Minnesota Spring

Minnesota Spring

A Haiku

Dear Minnesota

It is officially Spring

Please stop sending snow

Stuck

Well, if there is one thing on my Christmas list that I really don't have enough of, it probably wouldn't be snow, and yet that is what we are currently receiving. Even hard core Minnesotans are grumbling at the fluffy, frozen precipitation. The fact is that the Twin Cities are still recovering from the blizzard from last Saturday. There are roads that still needed a few more visits from the snow plows and the metro area is actually having trouble finding places to store all the snow. Mother Nature doesn't give a rip about that though, she felt like wrecking havoc today and so she did. It isn't as bad as the last snow storm, but enough to be a pain in the rear. Maybe Mother Nature is having relationship issues, hence the fury. Just a thought.

Anywho, my car got stuck this afternoon due to Mother Nature's man troubles. I can't think of a time where that had happened to me before. I really don't think I have ever been stuck in snow, but I did today. I was leaving my friend's house and trying to get up a hill but my little G6 didn't have the gusto to get the job done. I tried going in reverse and then putting the car in drive. I tried letting the traction control do it's thing. I tried shoveling out little tire paths with my snow scraper. Finally, when nothing else worked, I even tried shoving my face in my hands and crying. Amazingly enough that didn't get me anywhere, weird, right? I just didn't know what to do and I knew I couldn't push my car and steer all by myself. I was about to get out of the car and run back to my friend's house thinking I was going to have to stay there until the plows came, when her neighbors came walking down the road to help me. I almost hugged them. I was so relieved and would have never become un-stuck without them. After they helped me, we said our goodbyes and shouted out "Merry Christmas!" just like in the movies.

When I got home, I was still feeling pretty chipper . . . until I got stuck again. This time in my own driveway. You would think that was a good thing except my car was all hood-winked in a way where I was parked on a diagonal and Troy wouldn't have been able to get his car in the garage. I had to back my car up all the way back to the road and give myself a running head start. Then, out of frustration, I selfishly took the garage space, tired of fighting the snow in the driveway and in general. In my defense, I have been parking outside for the past month due to the tools and materials we are using for our bathroom renovation which has taken up residency in my garage space. I figured Troy's Mazda could sleep outside, just this once. Of course when I got in the house, I immediately felt guilty for taking his garage space, so I went outside to shovel the driveway so Troy wouldn't have the same trouble I did. Now I don't feel so bad. Plus the old girl (my car) needed a break. She had a very trying day. Sleeping in the garage is the car equivalent to a pedicure. She just wants cute tires! Her dogs are barking, for crying out loud. Here she is, resting in the warm garage.

Being stuck is not much fun. I guess in any scenario being stuck stinks, because even if you were on a white, sandy beach in Hawaii, if you described yourself as being "stuck" there, it would insinuate that it is against your will. Although if that is how you would describe your stay in Hawaii, you are clearly mentally unstable. The only way I could think of being 'stuck' as fun would be if the other variables involved were awesome. For example:

1. You're stuck in the airport for hours . . . but so is the entire cast of LOST and they have decided to reenact season three for you.
2. You're stuck next to a guy with bad B.O. on the bus . . . but he happens to be childhood friends with John Krasinski and he invites you to John's pool party that afternoon.
3. You're stuck in Antarctica . . . but the scientists there have a secret cave they take you to which is actually a porthole to a beach resort in Bermuda.

I think one way being stuck today would have been awesome would be if I was in Back to the Future II and just shoved a few of my lunch leftovers in my Mr. Fusion and then flew home. Problem solved. That would have been fabulous.

November Snow

I love to watch Fox 9 News in the morning. Mostly because I think the meteorologist, Keith Marler is so funny. I have seriously almost shot coffee out of my nose due to intense laughing at his antics. This week, we have had beautiful weather - it was in the upper 60's on Monday and Tuesday! However, Mother Nature is a fickle woman and last night it started to snow. Even as I am typing, the wet and heavy snow continues to dance across our windows. This dance is more of a rumba and less of a waltz. It even knocked our satellite out, so no HGTV for me today. It is a little intense. It even has Olivia and Molly intrigued.

I would be one of those people who claim to hate winter, but I think that might not be entirely true. I love snow before Christmas because it gets me in the holiday spirit. This morning when I woke up, before I opened my eyes, it felt a little like Christmas morning. I was so excited to see how much snow we got. Last night when the storm just started to dance its way into the Twin Cities, Troy started talking about spending the day today putting up the Christmas tree and all of our cheerful holiday decorations. I was squealing with excitement, but I am not entirely sure if he was joking or not . . . there is a very good possibility that he was just teasing me. Very good possibility. However, he did come downstairs this morning dancing a little jig and singing "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" which I obviously joined in on. I am seriously fighting the urge to put up our Christmas stuff at this point.

Another great thing about snow is garages. One of my first thoughts this morning was how thankful I was that I didn't have to go out and shovel my car out of the snow. Should I need to make a quick get-a-way, I can just drive my pristine car out of the garage and, in all reality, get it stuck in the driveway . . . but at least I didn't have to scrape! When I lived with my friend Krista, she had a one car garage which she very generously shared with me. We had a system where we would take turns and every other night we got to park our car in the garage. **Side Note: This is one of the reasons why Krista is such an amazing person because I would have selfishly hoarded that space to myself.** Anywho, there was no greater feeling than waking up to snow in the morning and realizing that last night was your night to park in the garage!! On the flip side, there was no crappier feeling than waking up to snow and realizing that you didn't have the garage space last night and now have to rush through your morning routine so you have time to scrape off your car! Bummer fest right there.

Well, I think I am going to see if I can sneak out some of the Christmas decorations without Troy noticing. Or maybe I will make an attempt to drive my little G6 to Target and get some snow pants so I can keep my toasty warm while I build a snowman. Either way, I will be enjoying our November snow.

(Our backyard this morning)