Crazy weather

It was literally 1 week ago today that schools were closed, the State government (where Spouse works) was closed, and my real estate company was closed, because of a winter storm that blanketed the area in snow.  Temperatures were in the single digits and low teens, which is highly unusual for us.

Yet yesterday, it was practically a different world!

But I ain't complainin'!!

As you can imagine, there was a whole lot of melting going on yesterday.  But it was great to be out and about and not even need a coat or jacket.  I saw several people wearing shorts and even saw someone driving their convertible with the top down!

Today its not quite as warm, but still in the low 60s with intermittent showers.  You can best believe there's a whole lotta meltin' goin' on!

Snow days

Earlier this week the huge storm everyone had been talking about developed and positioned itself so that we were in the blizzard track.

It began snowing Wed night around 10pm and by the time we went to bed at midnight everything was covered in a blanket of white.  Since the temperature has been below freezing for a week the snow didn't melt as it typically does.  The light and fluffy snow fell gently, as the wind gusts had not yet arrived.

Thurs is my regular day off and Spouse's office closed so we were both home for a snow day.  By mid-morning the wind was really gusting.  Poor Marvin & Walter didn't want to go outside.  They hate the wind, even if its warm outside, so it was extra offensive to them to have the gusty wind and temperature around 13 degrees.  So we decided to take them out onto the screened porch to do their business, since it was partially shielded from the wind.  This technique was somewhat successful.  

The wind created crazy drifts.  Check out the drift outside the screened porch which was easily 3 feet high.  

There was another drift INSIDE the screened porch near the opposite corner which was nearly as tall.  This photo shows how crazily the wind affected the snow.

Notice how the left side of the driveway and even the grass have NO snow on them, yet there were drifts nearby that were easily 3 feet high.  Wild!

We stayed in the house and watched movies all day, with brief breaks for food.  Marvin & Walter took great advantage of the electric space heater we had on while watching TV.

But most of the time they looked like this:

Knowing the storm was coming we'd stocked up on comfort foods, so we had grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup, Poptarts, and chicken pot pies.  We also cooked our Hello Fresh meals.

Both mine & Spouse's companies closed the offices today as well so we had another snow day at home.  We watched more movies in the morning but after lunch I did brave the frigid temperature to do some shoveling.  This photo shows the height of the drift between my car and the convertible.  Notice its taller than the shovel.

The nice thing about the wind is that it eliminated the need to clean off the cars.  The snow was light and fluffy so it wasn't back-breaking to shovel, but there was a LOT of it to move to get my car out to the street.

The street was "plowed" if you want to call it that.  We didn't see the plow since it came while we were sleeping, but it appears that a pick-up truck with a blade on the front made 1 pass and that was it.  The street is still very dicey now.  But at least its passable.

Typically when we get snow here it doesn't stick to the ground because the ground isn't cold enough.  That was not the case this time, as we'd been below freezing for several days in a row, also not typical.  And usually the temperature warms up the next day after a snowfall so it melts quickly.  That, too, isn't happening this time, as our temperatures aren't supposed to get above freezing until maybe Mon.  But I'm not complaining.  The snow is really beautiful and since we have had 2 days at home together with our dogs, comfy and cozy in our home, its been really nice.

Wintery weekend

In the wee hours of the morning on Sat it began snowing.  It was very cold (in the teens) and it was very windy.  I got up for work at 7:30 to find several inches of accumulation, the wind howling, and the snow still coming down strong.  I checked my email on my phone to find that my company's offices were closed due to inclement weather.

So I went back to bed.

We got up a while later and I tried to take Marvin & Walter outside for their morning pee and poop.  They don't like wind even when its warm outside, so you can imagine their reaction to the wind, the extreme cold, and the blowing snow.  I was able to get them to pee but then they ran back to the front door.

