Winter wonderland

There's nothing more magical than waking up after the first big snowfall of the season and peeking out the window into a winter wonderland. A blanket of white as far as the eye can see, snow glistening in the new break of day. Everything is quiet, peaceful and picture perfect.  And that my friends, is when you take it all in.  Embrace that moment and cherish it for what it is, because soon the reality of it consume you.  It won't be long before you realize that your completely snowed in and it's gonna take a hell of a lot of time and effort just to get this day started.

It's not long before that calm after the storm is masked by the irritating sound of snow blowers and plow trucks barrel-assing at a million miles an hour down your street.  Soon that blanket of white will be tainted by animal tracks, shoveled walkways and random heaping piles of snow.  The white will turn gray, and then eventually brown from all the sand and exhaust on the roads, and soon the only thing you'll find glistening are little patches of yellow from all the dogs in the neighborhood peeing on your lawn. 

Now don't misconstrue, I'm not trying to be a negative nancy.  I would just like to reiterate that living in this climate is a giant pain in the ass.  You need to get up extra early to allow yourself time to unburry yourself before heading to work and pray the whole way that you make it there safely. You need to wear layers upon layers of clothes, because you'll be freezing your ass off in one place, only to start sweating to death in the next. 

And the expense of living/surviving in this climate is outrageous. Every year people pay an exuberant amount of money on heat/oil/wood/pellets/alcohol or whatever they use to try and stay warm.  They have to own a second set of tires just for the snow season, and pay someone twice a year to have them put on/taken off.  People spend extra money on warm bedding, warm clothes, and warming accessories... only to dream about the day they will be warm again. 

But the one good thing about dealing w/cold wintery winters, is it make you really appreciate the finer things in life (or at least warmer things).  And speaking of warm, now that I'm done w my hot coco and peppermint schnapps (something I would have never drank in San Diego) it's back to the grind and clear up the last of the nearly two feet of snow we've gotten in the past two days.  Be safe everyone, and enjoy yourselves no matter wherever or how warm/cold you are :)