Blessed Christmas & how long the mild temps stick around...

Last weekend was a Cleveland weekend to visit Dawn's family for their Christmas get-togethers.  I had an 18 mile run so I ran through the metro parks and Cleveland does a fantastic job keeping the trails clear.  Better than the sidewalks.

This was the farthest point on my run, the Berea Falls Scenic Overlook.  Gorgeous, but it was very cold for the run on Saturday morning.

Monday was warmer and, after work, we went to the Columbus Zoo to check out Wildlights. 

The weather was FANTASTIC!  

Obviously the kids loved it! "Smile for the camera, kids!"

Tuesday was Christmas Eve and a very foggy start to the day.  Summer and I went for a run and I answered all her questions.  Often we get caught up with the hustle and bustle of life.  Summer always has hundreds of questions, so it was a real treat to just spend that time answering all of her questions.  We talked about fog, Santa's summer travels, and why we need stop signs.

We attended the 1PM church service and Santa was even there! 

Christmas morning was a great time with the four of us.  Evan has a huge crush on Anna from Frozen.  He was VERY excited with the wrapping paper that had Anna's photo.  

My sister and parents came up for the afternoon.  We had a feast and the house was warm from all the cooking.  After eating we did gifts then Summer wanted to run around the backyard.  So we let her go outside and we all decided it was too nice to stay inside.  So Summer got to ride her new bike in the warm temps.  We actually reached 56° for the high.  There have only been 3 warmer Christmases recorded in Columbus:
1982: 63°
1964: 58°
1955: 57°

I understand most people want a White Christmas, but if we aren't going to have a White Christmas then I would LOVE a repeat of our weather from yesterday. 

Our mild temps will roll on for another four days! Today we may see a little early sun then becoming mostly cloudy with highs near 60, which will be more than 20 degrees above normal.  Tonight we stay warm with low temps around 50 and some light rain and sprinkles are possible overnight and for the first part of Friday.  Staying cloudy and mild on Friday with highs in the upper 50s.  The clouds do break up some late Friday and then getting chilly with lows in the upper 30s Friday night and Saturday morning.  But keep in mind... upper 30s should be our normal highs for the end of December, so still mild for December.  Mostly cloudy and warm on Saturday with highs back into the upper 50s.  Rain moves in Saturday night and rain is likely most of Sunday with highs around 60.   Winds will be brisk Sunday into Monday. Our temps then drop very quickly Sunday night and highs back in the upper 30s for the start of next week.  We could see some scattered wintry mix/snow showers on Monday.  Then chilly and dry for Tuesday and Wednesday for the end of 2019 and start of 2020.  Enjoy our mild temps before winter returns and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

I tripped & fell AGAIN! Fun in the snow. Holiday forecast...

Summer and I took full advantage of the snow earlier this week.  This was one of the photos from our snowball fight... right before it hit my phone's camera. More on the snow fun in a second...

Ok... I know, I know, I know... Where are my pants!  I tripped and fell AGAIN yesterday, first time was on Sunday... So now, TWICE in one week! And the last time I tripped and fell was 2 years ago!
For a quick recap: the first trip, this week, was Sunday morning. Glove palms ate most of it and I’m very glad I was wearing gloves. Landed hard on my ribs so took Monday off of running. Tuesday run was speedwork and no tripping. Then tripped again Wednesday while on my 7 mile run. Fell more gracefully and kind of rolled through it. Both times I tripped on the sidewalk with a slight lip. I think a lot has to do with running in shorts in the cold. Kinda like your lips not working right in the cold after a while. Legs get sluggish too. Temp was 25 today and wind chill was 11. I should have been in tights or pants. Not shorts. Thankfully no major issues other than sore ribs still. Live, run, and learn!
So to the fun in the snow.

Back to the snow fun.  Evan has been running a fever, so he stayed inside and watched.  We included him by trying to throw snowballs at his window.  If you look carefully at the photo between Summer's head and the fence you can see a snowball heading toward the window.  Evan was laughing like crazy.  Then it was nap time and he is doing better now. 

While he napped Summer and I built a snowman.  We did dress him up a little more since this photo.  She was REALLY wanting to play in the snow so we tried staying out as long as possible until we couldn't feel our hands anymore. 

Speaking of hands... Here is Evan helping send out some of my Balm By Buck shipments. The holiday bundle was REALLY popular this year.

Another day with the warm coat, hat, gloves, and sunglasses. We are starting out with temps in the single digits and low teens. Thankfully winds are calm most of the area, but any breeze will make it feel colder. Mostly sunny today with highs in the lower 30s. Clear and cold again tonight with lows around 20. We will see a few clouds tomorrow, so partly cloudy, with afternoon melting as our highs warm up to around 40. Partly cloudy this weekend as well with highs in the low-mid 40s. We keep adding on a couple degrees each day for the start of next week as well with highs warming into the upper 40s with a mix of sun & clouds. So we have seven dry days ahead of us with slowly warming temps. This means that it will be dry for traveling and the snow will slowly melt during the afternoons. So chilly and dry for the start of Hanukkah and mild temps for Christmas while staying dry as well. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Winter Wonderland, my accident, and Christmas forecast...

