Showing posts with label atlanta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label atlanta. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Friday, April 27, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
on running
i have started running again. i can't believe it either.
a history of miss claire's running:
i peaked in 8th grade. i ran track in 8th grade because...i have no idea. but i didn't hate it, and in one meet i came in 3rd place in the mile. my time was 7 minutes and something. i liked track. weird.
okay, i didn't peak in 8th grade. i peaked in 8th and 9th and 10th grade when i was on a traveling soccer team and we had intense practices that began with a long 20-30 minute run. i could do these runs, which shocks me now. in high school i was the...least skinny kid on the team. i remember our coach - whose last name was faggett. YES. coach faggett. i believe it had two t's. he was one of the only black professionals in town and he was very religious and he had a cute daughter. this is all i remember about him - our coach would run with us, and at the beginning of each season he would end the run out of breath, commenting that he hated being in shape in his legs but out of shape in his lungs.
i continued to play soccer through high school and then played rugby in college.
in college we did a lot of running, but i wasn't exactly in the best shape of my life. there was a fair amount of beer drinking and papa john's pizza consuming, as well.
i graduated from college and stopped running. for a while i just stopped exercising in general because (a) new hampshire was cold, (b) i hadn't discovered yoga yet, and (c) i thought that the only good workout was a run, and if i didn't want to run i just didn't work out.
later i discovered yoga and lifting weights and walking, and those have become my workout staples. i'm a very consistent 3 times a week exerciser because it's something i enjoy doing.
and then two weeks ago i decided that i wanted to get in better shape. i've added in some no pressure running into my walks. the key is that there's no pressure - no one's forcing me to run. this is really important to me.
the first day i ran for 5 minutes and 30 seconds of an hour long walk.
the next time, 6 minutes.
the next time, 7.
the next time 8. i had to lie down after that one. it was really hot. i'll blame it on the heat.
then 9, 10, 11, 12. today i ran for 13 minutes - five 2-3 minute intervals.
(yes, i am calling it interval training to feel better about myself.)
um, running is fun. I FORGOT. when you don't attach all these expectations to it, running is fun. lady gaga and i having a good time.
my shins hurt at the start of each run, but my lungs are the ones out of shape. i think about coach faggett every time i finish running and have to work to catch my breath.
should you be impressed with what i'm doing? obviously not. running for 13 minutes - and not even in a row - isn't much to write home about when i have friends running marathons (yay morgan!). but all of this has been such a good reminder to me to push myself a little bit. that it's fun to set goals. and this april in atlanta has been incredible - it's cooler than late march was, with highs in the mid 70s instead of the mid 80s. being outside is awesome.
a history of miss claire's running:
i peaked in 8th grade. i ran track in 8th grade because...i have no idea. but i didn't hate it, and in one meet i came in 3rd place in the mile. my time was 7 minutes and something. i liked track. weird.
okay, i didn't peak in 8th grade. i peaked in 8th and 9th and 10th grade when i was on a traveling soccer team and we had intense practices that began with a long 20-30 minute run. i could do these runs, which shocks me now. in high school i was the...least skinny kid on the team. i remember our coach - whose last name was faggett. YES. coach faggett. i believe it had two t's. he was one of the only black professionals in town and he was very religious and he had a cute daughter. this is all i remember about him - our coach would run with us, and at the beginning of each season he would end the run out of breath, commenting that he hated being in shape in his legs but out of shape in his lungs.
i continued to play soccer through high school and then played rugby in college.
in college we did a lot of running, but i wasn't exactly in the best shape of my life. there was a fair amount of beer drinking and papa john's pizza consuming, as well.
i graduated from college and stopped running. for a while i just stopped exercising in general because (a) new hampshire was cold, (b) i hadn't discovered yoga yet, and (c) i thought that the only good workout was a run, and if i didn't want to run i just didn't work out.
later i discovered yoga and lifting weights and walking, and those have become my workout staples. i'm a very consistent 3 times a week exerciser because it's something i enjoy doing.
and then two weeks ago i decided that i wanted to get in better shape. i've added in some no pressure running into my walks. the key is that there's no pressure - no one's forcing me to run. this is really important to me.
the first day i ran for 5 minutes and 30 seconds of an hour long walk.
the next time, 6 minutes.
the next time, 7.
the next time 8. i had to lie down after that one. it was really hot. i'll blame it on the heat.
then 9, 10, 11, 12. today i ran for 13 minutes - five 2-3 minute intervals.
