Blizzard 2013: How to make a cool snowman

After doubling my travel time home during the blizzard, I was so glad to make it back to our pad. The first thing we did when we woke up was go outside for cleanup. I can’t front I wasn’t really the one doing all the shoveling. I’m not just saying that because I’m preggers. I don’t think I ever lifted a shovel. The closest I came to doing the deed was a couple of years ago. My car got stuck in a snow drift and I manually removed the white stuff from my tires, so that I can get through.

My hubby was out there like a trooper, while Princess and I suited up for a snowball fight. However once we got outside, all she wanted to do was “shuggle” like daddy and clean off Mommy’s car.

Blizzard 2013 Snow funWe did manage to get in some fun time. But the island girl in me had to go back inside to defrost a few times. I was freezing my butt off. Clearly this little girl had a blast. She didn’t want to come inside.

Blizzard 2013 stranded a lot of people across the northeast. But, the one great thing it brought was joy for my baby girl. She was itching to build her first snowman. Here’s how she did. Enjoy!

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#Blizzard 2013: My husband the stallion

When I asked my husband what I should write about earlier this week he jokingly said,

“Just write about what a stallion I am in the bedroom.”

I didn’t want to stroke his ego and bore you graphic details of our bedroom exploits. The last thing I want to do is turn this blog into a porn site. But after this blizzard of 2013, my husband lived up to his title.

I started tracking the storm about a week ago. At first it looked like it would be a bad rain storm with the potential for a wintry mix. But as it drew closer, the weather models began to shift. We knew this had the potential to be a really bad nor’easter. But as the forecasted winds speeds began to pick up, it became clear that this storm would turn out to be a blizzard.

I had been out sick (like a dog) for the first couple of days in the week. Despite feeling under the weather, I decided report to work for storm coverage. There was no way I’d miss this monster storm.

By Wednesday, we forecasted 8-16 and 4-8 inches of snow for our forecasted areas. I knew this would be a tough one considering we’d get some rain and sleet mixed in. By the storm’s arrival on Friday, we got a couple of inches of the white stuff in the morning. Even though there was a transition to rain and sleet by the afternoon, there was a hefty helping of snow, as the storm ramped up overnight.

Most of my co-workers made hotel arrangements. My plan was to ride it out at my station, as I did for Sandy a few months back. You may be thinking how crazy of me to give up luxurious hotel digs and room service for a night at the news station. But the truth is being at a hotel doesn’t always equal convenience for me. I would have to cross a bridge and travel through unfamiliar territory. I’ve spent years covering storms both as a traffic reporter and as a weather forecaster. I know the roads that lead to my town like the back of my hand. I know the county’s routine in terms of snow removal. Also, I’ve had horrible experiences staying at hotels outside of my comfort zone. One of which led to me being in an accident, when I was four months pregnancy with Princess. There was no way I was going to take a chance like that again.

Before I left for work, I decided to swap my sedan for my hubby’s SUV (which turned out to be my saving grace). There was no way I was going to battle this beast in a small car.

Boss lady let us out at the cusp of the explosion. I called our traffic center to find out the low down on road conditions, and bounced as soon as I could. Since this storm fell on a Friday, I knew that crews wouldn’t clear my street as early as normal on Saturday morning. So, leaving at the time I did was the best option.

Roads went from black top to all white as I traveled closer to home. I saw cars in ditches, and people stranded. Visibility was down to nothing! My hubby and I stayed in contact the entire ride home (hands free, of course). Although he wasn’t in the car with me, it sure felt like he was right there. At one point I remember saying,

“I can’t see sh**. It’s totally whiteout and the wipers are covered with ice!”

There was no way I was going to stop and get out of the car to manually remove the ice. That was out of the question.

“Blast the defroster. Turn it up as high as you can,” he said.

It worked.

During this ordeal, the snow was coming down like crazy, and the winds were blowing it side ways. My hubby had been shoveling in shifts in order to make sure the driveway was cleared by the time I pulled up.

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As you can tell by the pics, tertiary roads were nearly impassable. If it weren’t for him and his trusty SUV, I don’t know how on earth I would have gotten home. I consider myself a very experienced driver. I’ve made it through many blizzards and rain storms, this one was a doozy. But, I’m glad I made it home ok. I couldn’t miss spending another night- this soon- away from from my two favorite people.

My hubby has proven time and time again that he is a stallion in more ways that one.

Would you have stayed at a hotel, stay put, or take the risk and drive home?

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Not An Ounce of Guilt

Whenever there’s a storm brewing, it’s understood that I’d have to be prepared to work.  If it’s a major storm, like Sandy, I usually don’t make it back home for the night.  This past weekend was no different.  I wouldn’t exactly classify this one as a big winter storm.  But, I was prepared to come in on my day off for coverage.

