The other night I was listening to the news as they reported on all the snow covering the East Coast, places that normally get 22" of snow for an entire year, but were reporting 6 feet for the month of January! Yeah, while reporting on piles of snow more than 5 stories high and 4 acres wide, they coined a phrase to describe it all.
"Snowmageddon".
Very descriptive. They filmed doctors and other emergency peoples trekking to work in cross country skis... because that was the only way they could get around. I'm glad I'm not a doctor!
Tonight, we're having our own little version of Snowmageddon. The winds outside are howling near 40 mph and the snow is still coming down in generous proportions from the sky. Phase two should happen around midnight when the snowfall stops, but the winds continue to whip what's already on the ground up and around into some really nice drifts.
In some ways, I'm kind of itching to get out and start in with the snow shovel. However, since that would be completely futile, and being that I like to see lasting results from my work (and prefer that the wind NOT peel the skin off my face!), that means I'll have to wait at least until Thursday when the tempest stops. Until then, we're just not going anywhere!
In the meantime, we've all been "celebrating" with comfort food. It's kind of a snow storm tradition... we buy donut holes, danishes, ice cream, rootbeer and pizza... you know, the good stuff. This afternoon as I was getting ready to cook said pizza along with a set of cheesy bread stix, I asked Kamaron to go down to the basement freezer and bring up some healthy vegetables to complement our decadent food orgy. He came up with pumpkin pie.
"Pumpkin is a vegetable!" he claimed.
Had it not been all out blizzarding outside, I might have argued, but what the heck. If the boy wants pumpkin pie, then I suppose he can have pumpkin pie... and whip cream. Yes, we bought some of that too. I had it on my donut holes for breakfast this morning. Yes... I know... completely decadent.
Maybe that's one of the reasons I like these sorts of storms... it may also be why I'm not losing much weight lately.
Being snowed in creates a small amount of natural stress. You can't drive... and even if you wouldn't be inclined to drive anyway, the very fact that you can't makes you want to all the more. It creates a sort of cabin fever. Like I said... not that you would want to leave the house before, but just knowing that you can't is enough to make you want it. It's human nature.
To counter this natural stress response, we instituted a freedom day. It's freedom from things that normally cause stress. For me, that's dieting. No sense enduring dieting and cabin fever both. However, while I did eat the donut holes and pizza, it all has a limit. Ergo, I don't think I'll "partake" of the pie.
Kamaron, on the other hand, gets stressed out by English tests. He's been working on his final exam for his American Literature class now for a record breaking 26.3 hours... and counting! He's been wanting a "snow day" off of school for even longer than that, so I told him he could have one... as SOON as he FINISHED his final test. His exam is on "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", a book that he has read about 4 times now in the past week, just trying to finish that exam.
That's kind of a downside to home school. You don't get snow days. I mean, get your 4 hours of school work done and you're free to go play in the snow all you want. However, when the wind and snow are howling as they are, it's hard to focus on books and pencils and paper, so we let it slide for the day. He'll have to make up the time later on, but we can let one day slide now and then. Instead, we play scrabble and watch the snow drifts pile up by the feet, doing "estimation exercises".
"I think it's at 49 inches."
"I say 53 1/2."
"Okay, you go measure it then."
"No way, it's cold out there; you measure it."
"No you!"
"I have a better idea; let's just re-estimate in another hour."
"Okay, sounds good! Let's play scrabble until then."
"Cool!"
And so, I guess I'll title this blog: "Snowmageddon rocks!"
Either that, or "Pumpkins really are a vegetable."
Peace out, y'all... and pass the can of whipped cream.
