February is Kicking My Ass

It’s been a rough month.  You’ve probably noticed that my blogging frequency has waned as of late.  Or maybe you haven’t.  If not . . . Hello!  Remember me?  How’s the fam?  Say hi to your mom and them for me, ok?

Anyway, like I said, this month has not been the best, and it’s more than just the winter doldrums.  Although, as winter doldrums go, these have been extra doldrumy.  As I’m sure you are aware, either intimately or peripherally, it has been one hell of a freezing winter in the ole US of A.  While I am not normally a fan of cold, this winter has brought my cold aversion to a whole new level of hatred.  And, even though I’m not one to usually post pictures of temperature screenshots, I did capture a few noteworthy moments in temperature history as of late, and will share them with you here.  Oh no, don’t thank me.  You are most welcome!

These were a few mornings that were stupid cold.  I know some Midwesterners were routinely seeing below freezing temps and might scoff at this, but I do not live anywhere near the great white North!  This is very unusual, especially for so many days in a row.  And then there was this:

That one pained me.  Ocean City, MD is my happy summer place.  Our family’s destination every year to enjoy a week of warmth and relaxation.  The fact that it was snow covered and below zero on this fateful morning made me so very sad.

And then there was the frozen stuff falling from the sky because of the stupid coldness.  We got some snow here and there early in the year, but not too much.  I mean, enough that my kids were constantly off and have used more than their allotment of snow days already, but not enough to really cause too much trouble.  Until the ice storm hit.  There is no messing with ice.  I actually had to call in to work and miss court because I couldn’t get out of my driveway or my neighborhood that was coated with about an inch of ice.  I don’t miss court.  But I had no choice.  We were frozen solid.  Here are some lovely pics of the ice outside of my house . . .

But that wasn’t the worst of it.  It was the fact that everything was covered with a layer of ice . . . including the power lines.  Yep, we lost power right about the time I was calling in to work to let them know I was stuck in my house.  And now with no electricity.  Luckily, it came back on about 4 hours later, so I was able to take a shower and make dinner for the kids.  UNluckily, we lost it again later that evening as I was putting my kids to bed.  Oh, and did I mention that my husband was out of town for the entire week during which all of this excitement was occurring?  Yeah.  As is the norm.  He was out of town for the double blizzard three years ago, for the hurricane last year, and now the ice storm.  It has gotten to the point where if he is planning a long trip, I make sure we have extra batteries and that the generator is filled with gas.

Luckily, my brother in law is super rad and came over to make sure we were all ok, filled up the generator again and even brought some extra lights.  These were my favorite:

Nothing like some battery operated candles to make you feel like you are living in the 18th Century.  I was expecting a visit from 3 ghosts at some point that night.  Sadly, I had no visitors.   I also had no shower the next morning when I had to actually go to work.  Sponge bath, for the win!  Thankfully, by the time I got home from work, our power was restored.  We were lucky.  There were some homes without power for many days.  Still, you don’t realize how much you enjoy electricity until you lose it for a day and a half.

Remember how I said that the few snow storms we got early in the year weren’t much?  Yeah, that all changed the week after the ice storm.  We got walloped!  It was a double, so the first wave gave us about 16″ and snow days for everyone, including me!

So, we built snowmen and played in the snow.  Luckily, a very kind neighbor came along and plowed our driveway, but I still had to shovel the front walk you see up there.  It was hard work, but felt good to get some exercise after being stuck in the house for a while.  Unfortunately, the snow wasn’t done with us and by that evening, all of my work was completely covered over with another 6″ of snow!

That WAS a cleared walkway a few hours before!

It wasn’t done yet, but this is how high it got before I went to bed that night.

Then came Valentine’s Day.  Oh VD, how I loathe thee!  My husband assured me that there were 3 deliveries set to arrive that day, although because of the weather, only 1 of those did.  So, I got my chocolate covered strawberries and mini cheesecakes (yum!), but the other 2 packages didn’t arrive until the next Tuesday!  However, I did receive these gems, so it wasn’t all bad:

My husband knows me so well.  I love the poster.  It is now hanging in my office.  It is much needed, believe me.  The pink softness on the right are a great pair of comfy pants that are like being ass hugged by a soft, warm blanket.  And the candle smells lovely.  It was really the perfect thing for that day.  Not too crazy or extreme, but just enough for me to know he cares.  I did eventually receive the craziness the next week, of course.  Because, he’s him and cannot be stopped.

Life sized zebra?  Check.  Huge ass roses?  Also check.  If you have been reading for a while, you might remember that he got me a HUGE stuffed bear last Valentine’s day.  If he keeps this up, I’m gonna need a bigger house just for my furry VD friends.

Around this time, I also got sick and had to miss even more time from work.  And then, when I finally made it back to work, I get a text from my husband . . . his grandfather passed away.  Not entirely unexpected, as he was 96 years old and as of late, his health was failing, but still very sad, as he was the sweetest old guy you would ever meet, always smiling and full of joy.  And, although my father in law seems to be handling it ok for the moment, with his health issues we are worried about how this will affect his current struggle through treatment.

So, after this hellish month, I am just holding my breath for no more tragedies, storms or other horrible incidents in the next week.  I just need to survive one more week, get through my impending birthday, and then finally escape from this all encompassing bitter cold and unending shroud of white and go here:

I can’t fucking wait!  Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that our flight isn’t cancelled or some other such nonsense.  Wish me luck!  I think I’m going to need it.

How has your February been?  Are you just trying to get out alive like me, or have you had an exciting and/or magical month?