Friday, February 12, 2010

North Texas Received Record-Breaking Snow After All.

I just want to start off by saying, what a great stinking way to wake up on my birthday!  Snow, and lots of it!  I can already tell you that today will be amazing.  No school, going to work later, and still enough fresh snow for more snow ice cream.  Amazing.

Yesterday (that being February 11th, 2010) broke the previous record of snowiest calendar day of all time by more than 4 inches!!!  We had 11.2 inches fall yesterday beating the previous record of 7.8 inches.  DANG!  We also broke the record for most snow in a 24-hour period with 12.4 inches (.3 more than the '78 record).  I won't lie, it's pretty sweet.  If we get 2 more inches this month, we will have the snowiest winter on record for this area as well as the snowiest February of all time.  As much as I complain about not getting enough snow in North Texas, Mother Nature goes and punches me in the face.  I love it.  Not actual physical pain, but the Mother Nature being awesome part.

I also have to add that yesterday was such a great day.  I felt like such a little kid all day.  Thankfully my little cousin Wesley was around so that I didn't feel like such a loser!  We made a pretty great snowman, had snow ice cream, made snow angels, and had a snowball fight.  It's not that I haven't done these things before in my life, it's that I've never done them in Texas.  The last time I remember it snowing enough to make a snowman I was 3 and it wasn't even but an inch, maybe two.

Our snowman was pretty great.  We made his nose from a half-eaten pickle and his eyes and mouth out of marbles!  Notice our great attention to detail with the scarf, hat, and carefully selected stick arms.  Also notice the bowls in the background collecting snow for our snow ice cream!

That would be Wesley making a snow angel while making only the most hilarious faces because of the snow falling on his face.  Ahhhh.  Great.  He's never seen this much Texas snow in his life.  In fact, I guess no one has.  He also had never made snow angels, a snow man, or ice cream.  I'm definitely glad I got to make his February 2010 Snowstorm memorable!

Wesley decided that since I dusted off the satellite the first time, that he would try the second time.  Notice his general lack of height.  Haha.

This is the beginning of our snow ice cream.  Condensed milk, some fake vanilla extract (the real stuff is expensive and I didn't have vanilla beans on hand to make any, so there!), some almond (also fake I'm sure), and tons of sugar.  I don't think there are many better things on the earth.  There are not pictures of the finished product, because we ate it all.  Very quickly. You'll just have to know that it tasted awesome.












And I leave my blog with this, Jack the snowman, hungover -- possibly a sign of things to come?  And also, SUCKS TO YOUR ASS-MAR VANCOUVER!!!  Okay, so I do find it ever so funny that North Texas has been getting more snow (at the moment) than historically snowy places ... ... ... like Alaska and B.C. [read: Vancouver]!!!  I couldn't help but say it!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

North Texas Is Getting (Almost) Record Snow!



I am pretty much super sporadic with this whole blogging thing, but I don't even care.  Today is awesome.  It's snowing so hard (for North Texas).  So hard (for North Texas), in fact, that I don't have to go to work and I won't be going to school!  The last part being by choice of course.  According to the Dallas Morning News,

"Snow continues to fall and will only grow heavier across North Texas today, contributing to what is expected to be the snowiest winter in 25 years."

The rest of the article is HERE.


I am so excited.  Not only is there snow, there's a lot of it and it's gorgeous.  It's even snowing hard enough to knock the satellite out giving me yet more reason to be outside!  I'll be making snow ice cream if it snows enough (which it should).  I have NEVER made snow ice cream in Texas.  I always have to wait till we go to the ranch in Red River, NM during the winter break for that.  This makes me very happy.  The last time it snowed this much in North Texas was when I was 3 (1990).  That was such a magical time in my childhood.

It's made even more awesome because I'm still young enough to act like a little kid and get away with it!!!  I will be using that excuse all day.  Off to the park for me!!!  I wonder if there's water in the waterfall(s) today?  That would be even more magical.  As per Dango, I'll be trying my hand at cross-country skiing with regular skis at Coleman Lake Park.  Off to the white outdoors for me!

Notice how cute the gazebo and trees in the yard look.  Also notice the snow on the cactus to the right!  I wish I had a dedicated photographer to take cute pictures of me in said gazebo or frolicking, hahaha.  Today will be such a great day (since we're expecting something like 6 inches of snow!), even sans sunshine.

I hope it's apparent how excited I am.

