Spring Fever in Full Swing

This weekend has truly been beautiful, in every way it could have been. Both Saturday and Sunday we broke temperature records in the Twin Cities (it's been in the 60's!), and we were finally able to open the windows and get some fresh air in the house. Our day included cleaning, laundry, and a walking trip to the park with the entire family. Mitch and I finished the day with a date night (thanks Grama JG for volunteering after our normal sitter got mono!), where we had entirely too much food and drink, and it was wonderful.

Sunday we had "an adventure!" into Minneapolis to visit Aunt Katie and Uncle Boston. In the car, Gizmo gave Gonzo speech lessons ("Can you say 'Min-ee-app-ol-is', Gonzo?"). Gonzo happily babbled back. We had lunch at Panera, which, if you ask Gizmo, was the best part of the day, and then went for a walk through the park adjacent to Katie and Boston's apartment. We also walked over to the Sculpture Garden, where I viewed for the first time the Spoonbridge and Cherry. Gizmo and Gonzo happily rode along in the double stroller while Mitch got his workout pushing the two of them through the almost hour-long walk. After naps, we finished the day playing outside in the sand table.

The weather forecast calls for continued warm weather and record-breaking heat. Hello, spring!

The First Snowfall of the Season

Yesterday the snow started flying for the first time in the Twin Cities. Our weatherman let us know we'd be receiving 1-3 inches starting around lunchtime, and as the first flakes fell we got the fireplace going and marveled at the winter wonderland taking shape outside.

By the time Gizmo woke up from her afternoon nap, there were two inches laying on the ground, and she was ready to don her snow gear to play for the first time.

Mitch helped her get dressed....

....but she was a little apprehensive about walking in her new boots. (They are a bit big, but bought that way so we can hopefully get two years of wear out of them!)


Gonzo and I stayed inside where it was warm and watched Gizmo play.


Gizmo had a great time outside walking around and trying to "squish" the snow. Sadly, the snow was not good for snowballs. They weren't out long, as she declared it "was too dawk to play outside" since it was dusk.

P.S. Remind me of how happy I was about this snow in February, please. I won't think it's so pretty then.

Minnesota: Where the Cold is Colder and the Hot is Hotter

Snowfall this winter: 5th highest in history. And damn cold.

Heat this summer: 102 degrees today - shattering the record. The Twin Cities were the hottest cities in the country today. Yesterday also set a record of 98 degrees. There has only been one other 100+ degree day here this century, and it hasn't been this hot since 1988.

Can we get some moderate temperatures, please? Because I'd really love to not run my heater or air conditioner for at least a month out of the year.

A Marshmallow World

Here are the long-overdue pictures from last Saturday's blizzard. It goes on record as one of the biggest storms in history - over 16 inches in 24 hour. The worst part is that we will not be warm enough to melt this snow until, oh, April.

This is the shot of our backyard, and our fire pit. It stands a good two feet up from the ground.


Our mailboxes were almost buried, and when the snow plow came through on the street there was so much snow that it pushed our mailbox over a little. It will need a new post.


This is our garden - at least the top of it.


The morning the storm began, this is what our deck looked like -


You can see the ridge in the middle of the snow where the new snow had fallen - about six inches.

Here is what it looked like by the end of the day -


And the next morning, our door looked like this -


This is our street during the storm -


Mitch had to go out and brave the snow in order to snowblow the driveway. It had to be done twice - once during the storm, once after - so that way the snowblower would still be taller than the snow piles. In the end, there were drifts at the end of the driveway that were taller than 40 inches.


What did Gizmo and I do while Mitch was snowblowing? Stayed inside, of course. We enjoyed the fire -


Played with our stuffed animals -


And looked fashionable while staying warm -


I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen making comfort food.

And yes, I am aware that my cute baby bump is turning into a giant basketball. I am on track to be as big as a barn....again. Still a few months to go!

They are predicting more snow this weekend, and I think even into Monday. It can snow all it wants, as long as we can get out for the holidays!

A Marshmallow World

Mitch and I had planned to do our Christmas shopping today. We had secured Al to come babysit Gizmo and were excited to spend a few hours on the town and go to lunch. But, on Friday the weatherman predicted a whopper of a blizzard to hit the Twin Cities, and so plans changed. I ran to the grocery store last night with the rest of our town (it was by far the busiest I have ever seen it - even busier than the day before Thanksgiving!), and we hunkered down for a long, snowy winter day in the house.

This morning the weatherman was correct - we had about seven inches on the ground by 7am. It blew and drifted, creating a drift of about 40 inches at the end of our driveway when Mitch went out to snowblow at 3pm. In total, we've received about 15 inches. Everything was canceled here - EVERYTHING. Interstates were closed. The mail didn't come. They had 220 snow plows working in the metro area alone. At one point they pulled the plows off the road because it was too dangerous for them to be out. The Mall of America closed early. The airport was shut down for hours.