Spouse & I had planned to undecorate the Christmas tree on Sun (my regular day off) but since we were snowed in with not much to do, we did it on Sat.  We even got the tree taken apart and everything stored back in its place in the garage.  This process always makes me a little melancholy but at least we had the fireplace going to make us cozy and the 'blizzard' blowing outside to give us something beautiful to look at.  The snow finally stopped sometime after dark.

After breakfast on Sun I donned my rarely worn snow boots (which were purchased for $11.95 and resemble Napoleon Dynamite's boots), hat, and gloves and began clearing the snow off the cars and shoveling the walkways.  The snow was light and easy to move, but there was ice underneath it on the street.

Later that night we ventured out to meet Steven & Thad at a local diner for dinner.

The crazy thing is that the forecast is for 70 degrees on Thurs!!!

Warm and sunny Sunday

Wow, yesterday we had some pretty incredible weather!  It was bright and sunny, and the temperature got up to 63 degrees - on the last day of January!

Its hard to believe that just 1 week ago we had about 5 inches of snow.  Yesterday felt like Spring.

Spouse & I took the dogs for a nice long walk, and while doing so we saw several people wearing shorts and even a few cars with their convertible tops down.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining.  In fact, I could get used to this kind of winter weather.

The lesser-liked Jonas

So the snow from the lesser-liked Jonas started falling around 3:00 on Fri afternoon, somewhat lightly, and continued for 5 or 6 hours.  We probably got about 5 inches before it changed over to rain.  Fortunately we did NOT get the 2-3 feet of snow many of our friends and family in the DC area got by the time it was all over.

We got a LOT of strong wind though.  Crazy, howeling wind that rattled the window screens and whistled past the eaves of the house.  Fortunately there was no damage to our home or property.  But the strong winds combined with the full moon and high tide created an unusual situation that caused the canal to flood, just 4 blocks from our house.

In the photo above, you can see in the distance a multi-level condo building, and in the foreground is a park.  Between the condo building and the park is the canal, which overflowed its banks on both sides. 

The canal also 'feeds' a large parcel of marshland nearby.  When the marsh could no longer contain itself, it too overflowed onto several neighboring streets.

Spouse was off because it was Sat, and my company decided not to open on Sat due to the weather so I was off too.  We didn't leave the house at all on Sat.  We texted with family and friends in the DC area, watched TV, played with the boys, and did some laundry.  Very easy, relaxing day.  Once high tide was over and the winds died down a bit the waters began to recede.  By Sun the roads were all passable again.

Provisions

With the impending blizzard expected to dump 2-3 feet of snow in many places that don't normally get that much, my facebook feed has been blowing up with photos of empty grocery store shelves.  Milk, bread, and toilet paper are nowhere to be found.

Milk?  Bread?  Seriously??  Who needs 'em when you've got "Daddy's best friend"??

Make yourself a cocktail or 2 and you won't even THINK about milk or bread.

Here's wishing everyone a safe trip home from work this evening, and that your power stays on.

Weekend recap

Last Thursday's snow resulted in my office opening 2 hours late on Fri.  This was good as it gave me extra time Fri morning to clear off the cars and shovel a path from the door to the driver's side.  I decided not to shovel the entirety of the driveways since the forecast was for much higher temps which would melt the remaining snow.  That night we went to dinner with Steven& Thad and Joe P.

Sat I worked, and then we met up with our friends Vic & Mike for dinner.  We had a good meal and a fun time together.  After dinner we went to their house to see how they've furnished and decorated it.  The last time we saw it was just a few weeks after they'd moved in.  Their primary home is in VA and this is their beach home which I sold them.

Sun we had breakfast with friends, and then took Marvin & Walter for a nice long walk.  The weather was sunny and the temperature was in the 50s so the majority of the snow had melted.  The boys absolutely loved the long walk!  It has been too cold/windy/snowy to walk them in quite a while.  Afterward we decided to take advantage of the nice weather by cutting back our rose bushes, which then lead to a major pruning of our crepe myrtle trees.  We spent almost 3 hours outside doing yard work, but I didn't mind since it was so mild out.  I had on jeans with a t-shirt and a light hoodie - that's it.  We ended the day by meeting Steven & Thad at the diner and then watching our Sun night TV shows:  Girls, Togetherness, and Looking.

