77.3 inches and counting

We thought the January 26-27 blizzard dumped a lot of snow on Boston. And it did: 24.6 inches made it the sixth biggest snowstorm for the city. (I can't find snowfall totals for Brookline, but based on other nearby totals, I'm guessing we actually got more than Boston proper.)



And then the past two weeks happened, setting record after record (making national news and prompting the Boston Globe to create a fun infographic for our current season total). In 18 days, we've had 71.8 inches — more than two feet higher than the winter season average. The snowstorm this past weekend is now Boston's seventh biggest. The MBTA is struggling. Schools are cancelling vacation days to make up for snow days. Commutes are twice as long as usual.



And there's another storm on the way. Thanks goodness for L.L. Bean winter gear and a long weekend.

Curious about our past snow adventures in Boston? 2013 still stands as the fifth biggest snowstorm. And winter 2011 was impressive as well with a season total of 81 inches, 4 inches short of maxing out the Boston Globe's Shaq-o-meter (we documented 20 inches and 70.1 inches).

thankful list | January 2015

01. time in Manhattan to celebrate our anniversary (a day late).
02. a quick hike at Konza Prairie.
03. Old Chicago, for being open so we could actually enjoy an anniversary dinner.
04. Christmas lights in Manhattan.
05. getting to stay at the B&B where we spent our wedding night.
06. visiting Manhattan Hill, where we started dating and Ian proposed (on the first T).
07. coffee with Kate.
08. watching the K-State bowl game with friends and family.
09. breakfast with friends in Nathan and Sara's new neighborhood.
10. getting a tour of Nathan and Sara's new house, currently under renovation, in KC.
11. a bit of snow.
12. REUNION.
13. discovering Super Cluckin' Sundays at Cutty's.
14. belated Christmas presents.
15. Rick Bayless's tortilla soup.
16. a new person joining the REUNION slide creation team.
17. when it was -15 degrees out, a nice bus driver who let us wait on the bus instead of outside.
18. snuggling under a blanket on a cold day.
19. dinner at Comedor with Nolan and Ingrid.
20. figuring out how to keep our antique bed slats from sliding off the frame.
21. Top Chef.
22. a visit from the Nichols.
23. a new session of community group.
24. feeling better after taking a day off to help my body beat a head cold.
25. yoga at the office.
26. Spike, my Christmas cactus from Grandma, flowering for the first time in five years.
27. an informative and applicable presentation on emotional intelligence.
28. a day around Boston with Ren and Emily.
29. Christmas on the Cape.
30. the funny experience of getting the car stuck on the beach outside the Kennedy compound.
31. Karla, the awesome neighbor who took us to harvest oysters and and dig for clams.
32. driving around shopping and seeing beaches all afternoon.
33. accidental naps in the car, a.k.a. magic sleep.
34. kitties.
35. a roaring fireplace.
36. a cozy new sofa in front of said fireplace.
37. lobster and steak for Christmas dinner.
38. a safe drive back to Boston.
39. sharing our fresh oysters with friends.
40. Boostrap Compost (because it feels so good to not throw away organic waste anymore).
41. a quiet day at the office.
42. a snow day.
43. a quick copyediting gig.
44. exciting changes at the office.
45. a visit from Micki and Grandma Judy.
46. a fun office super bowl party.
47. the all clear after the fire department paid a visit to our apartment complex.
48. that the firefighters determined there was no fire before sawing into our roof.
49. a delicious (vegan) lunch with our fellow DR team leader to plan for the trip.
50. progress in decluttering our apartment.

concrete aspirations 2015

Here goes 2015!

1. make four things from my DIY Pinterest board. (1 2 3 4)
2. use the crock pot once a week for a month.
3. bake something once a month. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12)
4. get to the next French checkpoint in DuoLingo.
5. get to the next Spanish checkpoint in DuoLingo before the DR trip.
6. declutter the apartment again — leave nothing in our to-Craigslist pile.
7. make Grandma’s cinnamon rolls.
8. make Grandma's potato sausage.
9. apply for dual Philippine citizenship.
10. connect with an ELP to start the homebuying process (!!!!).
11. call/e-mail a long-distance friend each month. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12)
12. video chat/call family each month. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12)
13. go on a creative date with Ian each month. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12)
14. write for “Riding with Charlie.” (1 2 3 4)
15. resize images in all old blog posts to fit current design.

More details on my progress are in related posts.

concrete aspirations 2014 in summary

While I didn't knock out everything on my list, I feel I did pretty well considering I didn't even look at the list every month. It sounds like a cop out, but I still remember Christina Rosalie's words about making these sorts of lists... if you tuck it away, when you find it again you'd be surprised at how many of them happened.

