Snow Day!

On Friday we got about 2" of snow! For us, in the Memphis, TN area this is pretty rare, so when it happens it stops the whole city and we make it a big deal.

Since Bryan works from home, I don't work, and Charlie isn't in school it didn't really effect us. But we did get dressed and go out for a little while late morning. We were anxious to see how Charlie would take to the snow as he really hasn't seen any before. 

Looking out the window. 

Charlie did not like it. 

But it was oh so pretty. 

Charlie did not like being out in the snow and insisted that we carry him most of the time. Since 35 lbs of toddler isn't so much fun to tote around, we didn't spend too much time out. Bryan kept a fire going all day and on Saturday too. We still have some on the ground, but as tomorrow will be 60 degrees I doubt it will be around much longer. 

Our Christmas Tree 2016!

Presenting our 2016 Christmas tree!!! 

The last few years we've gotten our live tree from Midtown Nursery and we've loved it. Each has been so beautiful. But with the new house and the new neighborhood we were eager to support our neighbor's business, Good Winds. So the Saturday after Thanksgiving (they were closed Friday), the three of us walked over and chose our tree. 

Then we walked it home! Yay for new traditions!!! 

It was a little tall. Darn you, lower ceilings! 

It took us about two days to fully decorate and Charlie is totally mesmerized. We spent about a week saying "DON'T TOUCH THAT!" but he's finally gotten the hang of it. He has his favorite ornaments he enjoys pointing out and he LOVES turning the tree on and off. 

It looks a little crooked in the pictures, but its not so bad in real life. 

Charlie seems to be understanding more and more this year. He points out Christmas trees all over and says "pretty" when he sees lights. What a fun season this will be! 

January Snow!

Last Friday we were forecasted to receive 4-6 inches of snow. Instead we got a dusting and I think Nashville got all our snow and then some. That didn't stop us from going outside (for all of 10 minutes) for Charlie to see his first snow.







Charlie was not amused or impressed with the snow. Oh well... Poor kid was dealing with his first real cold.

It was beautiful while it lasted.

Ice, Ice, Baby

Sunday night/Monday morning we finally got a little winter weather in Memphis. It started with nearly 2.5" of rain but developed into ice and snow.

We woke up Monday morning to this:



It was mostly ice with a 1/2" layer of snow on top. Most people stayed home from work and school. When you work from home everyday snow days just don't hold the same allure they once did.

Jenna did come spend the day with us which was a fun change of pace.



We walked to the Square in the morning to get a look at everything. Pretty desolate early in the morning. For lunch we walked over to Crazy Noodle for hot bowls of noodle soup.

Wednesday it started melting more and now we're just a soggy mess. Oh well. I'm glad we finally got some white stuff.

Always Be Prepared

Memphis is in a flurry of excitement and anxiousness. At this time we are now under an Ice Storm Warning. Mention ice and natives will start rolling their eyes and recalling the year 94 and the lovely ice storm we endured. I was 9 at the time so I don't really remember too much, other than we were without power for a long time, my grandparents lost a bunch of trees, and it was really really cold.

Yesterday I was reading the Memphisweather.net blog and he mentioned that it was 70 degrees the day before the ice storm in 94. It was 75 yesterday. That was all it took for me to flip into winter-preparedness mode.

My yankee husband's family rolls their eyes and scoffs at Memphis and their tendency to freak out at any winter weather event. I'll admit that it can be a little much and unnecessary at times. But when there is ice involved I do not mess around.

So I spent the better part of the last 24 hours thinking and preparing for our impending doom storm. Scoff all you want, but when you lose power for 10 days and run out of food don't come crying to me.

I've got a cooler on the front porch with dry ice ready to move to the freezer if we lose power. I've roasted a weeks' worth of coffee beans (I'll grind them tomorrow). Made the Kroger run at 8:30 this morning to stock up on the essentials (bananas, rotel, nutella, and ginger ale naturally). Run the dishwasher and cleaned clothes and towels. I'm feeling pretty good at this point.

My main concern is losing the contents of my beautifully stocked freezer. Gallons of precious stock (chicken, duck, and turkey varieties!), lasagna, various cuts of meat, bags of bolognese, and individual servings of soups from the last year. Sigh... Hopefully the dry ice will help preserve many things. We have gas so I should be able to cook the sauces and heat up soups to eat off for a couple of days.

So... here we are. On the cusp of a much anticipated and talked about ice storm. I hope that this storm is not as strong as weather experts are predicting. Yet at the same time a part of me wishes those that scoff learn to respect the Memphis winter. Only time will tell...

Stay warm out there.