Wednesday, November 24, 2010

A Snowy Thanksgiving Eve!

Hello all!  Yesterday was my playing hookie from work day as we were snowed in.  Yes...that's right...snowed in.  Sunday afternoon the flakes started falling but it wasn't enough to stick.  When everyone got to work Monday, it started coming down hard...and it continued throughout the day.  Now...for those of my readers that live in the midwest, let me just explain.  It rains a lot here in the Pacific Northwest, but as soon as it snows, the whole city loses it.  Hardly any of us own chains or snow tires and since our streets are hilly, drivers just go nuts! 

Our major freeway, Interstate 5, was backed up for HOURS!  Two of my friends, who lived less than 15 miles away from work, both took 6 hours to get home.  I heard on the news, some took as long as 9 hours!  It was just crazy.  And guess how many inches we got?  THREE!!!  That's right...just a few inches and our city goes into arctic shock.  It wasn't the amount of snow, but when it started Monday morning, it came down hard.  Then in the middle of the day, it warmed up, melting some of the snow.  And by the time it got dark, there was cold front that moved in that freezed everything.  And for a city with lots of steep hills, not enough of snow plows, people all rushing to get home, mixed in with some crazy drivers, it was bad!

Here are some pics of the snow day we had:



So...onto something new and fun.  My hubby, recently just started his blog here.  He used to blog about cars a lot back in high school, but recently started up again and wanted this blog to be about art.  My husband works for a consulting firm, and the client he's working for right now just happens to be Microsoft.  One of the managers there saw our wedding guest book that he made and asked him to paint a mural in his office in a "not too street, but not too corporate" way.  And this is what he came up with:


BEFORE

AFTER


AFTER
Chris drew up some templates on the computer and out of all the mock ups, the Manager chose this design.  Microsoft just opened up their new retail store here in the Seattle area, so the colors used here is part of their new store logo.  Let me just add that this was not your regular roller painting.  This was all done by paint spray cans for the "graffiti" look.  The Microsoft letters were cut as stencils, same as the white outline surrounding the black letters.   It took 9 hours on a Saturday to get this done, but the Manager was so satisfied!  It really turned out better than we all imagined it would.

For those new readers, here is a picture of our wedding guest book.  It's now hanging in our family room all signed by our guests, but this was also all done with spray can.  The graffiti on the right was stenciled and airsprayed.  If you tilt your head to the right, it reads "Cindi" and if you tilt your head to the left, it reads "Chris".  Our bodies were stenciled in by blowing up an engagement picture of ours below:

Anyhoo, thanks for those of you that's already entered my giveaway.  For those of you that haven't already, here's the link to my very first giveaway!  There's still time to enter!!

It's Thanksgiving eve and I hope everyone a great Turkey Day!  I'm sure there will be lots of laughs and food in your near future as you all spend some much needed family time.  I'm going to do the same!  Be happy and be safe!

12 comments:

  1. Awww!!! What a talented hubby you have Cindi! Great job on the office and the guestbook of course! Snow Day! How interesting to learn about Seattle and the snow v. rain issues. We're having a very cold week with even Freeze Warnings in some areas! Have a nice Thanksgiving Eve!

    xx Vivian @ http://diamondsandtulle.blogspot.com

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  2. WOW! Your husband is SO talented, that's incredible!

    I love hearing stories about what happens when it snows in places where it normally doesn't - people freak out in Missouri and we're used to it! The worst part about snow in Missouri is that our temperatures fluctuate so much and it's so damp here that snow will melt and then refreeze, making hard ice everywhere which is even more difficult to deal with!

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  3. Love this post! People were so going crazy. I walked to the grocery store and saw all these people trying to drive up and down a steep hill and skidding all over the place, it was nuts. And all the buses blocking the roads...sheesh. I went home early on Monday which was a good idea because the major road into my area was closed by rush hour. I'm so grateful I can work from home now, because there's no way I'm going over the bridge!

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  4. How cool is that - I love that your husband was able to express himself creatively at his office! I'm a big ole baby when it snows, but luckily for other drivers out there on the roads, I just stay cooped up at home ;) Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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  5. Vivian - It's amazing how snow just stops our whole city. And when I hear my friends from Chicago talk about how chicken we are, it's all true! Haha...but our roads are built really well for the rain tho!

    Ashley - I was in St. Louis one year when it was snowing and really cold. I forgot how the driving was though. But yeah, my best friend used to tell me about how the temp would fluctuate so much there.

    LC - I KNOW! Did you see the video these guys took on Capitol Hill where these cars were just driving down and sliding? Not to mention the road was closed so they shouldn't have been on there anyway! Even a bus was on that road! Idiots! I think the people here forget what a hilly city we are.

    Jan - I'm a huge baby when it comes to snow as well but I remember when I was younger ( and didn't know better), I'd brave it and drive to work. I'd be the only one there when others would stay home. Now I know better! That's why I stayed home yesterday. :)

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  6. The snow pictures are so beautiful!! I love the snow, but since we never get much at all here in NC, people freak out! I'm a huge baby and won't drive in it at all, so I just stay home and watch the pretty flakes fall :)

    Chris is so talented!!! That mural is amazing!!

    Have a very happy Thanksgiving!!

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  7. I had to chuckle a little when I read your post. I used to live in Washington, DC and everything shut down when it snowed; it was so funny to me. Especially because I lived in Vermont for a few years and the Vermonters wouldn't even bat an eye when it snowed. I was a big scary cat back then (and probably even now). I either stayed home or hitched a ride to the store with friends. You were smart to stay home. Well, be careful out there and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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  8. Your snow photos are beautiful! I saw everyone post snow pics on fb, but I hadn't heard a ton about all the commute issues (although I'm not surprised at all). Even UW's Seattle campus shut down on Tuesday which almost never happens when it snows. Crazy. I'm glad you got home safely!

    Your hubby's office art for his manager is neat! Very bold and very Microsoftee :D

    Lorispeak

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  9. I saw a friend's comment on facebook about people abandoning their cars on the freeway, i thought it was a joke. i can imagine everyone freaking out in southern california if something similar happened! your photos are gorgeous, however! and kudos to your hubby :) that's really cool!

    have a happy thanksgiving!!!

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  10. Goodness me, check out that lovely snow! how i wish so much to touch it (i've never touched snow in my life!).
    Your hubby is extremely talented and such a creative soul. The Microsoft mural looks amazing, and it actually looks computer generated rather than spray-painted on. He is such a talent - no average person would have the skill to do such a great job with spray paint!
    Also love how he spray painted rwedding guest book. You really have got an amazing hubby there :-) I will have to check out his blog!
    thanks for sharing these with us :-)

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  11. Your husband is so talented! wow! That is so cool.

    Hey, it snowed just around 3" here in WI and the area was in a tizzy bc it was the first snowfall and people 'forget' how to drive in this weather. Accidents everywhere. I hate driving in snow, rain, any bad weather!

    Happy thanksgiving!!

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  12. I love the new logo/graphic design that your husband did. Very impressive. And it's so wonderful that he is able to put his creative talents to good use.

    I'm glad that you guys both got home safely in the snow. We haven't had very cold weather here, yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time!

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