It was a nice weekend!

Snow my god!!!

So the east coast was supposed to get a boat load of snow from an enormous storm.  My area was predicted to see snow beginning around 11pm Mon night, continuing through mid-day Tues, with a total accumulation of up to 8".  One of the school systems even closed schools at noon on Mon even though the snow wasn't supposed to start until much later that night!

Apparently the storm developed further offshore than expected so the actual snowfall amounts were much lower than predicted.  My area only got a slight dusting - not even enough to cover the grass or street.  It was pretty much a non-event.  Kids went to school on time, though most had probably stayed up late the night before in anticipation of a snow day.

But I get it.  Meteorologists don't control the weather; they simply try to predict it based on computer models.  But I also believe that the media over-reports potential weather events in order to boost TV viewership.  Our local news had 'live footage' of a reporter standing on a street corner around 10pm waiting for snow to start falling.  Come on now!!

This graphic began floating around facebook and I thought it was too funny not to share.

Crazy cold weather

Last Sun we had a high temperature of 68 degrees.  Wearing just hoodies we took the dogs for a nice walk.

Then 48 hours later, on Tues, it snowed (lightly) for a few hours.

Wed & Thurs it was bitterly cold, with the high temperature only in the 20s.  This was Walter's 1st time seeing snow.  Our poor doggies hardly want to stay outside long enough to do their business.  Tomorrow's high is predicted to be only 23 degrees, with an overnight temperature in the low teens.

While this may not seem "all that cold" to those of you who live in MN, NY, or OH, it is most certainly unseasonably cold for DE.

Here in the southern part of the state, by the coast, we are used to more moderate winter temperatures.  We aren't used to snow.  No one knows how to drive in snow.  We don't have equipment to move the snow when we get it.  Schools will open late or close early with just the forecast of snow.

Being close to the water also means that we have a fair amount of breeze/wind here, which make these bitter temperatures feel even colder. 

And thank god for heated seats in the cars!

Another snow day

It began snowing last night around 8pm.  Lightly at first, then heavier just before we went to bed.

The forecast is for measurable snow.  Just like last time, the accumulations differ widely, depending on which source you check.  When I went outside to clear off my car and shovel a clear path from the house to my car around 4pm, it seemed the snow had all but stopped.  It looked like about 7" to me, but its difficult to tell since the wind always causes drifting here.

Except in front of my driveway.  You see, the snow plow came along and plowed a 2-foot snow bank in front of my driveway!

I know, he has to push the snow somewhere, right?  I just find it ironic that he pushed the snow toward the left side of the street, where me and my full-time neighbors all live.  On the right side of the street there are only 2 houses, neither of which are occupied except on occasional weekends.  So the driveways WITH cars in them got blocked by the snow bank, while the EMPTY driveways continue to have easy access onto the street.

Shortly after I came back inside, the snow picked back up again.  Now, 24 hours after the snow started, it seems to be winding down again.

Schools were closed today.

The state government was closed today, which meant that Spouse got the day off.

Many local businesses including my real estate office were closed so I got a 'snow day' too.

Snow day

All weekend long we heard the widely differing reports about the impending snow storm Titan.

2-4 inches.  4-8 inches.  10-14 inches.  Seriously, the estimates were all over the place.  This was apparently because the storm was wide but not tall, and was moving west to east, so if it dropped down a little more or less, our snow fall could be very different.

Then it was all about when the snow would start.

Between 6-9pm.  Between 9pm to midnight.  Then it was 2-3am.

Well, it started raining last evening, and then when it got colder it turned to sleet, all before midnight.  It didn't start snowing until about 6am this morning.

But the schools and even the state government were so sure we were going to get blasted by a huge snow storm that they announced Monday school and state government closings last night - before a single flake had fallen.  Even my real estate office was closed today.

