Midwest Winter

Greetings from ass-freezing Minnesota! I have been back here to spend the holidays with hubby and since I arrived, there has been so much to do. Here's a rundown of things Minnesotan winter that I SO wish ya'll could experience with us.

- Can I just talk about the weather really quick?

First of all, my flight back to MN last Friday was delayed THREE HOURS. Yes, to spend all of that time in the airport is just wonderful. It doesn't help that it was a red-eye to begin with. There are just so many math papers that I could correct at 1:30am. All planes coming to and from Minnesota were delayed due to snow. Lovely. When I finally arrived after a r-o-u-g-h flight (turbulence, crying babies, turbulence), the temps were a freezing 4 degrees. Can I just say SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM?! Thankfully, hubby brought along my heavy jacket, scarf, and gloves...just the walk from the terminal to the car was enough to freeze my insides...and oh yah, make me really want to use the restroom! Lol! The first few days that I was here, the temps hit the negatives. The lowest so far has been -3 and that's not even talking wind chill. The other day, it was 0 degrees with a wind chill of -12. It's been a pleasant surprise, though, because the last couple of days has been "warm." By warm, I mean 32 degrees. While there's still snow on the ground, it's still nipply with that icy crisp in the air, but it's warm enough that my nose and ears don't feel like it's going to fall off due to frostbite within minutes. As crazy as it sounds, there is a MAJOR difference between 10 and 0 degrees. Cold is cold is cold is cold, and maybe ya'll just have to be here in the flesh to feel the difference.

- Speaking of cold temps, the keyword is DOUBLE. Double socks, double pants (thermals and jeans), double tops (thermals and long sleeves), scarve, hat, gloves, and jacket.
- Approximate time it takes to put everything on: 10 minutes.
- Approximate time it takes to take off gloves and put on heavy-duty boots over double socks: 2 minutes.
- Approximate time to walk in heavy winter gear from the door to the car without slipping on frozen over ice: 2 minutes.
- Approximate time to catch your breath after being seatbelted in: 1 minute.

*It's such a hassle to leave the house...now ya'll understand the hibernation thang?!

- "Citywide Notification: street parking is prohibited when there is an accumulation of more than two inches from November 1st to April 1st." [That's FIVE MONTHS people!]

- yellow snow...totally gross 'cuz we've seen it EVERYWHERE!

- Learning how to walk. I swear, maybe it's just my West Coast ass, but I feel that during the winter, I need to learn how to walk properly. I have had so many incidents of almost busting my ass, it's not even funny. I don't get it...I make it a point to walk carefully ('cuz if ya'll remember last year, I had TWO major falls...one backward, one forward...not my best moments...), but as much as I do, I'm always doing that embarrassing dance where my hands shoot out to try and regain my balance, but I end up just looking like a dork. Whenever we're out and about, I study how people walk. I check out what shoes they're wearing. I observe to see if they're walking around patches of ice/snow or walking right through it. I've seen amazon ladies ('cuz they're hella tall over here!)sporting their heel boots not miss a beat over here, but when I walk in the exact same path, I bust a move! I really can't figure out if it's the shoes that I'm wearing, the speed of my walk, or simply the balance in this non-MN native body of mine. All I know is that I had better have a hand on hubby to keep my balance, else, my backside is going to meet the sidewalk.

- Frozen lakes. There was an incident some weeks back in Wisconsin where a car carrying a man and his kid ran off the road into a lake. It wasn't extremely cold that the lake was completely frozen over yet and so rescue teams were frantically searching the chill waters for them. But what was disturbing was the fact that the news coverage kept talking about the risk of hypothermia in the cold waters. This was AFTER 30 minutes. Wouldn't you think they would talk about the possibility of DEATH? After a few minutes of watching the anchor interview a doctor of the speed and effects of hypothermia, we both pretty much commented in disbelief, "What about the speed of drowning and death?" I don't know which to be afraid of- frozen lakes or news coverage that doesn't deal with reality.

Ahhh...there's so much more things Minnesota that I can't remember it all at the moment. When it comes to mind, I'll be sure to share.

*By the way, I realize that it's been a helluva long time since I blogged. That's what I get for having to use dial-up at my parents! It just takes way too much time to log in to anything besides my email. I feel that I've totally neglected my blog and all the blogs that I read on a daily basis. I took a few hours the other day, yes HOURS, to catch up on blogs and whatnot. But yes, for the most part, I am all caught up with everyone..and for those who were wondering, yes, I'm still very much alive (and back from da dead...AGAIN!). Lastly, a shout-out to my few faithful readers who continue to rack up numbers on my stat counter- (Thanks Eastbay!) lol! Much love ya'll!*