The First Snow Day of 2016

Not even a month into the new year and we got a snow day. It seems we get one big snowy or icy storm a year...sometimes two. I'm perfectly happy staying in on those days. I so hate the idea of driving or feeling guilty because I chose NOT to drive...meaning I chose not to go to work.

You remember that one time when our Bank closed at 1:00? But so did the entire city of Raleigh. So everyone was trying to leave at the same time. Not to mention that year the storm came so much faster than anyone could expect. I mean, it was clear at 10:00 a.m. and by 1:00 the roads were COVERED in snow and ICE.  

I use this photo as a cautionary tale to remind me not to try to drive in this weather. Yes, that's my car. See how beautifully I pulled it off the road? That year I didn't make it home. I stayed at a co-worker's house for three days. 

I believed the weather forecast this year. I knew that if there was any ice or snow I would not be going to work, but I was surprised that the Bank was closed. Yay! I could do what I was going to do anyway without any of the guilt! 

Because I'm thinking of snow days, I've reached into my old photos and pulled out two from when we lived in Charlotte. Danielle was in elementary school.

The beautiful poodle in this pic is Simon. He was our standard poodle and he was our heart. An incredible dog. 

Jacob is Simon's mini-me. His personality reminds us of Simon all the time. We can't imagine life without him. 

Here is a photo of Danielle and me playing in the snow. I'm pushing her on our makeshift sled. As long as everyone is safe and has the ability to stay warm and fed, a snow day can be a wonderful thing! 

Snow Storm of 2015...

Do you remember last year? We called it the Snow Storm of 2014. You may remember I got stranded. 

That's my cute little car I left behind when it was clear I wasn't going to make it out of that neighborhood until the ice melted. Yeah...good times!

I was convinced we wouldn't see the snow this year. (Wishful thinking?) But, alas, snow and ice we have seen. The good news is that each day the snow started to fall before I had left the house for work. We had a snow day last week and a day that started at 10:00.  Tuesday I decided to use a vacay day rather than risk the crazy drive. Yesterday we started at 10:00.  (See a theme?) Today our office message said our office would open at 10:00. There was 6 inches of snow on the ground. But I live close to a main road...and I knew that once I was on that I should be fine. Tomorrow is more likely to be icy...and I'd rather drive in snow. 

So, off I went to the office. The road had been cleared and was mostly okay, though I'm really lucky that there were not many cars on the road. When I was about 2 miles from the office I noticed that street lights were out and there were no lights at the mall. It occurred to me that we might not have power. 

Yep! Got to the office. I was the only one there. I checked my phone and there was a message that the office is now closed due to no power. 

What are ya gonna do?

I turned around and came back home. I didn't have a problem until I got to our parking lot. Specifically, the parking space I tried to reclaim. Tires began to spin out. So, I called my husband to come help. He got it in the space. He made it look easy. Whew. Been home drinking hot tea and having a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch and just enjoying the day.

But the story doesn't end there. Just a few minutes ago we got a knock on our door. A neighbor came to tell us that we had left the car's headlights on. Yeah, like four hours ago! Jordan was a trooper and went out to turn them off and start the car to make sure the battery wasn't dead. 

Lessons? I am incredibly lucky and thankful for friends and neighbors.  

Stay safe!

Stranded and Grateful

I left quite the cliffhanger on my last post. Right? Well, maybe not a scary cliffhanger since you knew I was safe. But, happily, my adventure didn't end there.

Snow Storm

How was your snow storm? Maybe you didn't have one, but we did. See the pretty VW Golf in the pic up there? Mine. I'm so proud of how I handled myself in the storm. Clearly, I should have left the office earlier. Like BEFORE the snow storm started. I mean the weather people were very clear about what was coming our way.

I knew I would be leaving work early. I had the weather hourly forecast on my computer at work so that I could verify the storm status. My plan was to leave an hour before the office closed. We were scheduled to close at 2:00, so I thought I'll be fine heading out at 1:00. But then there was an email that said "quickly deteriorating conditions" closing at 1:00. This was 12:45. Eek! I have never left the office so quickly in my life.

One-half mile and forty minutes later I skillfully placed my car off the road and abandoned it. That was a stressful forty minutes. If you saw any of the news about the NC storm you know the storm came extra fast. What I couldn't believe was that the road was already ice. The snow was packed down to ice. I got to practice "turning into the skid". Never had to do that before. Nailed it!

I got to practice pumping my brakes. Thing is...didn't help. Hence my decision to pull off the road.

So I put on my gloves, got my gym bag and started walking. I wasn't about to walk near the road where cars were skidding and colliding. Instead I walked up the hill to the nearest parking lot and began walking through parking lots towards my office. I originally had thoughts of waking to a hotel five miles away. After thirty minutes of walking into the snow that was blowing sideways into my face, I had to re-assess the plan. I went to the office and found that there were others back at the office. I was not alone.

I was safe, warm and sheltered.