Your Turn
A couple of questions this week. With all the snow all over Europe and North America recently, I was wondering what your favorite snow day was or day you played hooky from school or work. If you can't think of one, how about your New Year's resolution and have you kept it through the first week.
1. I don't do resolutions, not because I can't keep them, but because I don't think I need a specific day to do that.
ReplyDelete2. I remember a snow day from school when I was in elementary. The snow was waist high on me, and I played with my neighbourhood friends all day. Pretty sure I had a great time because I remember it, but I don't know why.
I live in the SoCal desert, it hasn't snowed here since the 1920's and no, I wasn't around then.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite hooky day was calling in sick to work 'cuz I was feeling blue and I drove out of town and shopped all day. Retail therapy helped.
I'm out when it comes to resolutions too. The person who came up with the idea, should be force fed a box of Krispy Kremes, smoke a carton of cigs, and drink a case of beer.
I try to do better every day.
1. In Europe as children, I remember "ice skating" on the roads in Holland.
ReplyDelete2. I quit smoking. Haven't had one since 12/31. It wasn't too hard since I don't smoke around my children and had only taken it back up over the summer after a family "incident" that I was dealing with, but I am still pretty proud of myself. It is the first time I quit without it being because I was pregnant.
I'm from the Northeast, and if you haven't experienced a lake effect snowstorm, you haven't seen real snow. 2 feet of snow in one day doesn't even shut down the mall, and the roads are clear for the drive home. Schools might shut down for a day, but otherwise, life goes on as normal.
ReplyDeleteBut my favorite snow days were the ones that fell on any exam day. Classic!
One of my favorite snowdays was in February 2006. My 30th birthday. I live in Maryland, and we got enough snow that my family did not come down as planned. So my roommate and I planned for our friend to come spend the night, and in the morning we drove to Walmart and got the very last sled they had. Which happened to be damaged. So we duct-taped it together, and started the boozefest - and went sledding on the small hill across from our townhouse. it was a lot of fun, especially going over the lump that had accumulated in the snow making it icy as hell. Well, it was all fun for a while, til our friend actually managed to catch air going over said bump, and as she was screaming, the sled came down and smashed into pieces, sending her flying. Funniest thing I think I have ever seen. I was glad she wasn't hurt, but glad for a very memorable 30th birthday!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in NY, and I think it was 1977 we got 3 ft of snow. I lived on a dead end street, and the plows made enormous mountains of snow that we made into slides....still one of my fav child memories!
ReplyDeleteThat and m dog running off the porch and disappearing down, and my Dad had to go grab her.....lol
i used to work in this office that was pretty laid back and young. we had a lot fo snowfall one year and i lived in the worst area of it and called in to say i wouldn't be in.
ReplyDeletemy best friend and I grabbed our gear,a tobbogin and a big joint. we were halfway through our first run when i got a call from my boss who was passing thru my neighborhood and said he didn't mind picking me up for work.
i had to breakdown and tell him what i was up to...he laughed and asked for directions to the hill!
This year I was trapped in London, Ontario for Snowmaggeden. Much of the city was closed down. My friend and I bundled up and trudged to a Mexican restaurant that was open for lunch. We were the only customers and the waiter played Feliz Navidad on his guitar while my friend, me and the restaurant owner tried to salsa in the aisles. Loved it.
ReplyDeleteMy resolutions never change. I resolve to refrain from starting to smoke and from performing brain surgery. Have been able to keep them every year for decades.
My favorite snow memory is from this afternoon when I lost control of my 4WD SUV and went off the road into a pole.
ReplyDeleteOh wait - that is my LEAST favorite.
:(
When I was about 8-10 years old my best friend Libby and I decided we would make snow angels like we had seen some people do on TV.
ReplyDeleteSo we counted to 3, and fell back simultaneously into the snow. And then laid there trying like hell to catch our breath, because there was only about an inch of snow on the ground, with ice. This was in North Texas, and we weren't smart enough to know you needed more snow in order to make the angel.
The best snowfall ever was our blizzard on Christmas Eve 2009 in Oklahoma, and we woke up to about two feet of snow.
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ReplyDeleteNorthern California=no snow days
ReplyDeleteNever one to play hooky. I think I'm too honest
Three resolutions this year - drink 8 glasses of water, eat at least one serving of fruit and one serving of vegetables per day. So far, so good. Not that it's stopped me from the occasional donut, too, but at least there's part of me that's being healthy.
My resolution was to not smoke pot before 2pm Mon-Fri. I work from home, it's tough. I slipped up already.
ReplyDeleteAs far as snow days.. I was born & raised in Los Angeles and I've never seen "real" snow, just a bit on the ground. I dream about having a white Christmas one day though!
