Ice and Snow Storm of 2011 in North Texas

This is not the first snow of the year. That was back in January. But this time, it is longer and colder.

As of today, we are now on our 4th Snow Day... It started with a freezing rain and sleet. It left roads iced over and enough packed ice that I was able to stand on my grass, literally on top of the blades of them!

It wasn't windy, so the kids were cold, but not freezing. As for my un-gloved hands, they were beet red after 10 minutes of being exposed. Ouch!
We had mini icebergs that trapped water hoses,
and roads that glistened and made cars groan.
the sidewalks were literally higher by an inch or so and perfect for electric slides, if you have proper padding and helmet on.
Of course, the snow wouldn't be outdone. Early morning today, it dumped over 6 inches of snow and as I type, it has started to snow again, making driving, once again, a little bit more difficult.Our backyard wasn't immune to it, between the heating vents and the snow, icicles formed on the gutters.
The kids had to bundle up this time because the snow storm is more biting than the ice storm. The winds were strong enough to dislodge packed snow from tree trunks!Driving is still happening, though avoided as much as one can. Who wouldn't avoid it?

All the while, we enjoyed making crayons, singing, playing online games, doing puzzles, reading, cooking and taking pictures. We celebrated the Year of the Rabbit with a nice table and dinner centered on rice and veggies. We enjoyed chocolate, both hot and in pastries and even in a pie. We enjoyed having a marathon viewing of the Merlin show, Season 2. We enjoyed our gas fireplace and basked in the relief that we have enough toilet paper and training pads for the puppies. We all, pets and us, had enough of what we needed and wanted as in chips, sodas, cheese snacks and marshmallows, you know, the important stuff.

We made sure that we didn't succumb to cabin fever and started the redo of the Master Closet, aka, mine. As of today, it has been gutted, sanded, vacuumed, re-textured and primed. Overall, we just enjoyed being together, safe, cozy and wanting for nothing while it's bleak out.

And so, as of today, we are inside, nice and warm, comfortably living off our stores and enjoying the quiet majesty that is winter...

How's the weather where you're at?

Snow again? Where?

We had a forecast of snow showers last night until this afternoon. But aside from "specks-of -snow-are-visible-while-squinting-both-eyes-or-standing-still-long-enough-to-follow-air-movement" for about 15 minutes, the snow shower never really happened. But the cold lingered. brrr!

Oh well... it's still winter until March 21st.

Til' next post!

SH Days 10, 11, 12 & 13 Snow's On!

Well since there was nothing much to report, I figured I'd just stack them all in one post!

Mostly leftovers for all three meals each day and since insomnia was a battle this week, the kiddos had had to help me get some sleep in the afternoons. All were really patient with me this week though errands quite interrupted much of that slumber plans.

The insomnia totally messed with my appetite and the smell of food in the house made me nauseous. We had to eat out on Tuesday or I starve. We had no choice but to get out of the house. J-Pony needed a new backpack while we are still looking for comparable towels to replace the ones "tainted" by the bathroom flooding. L-Infinity was sick with a nasty "morning assaulter" tummy bug that would render her knocked out for most of the day, after "hugging the porcelain throne" in the morning, on Tuesday and Wednesday! Poor baby! She's also had to babysit these last two Fridays, so that's good.

Then on Wednesday night, we had a snowstorm forecast and by 3AM Thursday, it started to snow! All day Thursday! Look at these! (I also posted in Facebook)

These two were in the afternoon, the beginnings of our 24-hour "Winter Wonderland"! Gorgeous day!

By 11PM, I was still thrilled that I actually told Mr. Man that I just couldn't complain!
See how happy I look? (I was barefeet, too!)
That's not a bad photo, but rather snowing coupled with mild shivering. lol
I-Dude and J-Pony were busy making origami Valentine cards since it was "make your own" kind of theme this year. Too bad they didn't get to use them since our school district declared a two-day Snow Day due to our snowstorm. Lots of slush out there!

Today was filled with errands... We've decided to start looking at houses in our area to see if we can stay within the boundaries of our church ward. I don't know about you but it is such a draining process for me! Whew! More to look at until we find just the right one...