(yes, i am calling it interval training to feel better about myself.)
um, running is fun. I FORGOT. when you don't attach all these expectations to it, running is fun. lady gaga and i having a good time.
my shins hurt at the start of each run, but my lungs are the ones out of shape. i think about coach faggett every time i finish running and have to work to catch my breath.
should you be impressed with what i'm doing? obviously not. running for 13 minutes - and not even in a row - isn't much to write home about when i have friends running marathons (yay morgan!). but all of this has been such a good reminder to me to push myself a little bit. that it's fun to set goals. and this april in atlanta has been incredible - it's cooler than late march was, with highs in the mid 70s instead of the mid 80s. being outside is awesome.
Friday, November 11, 2011
layover
last night i got to see becky! she had a layover in atlanta on her way to texas for the weekend, but her first flight was delayed so she got stuck here for 7 hours. we only got to hang out for the time it took to drive home from the airport home, sleep in separate rooms, and then to drive her to take MARTA (our "subway" system) to the airport in the morning, but it was still really nice to see her. hooray. :)
in case you didn't know, when it is 11:45pm there are no rules when you are waiting for someone to exit the airport and get in your car. normally there are police cars everywhere and your ability to stop and wait for someone is minimal - if they aren't coming out the door, you better move along and circle back around. last night i sat for 10 minutes by the curb - with about 50 other cars, none of us moving - while the police just sort of watched. 10 minutes! i turned my car off. no one cared. what universe are we living in?! (i guess if you are going to bomb the terminal you don't do it in the middle of the night. makes perfect sense.) and then a street sweeping truck drove the wrong way past me on the one way road there by the terminal. you know. like they do.
in case you didn't know, when it is 11:45pm there are no rules when you are waiting for someone to exit the airport and get in your car. normally there are police cars everywhere and your ability to stop and wait for someone is minimal - if they aren't coming out the door, you better move along and circle back around. last night i sat for 10 minutes by the curb - with about 50 other cars, none of us moving - while the police just sort of watched. 10 minutes! i turned my car off. no one cared. what universe are we living in?! (i guess if you are going to bomb the terminal you don't do it in the middle of the night. makes perfect sense.) and then a street sweeping truck drove the wrong way past me on the one way road there by the terminal. you know. like they do.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
things* i miss about oxford
it's official: i miss oxford. when i got back to atlanta i was just happy to be home, enjoying the comforts of being back in the US. but every year at about this time i start missing oxford and those experiences again; i start thinking about going back next summer. here are a couple reasons why:
1. alpha bar. alpha bar is this incredible food stand in the covered market with lots of fresh and healthy food; i often got a small box (4 items) for lunch. you can mix and match from lots of salads and cheeses and proteins. my favorite small box combination is lentil salad, hummus, carrot and cabbage slaw, and grilled halloumi cheese. i also love the roasted veggies and feta cheese, so sometimes i sub one or the other in. in short: if alpha bar existed in atlanta i would go DAILY. sigh.
here i am talking about food again. oops. the pizza artisan van is a, well, van with a wood burning oven in it. the van man parks on the side of the road in town and makes fresh pizzas in literally 2 minutes. (ignore the question of how he is allowed to have a super heated fire in a van that obviously has gasoline in it.) i became obsessed with this pizza. in 2 minutes you can have a mushroom pizza with roasted garlic on it, topped at the last minute with spinach and rocket (aka arugula). YUM.
1. alpha bar. alpha bar is this incredible food stand in the covered market with lots of fresh and healthy food; i often got a small box (4 items) for lunch. you can mix and match from lots of salads and cheeses and proteins. my favorite small box combination is lentil salad, hummus, carrot and cabbage slaw, and grilled halloumi cheese. i also love the roasted veggies and feta cheese, so sometimes i sub one or the other in. in short: if alpha bar existed in atlanta i would go DAILY. sigh.
2. the pizza artisan van.
here i am talking about food again. oops. the pizza artisan van is a, well, van with a wood burning oven in it. the van man parks on the side of the road in town and makes fresh pizzas in literally 2 minutes. (ignore the question of how he is allowed to have a super heated fire in a van that obviously has gasoline in it.) i became obsessed with this pizza. in 2 minutes you can have a mushroom pizza with roasted garlic on it, topped at the last minute with spinach and rocket (aka arugula). YUM.
