My Valentine

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day with someone you love, whether it be a friend, significant other, spouse, or pet! For six years now, I have been so lucky to spend this holiday with Andy and we were excited to celebrate, in casual style, our last Valentine's Day together before we are officially Mr & Mrs! Can you believe it?! I STILL don't think it's hit me yet...

On Saturday, I treated Andy to a movie & dinner out at one of our favorite restaurants, Sweetwater Tavern. We saw the movie Valentine's Day with Carissa and Kevin, two of Andy's co-workers, and then went out to dinner with them and also met up with another newlywed pair of friends Houda and Dennis for dinner. We went home after an early dinner, put on our PJ's watched the Olympics and some Hokie basketball and called it an early night.

On Sunday, we woke up somewhat early (especially for me after 6 whole days off of school! thanks snow!) to head to Rockville, Maryland to meet with a potential videographer for the wedding. What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than by planning your wedding?! We really liked what we saw and are excited to hopefully have them film our wedding. We came home, watched more Olympics, and then got ready for dinner at another favorite for us... Sakura, a Japanese Steakhouse.

I couldn't have asked for a better, laid-back holiday weekend with Andy. I am just so lucky to have him as my best friend to celebrate every Valentine's Day with for the rest of our lives!

Did someone say snow?!

WOW! As promised, I am updating you all on the brutal, debilitating, but GORGEOUS blizzard that just officially ended about 2 hours ago. The pictures can't even do this storm justice. The outside world is blanketed in white! The trees are gorgeous. I have a feeling we will be out of school for quite some time as the dig-out of 2-3 feet of snow begins! They don't even expect plows to make it to neighborhood streets until Monday. Luckily I have nooo problem sitting back and enjoying the time off and looking out at the beautiful winter sights! We are very fortunate to have kept our power throughout this storm and stay warm inside the house. We have also been lucky to have had no trees fall down or any roof leaks or cracking. Today, I got to go out and play in the snow with Nittany (my dog) a little, but mostly I stayed inside, read some wedding magazines, watched Duke and VT win big ACC basketball games and drink hot chocolate! I am definitely looking forward to more of the same tomorrow with the added bonus of watching the super bowl and great commercials!

Here's a glimpse into what took place in Northern Virginia over the past 2 days of straight, hardcore snow...

The gorgeous trees

Mom & Dad's with Nittany in the shoveled pathway (see him by the car mound)

Dad's car... where did it go?!

My poor Jeep

That is some serrrrrious snow! It was even more in the snow drift areas

Heavy snow bringing down branches

 

 

I am hoping all my Northern Virginia buddies have enjoyed the blizzard as much as I have! I remember when I was 12 and had the opportunity to see what the Blizzard of 1996 brought for us. I was out of school for an entire week. This blizzard's snow totals have greatly exceeded the 1996 storm, so I am curious as to how long it takes for us to dig-out. But for the time being, I am loving every second of this storm :)

Blizzard of 2010?

So, remember my pictures and blog about the Blizzard of 2009? Well, apparently us Northern Virginians didn't have to wait very long for the next one!

Weather reports have been calling for anywhere from 18"-24" of snow beginning tomorrow morning and lasting through Saturday night. Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE snow?! I mean, love it. Not only is it beautiful to look at and fun to play in, but it makes everyone SLOW DOWN! Most of the time, everyone (me included) is in such a hurry to get things done and cross things off their to-do lists. Big snows make the whole world stop and relax. There is NOTHING better than being "forced" to stay in my PJ's all day, drink hot chocolate and watch the beautiful white flakes fall from the skies.

I love how all of the weather reporters get in a tizzy, the grocery stores get slammed with people getting their milk and eggs and bread. There is even a feel of magic in the air at school as both students AND teachers talk excitedly about the snow and schools closings and delays. Today was one of those "magical" feeling days... and as soon as I returned home, Fairfax County Public Schools had already closed school for tomorrow!

I'll try to remember to keep you all updated on what falls in our neck of the woods :)