weather

First and foremost, I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas, and got everything they wanted. I know I did! What I wanted most this year was to spend the holidays with my loved ones, and I’m thankful that I was able to do so.

Dan and I exchanged gifts on Thursday night so that we wouldn’t have to drag as much stuff with us to my sister’s house for Christmas. I got Dan a life-size, 48-inch Klingon Bat’Leth war sword. I know, I know… I’m enabling his geekiness. But what can I say? I married a nerd. His gift for me wasn’t much better. I had requested the Lego Harry Potter video game, and Dan delivered. Our gift for the house was a shower radio with a fog free mirror. Love it!

On Friday (Christmas Eve), we got up bright and early to head to Port Authority. We were rushing around, afraid of being late, only to find out once we got there that buses were running on a holiday schedule – rather than on the advertised regular weekday schedule. This meant that we had an extra hour to kill before boarding, all the while surrounded by people whining and complaining about the schedule mix up. When we finally did get on the bus, the trip to Jersey was quick and traffic-free.

Getting to spend a couple of days with my family at my sister’s house provided Dan and I with a very much needed mini-vacation. There was good food, lots of laughing and catching up, and plenty of thoughtful gifts exchanged. We played Apples to Apples and Boxers or Briefs, and watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

Despite all of the fun we were having, Dan and I had to say goodbye to everyone after Christmas dinner and head back to Brooklyn in an attempt to beat the snow storm that was supposed to hit the east coast. We’re lucky we left when we did, because this is what happened on Sunday:

Things have been pretty crazy here in the city since the blizzard started Sunday afternoon. By Monday morning, the whole city was practically shut down. Subways weren’t running, none of the streets in our neighborhood were clear, and most of the nearby businesses were closed due to inclement weather. I don’t know if you can tell from the last picture, but the snow was taller than Pickles! Even though it’s been more than 24 hours since the snow stopped, the city remains at a standstill. I had to call out of work this morning because there were no subways running and no cabs to be found.

It looks like things are finally starting to clear up and I’m hopeful that I can get to work tomorrow morning. New Year’s Eve is supposed to be nice, which gives me something to look forward to. I love this time of year, but I definitely don’t enjoy the unpredicable weather that comes with it.

How did you spend your Christmas weekend? Did you get or give any fabulous gifts? Were you affected by this east coast storm? Let me know by leaving a comment.