Baby, It's Cold Outside (And Dark, and Did I Mention Cold?)

We had four new tires put on my car yesterday and if you thought I got excited about vacuum cleaners... We've had snow on the ground for about a week now here in Milwaukee and if I know anything about Midwest winters, it will probably continue to look like this for the next four months. (I have a hard time appreciating how pretty the snow is when I know it will still be here in April.) I think every year I curse the fact that I was born in this part of the country but on the other hand it's not like I would ever leave. When I'm up shoveling out the car at 5:30 in the morning in order to get the girls to school on time I try to think of it as a test of my character. Wisconsin winters are The Way of My People, eh? It probably doesn't help that I start to think about the sun setting once it gets past three-thirty and by seven o'clock I'm wondering when bedtime is since it been dark for about a day and a half.
I take comfort that at least this month I have so many things to plan for. In a couple of weeks we'll be taking the girls into downtown Chicago for the day which should be pretty exciting for them. All the lights on Michigan Avenue, riding in the horse-drawn carriages, the gigantic toy stores... Now if only I could get off my butt and put up the Christmas lights outside my own house. It's so warm and toasty in here!