I'm such a kid!  ^_^

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Today Was a Hot Chocolate Day



Today was such a nice day.  I didn't really do anything.  It's been a long time since I went to Coleman Lake Park, but it was well worth it.  It was only slightly disappointing since the larger of the two waterfalls had zero water falling action.  Lame.  It was made so much nicer by the fact that my mom decided that she wanted to come with.  That picture is my mom on the bridge over the small "waterfall."

I think the trail around the lake is about 2 miles and we walked it twice so it was a good hour's worth of walking.  It was cold and damp and grey.


That's from the southern end of the lake.  It looks extra amazing in the spring when the cherry blossoms are blooming and the lake is full.  Again, note the grey skies.









Perfect hot chocolate weather.  I didn't have the hot chocolate till I got back home, but better late than never, no?



Friday, December 25, 2009

Some snow! and MOAR COOKIEZ!

Alright.  A quickie Christmas Day blog seems about right today.  I awoke to find that there was still some snow left in the shadows of random places!

This was in the hammock behind my grama's house!  SNOW!

From Christmas 2009


I also found some on this here fence (like what I did with the hick accent?) near the neighbor's house!

From Christmas 2009


Anyways, the snow was nice and all, but what I appreciated more than that was the cold weather.  I basically never get to wear a scarf for a reason other than looking nice.  I actually needed it.  It's just a shame that it wasn't cold enough for more than a light jacket and a scarf!

Basically all of today involved making even MORE cookies.  Sheesh.  The ones we made today are called biscochitos.  They are delicious.  Holy crap.  We only make them about once a year (sometimes twice if we're lucky!!!).  The only reason we don't make them more often is because making the dough for them is kind of like pulling off your nails one at a time with a pair of tweezers.  It sucks.  The cramped hands and arms are so worth it though.  The combo of anise, cinnamon, and whiskey just does it for me.  I know.  Sounds like a pile of ass ... but it's not.  They're pretty dense, almost hard tack biscuit-like (hence the name) but sweet-ish.  Mmmm.  I pretty much ate half of the first batch by myself.

One of the many boxes of cookies going to someone's house (who knows).  Isn't my mom adorable?

From Christmas 2009


Pressing out one of the small balls of dough:

From Christmas 2009


Cutting out the cookies with a cookie-cutter:

From Christmas 2009


Final product (well, about 1/10th of them):

From Christmas 2009


Yum.

Now off to enjoy my not Christmas dinner.  Our actual dinner and such isn't until tomorrow even though I got my presents today!  Yaaay!

Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

White Christmas (Eve) and All That Other Jazz.

Hokay.  So.  Today has been amazing.

I've pretty much been up alllllll day (this is very unusual for me on a break!).  It would've been a great morning, except my grama woke me up quite vigorously because she wanted me to put on a DVD for her (how adorable, right)!!!  Awwwwww.  I love her.  Speaking of my grama, that's where I've been for the last few days.  It's great and all, but being in Sulphur Springs is like living in a leper colony.  No one wants to come here; no news makes it past Greenville apparently; there's no 3G (so my iPhone is about 48074 times slower); there's no Target, Pei Wei, a mall or any form of a shopping center outside of Wal-Mart; everything closes at 8 (even worse during the holidays); and everyone has immediately learned of my return and everyone wants to see me.  I like feeling famous and all, but there just is not enough time in a day to see everyone and then I feel all bad and such.  Haha. Oh well.  I like seeing all my family and stuff.  I missed everyone.  It's also great because I get home-cooked food and I get to cook for everyone as well as help bake all the holiday goodies!!!  Mmmmmm.  Speaking of, most of today involved prepping stuff for and baking cookies.  Insane.  Though we aren't having the family get-together until Saturday, my mom, grama, and I have to start baking and readying early for the onslaught of grandchildren, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, friends, and strangers that will be at the house.  I love the chaos, it gives me something to do in this otherwise crazy boring town.  I guess I could complain forever, but I won't.  After all, Dallas is only about an hour and a half away.  Still a long drive, but definitely worth it for what Dallas offers me in the way of entertainment.  At least Sulphur Springs is cute.

This is our main street (Main St, lol).

From Christmas 2009


This is some of the pictures taken of me while baking.  Woot.  Great Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies.  Yummy.
Grama:

From Christmas 2009


Messing with pumpkin pie filling.  Right before I took a bite out of the can.  Little cousin to the right:

From Christmas 2009


After taking a bite of it (I thought it might have been sweet--I was way wrong):

From Christmas 2009


Yet another batch of cookies:

From Christmas 2009


The yummy batter after it is finally mixed:

From Christmas 2009


Wrapping last-minute gifts and listening to Christmas music!

