Donezo

**(Warning: there is a fair amount of whining in this post - but there is hope for all at the end. Skip the whining if you need to.)**

Blah. I am done with this "snow" business. Done with the cold. Done with ice cycles. Done running on treadmills because I refuse to run when it is -15 and there is black ice. Done with wearing 700 layers to stay warm. Done with static-y hair. Done with dry skin. Done with cabin fever. Done. Done. Done. Not sure when KC suddenly became antarctica. During the late summer I LOVE the idea of winter - then it hits and I am more than ready for Spring and summer. We have approximately 18 inches of snow on our deck. Our poor little dogs HATE going outside. The snow is deeper than Dirvey is tall and every time she goes out she gets stuck and doesn't know what to do. So I have to bundle up and go rescue her. It's a mess I tell you.

Yep this "little" guy is one of thousands hanging from my roof

I need sun. I need it so badly that I briefly contemplated going tanning today (I HATE tanning - I just need to feel some rays) And then I remembered I am preggo and that probably makes it a bad idea. So I skipped that idea all together.

I want spring. I want green grass. I want to be able to open my windows and hear birds chirping. I want to go for walks with the dogs. I want to go to the park. I want to drive with my windows down. I want to run in shorts and T-shirts (instead of 29 layers of fleece) I want to enjoy working in the yard and chatting with neighbors. I want to have fresh flowers on my table. I want to have friends over for cookouts on the deck. I want to put a fire in the fire pit. I want to sit outside at night and look at the stars. I want to go to the pool. I WANT SUN!

Since I am obviously DONE with winter, I have complied a winter survival list. I am considering this a must to make it through until April. (Lord please let spring come before April this year!) While these items don't make me feel like I am on a beach in Tahiti, they do help ease winter's chill.

1. Burt's Bees Body Butter. This is a MUST. I have been trying to find SOMETHING to take away my dry itchy skin. I use lotions and creams like no-bodies business, but not until I found this did my skin truly start to get softer. Mat informed me as we were going to bed that I smelled like a peanut butter & honey sandwich, but whatev. I had soft skin.

2. Burt's Bees Lip Balm. We are quite the BB family. ( I also use their mama bee tummy cream - love it). A nightly ritual necessity for me. Just the regular old lip balm. Nothing fancy.

3. Neutrogena Norwegian Hand Cream. This stuff is simply amazing. I used it as a teenager and just recently started using it again. It is the ONLY hand creme that will take the dry flakes off the back of my hand.

4.North Face Oso hoodie. We are also a North Face family. This was an amazing Christmas gift from Mat. I love this fleece. It is incredibly soft and furry. I love it so much that he bought me the matching hat and gloves. They are all in black. I pretty much look like a giant gorilla, but I don't care. I am warm=) I can wear it under my ski coat if it is really cold and I stay nice and toasty.

5. Smart Wool socks. These little guys rock. My friend Lucas talked us into buying some at the Big Sur Marathon expo last spring. I was hesitant to pay $16 for 1 pair of socks but I love them. So much so that I wear them all the time - not just for running. (Mine are all pink and much cuter than these, but I couldn't find them online)

That's pretty much it. The top 5 things that are keeping me warm so far. What about you? How do you keep warm on days when the high is 0? (And WHAT is up with that KC?!) Until April - stay warm friends=)