You too can be a Meteorologist!

It's not a secret to my friends and family that I am weather-obsessed. If you'd like historical evidence, click here. Weather.com is perma-tabbed on Mozilla, and I check it in regular intervals throughout the day. I need to know any fluctuations in temperature, even if it's just a couple of degrees. A few degrees might mean the difference between a scarf and a parka and as a former Girl Scout, I shall always be prepared.

One reason I love rain so much is because I enjoy tracking its approach into Nashville. The squall lines normally roll in from the West. If I zoom down to street level on the radar map, I can almost predict to the minute when I'll hear the drops pummeling the roof over my head. And you don't want to know what happens if there's a snow prediction or a tornado warning. Tennessee weather can be volatile, and that's just the way I like it.

My weather addiction gets worse when I travel. Weeks out from my trip, I begin to monitor my destination's weather patterns, as I plan what I will pack. In February when Mom and I visited Park City, the planets aligned to combine travel and snow. Remember this?

Recently, after enduring a bad week at work, I considered quitting my job and enrolling in meteorology school. When I realized a meterologist's educational foundation is built upon mathematics, physics and chemistry, I gave that dream up fast. Mom, do you remember my semester of high school chemistry? *shudder*

And now, to my point: Today, I opened my email and began deleting spam messages. But, one subject line caught my eye: "Unique Gifts from the Weather Experts." Oooooooh. Tell me more!

The email arrived from WindandWeather.com and features eight varieties of "weather stations," digital panels that inform of current weather conditions, predict future weather patterns, and alert of warnings and emergencies. They even calculate barometric pressure and indoor/outdoor humidity levels. One even features the current moon phase! And, they're gorgeous, complete with stainless steel and wood-tone accents. The Wind&Weather people got to me with marketing phrases like, "be smarter than your local weatherman," and "analyze data and details like a meteorologist." What can I say? I'm an easy sell.

I was so excited, I hiccupped a rain cloud. I'd made up my mind to ask Santa (a.k.a. myself) for a weather station for Christmas. It would be perfect on my nightstand, right next to the Holy Bible. But, alas, I'm now suffering from sticker shock, as most of these beauties cost upward of $100, and some are even closer to $1000. That doesn't exactly jive with my single-gal income, nor does it jive with my desire to spend my money on worthier pursuits, like feeding children in Africa. Guess I'll stick with the internets...