3. walking places. in atlanta i drive everywhere except (sometimes) the grocery store that's across the street from my house. places i want to go are far apart and traffic stresses me out. in oxford we walked everywhere, and living in a town where that is possible was wonderful. would i want to live in a place that small year round? probably not. but i miss it.
4. the weather, though atlanta's late september weather is similar to oxford's hottest july day, and i'm appreciative of the fact that we're moving in the right direction. jeans and sweaters and clear days that aren't hot - that's my favorite climate.
5. feeling like you're in college again - sort of - in that there are people around all the time and at a moment's notice you could always find someone to go grab a drink with you or play uno (don't laugh) with you. when we weren't on duty our job was to be free in case of emergency, which also meant that people were free to hang out. real life isn't like that - i, and all my friends, are busy and scheduled and finding time to just hang out requires forethought. ugh. while i understand that real life can't be like a summer job, i'm still sad about it.
*again, obviously not people, as i miss my oxford friends a lot...
Monday, August 29, 2011
i went to limerick junction this weekend with some of my favorite people.
(other favorite people not shown but definitely present.)
pretty close to the best night ever. elevated to "close to the best night ever" status by the fact that willis got on stage and sang with the guy who plays live music there every other weekend. it was incredible.
(other favorite people not shown but definitely present.)
pretty close to the best night ever. elevated to "close to the best night ever" status by the fact that willis got on stage and sang with the guy who plays live music there every other weekend. it was incredible.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
i think mike was hoping i'd forget
back story: last year while working in england, a (straight) english guy i worked with wore white linen capris (man-pris) several times over the month of the program, and i decided this was the most english-y thing to do EVER. no (straight) man in america would wear white + linen + capris, or any combination of two or more of those items. i told my friends at home about it. somehow home-friend mike agreed to wear a pair of white linen capris (purchased by me in england) out on a saturday night in atlanta, unable to tell anyone that this is a joke/social experiment. in exchange, mike gets (a) one free pair of white linen capris, and (b) free drinks all night. [am i remembering this correctly, atlantans?]
today: i purchased said pair of white linen capri pants. mike, you actually have to do this now.
[don't worry, blog readers: i promise we'll take pictures.]
today: i purchased said pair of white linen capri pants. mike, you actually have to do this now.
[don't worry, blog readers: i promise we'll take pictures.]
Saturday, July 23, 2011
atlanta is "the city in a forest"?? who knew? though i do love all of our trees...it's a fitting nickname when you think about it...
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
schedule
i've decided that summer in atlanta is all about this:
wake up in the 10 o'clock hour. watch tv / read book.
eat lunch.
be productive for a couple hours (i ran errands today and stopped by work for a bit to tie up some loose ends there).
go to the gym.
come home during the hottest part of the day - while sweaty from the gym (not a good combo, i know) - and just LIE AROUND. it is too hot - even in the air conditioned house - to do anything else. (this is where we are in my day right now. outside temperature: 91.)
shower.
do something social when the temperature allows you to be outside and not be constantly sweating (today: dinner at taqueria del sol with friends). drink some sort of delicious summer beverage. current favorite: mojitos.
sleep.
this will be my life for the next two weeks (minus this weekend - trip to charleston to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday!) and i'm pretty pumped about that.
wake up in the 10 o'clock hour. watch tv / read book.
eat lunch.
be productive for a couple hours (i ran errands today and stopped by work for a bit to tie up some loose ends there).
go to the gym.
come home during the hottest part of the day - while sweaty from the gym (not a good combo, i know) - and just LIE AROUND. it is too hot - even in the air conditioned house - to do anything else. (this is where we are in my day right now. outside temperature: 91.)
shower.
do something social when the temperature allows you to be outside and not be constantly sweating (today: dinner at taqueria del sol with friends). drink some sort of delicious summer beverage. current favorite: mojitos.
sleep.
this will be my life for the next two weeks (minus this weekend - trip to charleston to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday!) and i'm pretty pumped about that.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
what sounds really fun in principle: free yoga class led by my favorite instructor in piedmont park on a thursday (that would be today) evening.