From Christmas 2009


My last picture brings me to my last thing.  What's up with all the snow!?!?!?  Whaaaaatttt???  Last time I checked, this is one of only a handful of times that it has snowed in NE Texas, much less during the Holiday season.  I was a little dumbfounded when I was outside and started seeing flurries!!!  Pretty neat though.  I was even able to catch some snowflakes on my tongue!  Also, it's Christmas Eve!!!  Christmas presents and such tomorrow morning!!!  WOOT!  Also, Merry Christmas to anyone who may be reading this!  You can follow where Santa is at the moment on Google Earth as well!!!  It's pretty neat.  He is currently at Machu Picchu.  Hahaha. I will be checking about every, oh I dunno, 1 minute.

Oh yeah.  My last picture!

From Christmas 2009

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Passenger 18C

The following is a letter to my lovely [read: ass-wipe of a human] friend in seat 18C on the Continental flight from Houston to Colorado Springs.

Dear 18C,

I hate you.  The end.

Not really "hate," but wicked dislike.  I thought everything was going to be fine when I saw you coming down the aisle staring at my row.  I even scooted over towards the window seat so that you could have PLENTY of room to sit and be comfortable.  I thought, "surely, this man will be generous and take the aisle seat leaving the required 1-seat-padding-room on non-assigned-seat flights."  You must not have gotten the memo about this new rule.

You decided to sit in the seat directly adjacent to mine.  Now normally, I would not mind this as I have no personal space issues, but this was different.  I'm not sure how to word this politely, but you're a very large man, and I am also a fairly large guy as well, though we are large in different definitions of the word.  I have nothing against comfortably plump people, but there is a reason that larger people must buy 2 seats.  It's just uncomfortable to have a large man directly against your entire left side.  Trust me.

I thought that eventually you'd get up to use to bathroom or get hot enough to stop suffocating me ... but you didn't.  I thought you would feel uncomfortable in the same was that I was, but you must have a much higher tolerance to having someone smother you.  Instead of moving over one, you made things even worse by lifting up the only sliver of metal separating our bodies, my one barrier to cling to: the arm rest.  I didn't think this was all that horrible either, but the fact that we were now side-by-side totally, my tolerance for people in my personal bubble were beginning to thin.

If only you had brushed your teeth, maybe things would have been better.  Even a mint.  I even offered you gum as a nicety, but you would not have my delicious, melon-flavored gum.  I hate you.  I didn't appreciate you endlessly talking to me WHILE I HAD MY HEADPHONES IN MY EAR.  I hope you realize that I did not listen to a single word that you said.  I remember your name, but for anonymity's sake, I'll remain closed-lipped.  How, sir, did you not catch all my signals that I didn't want to talk, and that your body heat was making me uncomfortable!?

I thought the breath was bad, but nooooo, you had to go and outdo yourself.  Sleeping?  REALLY!?  Ughhhh.  I don't care if someone sleeps on a flight ... hell, I normally STRIVE to fall asleep on a flight.  But you had to try to sleep and then try to use MY shoulder as a pillow.  I swear, I was about 2 seconds away from punching you.  Thank GOD the flight attendant was sympathetic to my cause because she woke you up to ask if "you needed a drink" hahahahaha.  It was a short-lived victory; however, as you just haaaad to go and fall back asleep.  I didn't appreciate your head nodding and falling onto me.  I also didn't appreciate your snoring in my ear.  I basically made my ears bleed with the volume of my music to drown you out.

If you're wondering why I suddenly jerked you awake to "use the bathroom," then here's a hint: I hate you.  I also didn't come back to our row because of you.  I felt terrible the whole time, but that was hell.  I feel a little badly for sounding so harsh, but how has no one gone off on you yet!?  I even left my unfinished magazine in my seat to escape you.  I paid $5 for that sucker!  Grrrrrrrrr.  It was like being in a bad movie.  I didn't even know that there were travelers like you in real life!  Now, I'm forever scarred by you and I don't know if I'll ever look at airplane passengers the same!  You may have just made yourself the root cause of all of my personal bubble issues, hahahaha.  Ass.

Well.  I suppose that's all my grievances for now.  I hope YOU had a lovely flight because I know I sure as heck didn't.  -__-



Signed,
Jovan.

PS: I hate you.

Side note: Thank God Colorado was amazing.  And heck yes for having awesome return flight single-serving friends!  :D  Made it all okay!