and while pregnant too!
I just want to acknowledge how blessed I am.
The last big snowfall we had (last week) was a multi-day affair but the bulk of the snow fell mid-day. 
helloheather was out in the driveway with the snow-blower keeping it ice and snow free.
And this isn't the first time this winter she's done that.
She rocks.
catch-up post #n
I was off work from December 23rd through January 4th and it was a really great. helloheather and Nate and I relaxed and spent a lot of quality time together.
Christmas was busy, as usual, with events every day from the 24th through the 27th. But, despite the big snowfall, and the driving around, it was really all very good. Nate was a trouper and really seemed to enjoy visiting the family. Lots of photos need to be posted.
We visited the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum after Christmas, mostly to see the Butterfly Haven they have there. I really thought Nate would enjoy it, but he was not impressed. There were other exhibits he liked though, and overall the visit was a good one. Also, with so many people being off work the week between Christmas and New Years, we had no problems driving into and out of Chicago.
Nate and I also spent a lot of time outside in the snow over break, which was really great. I'm very glad we've had all the snow and that it's been cold enough to keep it from melting. Though, I did hear on the news last night that, if it warms up on Wednesday or Thursday, it'll be the first time since Christmas that we've been at or above 32 deg F. So, it's been a little chilly!
Being back at work for a full week (last week) was tough. It's really easy to get into a habit of being lazy and family-oriented around the house and very difficult to get back into work-mode mentality. However, I've managed to chase the mid-day blues away a bit by bringing a DSLR to work and walking around in the cold and snow. Boots and thermals have been a must.
So 2010 is here and the end of March is rapidly approaching. I'm still not really ready for all of this but it's certainly not waiting for me to catch up.
a reminder of why I don’t treat myself very often
With this being the last day of work for me for the year and with the snow falling so beautifully in the city, I thought I would treat myself to a mocha from Caribou Coffee. This would mean taking a longer route to work from my train and I could enjoy the combination of a hot chocolaty beverage, the crisp air, falling snow, and the slushy sidewalks. I like that sorta thing...it charges the batteries. Next time, though, I'm going to just settle for a longer walk and warm myself with thoughts of the free coffee at work. Why?
$4.
$4, after tax, for a small mocha (and that chocolate-covered coffee bean they give you).
Now, mind you, it's probably been 9 months (or more) since I've set foot in any coffee chain store. And certainly their mocha's are tasty (better than Starbucks IMHO) and certainly the staff is friendly and fast and certainly they're in a good location (right in my station in Chicago). But seriously. $4.
Shame on me for not looking at the price board before ordering.
two thoughts on clothes
1
Every year, when I had my review at work, I'd fill out the space available for comments with the same basic idea:
It would be great if the company business casual a try. A good test could be over the summer and on Fridays only. If people don't abuse it, it could be a permanent Friday thing.
And every year, everyone who saw my review above my boss (directors, vice presidents, various HR staff etc) would ignore it.
Eventually my review form was changed and I no longer had a comments section. (I have no idea if this was a corporate-wide change to the forms or if it was just me. I didn't talk to anyone else about it.)
We got a new CEO in January (after the previous one retired). He's young and full of energy and approved a summer test (starting the Friday before Memorial Day and ending the Friday before Labor Day) of business casual attire. After 10 years it finally has happened.
Except, I sorta have run into a problem: I don't really have any business casual attire. I do have some short-sleeved shirts, but the weather hasn't been quite that warm yet.
The dress code for this test is pretty much: "men can take off their ties and everything else stays the same." But taking off a tie while wearing a dress shirt, to me, just looks like you forgot your tie... You don't look business casual you look business neglectful.
2
Speaking of cool temps...each spring I find it really difficult to stop wearing a coat. I keep walking around thinking I left something or lost something but I just don't know what it is... And then I remember that I'm not wearing a coat and I'm fine for about 10 minutes. Then the feelings start all over again. The first time I sit down in my car to drive to the train station without 2 coats, a hat, gloves, and a sled dog team, I am thrown for a loop.
This long winter and cool spring (save a few days) has reinforced these feelings even more. Not wearing a coat just feels wrong. So on those few warm days that we've been able to gather up, I still have had a spring jacket on. Even if it means carrying it in the heat of the afternoon, I still take one with. I just don't trust Mother Nature. I think she's just waiting to throw a curve ball made of snow...
possible brilliant sunsets
Over on http://spaceweather.com/ there is a notification that, thanks to the eruptions of Mt. Redoubt in Alaska, the Great Lakes region may be in for interesting sunsets.