It was truly wonderful. I took some great pictures that I will post tomorrow (as it is a real pain to download them to my broken Mac, then save and import them into this dreadful PC). Mitch, Gizmo and I had a great day indoors playing, cooking, listening to Christmas music, and watching the fire in our fireplace all day. I worked on holiday gifts (any day that I get to use my glue gun is a good one!), and am now sitting down to watch "A Christmas Story" with my cup of hot chocolate and banana bread.

My only complaint about the day and the blizzard? The fact that it wasn't a weekday. I could have really used a snow day. Maybe next time....

A Very Minnesota-y Weekend

Went to a surprise birthday party/keg party and sat around a bonfire on a crisp Friday evening?  Check.

Admired the start of fall foliage, and hoped that Winnie and Sarah will make it to Minnesota in time to see it?  Check.

Planted mums in my flowerpots and bought pumpkins, with Gizmo helping by playing in the dirt?  Check.

Cooked all sorts of comfort food:  pot roast, soup, and turkey and stuffing?  Check.

Mitch went to a football game on a cool Saturday afternoon?  Check.

Went to dinner on Lake Minnetonka with the family to celebrate Al's birthday?  Check.

What a great weekend!

Signs of Spring

• The buds on the trees are just starting to pop out.
• We grilled out for the first time tonight.  Pork chops = delicous!
• There are a TON of people out walking, running, rollerblading, and generally being healthy. 
• There are dead squirrels on the road.
• We have been enjoying the weather and walking with Gizmo.
• I had a bug hit my windshield the other night on the way home.
• The kids in school have a serious case of spring fever.  So do the teachers.  
• Mitch and I enjoyed our first beer of the season on the patio.  

Spring, it's so good to see you.  I sure miss you during these long Minnesota winters.

You Know You Live in Minnesota When....

....the temperature reaches 35 degrees and you see people in their convertibles with the tops down.  

Dear Mother Nature

Please bring the spring.  I've had enough snow.  

And by the way, if you are going to snow again, please just dump a foot in two hours and be done.  At least then we can have a snow day and the world can stop for a little while.  

Love, Tina

Heat Wave!

To Those Who Will Be Making The Journey To The Frozen Tundra This Weekend:

You are in luck.  We are having unseasonably warm weather this week - the high temperature is supposed to be 10 degrees warmer than normal.  

Which means we're going to break above freezing.  Hopefully twice.  

Pack that long underwear!  

If Mother Nature is Reading the Blog

OK, you got us.  You played one mean trick and gave us snow on October 10.  Ha ha, very funny.

Then, you went ahead and played the SAME joke on October 12.  A little funnier, since there was 3 inches of snow on the ground.  And kept it in the forties for the last week and a half.  Hilarious.

Today, again, you are playing the same freaking snow trick!  It is not funny anymore.  My poor mums have lived in the garage for almost a week and they would like to see the light of day again. 

No more stupid tricks.  Bring on fall already.

Vegas = Warm

This is the week that we would normally be flying to Las Vegas for a long weekend, but we decided to stay home this year and save money. I only bring this up because the wind chill is currently -33 degrees here and the weekend forecast for Las Vegas is sunny and 62. That means it would feel 95 degrees warmer there!

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful

So, today was a big day!  It got above 0 degrees!  Woo hoo!!

Seriously, it is so cold here, I can hardly stand it.  It is frigid, nose hairs freeze when you inhale cold.  My extremities are NEVER warm.  I am someone who is still in "Illinois" mode - forgetting to put on my gloves before I go outside, not wearing winter boots, don't have a good, warm hat....after walking to my car today from my school (only about 30 feet - maybe), I thought my fingers were going to freeze off.  Thankfully, I think Santa (aka mom and dad) is bringing me a warm hat and gloves for Christmas and I'm hoping for some liners for my rain boots to turn them into snow ones.  Because I need them.  

And the snow.  It started snowing again today.  I'm confident that if this were Illinois, we'd have had at least one snow day already.  But no, the plows are good here!  (Which I am thankful for.)  We're supposed to get more snow on Thursday, and then more this weekend.  Belinda and Sven, the weatherpeople on TV, keep saying to go "enjoy the weather".  Are you serious?  Who in their right mind would be outside in this?  But people up here love it.  I've seen people cross-country skiing in our neighborhood, in addition to snowmobiles, still walking outside, and the neighbors behind us even have a hockey rink in their backyard.  I'm not kidding.  

To top it off, Mitch tells me today - "embrace the weather".  What?!?  Apparently, he's still staying positive.  Only because he needs to keep snowblowing.....(again, which I'm thankful for.)

So, maybe someday I'll learn to snowshoe or cross-country ski or whatever else they do outdoors.  You can rent equipment at the parks here.  But until then, I'm going to complain about the cold and snow.  Because dammit, I'm FREEZING!