picture this thursday

visit vanessa to join in!

this week's theme is winter.  we've had plenty of it this year already...most likely more to come :)

and a few favorites from last year

Thursday's Ten: about snow in tennessee

as the rest of the country, tennessee is kind of buried under snow at the moment.
and i think it's thrown everyone into a bit of shock!

you see,



{1) we don't get snow here very often.  once a year (well, season), normally, and just a light dusting (at least to my indiana-born eyes)
THIS season we're on our 3rd snow.  2 in december and 1 now.  which started on sunday.  which brings me to my next point...
{2} i've never seen snow last for more than 2-3 days here.  but it keeps.snowing.  which means we have a few MORE days of the white stuff even after it finally stops!
{3} some places have 5-6 inches of snow!  this is unheard of!  i only have a couple of inches, but my travels this week have taken me to some of the deeper snowed in areas.  i'm kinda loving it, i can't lie
{4} nashvillians...do NOT drive well in snow
{5} however, in their defense they usually have more ice than snow.  and tennessee is really hilly...much more so than where i grew up!  and even though it's been way more snow than ice this time around, they're expecting it to be as per usual, i think.  so we're driving down completely clear roads at 30 mph.  sigh.
{6} and school may as well be canceled for the month.  they haven't gone all week, and they've used up all 4 snow days plus 2 now.  because i work for educators, i have only worked one day this week (when she asked me to come over so she could run errands).  i JUMPED at the chance to get out of the house.  however, i am babysitting today, which means that i'm earning some extra cash which is really nice!
{7} all the sleds are sold out everywhere.  of course, not many places had them in stock, lol.  must.find.a.sled by this weekend.  my friend brittany and i have major plans to go sledding if we can find one!
{8} as i've mentioned a couple of times, we have awesome citywide snowball fights on the first day of a good snow.  if this season is any indication, there may be a couple more of these this year!
{9} tires.go.flat.  or low.  it kinda drives me crazy. 
(note to self: stop by gas station on the way to teaching piano today to pump up.  again.)
{10} but for all our mess, we're nowhere near as bad as atlanta.

noon on wednesday, atlanta

how about you?  or are you just so sick of the snow that you'd rather write about 10 things OTHER than the snow? :-)

hey, a video from the snowball fight where i DIDN'T fall on my face! :)

or the other end. ahem.

#ArticBlast2011 Nashville Snowball Fight from Winston Hearn on Vimeo.
(i'm about 30 seconds in, big pile of snowballs. but it's a REALLY well done video!)

hey, it's ok (tuesday) .6

hey, it's ok

... to have a giant snowball fight.  in a park.  with some great friends...and a whole lot of strangers :)

... to have wiped out while running a charge in said snowball fight.  and to find out that a whole lot of people may have got it on film.  including 1, 2 or 3 news crews.

... to have slept in approximately every day of break.  hey, when you've got to be at work shortly after 6 am sleeping past 7 is "in"!

... to be contemplating whether or not to chance babysitting tonight...clients live a little out there on a bit of a country road.  could get interesting :)
... to kind of want to take emi outside to get snow pictures.  except that emi HATES snow...

(pics from snowball fight)

(and a video where you'll see me wiping out.  trust me.  you'll see it)

http://www.flipshare.com/ViewFbReshare.aspx?i=fc5d756e-2e63-487e-bc23-8867ca5c8655

monday's memory: the one with the girl in the snow

january 2007 was the first time i got a GOOD snow in a good long time

i was a happy girl

of course, last year we had some snow too
and this year we are on our 3rd snow of the season!
i'm currently sitting as a winter wonderland is swirling down outside
when it's all said and done we'll likely have less than an inch
but that's all this girl needs :)

hey, it's ok (tuesday) .5

please visit amber for the original!

