Careful What You Wish For....

For my own personal amusement, I have decided to blog-flash back to Sunday night, January 9th.

There have been a few times over the years, that the official meteorologists have claimed that snow was on the way. I think I had become a "Doubting Thomas" because rarely did this seem to happen. So when we are informed on Friday that Chattanooga will indeed get snow sometime Sunday night/early Monday morning, I am skeptical. The amount we will receive is uncertain, but it is rumored at that point to be around 3 inches. We receive the expected phone call from the Hamilton County Dept. of Education (HCDE), that school will be closed on Monday, January 10th.

The grocery stores were insanely busy. Why does everybody stock up on bread, milk, and eggs before the threat of snow? Is there something about snow that makes people crave french toast? I know, bad joke. But if you've lived here long enough, it may be funny but it is true. Pick a grocery store, it does not matter which one. If there is a threat of snow, chances are there will be no milk, bread or eggs to be found anywhere in the city by the time the snow is supposed to hit. People around here stock UP on these items.

With all of the hoopla, I found myself wishing that if it was really going to snow, I wanted to really get "dumped on" - I wanted to KNOW that it snowed.

Yeah, I know...be careful what you wish for, you just might get it... Little did I know.

Sunday night, Gabe performed (with GUSTO, I might add) all of the "Snow Rituals" that have been passed down from school children and teachers alike. This apparently has been a tradition for several years now. "Snow ritual" you say? What on earth is that??? Being raised in Southern California, I had NEVER heard of such a thing.

I had to find out what these "rituals" were and believe me, Gabe knew every one of them by heart. I thought I would share these rituals with you for your amusement, just in case you were as in the dark as I was about this whole thing.

Snow Ritual #1: Wear your PJ's inside out

Snow Ritual #2: Sleep with a spoon under your pillow

Snow Ritual #3: Flush ice cubes down the toilet (Yes, I'm serious)

Snow Ritual #4: Open the freezer door and turn around 5 times

Snow Ritual #5: Do your own variation of the Snow Dance

I have learned that numbers 4 and 5 on the list are up for debate and can be performed or not performed, but numbers 1-3 MUST be followed in order for the snow day to happen. Well, I took great pleasure in waking Gabe up to let him know that it worked... Boy, did it work!! Gabe was thrilled! We received a whopping 8.4 inches of snow when we woke up Monday morning, January 10th. Come to find out, this is the biggest snow storm to affect our area in 18 years.

When people learn that I'm "not from around here" and ask me when I moved to Chattanooga, I tell them it was in October of 1993. Of course, the first comment I usually get is, "Oh, you MISSED it!" Of course after 18 years, my response is, "Yes, I SURE did!" What I missed was "The Big Blizzard of 1993" when the city was paralyzed with 20 inches of snow in a 24 hour period on March 12-13, 1993.

Well, we may not have made the top 5 biggest single event snowfalls in the history of the Scenic City, but we came pretty close and tied for 6th place. As an interesting bit of factual trivia, here is a list showing where this latest storm ranked:

1. 20.0" on March 12-13, 1993 (Big Blizzard of '93)
2. 11.0" on March 1-2, 1927
3. 10.2" on January 8, 1988
4. 8.7" on February 13, 1960
5. 8.6" on December 22, 1929
6. 8.4" on January 29, 1966 AND January 10, 2011
7. 8.2" on January 23, 1940

Of course, the boys were thrilled to be out of school. Each day, they'd wait with "bated breath" until the phone call would come from the HCDE stating that school would be closed for yet another day. They were absolutely ecstatic when the call came on Wednesday that school would be out for the rest of the week. Hip, hip hooray for SNOW DAYS!!!

For the first time in more than 8 years, the Cricket office in Chattanooga was actually closed all day "due to inclement weather" on Monday. I had to take a vacation day on Tuesday, when I couldn't get my borrowed rear-wheel drive car one whole block away from my house.

Our neighborhood was a mess, quite literally. I was extremely grateful to my friend and co-worker, Teresa who has all-wheel drive in her car, lives about 5 blocks away from me in our neighborhood and carpooled with me the rest of the week. I don't know that I've EVER been so happy as to actually drive somewhere myself for the first time in a week on Saturday the 15th.

So now when I hear rumors that we're supposed to get more snow showers next week, I am not amused. There are still big piles of snow in places where it has yet to melt. I really don't want to get stuck again.

I wonder if I wear my PJ's right side out, sleep with a fork under my pillow and flush hot water down the toilet, if the snow will completely pass right by us this time....

HEY - this working Mom can dream, can't she?

Photography and the 23rd Psalm

Photography moves me in a way that little else does. I have loved it since I was a little girl. There is just something about looking through the camera lens and capturing a specific moment in time, or a particular observation you've made. It is completely captivating.

I find it equally fascinating to look at photos taken by someone else. Some just completely take my breath away, like this picture that my friend Christin took while scuba diving in Koh Tao, Thailand. I love seeing how vibrant God made His creation in the depths of the ocean. It is simply stunning.

The digital camera I currently own has been very good to me. However, it's an older model that doesn't take pictures fast enough to capture what I'm seeing quite frequently. This has proven to be rather frustrating to me. Since good, smaller digital cameras are less expensive than they used to be, my goal is to get a new one soon.

I have another friend who is taking part in something he calls, “Project 365 – Take a picture of something random or unique everyday.” I want to start doing something like that. It's been itching at me for awhile now, so I guess it's time to scratch...

Pictures can take me down memory lane. A prime example of this are the pictures of my family that my Dad has been posting lately on Facebook. I've seen most of these pictures before, but it's been quite awhile since the last time I did. Many of them have led to amusing discussions. All of them have brought memories flooding back into my mind. He's also posted some I've never seen before. It has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I can't wait to see more. Keep 'em coming, Dad.

So how does all this talk about photography bring me to the 23rd Psalm, anyway? Well, I'll tell you... I recently got an email from a good friend of mine. It was a great summary of the 23rd Psalm, with some captivating pictures. The piece in it's entirety really spoke to me, so I wanted to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did...

The Lord is my Shepherd = That's Relationship!

I shall not want = That's Supply!

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures = That's Rest!

He leadeth me beside the still waters = That's Refreshment!

He restoreth my soul = That's Healing!

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness = That's Guidance!

For His name sake = That's Purpose!

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death = That's Testing!

I will fear no evil = That's Protection!

For Thou art with me = That's Faithfulness!

Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me = That's Discipline!

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies = That's Hope!

Thou annointest my head with oil = That's Consecration!

My cup runneth over = That's Abundance!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life = That's Blessing!

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord = That's Security!

Forever = That's Eternity!

CHAOS - Don't want any more...

Ok - I am going to attempt to blog more this year than I have since I began this blog. This, of course will not take much since I've only posted four times. LOL! So here goes. Rather short & sweet today....

I found out something rather interesting the other day. The chaos that I feel like I've been living in lately is also an acronym and actually stands for something rather relevant:

• Can't
• Have
• Anyone
• Over
• Syndrome

That pretty much sums it up right there. Chaos. What a concept!

I am rather proud of the fact that I got home at 5:30pm and didn't sit down until 8pm. I actually feel like I accomplished something. I just have a loooooong way to go.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

I just wish I didn't feel like I was choking to DEATH on the bloody thing...