1. complete a Bible reading plan. I'm not as consistent as I want to be, but She Reads Truth has been amazing for me.
2. use the crock pot once a week for a month.
3. bake something once a month. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12)
4. be able to have basic conversations in French — find a partner. Thanks, DuoLingo!
5. take a Spanish class before the DR trip. Thanks again, DuoLingo!
6. declutter the apartment again — leave nothing in our to-Craigslist pile. I accomplish this every year, but every January, I put it on my list again, because things pile up. Maybe Marie Kondo's advice will help it stick in 2015.
7. make Grandma’s cinnamon rolls. I still have a sense of accomplishment because I learned spritz in 2014.
8. make Grandma's potato sausage.
9. clean out my email inbox, and keep it streamlined (don't let emails languish). Thanks to a new inbox system learned from Sara and the new Inbox by Gmail, I feel thisclose to accomplishing this goal!
10. talk to an ELP about our plan for buying a home.
11. call/e-mail a long-distance friend each month. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12)
12. video chat/call family twice a month. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12)
13. go on a creative date with Ian each month. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12)
14. write for “Riding with Charlie” once a month. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12)

More details on my progress are in related posts.

thankful list | December 2014

01. a freelance copyediting project.
02. a crafty lunch break to help prep for the office kid's holiday party.
03. lunch with some of my favorite little ladies (and Erin too).
04. finding a fantastic pair of jeans.
05. the annual REUNION leadership community holiday party (candlepin bowling!).
06. a sparkly gold package from a Kickstarter project I backed (a special edition sized for grownups!).
07. a successful REUNION curriculum team meeting.
08. snow.
09. community group.
10. a couple fun work projects.
11. a haircut that I've been putting off for months.
12. another copyediting project.
13. the office holiday party.
14. the chance to wear a fun, sparkly party outfit.
15. the best date for the party (who also happens to look great in a suit).
16. watching the Sasaki Gnomie award presentations (hooray for happy, surprised friends!).
17. an uneventful eye doctors appointment.
18. my unique eyes: I now think of my one nearsighted eye and one farsighted eye as a superpower.
19. K-State live streaming graduation, so we could watch Caleb get his diploma.
20. a good Sunday at REUNION (I love Advent Conspiracy).
21. a quiet evening alone to catch up on errands.
22. our community group Christmas party.
23. a lunch run to Taza for Christmas presents.
24. endless chocolate samples at the Taza factory store.
25. the site group office holiday party.
26. the entertainment value of trying to match childhood photos to coworkers.
27. last pick at the Yankee Swap courtesy of an awesome coworker's best-cookie win.
28. a cathartic candy-making session (triple batch of apple cider caramels!).
29. an interesting office presentation, where I learned some tips for better managing time/email.
30. the corporate studio holiday party.
31. playing Family Feud at the corporate studio holiday party.
32. toasted ravioli (a.k.a. "t-rav").
33. new friends over for dinner (thanks for joining us, Jason and Christine).
34. the amazing short ribs Ian made.
35. a surprise visit from a good friend (have fun in London, Foxes!).
36. time to get everything ready for our trip back to Kansas.
37. fun at REUNION setup (and a later than usual start time thanks to the holiday schedule).
38. dinner with friends who are amazing cooks (Doctors Hu, you are incredible).
39. uneventful flights to Kansas City.
40. a kitchen for Ian to unleash his passion for cooking.
41. catching up with good friends over a tasty dinner (Karen, Jeremy, thanks for hosting us!).
42. a pit stop to Danenburg Jewelers to get our rings gussied up.
43. finally making it to Taco Lucha for lunch.
44. finding the last few items on our Christmas shopping list.
45. Dinner at Bourbon & Baker with Caleb and Kate for a belated graduation celebration.
46. time with Grandma, especially spritz-making lessons.
47. lots of time with all our family, who we miss dearly.
48. the incredibly awesome and thoughtful gifts we received.
49. Jurey family game time (Munchkins and Bohnanza!).
50. flipping through Grandma's photo album of her (glamorous) younger years and family in Sweden.
51. hearing family stories and memories prompted by Grandma's photo album.
52. safe travels to Dodge City.
53. lunch at the Taco Shop with friends we hadn't seen in years.
54. the Serial podcast, started and completed during our Kansas car time.
55. Aunt Susan's fantastic cooking.
56. a cozy fireplace when outside the snow was blowing sideways in frigid temperatures.
57. learning more about Grandma Marilyn's time at K-State, and Ian's genealogy.
58. starting a new year with my favorite person (happy anniversary, Ian).