Being from New Jersey, snow is part of the winter lifestyle. Like others around the country, the second snow is announced on the forecast, chaos erupts. From supermarkets selling out of the essentials to township's public works departments desperately throwing salt on the roads, everyone who experiences snow often pretty much has the same few thoughts.

1. It'll probably pass over us, no need for panic yet.

This has totally happened before -- meteorologists predict a huge snowstorm, but we end up getting only a dusting or a few inches, but still in the back of everyone's mind they're preparing for a blizzard.

2. OK, maybe we really are getting a lot of snow.

I like to think of this one as the acceptance stage. As the days where the snow is expected get closer, it becomes more believable when meteorologists start predicting times and which areas are getting hit the hardest.

3. Bread. And. Milk.

The thought of being stuck in the house because of all the snow drives everyone in the anticipated snow areas to the stores to get the essentials, bread and milk (and lots of snacks).

4. So, is school cancelled yet?

When I was younger, I would patiently wait by the phone for the call that said school was cancelled, even if the snow didn't start yet. I find myself doing the same thing here, constantly refreshing my school's homepage waiting for the message of "no school."

5. The snow has begun -- now, how much are we going to get?

Snowstorms are basically a big waiting game -- it either snows for a few hours and leaves a few inches, or we wake up in the morning to the sound of plows pushing up huge mountains of snow against the curbs and wondering how the heck all this snow appeared.