Frozen

What have we been doing since the year began? Freezing. 

We knew that last winter was considered normal or mild to these Ohioans, and when it snowed before Halloween we had suspicions about the amount of snow we'd get this year. Someone told me that we have exceeded last winter's total snowfall, and I'm inclined to believe them. It just won't stop! Thankfully, we're prepared for the cold weather with coats and new snow boots (we decided to budget for those back in October and have never regretted our decision) and electric blankets (best Christmas 2012 present ever - thanks Nana!). Still, it's been chilly and icy and wet. 

We accumulated a couple of feet in this snowfall... more came the next day but I was amazed at how far it got on Carson.

He's bending his knees for this picture (he had me take it to trick my Southern family members), but still. There is a little divot in our backyard where the snow gets extra deep.

The next day... after the porch was shoveled

I was trying to walk where Carson had walked the night before... and I couldn't get out there without snow getting into the tops of my boots (that's the fuzzy thing in this picture)

Poor Larson the Civic, nearly buried. The car, by the way, has been doing alright in the snow. We have all-weather tires and they seem to be handling well. I've been a chicken, so Carson has been driving me to work. I walked home one day (it was 4 degrees) and couldn't feel my face, so since then, he's been my chauffeur. 

After the snow melted a little bit, we had a few days of warmth and then... Polar Vortex. The name truly sounds ridiculous, but let me tell you, it was COLD. Never have I experienced such cold, and hopefully never again!

This was at 4pm on Monday

And this was Monday night. I took a million screenshots of the weather because I couldn't believe it. FIFTY degrees below zero with windchill.  

I wasn't outside very much so I didn't take real pictures, but the icicles I saw were impressive, sometimes stretching from someone's roof to the ground. There wasn't too much snow, but the wind and ice were certainly abundant. Schools were closed, as were some businesses, but work wasn't canceled for me. It was COLD working that day, but we have lots of hot drink options to keep us warm. One of my coworkers walked to work on Tuesday and his eyelashes were nothing but icicles when he came in the door.

I wore my coat on my breaks. Very cold in our back room.

Our furnace at home struggled to combat the heat outside, so we cuddled under blankets, while tacking up towels and blankets around our windows and doors. One of the windows on our door gets a little drafty (there's a crack in the glass) so we used some Press and Seal wrap on it and that actually worked well! We were thankful to HAVE power! I know just a few people who went without for a couple of days and can't even imagine.

On Wednesday, it warmed up to 20 degrees. You wouldn't believe how warm 20 degree weather feels when you've been living below zero for a few days. Everyone's mood at work was improved and relaxed. On Thursday I had an appointment and was so warm that even though it was probably 25 degrees outside, I went in flats instead of boots and didn't regret it. 

This has been a sponsored advertisement for the Cleveland Tourism Board. Anyone for a visit? 

;)