Alabama Women Bloggers – Self Interview

Well, I saw this on Twitter this morning, and thought how fun would that be to meet other female bloggers from my area!

1. What part of the state do you call home?

North Alabama. (The Tennessee Valley)

2. How long have you been blogging?

Since November 2013

3. Why did you start blogging?

Actually, I’m not completely sure. To share my adventures in being a southern mom and the life that happens along the way.

4. What do you love most about blogging?

Reading and “meeting” people from all over! (Not just North Alabama!)

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I see my fiance and I married, possibly already having our second (and last) child. By then we also hope to be in cattle farming. MAYBE I’ll be almost through with my Master’s.

6. What is your favorite movie?

I love so many movies, but I think one movie that I have truly loved since I was a child is Pearl Harbor.

7. If you could use any actress to play you in your life, who would you choose and why?

I’m not sure who I have ever considered my celeb look alike. No one? But I think with all of my ambitions and goals, I could always refer to Angelina Jolie. (I know that she may get plenty of negative attitudes and responses, but her over all goal is similar.) She has a passion for children, especially the under privileged children or those who cannot control the circumstances they have found themselves in, and in that, we are similar. I would want her to play my part so that her passion could be genuine and real.

8. Name the top 5 things on your bucket list.

My life bucket list (I have yearly ones that are more event detailed.): 1. Sky dive. 2. Attend my grandchildren’s weddings. 3. Travel to each continent. 4. Make sure my children have the chance to experience culture around the world. 5. Take a road trip with Trevor from East Coast to West Coast.

9. Who or what inspired you to blog?

Just the fact that I love to share my experiences as a mom, hoping to help or encourage someone else along the way.

10. If you could be known for one thing in your life, what would it be?

Changing the lives of children who otherwise thought they never had a chance.

11. Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?

I love the ocean. Anywhere with sand and sun and salt water makes me happy!

12. Describe the best moment in your life.

The day our daughter was born. There are no words to explain those emotions and happiness.

13. We’re headed to your neck of the woods for one day. What is one thing we have to do, and what restaurant we must eat at?

We MUST eat at “the steakhouse”. It’s actual name is Western Sirloin Steakhouse.. but if you call it that, we know you’re not from around here. (; And there is so much to do… it depends on what kind of things you’re into. But I’d definitely prefer to take you to “the mountains”, aka Bankhead National Forest and let you hike the Sipsey River. There’s also a place we found that has a waterfall not on a map.

14. What is a tradition you and your family have?

Christmas has been the same since I was a small child. Christmas Eve with dad’s family, Christmas morning EARLY with my mom, and Christmas breakfast and gifts at my maternal grandmother’s house.

15. We all love social media, share your links so we can follow you.

TWITTER: @britton_cindy

INSTAGRAM: @cindy_britton

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Snowmageddon 2014 in Alabama

Okay, so I have always thought, “I like to get snow every now and then.” Correction: I like the thought of getting snow and I like it when it snows ONE inch, then melts by the next day. When we REALLY get snow, I’ve learned that I actually hate it. I hate having to drive in it. As southerners, we just aren’t accustomed to these weather conditions. Other than play in our yards, we do not know how to function in winter storms, and that was proven as a fact last week when it snowed on February 11th and 13th in North Alabama.

Honestly, we all thought that the 11th was bad when it snowed maybe 1.5″, but at least it had melted by noon.

As you can tell there wasn’t even enough snow to cover the ground when our daughter wanted to make a snow angel. We had so much fun, though! It was too powdery for a snowman, but we used the snow on our cars and patio table to make snow balls and had a snow ball fight. By mid-day it was all gone, and we were looking at normal Alabama winter conditions.

Tuesday brought cold, cold, COLD rain in the early morning. By noon, however, it had turned to sleet. I left work early that day just to avoid icy roads and crazy drivers. I pulled in my driveway around 3 p.m. as it started to snow. When it started snowing, it literally NEVER STOPPED until after 11 p.m. I was a little disappointed at first. The ground was so wet from all of the rain, that nothing was sticking. But as the temperature dropped, things started to change. The first picture is when it finally started to stick to the leaves and grass around 3:45.

This second picture was around 5 p.m.! That’s how much snow we had gotten total the day before!

Here we are at 9 p.m. As you can see, snow was still coming down hard. It continued for another TWO HOURS. I seriously don’t remember getting this much snow in North Alabama. I’ve heard stories, but I was either too little to remember or not born yet. That’s how often it happens. My sidewalk is almost invisible! Our driveway had already been that way for a while.

I also got to mark something off of my 24 Before 24! Making homemade ice cream! When I put that on the list, I thought this would enable me to make an excuse for purchasing an ice cream maker this summer! Well, we made SNOW CREAM! We didn’t have any condensed milk, so we made do with a bowl of snow from our patio table, milk, sugar and vanilla flavoring. Then we crushed up some Butterfingers and added them, making it like a Blizzard! (:

We spent Thursday morning taking turns between playing in the snow, breakfast break, and warm up breaks.

Below is what too much snow can do on a poor pine tree that isn’t accustomed to 4-6″ of snow!

My daughter thought the snow was so amazing. (:

Below is my sad attempt at a snow angel. Ha!

Of course, later in the morning I had to drag myself to work. I hate driving in icy conditions, and when 6 inches of snow has fell, even with roads grated, people lose their common sense. (Then again, people tend to do that when it sprinkles in July. They suddenly forget how to drive.) But it was definitely worth a few hours of fun with my family!! My daughter sometimes runs to the door and says, “No! We’ll never get to see the snow again!” I promise her there might be more next winter, but I am silently thinking, I don’t want anymore like that for a year or two! Ha!