On Christmas Eve in 2009 we got 12 inches of snow. Unheard of in the DFW Metroplex. My brother in law had died about a week before and my beloved Grandmother around the same time two years before. I had always wanted a White Christmas and had never had one in all of my 44 years. We were so depressed over everything and I am the Christmas Queen, I put up three trees and we decorate like the Griswold's. I will always believe that my angels told God I needed a really special Christmas miracle to restore my shaken faith. Getting teary eyed just thinking about it, it meant so much to me. : )
ReplyDeleteBest snow day ever?
ReplyDeleteEasy. Started out waking up to a brighter than average day, only to look out the window and see about a foot of snow on the ground, something that doesn't happen very often at all in Atlanta.
But it got sooooooo much better.
Being able to roll over and nudge my crankypants partner awake and say "so it won't snow, huh? Because you're from Wisconsin and you know 'snow weather' and this wasn't it, right?....well, take a look outside..."
The fact that he was hungover was indeed the cherry on that moment.
we had snowpocolypse 2 wks ago...24" of snow in my area...have never lived in a cold weather climate before, so this was my first blizzard...so we, along w/ what seemed like the rest of my 'hood, bought cheesy, bright red, $8 plastic sleds from rite-aid. we live by river, w/ about a gazzilion steps leading down to a marina. 2 feet of snow covering it all made for a pretty neat hill. great time was had by all, my loved ones, neighborhood suit-n-tie types, and doggies, babies and everyone got in on the action. we followed this up w/ the cliché peppermint hot chocolate...ahh, great time.
ReplyDelete...which has lead me to my NY's resolution: to have more fun. i have workaholic tendencies, which, while it's gotten me places, has left me lacking in the fun dept. i intend to change that this yr.
best snow day ever~ice storm of 1973, it turned into a snow week. I walked through my small hometown with my boyfriend we stopped and looked in the window of the town's only jewelry store, and i gasped over a heart pendant necklace, and then we walked across the frozen lake in our town to the islands in the middle of it and peaked into the cottages. I had forgotten about the necklace until he gave to me on Christmas morning! ah, young love, it was great!
ReplyDeletemomster, I didn't get to do Christmas Eve with my family last year due to that snow in OKC. I BARELY made it out for Christmas and that was brief because I sure wasn't going to drive after the sun went down!
ReplyDeleteBut that's the biggest snowfall I recall in Oklahoma.
When I was younger, my dad lived in Montana and I was visiting him and they had about 4 feet of snow and I was SHOCKED that the school buses were running and that the town didn't shut down completely. I felt so bad for those kids having to go to school!
I was a chronic school-skipper from middle school on. I would show up on test days, though so no worries about grades.
ReplyDeleteWe don't get snow every year where I live, so when it happens the kids get pretty excited. There was one school day where it had snowed heavily the entire day. All day long these kids were trapped in their room watching the snow fall. I remember walking into school to pick up my kids and when the final bell rang the screams were absolutely deafening. Those kids went absolutely insane with happiness. Everyone had a huge smile on their face that day!
the grade school i went to was on the best sledding hill in town. so when it snowed, knowing we were all longing to be on that hill anyway, they'd let us bring our sleds one day and give us a half day off to sled. that was my favorite snow experience.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first moved to Minnesota I asked why are the parking lots so big? Well, duh, by November I had a answer. 1/2 of each parking lot was filled with mountains of snow. There were never any snow days at the U of M.
ReplyDeleteFavorite Snow Day: Our first big snow for either of us, we weren't prepared at all. No snow shovel, no sled. That night, the neighborhood gathered on our road, drinking beer & watching the city try & get a snow plow truck that got stuck on a hill, for hours. We knew we were screwed. We lost power a few hours, my husband & I drank & played board games by candle light. My husband had to shovel our driveway the next day with a regular shovel. I laughed A LOT that weekend.
ReplyDeleteI went to school in Texas, and we have a hard enough time not smashing into each other in a hard rain, let alone the chance rare snow flurry that quickly turns to ice. I don't think we've ever actually had a "snow day" or even an "ice day" that I can remember although it did get rather slippery one winter in Austin and half the university stayed home voluntarily.
ReplyDeleteI can, however, tell you about the ONE and only day I skipped high school, on Senior Skip Day, and managed to get into the traffic accident that totaled my car. Of course had to call Mom and confess I had skipped, that the car was wrecked, I not only needed a ride home (it was a magnet school and we lived far outside the district so this was a big deal), oh, and she would also need to call a tow truck. It was also my third accident and the one that left me without transportation for the next three years. Mom wasn't mad about the skipping, I think she was just relieved they could finally take me off their insurance.