in practice... well, since it's 94 degrees outside right now and i am instantly covered in a thin layer of sweat upon exiting the house and walking to the car (which i did at noon to go to my eye doctor's appointment), um, what would it feel like to do yoga outdoors for an hour and a half? tragic? probably so. especially since i sweat buckets in the climate controlled yoga studio. yeah...i just decided to watch the finale of season 1 of dexter in my air conditioned house instead (how is dexter going to save deb from the ice truck killer?!? i MUST know)...and go to the air conditioned gym later this evening.
this is the smart move, i promise.
in practice... well, since it's 94 degrees outside right now and i am instantly covered in a thin layer of sweat upon exiting the house and walking to the car (which i did at noon to go to my eye doctor's appointment), um, what would it feel like to do yoga outdoors for an hour and a half? tragic? probably so. especially since i sweat buckets in the climate controlled yoga studio. yeah...i just decided to watch the finale of season 1 of dexter in my air conditioned house instead (how is dexter going to save deb from the ice truck killer?!? i MUST know)...and go to the air conditioned gym later this evening.
this is the smart move, i promise.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
sunday
another truly gorgeous day - the kind of day that makes you appreciate just the ability to live through it. i can feel summer coming - can feel the weight of work lifted off my shoulders, can feel the beautiful weather coming (and staying). i love days like this.
mike and kelly and i went to the braves game this afternoon. now, you might be saying to yourself, "miss claire, i thought you made a pledge to the universe never to go to a day braves game ever again because you are always hot and miserable!" why yes, i did make that pledge. but it's early enough in the season that it isn't TOO hot - though it was in the mid-80s today - and i have found the magic of section 414 where there is shade for the entire game. heaven!! pledge taken back!!
i love going to baseball games because of (a) the ability to enjoy being outside (if the weather is nice), (b) i like baseball, and (c) i'm not so terribly invested in the game that i stop enjoying myself if the team does poorly. duke games are really fun to see in person, but if they're losing i am unhappy. the braves lost today, 3-0, and it almost didn't matter. i was happy just to be at a game. i was in pretty good company, too, so that didn't hurt.
kelly indulged my attempt at an artsy shot of the field reflected in her sunglasses. thank you, kelly.
i took a shower after the game (sweating still happened even in the shade), and then joey and i had dinner with two friends on the patio of a restaurant near our house and it was still quite warm even though the sun was going down. strike that: it was the perfect temperature to sit on a patio. bliss.
monday: to you i say "harumph." summer vacation: hurry up and get here!
mike and kelly and i went to the braves game this afternoon. now, you might be saying to yourself, "miss claire, i thought you made a pledge to the universe never to go to a day braves game ever again because you are always hot and miserable!" why yes, i did make that pledge. but it's early enough in the season that it isn't TOO hot - though it was in the mid-80s today - and i have found the magic of section 414 where there is shade for the entire game. heaven!! pledge taken back!!
i love going to baseball games because of (a) the ability to enjoy being outside (if the weather is nice), (b) i like baseball, and (c) i'm not so terribly invested in the game that i stop enjoying myself if the team does poorly. duke games are really fun to see in person, but if they're losing i am unhappy. the braves lost today, 3-0, and it almost didn't matter. i was happy just to be at a game. i was in pretty good company, too, so that didn't hurt.
kelly indulged my attempt at an artsy shot of the field reflected in her sunglasses. thank you, kelly.
i took a shower after the game (sweating still happened even in the shade), and then joey and i had dinner with two friends on the patio of a restaurant near our house and it was still quite warm even though the sun was going down. strike that: it was the perfect temperature to sit on a patio. bliss.
monday: to you i say "harumph." summer vacation: hurry up and get here!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
new celebrity crush:
waldemar torenstra.
(photo from here)
what? you're not up on your dutch film stars? shocking.
for christmas dad got me a membership to a film club that screens foreign and independent movies two sundays a month in a movie theater in atlanta. a film professor from emory picks the movies and leads a discussion/analysis afterward. today was the first showing, and we saw bride flight which was WONDERFUL and i've decided that i'm going to marry waldemar torenstra. the film is in both english and dutch, and he speaks pretty good english (with a new zealand accent) in parts of the movie, so don't worry: i think we'll be able to communicate. as this is the only potential barrier to our love, expect the wedding invitations soon.
what? you're not up on your dutch film stars? shocking.
for christmas dad got me a membership to a film club that screens foreign and independent movies two sundays a month in a movie theater in atlanta. a film professor from emory picks the movies and leads a discussion/analysis afterward. today was the first showing, and we saw bride flight which was WONDERFUL and i've decided that i'm going to marry waldemar torenstra. the film is in both english and dutch, and he speaks pretty good english (with a new zealand accent) in parts of the movie, so don't worry: i think we'll be able to communicate. as this is the only potential barrier to our love, expect the wedding invitations soon.