The snow has all but stopped now, and its about 4pm.  Its hard to tell how much snow we really got because of the wind.  In some places I can see grass while in others there are drifts about a foot deep.  My best guess we got about 4-5 inches of snow.

But it was fun to have a good old fashioned snow day at home.  Spouse & I stayed in our flannel pajama pants all day and watched TV, spent time on our computers, played with Marvin, ate, and just relaxed.  The most strenuous thing I did was shovel a patch of grass near the front sidewalk on which Marvin could 'do his business'.

Snow

All day Mon we heard about the imminent snowfall, strong winds and extreme cold coming our way.

On Tues the State Government closed at 12 noon in anticipation of this "extreme weather event", even though the 1st flake had yet to fall.  Snow predictions for our area initially were 2"-5", but because we were right on the line of the heavier snow, rumors of 5"-9" quickly took over.  

It didn't actually start snowing until about 4:30, but it was very windy all day.  Sustained winds near 40mph made it feel even colder that it was.  Once the snow really started coming down it was like a blizzard.

With the possibility of being 'snowbound' for a day or 2, Spouse stopped at the grocery store for what he calls "storm food", which consisted of frozen pizza, slice-n-bake cookies, and chips.  The snow fell, the wind howled, and Spouse & I hunkered down for the night.

The State Government was closed today so Spouse got another day off.  My company decided to open at 12 noon.  It was next to impossible to tell how much snow we actually got because of the drifting.  In some places the street was visible, while in other places there were 2' and 3' drifts.  The wind receded, but man was it cold.  It was 7 degrees.  The high temperature today was 16 degrees.

Fortunately the wind kept the snow from building up on my car so I didn't have to clean it off.

Weekend highlights

Its hard to imagine the weather being much less conducive to walking around Philly on Sat. The temperature was in the upper 30s as it alternated between rain and snow the entire day. Oh, and did I mention it was very windy too? We used umbrellas but the wind drove the rain and show under them.

When we arrived in Philly around noon we started with lunch at Pietro's. We had soup, salad, and pizza. Then we had a driving tour of Philly and Thad pointed out places of interest such as museums, beautiful old government buildings, and places where he used to live and work. Then we checked into the hotel and walked across the street to Reading Terminal Market. After walking around and getting the 'lay of the land' we took advantage of the vendors' desire to get rid of baked goods for $2. The 4 of us purchased 5 different desserts and enjoyed a Dessert Extravaganza along with some hot coffee. The coffee was especially nice on such a cold, blustery day. Since it was raining/snowing I wore a water-resistant windbreaker but it wasn't warm enough. (My warmer coat isn't water-resistant.) I felt like I was cold the entire weekend. Then we went to Macy's which is located in the old Wanamaker store. What a gorgeous building! Neither Spouse nor I bought anything, since Macy's isn't really our style. Afterward we rested in hotel room until it was time to get ready for dinner. The 4 of us took a cab and met up with Joe P, Allen, and Matt & Stacy for dinner at Farmicia. But after we'd been sat at our table our waiter advised us that they had no gas (which power the stoves and ovens) so they could not provide any hot food! We decided to go to plan B and went around the corner to Fork. I think the dicey weather was the only reason they were able to seat our party of 8 without a reservation. I had wild mushroom risotto which was delicious. After dinner Joe P went with the 4 of us to a bar called the Bike Stop to see some guys in Halloween costumes. Then we walked over to to Tavern on Camac to see more. It was a fun night!

Sun morning walked across the street again to Reading Terminal Market and had breakfast at Down Home Diner. Afterward we walked around the Terminal some more. Fortunately the weather cleared up. It was bright and sunny, but still cold. We packed up our stuff, checked out of the hotel, and headed over to Trader Joe's in the car so we could stock up on our favorite items. (We don't have Trader Joe's near us so we stock up when we're in Philly or in VA visiting family.) Then came home and relaxed and caught up on emails.