@TempestuousGrape: I didn't make it a resolution but I work from home too and I have trouble with the same problem. :D Wouldn't trade this job for anything, though.
ReplyDeleteI live in Dallas, so we rarely get snow, but I would have to say that last year when it snowed the first week of December, it made me happy as my birthday falls that week.
ReplyDeleteBUT the best was last Christmas when it snowed here and I got to show my son what white Christmas is...he is 8 now and I told him to remember it for all his life because it is rare here. Also the Santa prints in the snow made his night. (We had a "Midnight Christmas") It was great to see his face when he heard Santa on the roof...and got to open his presents at midnight.
It has only snowed a couple times here in Texas, so anytime it does it's memorable.
ReplyDeleteI never played hooky from school or work. I know it's hard to believe, but it does happen. Anytime I've called in sick, I've been really sick. In fact, I think I've gone into work sick more times than I've taken off for it.
Lastly, my New Year's Resolution for 2011 was to be an honest man. Reading the above statement might lead you to believe I've already broken that resolution, but I haven't. In fact, on the second day of the year, being said 'honest man' led me to a pretty bad argument/fight with my brother. The truth hurts.
Funny but I don't remember the schools closing much when I was a kid....but I do remember one New York suburban storm when the plows came down my street (we were on a dead end) and stopped right at my corner leaving a mountain of snow for us to climb over if we wanted to get out...now that was fun...it had to be at least 6 feet high.
ReplyDeleteI live in Houston...so no snow days. But the ones that pissed me off is that I went to an accelerated program of a regular university, and they wouldn't let you miss, not even for SNOW! Jerks.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm on the Homepathic HCG Diet Craze, and guesss what? It really works!
i've only ever seen snow twice. i live in a rainforest now on the south coast of new south wales and it would take a freak occurrence for it to snow here. though we do have tsunami warnings.
ReplyDeletemy new year's resolution has been kept. i can't say what it is but it has been kept.
happy new year everyone
trinnean said...
ReplyDelete@TempestuousGrape: I didn't make it a resolution but I work from home too and I have trouble with the same problem. :D Wouldn't trade this job for anything, though.
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HAHA! we all have the same "problem" then.
My favorite snowday was during the blizzard in NYC in the '90s, mainly cause it let me stay home from the worst job I'd ever had in my entire life.
ReplyDeleteI made three resolutions:
1) Go for a walk--or at least leave the house--at least once a day.
2) Take my vitamins.
3) No more stupid computer games or Scrabble.
So far so good...
I don't care what day it is, I just LOVE snow and cold weather. I suppose it's a good thing I live in Alberta :)
ReplyDeleteI don't make new years resolutions per se, but I still see every january as sort of a new start, and it's nice!
OK - not exactly a snow day, but close. It was December 3rd, and I was staying at school with my girlfriend. Why? It was Pi Kapp's Beach NIght. That's right. We put on bathing suits and shorts, and ran over to the frat house in 2 inches of snow. There was a lot of sand on the front lawn, along with a snow-covered sand castle and a long line at the front door. I wasn't about to stand in line and then I had a genius moment. (Last one, as I recall.) We went through the back door. Man, that place was packed. had a blast.
ReplyDeletebritney spears is the answer to the CDAN fake singer.
ReplyDeleteI am not a big resolver. But this year, on 12/30, I was sick and went to the doctor, my COPD had crashed and i was so desperately sick he put me in the hospital. For eight days. Since I'd always joked that I wanted to quit smoking under medical supervision, I decided to make that my resolution for 2011. Sure, it's easy enough to not smoke in the hospital, but I'm home and still not doing it, and so far so good. I can never smoke again, my lungs are wrecked. If you're still doing it, stop now.
ReplyDeleteBest Snow "Week" we call it the Blizzard of 77 (niagara region Ontario Canada there is actually a book with the same name that has pics etc)....snow up to rooftops, cars buried and strangers staying in strangers houses. My parents owned a duplex and the five of us kids and the neighbours 2 kids played games all week....Monopoly, 20,000 pyramid, the Auctioneer, Operation etc. We still talk about that time, I think it was the first time we all realized we really did like each other lol
ReplyDeleteMy favorite snow day was Christmas Eve, 2004. We told the kids when we moved from NJ to gulf coast Texas that we probably wouldn't see any snow. We had 7 inches that night, first time I ever remember the kids going directly by the presents and out to play on Christmas morning! We didn't open anything until the afternoon. What a great present itwas!
ReplyDelete@amh.producer--that storm was vicious, I'm glad we had no where to go and could just buckle down and listen to the wind howl.
ReplyDelete@fairylights--I remember that storm, we were living N of Houston at the time. We didn't get any snow but a friend in Victoria got a bunch.
