Snow in the South

It's a pretty well known fact that the wonderful folks of North Carolina are not really "snow-savvy." The salt trucks get used maybe 2 or 3 times every year, usually for ice. Snow is just now seen very much in these parts and when it is, we really don't know how to act. There is a running joke that at the start of a winter weather advisory, North Carolinian's crave french toast... we all run to the store to buy bread, eggs and milk.

Four years ago, we had about an inch of snow hit in the afternoon during a weekday. The schools closed and everyone rushed from work to pick up their kids. Unfortunately, we were all on the roads before the salt trucks had a chance to run and every bit of road turned to ice. The Triangle experienced the biggest gridlock that was ever seen - roads were lined for over 10 hours with cars going nowhere. (It took me 5 hours to travel a normal 40 minute commute!)

Last week, the Triangle was hit with a snow storm - the biggest in 5 years! Luckily, we saw it coming and the salt trucks treated the roads before the storm hit. Schools closed the night before so kids had all day to enjoy the 5 inches of snow that fell blissfully from the frosty sky.

Despite growing up in Pennsylvania, I am in love with snow. Perhaps it's because I haven't seen it as often as I used to, but I delight in big, soft snowflakes swirling like feathers after a pillow fight - slow and dreamy with nowhere to go but right in my front yard.

Last year we were supposed to have a big snow storm but it never materialized. I was on pins and needles waiting for it and was hugely disappointed that it didn't come. But this year was a dream come true! The snow fell for almost 10 hours. Even though I was at the computer working from home, I could watch the snow fall and fall and fall. It was fantastic!

I was especially happy for my daughter and the kids in the neighborhood. They found a new sledding hill and frolicked in the snow until they were practically frozen. My dryer was on all day long as my daughter would come in every couple of hours to exchange wet hats and gloves for dry, warm ones. What a joy to hear their laughter and see their excitement. I, too, took some time to walk around in the winter wonderland - well worth the 5 year wait!

See more photos of our beautiful snow at Sunniviews!

Door Decoration Winners Announced

Every year, the organization that I work for holds several holiday events. Among the Christmas party and potluck lunches, we have a door decorating competition. You may remember my post from last year about my design based on a quote I found: "A single candle can light a thousand and not be diminished... Happiness never dwindles when it is shared." I created a cardboard cutout Christmas tree, poked Christmas lights through the back and made strands of little cutout people decorated with glitter hearts to use as garland for the tree.

This year was a little different because I'm no longer in a cubicle. My team and I have moved into an office together (formerly a conference room) so our door decoration was a 3-person effort. My friend Maxine found a huge cardboard Santa that we used as the central focus. We thought we'd incorporate all of our kids in the design and opted for using their faces peeking out of the window of a house nearby. We created a winter-wonderland snow scene and left cookies by the door.

The winners were announced at our holiday party and we were shocked to learn that we had won first prize! What an honor! (It must have been because of those adorable kids!)

The Concept of Art

The other morning, my daughter announced that the Kid's Worldbook (an encyclopedia for kids) has the most inappropriate thing in it. She proceeded to tell us that they were in class doing research (3rd grade, mind you) and she had the Kid's Worldbook on D's. And, right there in the book, was David! Naked! "You could see his ding-a-ling!!", she exclaimed.

My husband and I supressed a laugh and asked her if she told her teacher. Yes, she said. I asked what her teacher said. "She said she'd get me a new book."

I can just imagine being a 3rd grade teacher and having to endure the constant questions from kids, especially at this age when they're trying to figure out what is right and what is wrong. In fact, just a week before, we had some long discussions about bad words. She was trying to figure out the meaning of the B word (that rhymes with witch) and the A word (that rhymes with class.) We started by trying to explain the dual meaning of both these words - a female dog and a donkey. How, in certain context, you can use them both and be perfectly fine but that most of the time, they are used in the foul sense, hence, bad words.

This all went right over her head. (Am I surprised?... ah, no.) I went to school to have lunch with her a few days later. She stopped abruptly in the middle of the lunchroom and said "Mommy, I just can't get those words out of my head" Which ones, sweetie, I said (having forgotten all about the bad word discussion.) "B*** (that rhymes with witch) and A***(that rhymes with class.)" But she actually said them... Loudly.

Oh my - you know that feeling when you're whole body kind of freezes up and your lungs squeeze right out of your chest? I was feeling just that way when I kneeled down eye-level with my sweet 8 year old and told her she absolutely may not say those words and there are thousands of words she can fill her head with instead like rainbow, macaroni, sneaker, silly, sunset to name a few. Luckily she took the bait of this game and we spent the entire lunch time thinking up all the nice words that we can fill our heads with instead of... those.

In fact, the reason she is using the "ding-a-ling" word is because she was previously using the B word that rhymes with walls. I know this is not really the foulest of the foul words but certainly not appropriate. One time when she was about 4, she fell while riding her bike, apparently hurting her crotch area. She came down the street crying her eyes out and saying she hurt her B*** that rhymes with walls. We explained that she's a girl and doesn't have any of those... ah, you know.

But this age is truly so sweet. This weekend she was trying to understand the dual meaning of the word gay - which a friend of hers said when they were playing Barbies. "And I was so surprised, Mommy, because right away I thought of a woman and a woman in love but then I realized that she was talking about the happy gay... and today I am very, very gay because it's like spring outside and I can wear shorts!" The other day she was talking about a picture that had the "Grape Ball of China!" Hilarious!

So, did we ever have the talk about appropriate and inappropriate art? Nah. We were rushing out the door at the time. I'll leave that discussion up to my sister, the New York artist, who has probably had many, many discussions with her artist friends about this very subject!

UPDATE: I've had a lot of people ask, so I thought I'd let you know that the psychotic, prehistoric squirrel in front of David is none other than "Scrat" from the animated movie, Ice Age. (This scene is from Ice Age 2.)