Monday, January 17, 2011
woah, where have i been?
sorry to disappear with no warning...my TIP friends came into town this weekend and there was no time for blogging because there was too much fun to be having. much more to come on that fun...
before flights departed today we had brunch today at ria's bluebird cafe on memorial drive and it was AWESOME - i had a breakfast burrito: scrambled eggs, cheese, black beans, potatoes, sour cream, salsa verde, and curried sweet potatoes. such a perfect meal. our placemats were homemade and in honor of MLK day which made me love the place even more.
"There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. When we look beneath the surface, beneath the impulsive evil deed, we see within our enemy-neighbor a measure of goodness and know that the viciousness and evilness of his acts are not quite representative of all that he is. We see him in a new light. We recognize that his hate grows out of fear, pride, ignorance, prejudice, and misunderstanding, but in spite of this, we know God's image is ineffably etched in being. Then we love our enemies by realizing that they are not totally bad."
--Martin Luther King, Jr., 1957
before flights departed today we had brunch today at ria's bluebird cafe on memorial drive and it was AWESOME - i had a breakfast burrito: scrambled eggs, cheese, black beans, potatoes, sour cream, salsa verde, and curried sweet potatoes. such a perfect meal. our placemats were homemade and in honor of MLK day which made me love the place even more.
"There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. When we look beneath the surface, beneath the impulsive evil deed, we see within our enemy-neighbor a measure of goodness and know that the viciousness and evilness of his acts are not quite representative of all that he is. We see him in a new light. We recognize that his hate grows out of fear, pride, ignorance, prejudice, and misunderstanding, but in spite of this, we know God's image is ineffably etched in being. Then we love our enemies by realizing that they are not totally bad."
--Martin Luther King, Jr., 1957
Thursday, January 13, 2011
snowed in part 7 / it's getting ridiculous
so...it's snow day #4 and tomorrow i'll have snow day #5. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT EITHER. except, i can. today i made a break for it and drove to world peace cafe to volunteer for a couple hours, then to the gym to get some needed exercise. and the roads were perfect in places - and HORRIBLE in others. on I-285, a six lane highway, i was driving in the left lane, going like 20 miles an hour because that's how fast traffic was going, and all of a sudden the entire lane was ice. after giving a big "i'm coming over - please let me in!" wave to the woman in the lane next to me, i moved over into a lane where i could actually, you know, grip the pavement. she gave a wave back that said "i know that your lane is completely tragic and you are welcome here any time." the iced over lane continued FOR MILES. um, atlanta? IT STOPPED SNOWING ON MONDAY AFTERNOON. could you please do something about the ice on a major highway three days later?? no? your plan is still "let it melt on its own"? great. so appreciative that my tax dollars are at work on something important.
it was great to spend time at the cafe, and even better to go to the gym. i spent a full hour on the elliptical machine, even when my atrophied-from-four-days-in-a-row-of-doing-nothing legs were really tired, and it felt so good to be moving. oh, and there was sun today! glorious sun! now, the low tonight is supposed to be 16 degrees, so all that snow/ice that the sun melted will probably make the roads even worse than they already are, but no matter. i saw the sun today and worked out. life is pretty good.
it was great to spend time at the cafe, and even better to go to the gym. i spent a full hour on the elliptical machine, even when my atrophied-from-four-days-in-a-row-of-doing-nothing legs were really tired, and it felt so good to be moving. oh, and there was sun today! glorious sun! now, the low tonight is supposed to be 16 degrees, so all that snow/ice that the sun melted will probably make the roads even worse than they already are, but no matter. i saw the sun today and worked out. life is pretty good.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
snowed in part 6 / extreme boredom edition
so, it's wednesday - day 3 of being out of school for snow/hazardous road conditions. today i: watched a lot of tv, read my book, walked to the grocery store, took a shower, made and ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner. and that is pretty much it. at 4:30 this afternoon, the call came: school is cancelled tomorrow, as well. atlanta's plan of "wait until the snow melts itself" isn't going very well so far. i'm bored and tired of being home from work. and we've got another day ahead of us. sheesh. last night new york city got 9 inches of snow and becky still had to go to work this morning. i learned on the new york times that the city of new york has 1,700 snow plows. your math for the day: 1,700 > 8
there are no pictures of what i did today because i did only boring things. boo.
