Life

So I really have nothing exciting going on right now.  A week and a half ago, I came down with a cold/flu.  I had everything but the fever.  I don't think I've ever ached so much in my life.  It was painful to the point where I couldn't move.  If Gizmo, the four pound dog, tried to walk on me, I'd cry out in pain.  I had to use a heating pad on my back to lessen my back pain, so I could sleep.  I never want to be in that much pain again.

Anyways, moving on.  I've just been working and doing a lot of reading.  I decided on two resolutions for the year:  read the bible every day and floss my teeth more regularly.  The bible reading resolution came from the fact that I was reading the bible on average 2-3 times a week.  I'm trying to become more regular with my reading and switching it to every day.  So far, I'm doing awesome (better than I thought I would).  I know it's only two weeks in, so shh...  And the flossing?  I have two cavities that are slowly coming along, and my dentist told me I could prevent them if I flossed more often.  And considering the fact that my dental insurance stinks and the lack of funds, flossing sounds like the easiest option.  And no more resolutions other than those two.  My goal is to stick with these and not just make some obscure resolutions that are forgotten after a week.

It decided to finally snow this week.  We haven't had snow all winter yet (minus the two days it snowed for a couple of hours however no snow stayed on the ground).  It's the middle of January, and we were having fifty degree weather two weeks ago.  Unheard of for Wisconsin.  But the snow finally came, and I have a feeling it's just going to get colder.

Snow

The first snowfall of the season occurred today.  I took out Gizmo this morning.  He noticed the snow right before he was about to step off of the covered porch and immediately tried to turn around.  Unfortunately, he still had to go potty.  So, in the wet snow he went to do his duty.  As soon as he was done, he could care less where I was because he wanted inside.  Kind of stinks that he was stuck on a leash that was hooked to my arm.  So what should have been a very fast run back to the door turned into a five foot run that ended with him falling over when the leash was stretched as far as it could go.  I had to pick Gizmo up and put him in my jacket since he was shivering so bad from the cold.  Yes, Gizmo hates snow.

And to make the day better, we had to go to the vet's office.  We've come to the conclusion that Jared's car (the car I happen to be driving lately) needs a new battery.  It doesn't start well at all.  Fortunately for me, there's a battery jump-start thingamajig in the car.  Kind of sucks that I didn't know how to use it before I had to figure out how to use it today.  And what's even more embarrassing than having five or six men pass me while I'm fumbling with the stupid gadget (not one of them offered to help me) is the fact that Jared's trunk doesn't stay open well.  Yes, the trunk door fell on top of my head not once, but twice (you'd think I'd have learned with the first occurrence).  But never fear, I figured it out and got the car started.  And that's just when a nice guy driving by decides to ask if I need help starting the car.  He was probably scared off with my maniacal reply of, "Nope!!!  I figured it out all on my own even if I am missing that Y chromosome!!!!!!!!!!"

Post-Blizzard

And here are the pictures post-blizzard.  Let me tell you, trying to run errands before the blizzard starts was not the best idea.  For starters, I got off of work early but right when the blizzard was starting.  We had to drive across town to pick up my car.  We decided to not take the belt line since that's where most of the cars were.  There was one spot where Jared's car got stuck.  It took a few reverse-and-floor-it-forward attempts to get him unstuck.  And then the wind really picked up.  The right turn was 5 feet in front of me and then I could see absolutely nothing.  So, in an attempt to not drive off the road into a snowbank, I almost missed my turn.  Also the road became a one-lane highway since there was three feet of snow covering one side.

And then morning came.  Trying to take the dog potty was horrible.  Three feet of snow everywhere.  Couldn't see the sidewalk.  Walked around a little, and then I noticed there was a big mound of snow covering the parking lot from the garage to the normally small hill.  Needless to say, I worked from home today.  And then we decided to take a few pictures after work before the sun went down...

They shoveled the sidewalk!!

This is supposed to be a comparison picture with the one in my previous post.  You can see how high the snow is now.  It was originally below my knees, now it's above my waist.

The wind sculpts the snow quite well.  My first thoughts when going outside this morning were, "I'm in a freezing Egypt" (because the snow really looks like white sand).

More wind-snow art.

Anyways, we have some good news that we'd like to share...  We have officially paid off our first credit card.  We went to the bank to transfer our other credit card balances to one card with a really good interest rate.  One of the exciting things was finding out that we'll have all of our credit card debt paid off in 1-1.5 years with the rate we're paying them off now.  It was happy news!!  And then we'll be able to start looking into a house.  I'm so excited that we're getting out of debt (slowly but surely)...

Pre-Blizzard

We're supposed to get a huge snow storm tonight and tomorrow.  So I thought I'd take pictures before the storm.  It was cold.  Gizmo was not amused.  And it'll be a miracle if I manage to get post-blizzard pictures.  Of course it's not an actual blizzard, the wind's not fast enough.  But it's still cold, snowing and windy...  So, I consider it a blizzard.

How high the snow is currently. 

See all that white stuff?  That's the road...

Snow

The snow has finally come...  It snowed Friday night and Saturday morning.  Gizmo was not too happy Saturday morning.  I had to uncover a little bit of grass, so he'd do his duty.  And it's funny watching him walk.  He's already missing a leg.  But when there's snow on the ground, he avoids it as much as possible.  That means holding one leg up and walking with two the whole time.  His left legs getting wet are definitely worth the sacrifice to keep the right hind one dry...

I took Gizmo on a walk today.  He was excited to go outside because it meant relieving his bladder.  But then I put his coats on (yes, two coats for Gizmo).  And he glared at me.  When he realized I was taking him on a walk in the cold with the snow out, he wasn't happy.  I had to drag him at first.  He wouldn't budge.  Finally, he started walking although it was a slow walk.  Once we got going, he was super happy.  His tail started wagging. But every time we encountered a bit of sidewalk with snow on it, his tail went between his legs, and he walked very slowly and with a lot of caution.  It was funny...