Snow day!

Although we have lived in Greenville for 1.5 years, we were so unprepared for this snow and ice storm in Greenville, SC.

But thankfully, we survived no power for 24 hours.

We know that many people, all over the US, had it a lot worse so my hope is that everyone is safe, warm and healthy.

Check list for the next ice/snow storm:

Batteries, all types (especially for portable bubble-makers for fish tanks)

Battery radio

Be sure portable phone charger is fully charged (thankfully it was this time)
Flashlights/Candles

Make sure propane tank is filled for grill outside

Be sure both cars are filled with gas

Buy a shovel and ice scraper
Make sure Campy, Smudla and Madison have more than enough dry food

Buy books to read and games to play

Buy water jugs (just in case water goes out)

Make more "prepared" meals ahead of time for easier meal prep/consumption

Buy a generator?

With cold rain through the night on Thursday til Friday morning and a little snow, I never expected our power to go out as Charlotte was predicted to have lots of ice and Greenville was expected to get a little ice and a few inches of snow.

After my trainer ride in the morning, I ventured out to get a few extra food items for the weekend (fresh produce, eggs, yogurt, milk and fresh bread - our typical staple foods) on Friday morning and as I was putting away the groceries, the power went out.

Although it was only 24 hours without power (Thanks Duke Energy for working hard), we were not sure when it would turn back on again. The roads were getting bad and per Duke Energy on the phone, over 1000 houses were affected around our area. I wasn't sure if the power would be out for a day, two days, three days or three weeks. You just never know in these situations so it's best to be prepared for the worst but hope for the best. We were not prepared!

It was a cold night on Friday evening and a loss of power, even for such a short time, really put things into perspective as to how much we use power - even little things like turning on a light to see, charging a phone, keeping our food at the proper temperature in the refrigerator or freezer or heating a cup of water.

It also made me think about all the advances in technology and perhaps, how much we take for granted.

When was the last time you told yourself "wow, I have so much - I feel so fortunate."

This power outage really had me thinking a lot.

It also really made me think about what's most important in life.

Thankfully, we were able to Facetime with my brother and his wife Dana, who live in Pittsburgh, who just had their first baby on Friday evening!

Welcome to the world Jackson (Jack) Aaron Rakes!

In the end, we all remained safe and healthy for 24 hours without power.
Again - some people had it much worse as many people depend on power for medical reasons.
I am grateful for our healthy bodies and this storm made me appreciate my good health even more than before.

Campy had his first real experience with snow and Karel and I (and our friends Joey and Tim up the street) explored a lot by foot.

The kids in our neighborhood had fun sledding down our street and there were lots of doggy feet exploring the fresh snow.

With several trips to and from my mom's house (1 mile away) and extra walks to pass the time away, Karel and I guesstimated that we walked a total of 15 miles (or more!) in 24 hours.

It was not safe for us to workout outside so that wasn't an option. Instead, we just explored by foot to move our body.

Here are a few pictures of our our beautiful snow fall.