@Syko - What a crappy way to spend the new year! :( My husband quit cold turkey a little over a year ago & I know it's one of the hardest things to kick. Wishing you good luck!
ReplyDeletegetting rid of the negative people in my life to allow for more positive people. So far so good! Don't miss any of them yet!
ReplyDeletegetting rid of the negative people in my life to allow for more positive people. So far so good! Don't miss any of them yet!
ReplyDeleteI, too, never make NY resolutions...I try to be better at my faults on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteI haven't ever played hooky...I am a horrible liar, I stammer and blush. I even do that when I am telling the truth to a cop if I get pulled over. I tell myself this is why I have to be good, because I would FAIL at being a lawbreaker.
I thought we might get snowed out of my final this year, but, MN never shuts down.
In Bama hoping for a Snow Day on Monday - right now they say we have one coming!
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'm one of the fools who has tried to get to work when I should not have. Or, rather, I get on the road too early to know how bad it is, eventually make it, and warn others to stay home. (This was in the past.) Rest ssured, this time around my but will be at home as I can work remotely or might even decide to play in the snow. What a difference a year makes.
Down here, we still remember the Great Storm of 1993. No plows, no salt, and a LOT of very hilly areas and trees = big problems for us. We are not Minneapolis! Stay tuned.
Oh - resolutions. Well, none officially. Internally - to make this a great year, to learn how to have fun again, to rejoice about how lucky I am to have the family and the work family I have and to relax enough to take the time to appreciate it all. That all has been lost for a number of years and I want to get it back. If I can only partially do that, it will be a very good year.
ReplyDeletePS Learn how to be spontaneous again - on a personal level.
Favorite snow day: I have no idea if it was during the school week or on the weekend, but in my hometown about 20 minutes south of Boston, we got about 3 feet of snow. The snow banks on the curb of our neighborhood were so high we were able to dig an immense tunnel system. I played so hard, I ended up waiting too long and peed through the last of my 5 layers of pants right in front of my sister's boyfriend whom I had a crush on :0
ReplyDeleteNew Year's Resolution: Kind of typical. Lose 10-15 pounds. I was a bit chunkier than I would have liked to have been for a while. My husband and I separated in a rather tragic separation and I lost 25 pounds. I definitely got too thin, but I've gained quite a bit of that weight back and would like to get back somewhere around middle :)
I am a teacher, so I love every single snow day that comes my way!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite snow day memories is a rare BIG snow when I was a junior in high school. My boyfriend's dad dropped him off at my house in the morning. We spent all day sledding with all our friends in the neighborhood, running in and warming up with hot chocolate, then back out to play. Very simple, I know, but it was such fun. My children have never experienced snow like we had when I was a kid--we had a ball!
@ Jamie's Girl: Me too =) Super happy with my results so far!
ReplyDelete@ trinnean & jax: It's nice to know I'm not alone! Wishing you both the best in the new year. :)
ReplyDeleteYears ago, we (in Texas) had a huge ice storm around New Year's that lingered for days. The power company asked the school district not to open the schools to conserve energy. We got 4 extra Christmas vacation days from school and the bonus was we did not have to make it up !!!!!! Ah, that was sooooo nice.
ReplyDelete@mch, thanks for the good wishes. I am secretly planning to get TOTALLY healthy this year, and go to cardio pulmonary rehab and find out how much I can exercise without keeling over, and eating healthy and making sure I get sleep, but I don't want to jinx myself by telling everyone all that, so I'm just sticking with the non-smoking for now. After doing it for 50 years, to stop seems enough of a resolution for one little year. 11 days now and counting!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck Syko. Drink lots of water. My Mother said it helped her.
ReplyDeleteFavorite snow day - my sister and I walked about 1/2 mile to Charlotte's house. A friend of my mom, Charlotte taught us to bake poppy seed yeast rolls from scratch. It has been close to 50 years and hundreds of yeasty doughs but the sensations of melted butter on fresh-from-the-oven rolls come to mind each time I bake with yeast.
ReplyDeleteAn ex boyfriend came to NYC from out of town. He got third row seats to the Yankees, directly behind home plate, for a day game. I called in sick to my job and went. We were seated next to three girls from Scores in virtually no clothing, who spent the entire game trying to get on the Jumbotron ... we ended up on the big screen several times, and on tv many times as well. Lots of close ups - unmistakeable. No one from work ever found out, but it was pretty touch and go.
ReplyDeleteI have only seen snow 4 times. I went 3 times here in Australia and I was on holiday in New York in 1997 and it snowed lightly - I was so thrilled! I took my husband to New York in 2010 and it is his favourite place now too.
ReplyDeleteI don't do New Year's resolutions, but we had a swim on Christmas Day at the beach, which is what Christmas means to me.