What a breath of fresh air to wake up and see a blanket of snow this morning!  The kids loved it, but I was at work.  So glad Dawn snapped this photo. Evan was obviously standing on something. Hope there is some snow left later so I can play in it with the kids.  We have a busy day of preschool, allergy shots, and other errands.

I took Friday off of work to attend Summer's preschool Christmas program.  I got in my long weekend run on Friday morning and left the house around 5AM to be done when the kids woke up around 7:20. 

Then a quick shower, breakfast at Bob Evans, then off to the Christmas program. Very cute performance!

Evan loved the show too and he danced along with them for some of the songs.

I taught Evan how to cheers with drinks this weekend too.  So he LOVES to grab his water and cheers with you now.

We drove around the area to check out some of the holiday lights.  This one was VERY impressive in Delaware County and worth the drive.

I also spent the weekend labeling my lip balms.  I made another 200 vanillas and I will be finishing another 250 mint balms soon too. Free lip balms, for the next week, with each $10 order on BalmByBuck.com. 

I don't know why, but I LOVE brushing the kids' teeth.  Summer has been trying to do it herself more and more, but I still help make sure they are good and clean. Evan also does a great job.

"Accident" sounds worse than what happened, but that's the best word I could describe Sunday morning... I went for a run early Sunday morning and I tripped on the sidewalk because one was sticking up higher than the others.  I was wearing my thick winter gloves and very glad I had them.  They got scraped up pretty bad and that stopped a lot of my forward momentum, but I still hit the ground hard and I landed on my side.  So my body's weight fell mainly on my ribs.  Still pretty tender today, so taking a bit of a break from running for a couple days.  The soil is freezing so the uneven sidewalks are becoming more pronounced as the soil expands.  Dang sidewalks! I also will add, I did pop back up and run another three miles after I fell. So nothing too serious.

Overnight snow is leaving Central Ohio with some slushy roads for your Monday morning commute.  Temps will start in the lower 30s and warm into the mid-upper 30s today so the snow will continue to melt and stay slushy with cloudy skies.

By the afternoon a second wave of moisture will move into the region. Temps will be warmer so the southern half of Ohio will likely stay rain for the afternoon and early evening and the northern and northwestern part of Ohio will stay cold enough for snow showers. The transition line between the snow and rain will be an area of ice with freezing rain and sleet possible. This ice line will be setting up in a diagonal line from Dayton to Columbus to Cleveland.

This is liquid moisture forecast.  Areas to the north and northwest will stay mainly snow, so you can ignore those numbers. 

As we head into the overnight hours temps will fall and the rain/ice/snow line will start drifting farther south and we transition over to mostly snow for Central Ohio. Areas that stay all snow to the north/west will see 1"-3" of snow. Icy areas could see a thin glaze of ice then some light snow. Mostly rain to the south and east then brief ice followed by light snow. Breezy tonight heading into tomorrow. The snow will start to move out by midday Tuesday then much quieter for the rest of the week. A few flurries possible late Tuesday into Wednesday.

Much colder Wednesday with highs in the upper 20s and overnight lows in the teens. More sun for later this week as highs climb back to around 40 for the weekend. 

A few flurries possible Wednesday and sprinkles/flurries Saturday, otherwise a mix of sun & clouds for the weekend. So our odds of having a White Christmas is pretty slim right now because we will slowly be melting the snow in the afternoons this weekend and early next week.  But that means better travel weather.  Glass half full... Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Another JAM-PACKED weekend... with more Santa!

Saturday was Toys For Tots drive at the station and the morning crew was there early for the cold shift in the morning.  It was 20 when we showed up and 30 when we left, but thankfully sunny with very little wind... But that is getting a little ahead of myself...

I knew the weekend was going to be packed, so I had to get my long run, 15 miles, in on Friday.  So I changed at work and ran to Summer's preschool. Dawn came and picked both of us up.  It was chilly with temps in the lower 40s and a stiff headwind.  But got it done and then time to get the weekend started.

Friday night I took Dawn out for her birthday.  It has been a tradition to go to The Elevator. I started taking her there back in 2007.

Saturday was the Toys For Tots drive and Summer got to meet Santa again! If you missed the last blog entry where we met Santa (and Evan got VERY upset) just click here. Lots of fun at the Toys for Tots drive.  Summer picked out some toys to donate as well and a HUGE thank you to everyone who came out and donated.  I was at the station while Dawn and the kids went to breakfast.

After breakfast I helped Summer her advent calendar at Home Depot.  This was our first Saturday craft building and it was so much fun.  Then Dawn took the kids to her friend's house for cooking making while I got busy in the kitchen myself.

I had a big order for Balm By Buck and I needed to make hundreds of lip balms: vanilla and mint.