my plan tomorrow is to venture out in my car for the first time (joey drove to and from mike and kelly's house) - yoga and volunteering at world peace cafe. i hope the roads will be okay if i do all of that during daylight hours.
while deep in the heart of boredom, i got an email letting me know i've been selected as an AP reader again this year. for about half an hour, i considered it - it pays well - but then remembered how little fun i had doing it last year. i actually made myself re-read my blog entries from that week in june, and BOY WAS I DISLIKING IT THEN. so i'm turning down the money and picking happiness instead. what will i do for the first week of june? i don't know...but it won't be this.
there are no pictures of what i did today because i did only boring things. boo.
my plan tomorrow is to venture out in my car for the first time (joey drove to and from mike and kelly's house) - yoga and volunteering at world peace cafe. i hope the roads will be okay if i do all of that during daylight hours.
while deep in the heart of boredom, i got an email letting me know i've been selected as an AP reader again this year. for about half an hour, i considered it - it pays well - but then remembered how little fun i had doing it last year. i actually made myself re-read my blog entries from that week in june, and BOY WAS I DISLIKING IT THEN. so i'm turning down the money and picking happiness instead. what will i do for the first week of june? i don't know...but it won't be this.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
snowed in part 5 / making a break for it
since i updated you last, this is what has happened:
monday night:
the girls did some yoga (which i'm sore from today) to prevent ourselves from going totally stir crazy, while the boys played on their computers/iphones. we started an epic game of family guy-themed monopoly. we made and ate dinner.
we spent monday evening watching football and playing board games - andy, joey, and i upstairs playing games while the others watched the football game. andy kicked some ass in trivial pursuit and will have that as part of his bragging rights for a long time. we joined the others to watch the last quarter of the game, which even i thought was exciting. we went to bed monday night ready for another day of being snowed in together.
tuesday morning:
i wake up last (again), and french toast with strawberries is waiting for me. LIFE IS SO GOOD. we lie around for a bit, play some more monopoly (yes, those are mimosas, and yes, joey is talking with his hands),
and then decide to walk the half mile to the grocery store to (a) see what the roads are like, and (b) get stuff for dinner, since mike and kelly didn't go grocery shopping thinking they'd be feeding 7 people for 2+ days. at the grocery store we realized that the roads were totally drivable, though not perfect, and made a decision: that we'd leave mike and kelly's at 5pm so we could get home before the roads freeze over - the low tonight is supposed to be 17 degrees. at that point we didn't know if school would be cancelled, but we figured - either way - this afternoon would be a good time to make a break for it. we return to mike and kelly's house with no groceries. we look a little silly.
(this is powers ferry road - it's three lanes wide here and runs past my school about a mile down the road.)
tuesday afternoon:
kelly wins monopoly in a commanding fashion. we pack up our things, get a little sad that we won't be spending 24/7 with each other any more, and drive home. (that is something to emphasize - while i'm glad to be back in my own house, i really didn't get tired of my friends after spending 45 consecutive hours with them in a house built for...less than 7 people. we had a wonderful time together. perhaps another 24 hours would have been too much...but 45 didn't put us over the edge.)
i get the call that school is cancelled on wednesday as we arrive home! the roads are okay - not great.
i've been home for 45 minutes...and i might already be bored. oops. i know i can entertain myself tonight, but i've got another whole day tomorrow without school. don't get me wrong - the roads are bad and 16 year olds who drive to school are bad drivers, so i think we need another day off based on what the roads look like. but the excitement of snow days has kind of worn off.
becky tells me that NPR was making fun of atlanta's 8 snow plows. to be honest, they should. we need to be shamed into buying some more...
monday night:
the girls did some yoga (which i'm sore from today) to prevent ourselves from going totally stir crazy, while the boys played on their computers/iphones. we started an epic game of family guy-themed monopoly. we made and ate dinner.
we spent monday evening watching football and playing board games - andy, joey, and i upstairs playing games while the others watched the football game. andy kicked some ass in trivial pursuit and will have that as part of his bragging rights for a long time. we joined the others to watch the last quarter of the game, which even i thought was exciting. we went to bed monday night ready for another day of being snowed in together.