Also, we received in the mail that J-Pony, who placed 2nd in her school's Geography Bowl will be joining her friend, and winner, Nathan, to represent their school in the upcoming District Geography Bowl in March! And... it's on a Wednesday morning so that means, Mr. Man and I can go! Yay!!!

Food Budget Trick: Many don't eat Spam, but it is economical, delicious and a good substitute for bacon or ham. I use it when I don't have bacon or when I want to spare my bacon for another day but is craving some. Fat wise, it is easily controlled, you can slice it very thin and have an instant "bacon" like and egg breakfast fare or it's a quick substitute for stir-fry meats, when cubed small. One can, has fed me and my family for two meals. Now that's a great deal!

Our fave way to use it is in fried rice. I use half a can of Spam, two eggs, 4-5 cups of cooked rice, 1 cup of peas and carrots, garlic salt and 1 tbsp. of oil.

That's only $2.59 for the whole dish and for a family of five, that's only 52 cents a plate!

Well, folks... One more day and we'd be done with our Shopping Hiatus! Whew!

Oh, by the way, "the project's" done and was posted at my other blog, What Now? Tablescapes, called "A Bit of Morocco for Valentine's". Come see and tell me what you think.

HAPPY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO Mr. Man's parents! We love you, Mom and Dad!

And we have a new nephew! Gary and Kate (Mr. Man's only and older sister), just had their 3rd baby and 2nd son, yesterday evening. Garrison clocked in at 8 lbs. 7 oz. Wow! Congrats to their big siblings, Taryn and Carter!

Have a great weekend!

Maybe not earth shattering...

... but our freeze warning did materialize the whole weekend with as low as 12 deg F! For this area, monumental since the last major snow was about 8 years ago.


Ok, lots to catch you up on, but will have to come back later to share. See ya later!

Best Christmas Yet...

But not in the way most people think of... though the grands' gifts certainly made us smile... (Remember, we only do stockings and PJs)

On Christmas Eve, we had our little snow storm turn into a mini-blizzard...

That left us with snow paths...
Today, Christmas Day... We were greeted with this- blue skies and a temporary winter wonderland! (only lasted most of the daytime)
But look, my "engineered" petunia survived! Yes, engineered, I combined pollen of two colors and replanted in aerated soil. Pretty cool, huh? The original plant... dead...
At our front door, most of the snow's melted.
And our snow inspector, Cece was a bit flummoxed as to why it is still so cold. Brrrr!
The kids didn't mind, there was a mini-snowman waiting to be created--
... and a mini-snow sheep! :-)
You can't stop a good snowball fight...
or at least a good "threat, aim and dodge" bit.
How about actually throwing a gigantic snowball? How do you like my "thick-skinned" children playing in their new PJs? Well, they do have their gloves on. ;-) (Kila's on her way to see her beau, so she was dressed for that)
That sends a 17-year old home back to her mommy? "I have snow in my boots!"
The grin of satisfaction arrived since there are more snowballs to make- big ones, too!
Or bigger ones still with some leftover hanging on the boots. Carry on snow, anyone?
More to make...
Or just make the one, that much bigger!
Then morning turned to afternoon which then turned to night which meant- Christmas dinner! (Here's your plate... This set was given to me by a good friend)
What's your fancy? If it's Filipino feasting you desire, we have it all- Baked Tilapia, Pancit Sotanghon (Mung bean noodle dish), Lechon (roast pork), Lumpias, Roasted Eggplants, Hot Chocolate, Fruity Beverage, Seafood, Fruits and Sweets even some Pan de Sal and Rice to give you further side dish choice.
Of course, we can't forget the traditional, Puto, or glutinous rice flour cakes. You steam them and sweeten with sugar, butter and coconut. Yum!

Why our best yet? Because, we know why we went through all this trouble... It is the Lord's birthday and He deserves the best... Perfect seasonal weather with delicious and meaningful food- the best way to celebrate a birthday, don't you think?

A Perfect Christmas Eve...

Today was unbelievably amazing!!!

First, we were alerted to a snowy treat outside of our front door. So naturally...
We started a cozy fire.
Had some fun in the snow...