Lucky for me,  I didn’t have to report for duty.  The bosses decided to throw me a bone!  Normally I’d feel guilty for not being there.  But, I didn’t.  My hubby would clown me for having my nose buried in my laptop tracking the weather.  However, my computer remained in the off position the entire weekend (with the exception of writing this post, of course lol).  There was no Facebook post, no tweeting, no looking at the radar.  As far as I was concerned I was off the clock, and I couldn’t be happier.  I may have had Christmas Day and New Year’s Day off, but I’ve worked every other day in between this year.  It’s time that Mama gets a break.

Being home this past weekend worked to our benefit.  My hubby had work, so the roles were reversed.  I got to spend the entire day with Princess and we had a blast.  We put together some of her Christmas gifts, and opened a couple as well.  We had fun goofing around too.

Most of my time is usually spent working.  Even though we only had raindrops where we live, it was still nice to weather the storm with my little girl.  Now my only hope is to make it home in time to ring in the New Year with my two favorite people.

Weather Anchor Mama 

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Sandy’s Aftermath:

Sandy not only washed up the sandy beaches of our coastline, it’s caused major devastation across the northeast.  My hubby snapped these pics, and this is not even close to the worse of the damage left by this storm.

Storm surge led to flooded streets in our hood.  This is the closest he got.

We live near the water, but far enough to not have to deal with flooding from storm surge.

There were a lot of power lines down

Plenty of down trees 

This fallen tree shut down the entire road

We were left with no power, no heat, no hot water, and no phone or internet service for almost a week.  Thankfully, we were able to stay at my mom’s house because there was no way I could keep my two-year-old in a freezer much longer.

No electricity, so Princess turned her socks into gloves to keep her hands warm.

I’m so happy we fulfilled our checklist before the storm hit, otherwise we would have been screwed.

Here’s my Sandy preparation checklist:
-Full tank of gas
-non perishable food
-laundry (in case the power goes out. We need clean clothes lol)
-Flashlight with batteries (I’m scared of using candles with the little one around)
- car phone charger 
-a freezer full of ice (if the power goes out, the food will last longer)
-Water 
-Garbage containers in the garage (don’t want the winds to blow them a

way)
-First aid kit
-Go bag (in case I can’t make it back home from work)
-CASH

Despite crossing off everything on this list, we still came up short in the gas department. We finally got everything back. But, now I only have enough fuel for one day of work. We drove around and saw a bunch of parked cars. A closer look revealed that drivers were on line waiting to re-up. Lines like this stretched for blocks. Some places only allowed you to fill up 20 bucks worth, which doesn’t benefit us because we already have that much left in our tank.  Waiting long hours to get back what we already have didn’t make much sense.

Some people ran out of gas while waiting on line. Others tried to avoid being assed out by leaving their cars behind and fueling up containers instead.


I’m hoping that this gas problem will get better soon.  If not, I gotta figure out how I’m gonna make it to work this week.

Despite all this, I thank God that we had some place to go and come back to. Some people aren’t so lucky.

Weather Anchor Mama




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Sandy’s Wrath

Sandy’s wrath kept me away from my blog this past week.  I’ve been busy tracking this historical storm while staying on top of my class assignments.  I’ve spend the last few days working ahead to avoid falling behind this semester.

It was pretty tough working double duty, but I got though it just fine.  The toughest part was saying bye to my hubby and Princess.  It’s hard being away from them during times like this.

I had to report to work at 12pm on Monday just before the storm got cranking.  After making dinner,  I hauled ass, and jetted out the door.  I was sure to pack on overnight bag before leaving.  That’s the great thing about being a weather anchor!  I always know what’s coming.  I knew that Sandy would pack a wallop, which made preparation for me a breeze.  Speaking of which, whipping winds and flooding led to many closures around New York.  All bridges and parkways that I’d normally take home were completely shutdown.  So, I had no choice but to spend the night at my station.  A co-worker loaned me this air mattress.

I thank God that I’m out of harms way.  But, sad that I can’t be home with my two favorite people.  My hubby sent me this pic just before our street loss power.

They’re ok.  But, Princess was upset that she couldn’t get to watch her favorite show.  Hopefully, power will be restored soon.  I know we have a long road head.  Sandy is no longer a tropical storm, but her power will be felt even when she’s gone.  I’m not looking forward to the aftermath.  I’ll be working though Tuesday too.  So, my work here is far from over.

Weather Anchor Mama
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Can’t Let the Rain Get in the Way!

It was a pretty soggy day. But, we managed to squeeze in some outdoor fun!
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