It was a very nice trip, although the weather surely could have been nicer.

Crazy weather

Remember me going on and on about how beautiful it was on Fri? 73 degrees and sunny.

Well, last night it snowed. 3 inches.

Real Estate school

Normally my Mon post is entitled "Weekend highlights" and I share what I did over the weekend. But for the next several weeks my weekends will be spent in real estate school, so I'll tell you about it.

The school is located 80 miles north of where we live, which means a 90 minute drive in both directions. Fortunately its a straight shot. It started snowing at few minutes after I got up Sat morning so my drive was not an easy one. At 1 point the snow was really coming down hard and made visibility difficult. I was only able to drive 40 mph for a while, making me worry I'd be late for my 1st class. Fortunately the weather let up and I got ahead of the storm, able to get back up to speed. I arrived with several minutes to spare.

There are 19 students in the class, which runs Saturdays and Sundays only. After we all did a short introduction of ourselves and why we were there I was surprised to find that just a couple of us are planning to be full-time agents. Several want to be part-time agents on weekends and evenings while working their regular 'day jobs'. Another guy is a property manager who's boss wanted him to get licensed as a realtor. Another woman currently works as a receptionist in a real estate office and by law is not allowed to give out information about properties over the phone unless she's licensed. I guess I expected the majority of the students to be planning for a career as an agent.

When the syllabus was handed out several students noticed that the final test was scheduled for March 5 instead of February 13. We were told that the website had incorrectly listed the course as ending on February 13, rather than March 5, which was very disappointing to many of us.

The course is divided into 3 sections: real estate principles, real estate math, and real estate law, each with its own instructor. The principles instructor is a woman named Ruth who has been in real estate since 1968. That's right, over 40 years. She's very knowledgeable and has a sense of humor, so that's nice. The math instructor looks to be 150 years old and proceeded to tell us that he is asked to teach all the time because he's brilliant. Well, if you can't be modest you might as well be brilliant. He also appears to have a sinus problem because he repeatedly pulled a dingy, wrinkled hanky out of his pocket and blew his nose and cleared his throat. Repeatedly. The law instructor is a practicing attorney with his own practice. I've never heard someone so dull or monotone. The math and law sections of this course are going to be hard.

Ruth gave us the option of taking a 1/2 hour lunch and skipping 2 of our 15-minute breaks which would allow us to leave an hour earlier than scheduled. We unanimously agreed to this, which will allow me to get home before dark. Not that I have a problem driving at night, but I think everyone would prefer to drive in daylight if given the option.

The introduction to real estate principles was just a review for me. Spouse & I have bought and sold so many properties (for our personal residences and for investment purposes) that I was familiar with everything they covered. This made for an easy 1st day.

Then we were given a math test. It was all word problems and they were extremely hard. Here's an example of one: "John purchases a distressed property for $35,000. which he plans to fix up and sell for the market price of $125,000. He wants to make a 25% profit on the sale after paying a 6% realtor commission, $850. real estate taxes, and 1.5 points on the mortgage. How much can John spend on the renovations?" Even with the use of a calculator I thought my head was going to explode.

After returning home, Spouse & I had dinner at home and watched TV. I read the 2 chapters in the principles book we were going to cover the next day.

On Sun the drive to school was uneventful. We covered the chapters about real estate terminology, responsibilities and structure. After lunch we covered multiple types of insurance. Again Spouse & I had dinner at home and watched TV.

My life is going to be different from now on. Even after real estate school ends, at least part of my weekends going forward will be spent working - very different from the way I used to spend my weekends. But I'm not sad about this. Its a necessary part of my career transition, and having some weekdays off will give me the opportunity to do things and go places when its not as busy as on weekends. However, as accepting as I am of this, I can't ignore the fact that Spouse & I will no longer have that guaranteed time together every weekend. We'll need to figure out how to socialize with friends and spend quality time together in the evenings rather than just on the weekends. Less TV and more other stuff.

