Winter What!-derland

It snowed. A lot.





And there's plenty more where that came from!

I was thinking about calling in to work, but went in because I'm a good little worker bee and had a deadline today for a website. At about 10:00 it became very clear that I should have stayed home.

Yesterday was sunny and warm with a high of 45°. (Yes, 45° is considered warm here. Yes, we're talking Fahrenheit.) What happened you ask? Nothing, this is just a prime example of the meteorological anomaly known as Nebraska.

It snowed so much even the Snow Beast wasn't happy about it.

Ice. Whatever.

So much for date night. We got iced-in tonight. We were planning on eating a nice dinner at home and then going out to a movie. I've been dying to see Benjamin Button and we got a gift card to a movie theater for Christmas... Since this was Matt's first weekend off from shows in the last month, and we had a free pass to the movies, I was making him take me out on a date whether or not he wanted to see the movie. But that bitch, Mother Nature, had other plans for us. We got hit with an ice storm and had to stay home.

So, instead of date night at the movies, we ate a nice dinner of spaghetti and then Matt watched football and I had myself a SATC mini marathon. Eric came over (since he was without power due to the ice) and he hooked us up. Literally. He bought us a Time Capsule for the Mac and some Apple TV thing that turns your TV into a computer though the Time Capsule's wifi. They were wedding/Christmas presents. He works at Apple so we essentially got a professional install. Now not only do we have lotsa wifi action all over the house, but I now officially have a backup system for my computer. My hard drive corrupted about a year ago and I didn't learn my lesson about backing up. I'm in the clear now!

Know where I wish I was right now?

Anywhere but the office.

How about on vacation?

During the winter months it's always nice to visit somewhere that's warmer than the place you just left. Last winter we went to San Francisco. (Then again on our honeymoon.)






The year before that we went to Memphis and New Orleans. We drove! It was snowing when we left Omaha but by the time we got down to NOLA, Matt and I were wearing shorts and t-shirts.



Anyone else notice that Matt and I are standing in the same positions in both pictures?





Technically those two trips weren't "vacations." At least they weren't for Matt. He had to go to those places for work. Poor baby. I tagged along to get a break from winter and work. This year though, he's going to South Bend, Indiana. Not exactly warm and sunny I wouldn't think. Maybe I'll sit this winter trip out...

Cold, Changing Tires

Once again, it's freaking cold in Omaha. It's -5° with something like a -19° windchill today. It's so cold that our snow beast of a dog doesn't even like going outside. In comparison, it's -24° at the North Pole right now.

Yesterday was cold too. You know how I know it was cold? Because I had to change a flat tire in it. Okay, so I didn't change the flat tire, my dad did. But I stood next to him and held things for him. Matt got a flat tire on his way to his show yesterday and ended up completely shredding the tire because it was so cold. The car was in no way drivable so I picked up Matt and took him to the theater, then had my dad meet me back at the car to fix the tire. Now, before you judge me for not knowing how to change a tire - I totally know how. But I don't have the strength to loosen the lugs. Even if I had been able to loosen the lugs, I still would have had to call my dad because the wheel was frozen to the car. It took the addition of my uncle and a dead blow hammer to get the wheel off. Two hours after we started, the spare was finally on.

I think we owe my dad and uncle a little something extra for Christmas this year...

Miracle in a Jar

I have some crazy sensitive skin. Ever since I was a little kid I've had problems with it. I get rashes, hives, eczema, skin so dry it cracks. It's quite sexy. Winter is the worst time of year for it. My hands suffer the worst. No matter how much lotion I put on them, they're still dry and chapped.

Growing up we always had this stuff called "bag balm" that worked wonders. If you're not familiar with it, bag balm is exactly what it sounds like. It's a balm that was originally made for cow utters. My dad grew up on a farm so everyone in our family knows about the miraculous properties of bag balm. It works on dry skin and small cuts and scrapes on both people and animals. It's sort of like hardcore Neosporin that you can use on the dog. Well, it works extremely well on dry hands. I put some on last night and within ten minutes my skin was soft and smooth.



I would recommend everyone who lives in a dry, blistery climate pick some up. The only places I've found it at are Target and Walgreens. But I'm sure places like CVS and your local feed and grain store sell it too.

I think it's worth mentioning that the bag balm my sister and I grew up with is nothing like the bag balm pictured above. The kind we're used to comes mysteriously out of a Vaseline jar. It's also an uneven shade of brown and smells like an old folks home. I think it was left over from when my dad's family sold the farm in the 1960s. I guess it's also worth mentioning that the stuff keeps for 40 plus years.

Cold. Effing cold.

What the hell is up with this wind chill? The temperature is -5° right now, but the wind chill is -25°. I'm sorry, negative what now? Cat and I were talking and she said that instead of reading -5°, the digital thermostat in cars should just say FING COLD.

Speaking of cold in the car, we need to get a garage door opener installed so we can use our garage for more than box storage. I have never, in all my years of driving, had the luxury of parking my car in a garage and I think it's about high time I change that.

My friend Kate who is from Red Deer, Alberta doesn't think it's so bad. Of course it snows in July where she's from so her opinion on these matters can't be really be trusted.