And thoroughly enjoyed our annual, though normally on Christmas Day, grazing! Mr. Man and his family always had a grazing table on Christmas Day . This is where we collect all food gifts we get and our chosen fingr foods to enjoy without cooking. See the blue box, that contains, "Pan de Sal"- the Filipino dinner rolls! Yep, I baked them yesterday!

Back in December 12, we had L's friend Tyler take our Christmas portraits. I think they turned out great! Here's Mr. Man and I...

Mr. Man and the kiddos...

A horizontal line-up...

Starring the kiddos...

And our chosen pic to share...

Tonight's stories were Luke 2:1-15 and "Mary's Dream". I also reiterated why we don't do giftgiving in December anymore though stockings and pjs on Christmas Eve are still part of our tradition which Mr. Man grew up with.

Merry Christmas everyone! (Oh, yeah, tonight, I made Calamansi bars- the Filipino version of Lemon bars. Yummier!)

Christmas in Utah

I'll mostly let the pictures tell the story of our Christmas in South Jordan, Utah with my in-laws. But to be honest, each great memory was very much punctuated by how much I missed my family in San Jose, California.

Sidenote: My own Filipino family is a mix of denominations, so Christmas is somewhat downgraded to Holidays. But, my mom knows our weakness, seafood and her ribeye, so each December, she tries to get everyone between after Christmas and New Year to have a Holiday Seafood Feast. We enjoy shrimp, oysters, crab, lobster, fish and of course my mom's famous mouth-watering ribeye steaks that melt in your mouth, plus noodles and rice, to keep you enjoying more seafood! Now that's what I call partying!

In Utah, we loved that we didn't get trapped in any of the heavy snowfall; we managed to get groceries and last minute things. But the best part of it, I didn't slip on anything once! If you know me, that is truly a miracle; I'm not the classic "klutz", but I do find myself "instantaneously looking up at the ceiling or the sky", more often than I want to admit.

Here are the pictures to tell you how much me and my family (especially the kids) enjoyed this year's "White Christmas":

Christmas Eve
Grandma & Grandpa surprised all of us with new PJ's!
Christmas Day
Ian with his "loot"Jasmine's "haul".Lisa with her "goodies"; she later discovered she got 1000 minutes of texting when Charlie called her phone that mysteriously appeared next to her. :D

The next day, we had to deal with the snow, so...
Jasmine worked hard to help Grandpa clear the driveway while Ian... ate snow!
Of course, he didn't just eat snow, he also...
Played in it! Where was Lisa and I? We were warm and toasty inside the house, in our pajamas! Charlie had a great time taking pictures of the two little ones!

After dinner, we can't ignore that we are a reading family, so...
Taryn and Jasmine enjoying, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid".

Lisa hiding from a camera; with a book, of course!



Todd Guyaux & Sarah Kindred's wedding; Dec. 27th:
Dave Guyaux, Todd's Dad, married them in the Brogdon home, the "grands".

(She's a little cutie like me; actually she is gorgeous! Her and Todd knew each other 7 weeks, from meeting to wedding date!)


Todd is Dave and Debbie Guyaux's son, Debbie is Charlie and Kate's cousin. Todd's grandpa Norm Brogdon and Frances Mathews (Charlie and Kate's mom) are siblings.

Here's Grandma & Grandpa Mathews and Lisa, Charlie and Ian after the ceremony


Here are some of our goodbye shots; December 28th:

Carter testing out his "bye-bye" kisses on his mom, Kate.
Carter and Ian trying to figure out when they will "see" each other again.

Our kids playing "Uno" with Grandma and cousin Taryn, at 9PM as if we're not going anywhere at 4:30AM the next day...


"Ah(all), done... No."
Our "beautiful" future.
I think they're trying to make a pyramid.
Most of the men in the family; Uncle Gary's on diaper duty; the culprit, Carter, the then stinky cutie!

We had a great time and lots of wonderful memories to greet the New Year with.
A big, big thank you to Grandma & Grandpa Mathews, Aunt Kate, Uncle Gary, Taryn and Carter.

Hope to see you all again soon!

Next December stop; San Jose, California and seafood!!!