... to totally invite yourself to a new year's celebration. 
... to want to take pictures in the christmas snow, since it only happens in nashville every 20 years or so.  so, maybe when our future children are teenagers we can take more christmas snow pictures.
... to wish they had somehow figured out a way to get MORE caffeine into coffee.
... to be surprised by things you find on facebook.  for example, the guy from college who continually creeps you out suddenly being in a relationship.
... to not understand the appeal of silly bandz, but to buy them for the kids in your life anyway.
... to be so glad that it snowed in nashville more than once this year...and to be completely ready for spring to come.
... to possibly be plotting a trip to starbucks while taking kids to a fun outing.  hey, that makes it more fun for ME too!
... to have snuck the laptop into the bathroom to take a shower and listen to some awesome worship music while the kids have breakfast
(it's the only time the little one is contained enough for me to shower!)

can you tell i'm babysitting today?  i have two boys -- 3 years and 18 months -- monday through wednesday this week.  we're having a blast and i'm LOVING how early they go to bed.  not so much the wakeup call, but it's still later than i normally have to be at work, so hey.

much love, all!

nashville snow drivers

i've written tips about winter weather

and have done my fair share plus of complaining about nashville drivers in the snow

today i'll give you a slight glimpse of what i'm talking about.  which is timely because ICE is predicted today.  oh joy!

as i see it there are a few distinct categories of nashville (or southern) snow drivers

in no particular order (except how it comes to my brain) here they are

the recent transplant

characteristics: doesn't understand what everyone is complaining about, forgets temporarily that tennessee gets less snow and more ice, also forgets that nashville is very hilly

driving style: at least 20 mph faster than everyone else on the road, over-confident

(for tractor trailers, add 10 mph and a whole lot of aggressiveness.  yikes)

the nervous nellie/ned

characteristics: have rarely if ever driven in snow, decide that wherever they need to go is clearly more important than the safety of everyone else in the city, bundled up in a heavy coat, thick gloves and a hat that keeps dropping over their eyes but they are too afraid to take their hands off the wheel to push it up

driving style: at least 20 mph slower than everyone else on the road, frequent braking, hands at 11 and 1 on the steering wheel and sitting at the very edge of their driver's seat

the native

characteristics: is only experienced in driving to his or her local grocery store for bread/milk/eggs but feels that experience is just as good as anyone else's

driving style: speed varies, but braking is frequent

the oblivious

characteristics: knows there is snow/ice on the road and that it's slowing everyone else down, but doesn't feel as if it affects him/her, often spotted with "multi-tasking" items such as cell phone or coffee in hand, or makeup brush poised

driving style: at least 20 mph faster than everyone else, reckless when there ISN'T winter weather, so completely hazardous when there is.  avoid this person at all costs.

 

on a scary(ier) note, here's actual footage of tennessee drivers on ice.  yikes!

and some tips, should you need them.  i kid in this post (kind of) but in ALL seriousness, be careful out there!

(all photos from google images)

Couldn't Resist This One: I Heart Faces and Kisses

At I ♥ Faces this week, it's all about kissing.

And honestly, I could enter a few pictures in it...
but this, I believe, is my current favorite.

Self taken, during a break from our "snow play" last weekend!

(click the button below to join in on the kissing fun!)

Snow Days

I'm not even going to get into the Nashville drivers on the icy roads (they were bad) or the fact that all the schools in the area got off not one but three days and counting (which is ridiculous)

I'm just going to tell you that I've tremendously enjoyed the snow.

And what better way to relay a story than through pictures?

It began with a bit of snowfall...backyard view

normally when I open the back door Emi comes running in the hopes of going outside. every time I opened the door in hopes that she would come and explore...

Emi stayed in her box and said "NO!"

attempt to get a picture of the snow actually falling

my neighbor Mattie and her sweet dog Izzie...we went on a picture taking walk :)

cracked UP at this. the street was still clear and someone apparently still ran up on the yard...

one of the few pictures of myself that I'm digging

Mattie and Izzie

headed back in...

I eventually forced Emi to go outside for a minute. she was not a fan.

"that's enough!"

The next day I had a bit of cabin fever. So I decided to go to Anthony's house and play in the snow. This was quite a venture...first came unearthing the car.

20 minutes later...

we won't talk about the lovely human being in my neighborhood who owns the mid-80s model car with slick custom tires who thought he should also get out. who blocked traffic for nearly an hour when it was all said and done.

we also shouldn't mention the fact that the interstates were nearly as bad as the side streets as far as ice went...and that people on them really didn't seem to know what they were doing for the most part.

we'll just skip to the next part of the story: playing!

and eating the snow

and finding cool shapes in the snow

and putting snow on our heads

...and kissing in the snow...

♥

and throwing snow at each other (it was good sledding snow...not so much good snowball snow)

and shoving the snow in each other's faces

and holding hands in the snow

and taking self portraits in the snow

and kissing in the snow

(hey, give me a break. a snow like this only comes to nashville once every 5-10 years)