What a crazy week......

You know my life is pathetic when the words "Jim Cantore is coming to Columbia"  gets me excited.....

Mr, Cantore (I don't know if I should really call him Jim) is usually seen in big weather locations.  So his pending trip to Columbia was newsworthy.  Yes, our local news and newspapers even mentioned his arrival.

Jim Cantore meant one thing.....the snow/ice/freezing rain event that had been predicted would come to pass. Monday, all the mangers were told to take their laptops home in case we had to work from home.  I dragged it back into the office with me Tuesday.

The storm finally arrived Tuesday night, it continued all day Wednesday and finally ended around lunchtime Thursday. By the time it was over, we had a lot of ice and snow on top of it.  We never saw a plow or town truck on our street during the entire storm.  The roads and driveways were a sheet of ice.

I was so prepared to lose power and cable......we tend to lose those utilities when we have a 10 minute thunderstorm during the summer and it's out for hours.  I feel I can now say this and not jinx myself........we didn't lose power at all (except for about 3 minutes on Friday) !!!!

My office was closed Wednesday and Thursday.  We had a delayed opening on Friday. I am fortunate that I have a job where I can work from home with ease.  I was on conference calls, calls with  regional staff, calls to customers and co-workers.  I was able to IM and email anyone I needed.  Thank goodness last week I purchased an office chair for home use.  At least at the end of the day, my back didn't ache.  My hips were a little sore but it was so much better than using a dining room chair. I worked a longer day but at least I didn't have to drive anywhere!! It was also a treat to take 10 steps and get to the Keurig for coffee throughout the day.  I thought of my Dad and how amazed he would have been at the ease at which we can work from home now.  I didn't feel like I missed a beat all 3 days.

By Friday afternoon a lot of the snow/ice was melting.  Things were slowly returning to normal.......at least I thought they were......

I was sitting in my bedroom watching TV when I heard a rumbling noise and the wall in my bedroom moved like a wave.  Is asked Jenn if she had heard anything....she said she had.  I asked her to check out in our cul-de-sac and see if there had been an accident.  Nothing there.  I thought maybe it was one of the jets from the local Air Force Base.....nope. Then I got a text from a friend.  She lives about 30 miles from me.  She said "did you just feel that?'  The hair stood up on the back of my neck.  I told her I had.  She came back with one word "Earthquake".  I have to say it kind of freaked me out.  The local news said it was a 4.4 quake about 60 miles form us.  It was felt in Georgia, North Carolina and all over South Carolina.

Within 2 weeks we have had 2 snow events and an earthquake.  I think thats enough!!!! I know, I know my family and friends up north are saying "my God she has become such a weenie!!"

Well  tomorrow is Monday, it is supposed to be in the 60's this week and I can go back to wearing my flip flops.

As I continue my quest to find the good things....here they are:

I can return to work tomorrow and not have to play catch up from being out of the office for 3 days.
We never lost power.
I can work from home.
I love the commute from my bedroom to my office at the dining room table.
Oh and every day is casual dress day when working at home.
The USA hockey team has two wins.
I was down again at the scale today.  Not huge amounts but very consistent which makes me happy!!
And I went to gym both days this weekend.  I jogged in the pool for an hour each time which equals about 8 miles of jogging.

Not too bad I would  say........I do feel a need to check the Farmer's Almanac to see when the locusts are due to arrive.....

See you next week......

Two Great "S"'s........Snow and The Super Bowl.....

Just the "snow" word in South Carolina makes everyone crazy and excited at the same time. There was a hint that we might get our first snowfall in three years......and lo and behold we did!!!!!

But here is the way the week went.......

Sunday.....no chance of snow.
Monday ....chance of 1-3 inches of snow.
Tuesday.....1/4 inch ice and up to 6 inches of snow starting early morning.

Schools closed and everyone waited......and waited ..........and waited.  Some sleet started to fall around 4:00 PM.....a little later than predicted.  No snow......waiting and waiting. Finally at 9:00 PM, about 12 hours later than predicted it happened.......SNOW!!!!!!

It was very pretty and came down very hard.  By the next morning, we had 3-4 inches of the white stuff with some frozen sleet underneath it.  Schools were closed again.  My office had a delayed opening until 1:00.  I worked from home.

The surprising thing was that the snow stayed for more than a few hours.  In fact the last of it melted off my roof yesterday.....it is so unusual to have snow around for more than 24 hours......it was a treat!!

Being a "northerner" it is still funny to me to see how people react to the snow word.  Yes, the supermarkets get busy with a rush for milk and bread.  My Dad used to joke and say to my Mom "Irene do you have all the provisions in?"  He knew Mom would be at Shoprite getting bread and milk.......as if we would be trapped for days.  OK I have to admit I asked Jenn to get milk and batteries.....just in case......old habits die hard!!!!

Well we have had our snow event for the year....is it summer yet??????

Next S event.....the Super Bowl.

Football is my favorite sport!!!! I can scream and yell with the best of them.  Of course, I wish the NY Giants were in it every year but since they are not I am pulling for the Bronco's....for two reasons.....Eli's big brother and I have a slew of family in Colorado that love their team.  It's only about 200 days until football starts again and I will occupy myself with baseball (both college ...USC..... and the Yankees for course!!!)....I even watched a college basketball game last night.....great game between Syracuse and Duke!! But football is my sports passion......I hate for the season to end but we all know how fast it will be until training camp starts again in the summer.

At about 6:00 tonight, everything in my house will come to a halt so I can watch what I hope will be a great game and maybe some good commercials!!! GO BRONCO'S!!!!!!

One last note.......while not focusing too much on numbers it does feel good that  I was down again at the scale this morning........so some of the things I am doing:  eating when hungry, not having to make family dinners (every man for himself here), trying to give myself more choices, getting my hour of jogging in at the gym and something new I am trying......I am going to give it a few more weeks and see how it goes before I say anything.......but lets just say consistent weight loss......sleeping better .......and feeling good are all part of it. Stay tuned for the information.......if the numbers continue to go down......

OK so here is a photo that represents both of the "S"'s for this week.....

See you next week.......