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

We had a slight dusting of snow overnight. Fortunately the temperature rose above freezing and the sun came out this morning so it all melted away already.

Sometimes there are 2 TV shows I'm interested in watching on at the same time. I'll watch 1 and then switch to the other during the commercial breaks. I hate it when BOTH shows run commercial breaks at the same time! Anyone else?

I came across this photo and burst out laughing. I can't even IMAGINE how this happened!!

Spouse & I have joined a gym. Since we had to give up our pricey personal training sessions neither of us has felt good about not exercising. And with Spouse's weight loss goal he really has to exercise in combination with proper diet. The new gym is located inside a community center. I don't like it very much because its cramped, has very poor lighting, and just has a general dreary feeling about it. But its close to our house (convenient) and is the least expensive around so I will tolerate its depressing atmosphere for a few months. But once I'm working and making money again we want to go back to our personal training sessions.

Spouse went back to Weight Watchers last night for the 1st time in almost a month. He'd missed 2 sessions in a row because of Christmas and New Year's Eve and skipped one session because he was busy. The good news is despite all of the holiday parties/food/goodies/etc. he only gained 1/2 a lb. I think that is amazing, and he was rather pleased about it too. So now that the holidays are over he is back on the Weight Watchers wagon and will resume losing weight. His total weight loss since July is 74 lbs.

My 1st day of real estate school is tomorrow! I'll be going from 9am-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays for 6 weekends in a row, so 5 weeks from now I expect to have passed the pre-licensing course and be ready to sit for the state/national licensing exam a few days later. However, most likely the hardest part for me will be deciding on an agency with whom to associate myself. Unlike traditional jobs where compensation and benefit packages are quite similar, realtor compensation and agency perks vary quite a bit. I will likely have to 'interview' the agencies and use a spreadsheet to compare the compensation percentages and agency perks. I'll need to add to that my general comfort level with the principals of the agencies in order to make the right choice for me. In general I've been very encouraged by the feelers I've put out there.

Sometimes I wonder if making such a huge career change should make me more nervous than I am. I hope I'm not that nervous about it because I truly feel its the right direction in which I should be moving.

My friend Lisa sent me this funny video. Quite clever!

Last night Spouse & I watched a really cute film called 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous. It takes place in beautiful New Zealand. We really liked it! It was cute, touching, and the end wasn't predictable. Stream it or check it out on Netflix!

Here's wishing everyone a terrific weekend!

Weekend highlights

Spouse & I had a nice holiday weekend. Most of it went as planned, with one disappointing exception. Because of the east coast snow storm the Newlyweds had to change their flight and they were not able to meet us for dinner Sun evening. I was so looking forward to seeing them, catching up on what has been going on with them, and just being with them.

However, on the bright side one very nice surprise happened on Thurs. We had time for dinner at the Lebanese Taverna. The food there is wonderful and we hadn't been since before we moved here 4 years ago. There was no wait for a table when we arrived, something that's never happened to us there before, and we enjoyed a fantastic meal. We started with hummus and felafel, then Spouse had chicken Fatteh and his mom and I both had chicken Shawarma. We have no such restaurant near us so this was a real treat.

On Fri my dear friend Kathryn met me at Spouse's sister's house where the family and some friends had gathered for a casual meal and to celebrate Spouse's mother's birthday. We had a lovely catch-up session along with a lot of laughs!

Sun was the day it snowed. Apparently the storm was very hard to predict so the DC area was bracing for the possibility of 6-12 inches of snow, which would absolutely shut down the entire area. Spouse's mother was beside herself, and talked about it all day. (Her OCD appears to be advancing with her age.) However, we only got flurries in the DC area, while our home got several inches followed by gusty winds.