tuesday morning:
i wake up last (again), and french toast with strawberries is waiting for me. LIFE IS SO GOOD. we lie around for a bit, play some more monopoly (yes, those are mimosas, and yes, joey is talking with his hands),
and then decide to walk the half mile to the grocery store to (a) see what the roads are like, and (b) get stuff for dinner, since mike and kelly didn't go grocery shopping thinking they'd be feeding 7 people for 2+ days. at the grocery store we realized that the roads were totally drivable, though not perfect, and made a decision: that we'd leave mike and kelly's at 5pm so we could get home before the roads freeze over - the low tonight is supposed to be 17 degrees. at that point we didn't know if school would be cancelled, but we figured - either way - this afternoon would be a good time to make a break for it. we return to mike and kelly's house with no groceries. we look a little silly.
(this is powers ferry road - it's three lanes wide here and runs past my school about a mile down the road.)
tuesday afternoon:
kelly wins monopoly in a commanding fashion. we pack up our things, get a little sad that we won't be spending 24/7 with each other any more, and drive home. (that is something to emphasize - while i'm glad to be back in my own house, i really didn't get tired of my friends after spending 45 consecutive hours with them in a house built for...less than 7 people. we had a wonderful time together. perhaps another 24 hours would have been too much...but 45 didn't put us over the edge.)
i get the call that school is cancelled on wednesday as we arrive home! the roads are okay - not great.
i've been home for 45 minutes...and i might already be bored. oops. i know i can entertain myself tonight, but i've got another whole day tomorrow without school. don't get me wrong - the roads are bad and 16 year olds who drive to school are bad drivers, so i think we need another day off based on what the roads look like. but the excitement of snow days has kind of worn off.
becky tells me that NPR was making fun of atlanta's 8 snow plows. to be honest, they should. we need to be shamed into buying some more...
Monday, January 10, 2011
snowed in part 4 / willis's purchases
at 4:30pm, the call came - school is cancelled tomorrow, too! the sleepover continues!
willis and andy ventured out this afternoon - they said it was to get snacks at publix, but we have a lot of snacks here, so i think it was really to see what the roads were like. they reported that the roads were bad - there's a slushy-icy-snowy mix everywhere - but drivable. however, as no one in this city knows how to drive in this weather, accidents are happening everywhere, clogging up the roads. parts of I-285 and I-20 have been shut down. atlanta is really seriously unprepared for this storm. where are our 8 plows??
for your amusement, this is a portion of what andy and willis returned from the grocery store with:
yes, willis can't make it two days without some bacon and a loofah.
willis and andy ventured out this afternoon - they said it was to get snacks at publix, but we have a lot of snacks here, so i think it was really to see what the roads were like. they reported that the roads were bad - there's a slushy-icy-snowy mix everywhere - but drivable. however, as no one in this city knows how to drive in this weather, accidents are happening everywhere, clogging up the roads. parts of I-285 and I-20 have been shut down. atlanta is really seriously unprepared for this storm. where are our 8 plows??
for your amusement, this is a portion of what andy and willis returned from the grocery store with:
yes, willis can't make it two days without some bacon and a loofah.
snowed in, part 3
1:00am - "apples to apples" is in full force, which mike wins (curses!)...
...and by 1:30 we're watching the local news again, and then getting ready for bed. before bed, mike goes out on the patio to prove how much snow we've gotten. if you can't tell, it's 4 inches.
fast forward to this morning...
by 10:00am, i'm awake...and i'm the last person down to the living room. this awaits me. it is glorious, and the number one reason to be the last person awake - cinnamon rolls come to you instead of you having to make cinnamon rolls.
we're sitting around the living room, eating cinnamon rolls while having an argument about full fat vs. reduced fat icing. willis reports from the patio that it is sleeting. the local news tells us that no one who is sane is on the roads and they DO look tragic. that's the thing about atlanta: we own 8 (according to official reports) plow trucks, so we'll be snowed in until the snow melts itself. there's no way we'll ever get out if we have to wait to be plowed out...