Then I had to make a bunch of the hair/skin balm tins.  I LOVE cooking all the beeswax because the house has this sweet honey smell.  This is what they look like after I make my blend of balm and it is still hot.

Then the waiting process of them cooling. 

Sunday was packaging holiday boxes and restocking the website.  I accidentally made a mistake and I made the lip balm recipe waaaaay to large, so for the next two weeks I am including some bonus lip balm in orders for $10 or more. Feel free to stop by BalmByBuck.com to check out the options! All said and done, I spent about 20 hours on this order and it turned out fantastic!

Grab the coat! It is going to be cold all day long with high temps in the lower 30s and wind chills in the teens and 20s all day long. We will see a lot of sunshine with just a few passing afternoon clouds. Mostly clear tonight with patchy frost and low temps in the teens. We will see a few more clouds on Thursday with highs in the upper 30s. We warm even more on Friday with highs in the mid 40s and mostly cloudy skies. A few rain showers may sneak in here Friday evening, but most of us will stay dry until the weekend. Rain showers likely for Saturday then falling temps and the chance of some snow mixing into the rain later in the day. Cold and cloudy on Sunday with highs in the upper 30s. We have an approaching low pressure system for Monday and Tuesday and the track will determine our temps and ultimately the type of precip. If the storm tracks south then it would mean more snow for Central Ohio because will stay on the cold side of the storm. If the storm tracks north then we will see temps surge and we will see rain followed by some light snow. Timing is coming into better agreement, still not great, but this looks like mainly a Monday PM and Tuesday AM system. Stay tuned because it is still too early to dive into specifics. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

We met Santa! Quick Thanksgiving recap & look ahead...

We went to meet Santa last night!  Summer had this magical sparkle in her eye when she spotted him.  I got a short video of it and I want to hold on to that video forever.  She just starts pointing to him and saying "Look!" and it was so magical.  Evan was not as excited, but once we got a family shot then he was fine sitting on Dawn's lap instead. But before we get to Christmas...

A quick trip back to Thanksgiving.  We had both sides of the family together at my mom's house.  Here is a photo of the cousin's on my mom's side of the family that came back.  We had a total of 42 people... so you have to feed them and my mom made EVERYTHING.  It was so good. 

This is most of the main course.  A couple of the smaller dishes had back-ups to put out once one plate would run out.  My mom is amazing.  I have no idea how she managed to get it all perfectly hot at the right time.  

Our dessert plates are just as large as the main course plates, so there is a lot of dessert.  Cherry pie and black raspberry cobbler were my favorites. 

So naturally... I had to run it all off...I worked Thursday and Friday morning then we drove up to Cleveland to Dawn's parents.  The kids didn't nap in the car so while they took an afternoon nap I went out for a run and found a really nice bridle trail.  Pretty flat, but I want to go back and run the hilly sections more often.  Despite the recent rains it was not too muddy and I actually ran the whole thing in my road shoes: Altra Duos.

Finding a restroom along the trail is ALWAYS a plus! 

Saturday was THE Game against the team up north.  So we geared up for the game.

Lots of smiles and cheers with a win for Ohio State.  

We went out and looked at the holiday lights, but MAN it was chilly.  Fun trip up to Cleveland and we also got to enjoy some leftovers. Candied yams were just as good, if not better, reheated.

Here is a fun GIF of the kids and Dawn last night just after seeing Santa.  Love these three so much.  This is a very busy time of the year and I love capturing moments like this because they will be so big and grown up in a matter of no time...

Speaking of no time... Sunset keeps getting earlier and earlier.  I know some people want to make Daylight Saving Time a regular thing year-round, but that, IN MY OPINION, is a waste of time and resources of our politicians. If we decided to keep DST year-round(a new push from some legislators) then that means the sunrise today would go from 7:38AM and sunset would be 8:38AM.  Sure, the sunset would be 6:06PM.  In a couple weeks then the sunrise would be nearly 9AM...  Adjusting the time of sunrise/sunset will not extend the amount of daylight. Rant over.

More sun on the way for your Thursday! Grab the shades and the warm jacket today because our temps will start in the mid 30s and warm into the mid 40s with lighter winds with sunshine and a few clouds early and later today. More clouds tonight with lows in the mid-lower 30s. A few showers possible early Friday, mainly south, then slowly decreasing clouds through the second half of the day with highs in the mid 40s. More sun on Saturday with highs around 40. Clouds return on Sunday with a slight chance for a few spotty showers. Highs reach into the lower 50s on Sunday and more 50s on Monday, but scattered rain Monday. The cold front bringing the rain will pass during the morning hours on Tuesday. So Tuesday will start damp with mild temps, but falling temps and we will drop into the 30s and eventually 20s through the day Tuesday. As temps fall we could see a little wintry mix. Much colder Wednesday with highs in the mid 20s with high pressure trying to bring us some sunshine. Have a good one!
Best,
Andrew Buck Michael