On Mon when we got home I shoveled both driveways and the front porch, then relaxed with Spouse and caught up on my email. Later that evening we braved the elements and drove to Steven & Thad's for dinner. It seemed to take forever to get there because we got stuck behind 2 plows and got stopped due to a fender bender. They had lots of Christmas dinner left-overs so we were happy to enjoy a tasty meal with our friends and not have to cook.

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget but too small to be their own post.

Yesterday it snowed. We got about 2 inches which accumilated quickly since it had been so cold recently. The snow was beautiful and it gave me an opportunity to discover that the traction control on the Mercedes works!

Ever wonder what books writers choose to read? Here are 80 authors' selection of their favorite GLBT books of 2010.

Spouse is still doing well on Weight Watchers. However, his weigh-in and meetin were cancelled last night due to the slippery roads so he doesn't know how much weight he lost this week.

Spouse was excited when he found these new Special K crackers in the grocery store. They were lower calorie (etc.) than the reduced fat Triscuits and Wheat Thins. However, his excitement was short-lived when he opened the box and found the crackers were the size of postage stamps!

My friend Susan sent me this hilarious video which shows how the nativity story would occur if it happened in current times. You gotta love this!

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

With our monumental snow storms earlier this month, and more snow predictions for yesterday and today, several friends have sent me this photo with the caption "Snow prediction: 2 feet of snow!!!"
I thought it was clever and cute. We got about an inch of snow yesterday, followed by rain. Its currently snowing but only about an inch has accumulated. Its very windy so flurries are blowing about like crazy.

My friend Patrick sent me this funny video which suggests a very different ending to "Hamlet" if Ophelia had a sassy gay friend. Think of how differently "Romeo and Juliet" might have ended if Juliet had a sassy gay friend!

Spouse's chronic laryngitis (he's had it for 4 weeks now) seems to FINALLY be getting better. For the last week he's been gargling 2-3 times per day with warm salt water. Go figure.

Check out the prices on this 1957 Woolworth's lunch counter menu:I wonder if any lunch counters still exist anywhere? Hopefully "pressed ham sandwiches" don't.

Those wacky folks at The Onion have done it again with their latest hilarious video about banning loveless/sexless marriages! I dare you to watch it and not laugh out loud.

This week I was going to take my BMW to our friend's used car lot to see what he could do for us in trade for this:
when I discovered the BWM had a flat tire. Roadside assistance sent a guy out to put the spare on for me, and I had the flat tire checked out. They removed a small nail and patched the tire since it still had lots of tread on it. Got the car back but yesterday it snowed and rained, and today its snowing. So perhaps Sat I can get a trade-in estimate and a price for the red and black leather interiored beauty. Maybe, just maybe, Monday's weekend highlights post will end this mystery!

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend!!!

Crush du Jour: Michael Fassbender

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

A friend sent me this, which I thought was pretty funny, especially after witnessing 2 blizzards within 5 days.
I can't tell you how many friends on Facebook has posted "Enough snow already!" or something similar.

Our buddies Bugs & Roger were supposed to come from DC for the long weekend (Presidents Day). We had tickets to a special screening of the gay-themed film "Hollywood, je t'aime". We were planning to invite Steven & Thad over for dinner on Sun. But all of those plans had to be cancelled due to the snow and Spouse & me both being sick. The film has been rescheduled to next month, so Bugs & Roger will come next month and we'll have our dinner party then. So now we have a weekend with absolutely nothing to do.

My friend Jared sent me this:
It made me think that maybe the act of mooning goes back farther than the 1950s, as I'd previously thought! :-)

My colleagues and I were supposed to travel to Richmond on Tues & Wed to meet our new VP of Sales (our boss's boss) but several of us decided not to go due to the blizzards. Additionally I stayed home because of being sick. So they rescheduled our visit for next Tues & Wed. We'll all have to give a presentation too. Oh joy. (Insert sarcasm here.)

My friend Jared also sent me this hilarious poster:
Can you believe they actually needed to post this? Too funny! :-)

Hope everyone has a nice Valentines day and a great weekend!

Crush du Jour: Kristian Bush