To The Arctic Tundra I Go...(UGH!)

Is it almost spring yet?  I know we just had snow here in the south last week but by the next day the temperature was already almost 60 degrees and the snow was melting. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and all was well here.  We have about ten months of warm weather here and that's the way I like it.  Give me sunshine and flip-flops and the beach any old day and I will be "Happy, Happy, Happy."  That's why when Caitlin called asking me to come to Ohio this week I tried everything I could to stay away from those terrible, arctic, snowy conditions.

Caitlin called to say that Kevin would be working a string of night shifts and asked me to come visit her and Holli.  Now, it's not that I didn't want to see them but I stayed with her for five weeks in March and April last year while awaiting the birth of Holli.  It snowed and was freezing cold and let's just say that I had to wear a coat more days in a row that I ever had before in my life.  So, when she asked me to come this week, I paused for a moment, dug into my bag of alternatives and began to pull them out.  My first solution was to just fly them here for a week.  Well, she reminded me that Holli could not fly again until she had her second flu shot and then waited ten days (ugh...).  "OK", I said, "Then I have a GREAT idea!  If you can just hold on until March, I will fly you and Holli to the beach and I will meet you there."  She informed me that was a bribe.  To which I replied, "And what's the problem with that?"  Before I got off of the phone with her, Robby was booking me a plane ticket to Cleveland.

My ticket was booked before we got our little snow here in the south where I got to experience about four inches of snow and temperatures in the twenties for one day.  Checking the weather in Cleveland I found that the temperatures there were sometimes dipping into single digits (Even 0!!), with windchill factors in the negatives and snow up to your knees.  WHAT WAS I THINKING?!  I walked to my closet and upon looking through my winter clothes, I came to the realization that my "Southern Winter Clothes" were probably NOT going to make it in those conditions.  OH...And in the meantime to confirm this, Caitlin sent me this video of the snow storm they were having this weekend...

                              Ummm...Yea.  this doesn't look very inviting to this southern girl.

                                   And so my search through the closet continued yesterday:
1.  Thermal underware.  CHECK.
2.  Fur UGGS.  CHECK.
3.  Northface Jacket.  CHECK.
4.  Hat.  CHECK.  Must get insulated gloves today!
5.  Blue jeans.  CHECK.  Maybe even ski pants!
6.  The 3 heavy sweaters I could scrounge up.  CHECK.
7.  Long pajamas and heavy socks to sleep in. CHECK.

And as I planned for my trip to the "Arctic Tundra" (aka:  Cleveland), I enjoyed the sunshine here in the south.  And then it happened.  Someone mentioned that snow was predicted again here for Tuesday.  WHAT?!  We never...I mean NEVER get snow here and now we were going to get it TWICE within a one week period?!  (sigh...).  Well, I supposed I can just use these wintry southern "Sneaux Days" as preparation for my "Arctic Tundra" trip.  HEY...Did I mention that I am ready for March to be here so I can wear my flip-flops again?!