinner was good. Friend So-and-So wasn't here tonight but the Turkey liked him some chicken pimping anyway. :-)

Cluck on!

Photo time

It's snowing again. Again! Sigh. So instead of shoveling (been there, done that enough this winter) I thought it would be good to share some photos from this past fall. The shoveling can wait.



All of these pictures were taken by my favorite Turkey with our cheapo digital camera during Thanksgiving week. These were the shots he submitted for his mid-term project in digital photography class. Whaddaya think?


PS - click here if you want to see the album and captions instead of a slideshow

Two words: New Coke

While I am not a fan of Valentine's Day (we'll save that tirade for a later post), there is a certain excitement every year when the VDay candies hit the retail shelves. I just see the red and pink bags and start feeling giddy. Giddy because my all-time favorite candy has just been released again. We're talking my FAVORITE candy, people! February is the only time of the year when I skip the chocolate and head straight for the sugar, straight for the conversation hearts. I heart hearts! And not just any conversation hearts. Nope. Give me the classic conversation hearts by NECCO complete with the cutesy sayings and sugary goodness. Yum! I am on a virtual sugar high just thinking about them. Double yum!

Imagine my surprise yesterday when I opened my first candy hearts bag of the season and was overwhelmed by a fruity sweet smell. Conversation hearts aren't supposed to be fruity. What's this? Hmm. Maybe it was just a fluke. I eagerly ate one three and thought I bought the wrong bag. I checked and, yes, it says manufactured by the New England Confectionery Company, Inc. right there on the bag so it wasn't a case of brand switcheroo. Another few hearts hit the mouth and the taste was, well, fruity. What's going on? These are definitely NOT my favorite conversation hearts. Panic is beginning to set in along with a very icky aftertaste. I'm not sure which is worse at this point, the panic or the icky aftertaste.

Still having faith in my all-time favorite candy I forged ahead. I even ate a few more. When the Turkey and his friend got in the car I gave each a handful of candy hearts with instructions to try them. Knowing my obsession with conversation hearts, the Turkey was happy to see them again and eagerly ate the candies. He quickly had much the same reaction I had earlier: BLECK! When the boy in the backseat echoed another ICK (which sounded curiously like "these suck!" at the time) I knew something was amiss. It was no longer just me.

As soon as we got home I was on the computer and scouring the web for information. This was a complete travesty. Why would anyone mess with a perfectly good candy, much less my FAVORITE candy? It had to be corporate terrorism or something. But no. I quickly learned this ickyness was intentional. NECCO was unleashing their version of New Coke on the unsuspecting world. Here is what their website says:

New Sayings & Colors
For the first time in 145 years, Sweethearts® discarded all its previous phrases and asked the American public to tell us how they express their love. The 2010 Sweethearts® are featured in bright and bolder new colors.
New Flavors & Texture
All new flavors for 2010 Sweethearts® include Strawberry, Green Apple, Lemon, Grape, Orange and Blue Raspberry. The new Sweethearts® have been re-formulated to be softer and more fun to eat.

Um. People. People. People! If it was working for 145 years and you had a terrific share of the VDay candy market, why get rid of a good thing?!?! One hundred and forty five years for goodness sake! I can understand the need to diversify and offer a new flavor, but take a page from Coke's history and keep classic conversation hearts. Puh-leeze! Bring back the classic conversation hearts! BRING BACK THE CLASSIC CONVERSATION HEARTS!

These new hearts taste fruity, icky, like Bubble Yum gum. The sayings are sloppily imprinted and many are illegible. The colors are fake, bright pastels. The flavors are icky. They leave an awful aftertaste. Even the new packaging leaves much to be desired. And have I mentioned they taste icky? Bleck! I am disappointed. I am sad. I am bereft. My favorite candy is no longer available.

You might think this is a big joke. You might think that I had nothing else to say today and chose to go off on a funny tangent about Valentine candy. You might think that and you would be wrong. No, I mean it. I am upset. NECCO toyed with my all-time favorite candy, the one thing that made this time of year bright. I may not have had a VDay date or an excuse to buy-in to the VDay hype but I always -- and I do mean always -- had conversation hearts throughout February. They were at home, on my desk, affixed to cards and candles, stashed in the car, purchased in bulk and eaten throughout the year. These were my signature candies. Like Reagan was to jelly beans, Jess was to hearts. Was. Past tense. *snif*

Much like the debacle with New Coke, I am hoping NECCO quickly recognizes the egregious error of their ways and re-releases classic conversation hearts. Keep these new [icky] fruity thingies for the kids if you must, but bring back classic conversation hearts. BRING BACK CLASSIC CONVERSATION HEARTS!

I am not just ranting to you, dear reader. Oh no. This is serious. My strategy involves facebook posts, office taste tests, encouraging others to write to NECCO, flogging, talking, complaining, not purchasing the new hearts and sulking. I'm sure the sulking will sway the company. Not! But letters will! If you feel the same, similar, or even remotely close about the new conversation hearts please write to NECCO here. Hopefully they will get the message. New conversation hearts = New Coke. Bleck!

Come on, chant it with me, people: BRING BACK CLASSIC HEARTS! BRING BACK CLASSIC HEARTS! BRING BACK CLASSIC HEARTS!

Nephew love

More travels

Yesterday -- Tuesday -- I took an unplanned trip to New York City. Yep. Just hopped on a train and headed up to the Big Apple. You'd think I was tired of traveling after last week but this one was a personal trek. It was fun being on the train in jeans and walking around Manhattan and not lugging a laptop and other miscellaneous work stuff for a change. See, I was there to meet my nephew. Big smiles! :)

Nephew Tate arrived early Tuesday morning and this first-time aunt just HAD to be part of his welcoming committee. Want to see? Here is Mr. Tate Emerson:

Aw! What a cutie patootie! On his birthday, January 26, he weighed in at 7lbs 13oz and 21.5" long.  Tate's mom is doing well and getting much-needed rest in the hospital, while his dad (my bro) is exercizing his parental rights as a photographer. Case in point:

Apparently photographer dad has already exhausted one memory card with baby pictures and was making headway on a second while I was there. I helped stage a few shots -- the baby's fingers with dad's wedding ring on, lots of feet and hand shots, sleeping on a lap, that kind of thing. Tate's dad will hopefully post some of them soon (hint!) so I can repost here later, but here's what came home on my cheapo camera yesterday:

Check out those long toes! It's so cute how his toes stretch and curl and grip. I had forgotten how much fun it is to play with baby toes.

I had a good time with my brother and sister-in-law and baby Tate yesterday. We chatted for a few hours in the hospital before I headed out to grab dinner and catch a train home. The best part of the trip, though, was ... wait! Can you guess what the best part was? Cuddling with a new bambino? Um, super nice but not the best. Becoming an aunt? Totally groovy but not the best. Seeing my little brother as a dad? A little surreal but not the best. Out of guesses? The best part of the day was ...

... giving Tate lots of love, spoiling him rotten and then giving him back when I left! AWESOME! I think I'm really going to dig being an aunt. :-)