...and by 1:30 we're watching the local news again, and then getting ready for bed. before bed, mike goes out on the patio to prove how much snow we've gotten. if you can't tell, it's 4 inches.
fast forward to this morning...
by 10:00am, i'm awake...and i'm the last person down to the living room. this awaits me. it is glorious, and the number one reason to be the last person awake - cinnamon rolls come to you instead of you having to make cinnamon rolls.
we're sitting around the living room, eating cinnamon rolls while having an argument about full fat vs. reduced fat icing. willis reports from the patio that it is sleeting. the local news tells us that no one who is sane is on the roads and they DO look tragic. that's the thing about atlanta: we own 8 (according to official reports) plow trucks, so we'll be snowed in until the snow melts itself. there's no way we'll ever get out if we have to wait to be plowed out...
Sunday, January 9, 2011
snow day, part 2
11:00pm - andy arrives, having braved the treacherous roadways, heart beating rapidly. he needs a beer to calm himself down.
we know that hannah has boarded her plane (yay!). mike measures the snowfall - 4 inches on the patio. the 11 o'clock local news shows that I-75/85 through atlanta is blocked - all lanes, both directions. we are really happy that our friends are safely here.
12:00am - the snow has turned to sleet, say andy and mike who have ventured outside to frolic about. we continue to follow hannah's flight on flight tracker, and after taxiing (read: sitting in the plane on the tarmac) for two hours, her flight departs - HOORAY! i'm going to guess, honestly, that she's on one of the last planes to leave atlanta tonight, as conditions outside are not good.
energy level is low, so i order a pyramid. and it's a pretty damn good one.
we start a game of "apples to apples," and begin day 2 of being snowed in.
we know that hannah has boarded her plane (yay!). mike measures the snowfall - 4 inches on the patio. the 11 o'clock local news shows that I-75/85 through atlanta is blocked - all lanes, both directions. we are really happy that our friends are safely here.
12:00am - the snow has turned to sleet, say andy and mike who have ventured outside to frolic about. we continue to follow hannah's flight on flight tracker, and after taxiing (read: sitting in the plane on the tarmac) for two hours, her flight departs - HOORAY! i'm going to guess, honestly, that she's on one of the last planes to leave atlanta tonight, as conditions outside are not good.
energy level is low, so i order a pyramid. and it's a pretty damn good one.
we start a game of "apples to apples," and begin day 2 of being snowed in.
live blogging my snow day!
snow day, snow day, we have a snow day!
i'll be giving you an hour by hour photo update until i get bored of this. who knows when that will happen.
7:30pm - school is cancelled! no precipitation is falling. so typical.
8:00pm - joey and i leave our house - a decision is made that if we are going to get snowed in, all our friends should get snowed in together. five of us will be joining mike and kelly at their house. snow flurries begin.
9:00pm - watching the duke game at mike and kelly's house! snow continues to flurry and starts to stick.
10:00pm - duke wins their game...and an inch and a half of snow is on the ground and falling quickly! the atlanta news shows that the roads are tragic - probably because atlanta drivers don't know how to drive in this weather. hell - atlanta drivers freak out if it RAINS...
...and willis arrives for the sleepover! andy is en route and we're anxiously awaiting his arrival. my friend hannah, who visited this weekend, is scheduled to depart out of the atlanta airport at 10:30 (delayed from 9:00). we're anxiously awaiting news on that front, too...
quote of the hour - an atlanta local newsman: "if you don't have four wheel drive, you ain't gonna be makin' it anywhere anytime soon."
stay tuned...
i'll be giving you an hour by hour photo update until i get bored of this. who knows when that will happen.
7:30pm - school is cancelled! no precipitation is falling. so typical.
8:00pm - joey and i leave our house - a decision is made that if we are going to get snowed in, all our friends should get snowed in together. five of us will be joining mike and kelly at their house. snow flurries begin.
9:00pm - watching the duke game at mike and kelly's house! snow continues to flurry and starts to stick.
10:00pm - duke wins their game...and an inch and a half of snow is on the ground and falling quickly! the atlanta news shows that the roads are tragic - probably because atlanta drivers don't know how to drive in this weather. hell - atlanta drivers freak out if it RAINS...
...and willis arrives for the sleepover! andy is en route and we're anxiously awaiting his arrival. my friend hannah, who visited this weekend, is scheduled to depart out of the atlanta airport at 10:30 (delayed from 9:00). we're anxiously awaiting news on that front, too...
quote of the hour - an atlanta local newsman: "if you don't have four wheel drive, you ain't gonna be makin' it anywhere anytime soon."
stay tuned...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)