It's under "SULFUR DIOXIDE LOOP" which mainly details a ring of SO2 currently approach the west coast but does mention the band approaching the Great Lakes region.
You can see an animation of the event here.
we might be having some weather
edit: ah they dropped the totals down to "1 to 5" which means we got just enough to put the plows out once and that's probably it.
Or so it would seem...so much for spring, eh?
Snow through the night. Chance of thunderstorms. Snow may be heavy at times. Snow accumulation of 5 to 7 inches
wherein I talk even more about the weather
This morning on the train platform it was 0F and the wind chill was -15F. During my lunch hour walk it warmed up to 16F with a wind chill of around 2F.
Tomorrow it's only supposed to get up to 11F but then a rather rapid warming trend. 36 for a high then 42 and then, if predictions hold, it'll be 45 deg or warmer on Saturday.
This does not bode well for people living in flood-prone areas. And, baring any February snow storms, we'll be looking at brown grass and dirt for the next month. Oh well.
In other news, after essentially 6 weeks of being sick I'm finally going to the doctor. I think the lingering cold has turned into a full-blown sinus infection.
glad for the snow, not the cold
I've said it before, but I'll take gobs and gobs of snow over the cold any day. Tomorrow and Friday though, it appears the opposite will be occurring.
When I get on the train in the morning, I could be standing in temps of -16 deg F and wind chills of -35 deg F.
On Friday morning, if the forecast holds, the temps in the morning should be -19 deg F with wind chills of -40 deg F. I don't know what that will feel like, but I imagine it won't feel good. I wish I had purchased a winter face mask.
and he’s off…
Friday marked my last day of work until December 29th and I'm only working then and the 30th that week. It'll be nice to have those two stretches in a row off. But the rest of January and February (with limited holidays) will be rather difficult to get through.
The snow last week was great and we ended up adding around 10" on Friday. I feel bad for those to the south of us that got hit with ice instead. I'll gladly take a foot or two of snow over ice any day. Especially because we don't have a generator for the house...
The cold today, however, is brutal.
That's what it was like at 8 am with a windchill of somewhere between -20 and -30. As helloheather mentioned, we tried to head to Milton, WI but Route 14 was getting worse and worse the further north we went. I'm disappointed that we had to miss the baptism but I think we made the right decision.
Lastly, just a note: cetan.org will be down for the foreseeable future. I will still be uploading images to my flickr account if you're at all interested: http://www.flickr.com/photos/phule.
Oh and Happy Winter Solstice.
the long dark tea time of the soul
Because I've been making my lunch at work (having access to a full-size fridge on my floor is great for keeping a variety of food available) I've done almost no walking in the past month. When I have walked it's either been to the store or for short distances and never with a camera.
The situations has not helped by the fact that, we've been averaging 10 deg F below normal for this time of year.
I want to walk, but I also want to eat. And eating out all the time is not a trend one can maintain for very long, especially in this economy.
I need a good kick in the rear. I also need a camera that I can use while wearing gloves...or I need to come up with a better method to keep my hands warm than ski gloves. A post over on the Luminous Landscape website has give me something to chew on.
Also, I just have to make it through the next week and a half, then I'm off the entire week of Christmas, back for two days, and then off again from the 31st until the 5th. I can't wait.
The luxury of heat
I wrote this last week and never posted it...
Standing on a train platform when it's 3 deg F out and the windchill is somewhere around -7 deg F, makes for a chilly morning.
Stepping onto a heated train car and feeling the comfort of warm air surround me, reminded me of a photo essay by photographer Cosmin Bumbuţ in an issue of LensWork Magazine a few years back. The photographer had traveled Romania by rail, and photographed some of his fellow travelers. The cars are not heated and people bundle themselves as much as possible. Some warm themselves with fur, pelts, and that staple: vodka.
The photo essay is here: http://www.bumbutz.com/portfolio/transit/
And when I say it reminded me, I mean: I am extremely thankful for, and grateful to have, heated rail cars. It's a luxury not enjoyed by some when traveling.
lunch today
Lunch on Monday was outside on a picnic bench in a preserve of restored prairie while warm winds playfully moved around me.
I liked the shadow of my banana stem on the table.
She can be all four seasons in just one day
When we left Indy, it was partly cloudy, breezy, and a wonderful 61 deg F. By the time we got to Itasca (at 290 and 355) it was 38 deg F and the falling hail was almost completely horizontal.
