Winter Sucks

And.. it's only just begun!

I live in the northern midwest and every year when the snow starts to fly and the ice starts to layer and the cold creeps into my old and weary bones, I ask myself WHY.

Why do I live someplace that gets just like the North Pole from November thru February (and Death Valley in the summer? That's another post entirely) I very often expect to find Santa in my kitchen in the morning while the reindeer prance around in my backyard. It's THAT cold.

I've been trying to save money where possible so I keep the thermostat set at 70 degrees but it may as well be off altogether as I am freezing ALL THE TIME. I can't get warm. I wear layers on layers and two pairs of socks and when I'm sitting on the couch I have FIVE blankets on me and I still freeze. I can warm up momentarily by driking a cup of cocoa or hot tea and sometimes vacuuming will help or other cleaning type maneuvers but I'm starting to feel like a Chihuahua.

Those dogs sit and shake and shiver all day long. That's me.

Maybe I need a metabolism! I AM 15 lbs overweight so perhaps if your body isn't burning fuel, you are cold all the time. I'm not sure.

I hate going outside. I wouldn't mind this weather so much if I didn't have to go outside. If I didn't have to let the dogs out or gather the mail. If I didn't have to get groceries or visit friends and family for holiday events.

I can gear up with my warm coat, gloves, hat or earmuffs and snow boots and still, I'm cold until we crank the heat in the car. I hate making the trek from door to car over hazardous ice and annoying snow drifts. I hate the chill that gets into my bones and just won't leave - for 4 months.

Being cold at night is the worst. One of my dogs sleeps with me everynight and even though he's a great source of cuddliness, he hogs the bed like a gorilla. We are fine until I have to get up to use the bathroom. I can be gone for 30 seconds and he's completely taken over. He'll pull each corner of the covers in towards the middle, creating a cozy nest and he plops himself in the middle, making sure he has a small bunch as a pillow and then I'm left trying to eek out a small corner of covers (it's like trying to cover up with a washcloth) and forced to lie in a circular pattern around said canine! He weighs 65 pounds so I can't move him - not even an inch.

and he growls, sometimes.

Grumble is more like it.. he's thinking, 'woman, you left.. you vacated and now the rules say this is MY space, so go sleep on a couch'

Sometimes my pitiful plea of 'Where is momma gonna sleep?' gets him up but these days he's choosing to ignore me and pretend he's asleep. I probably would to, in all honesty.

My mom says it's gonna be a bad winter because the squirrels weren't burying their bounty in the ground, instead preferring to stash them up in trees for better access, it means we're getting 40 feet of snow and the little boogers know it!

It's going to be a long winter.