Socked in by the snow

By Alicia

As I write this, the frozen snow is is throwing itself up against the window, sounding like handful after handful of sand on the glass. It's nine o' clock in the evening and I just got done shoveling the driveway for the fourth time. Today. Within the last 10 hours, to be exact.

We are in day one of a two-day snowstorm and we have a total of a foot of snow on the ground -- a rare event for this part of Ohio. February is traditionally the worst winter weather month of the season, and this one has been true to form. The first week and a half we had bitter cold, sub zero temperatures that made your car engine very reluctant to turn on over in the morning. And now, mid-month, we have near blizzard-like conditions and 24- hour steady snowfall.

Keep in mind, though, it's conditions like these that make for a spring and summer filled with less pesky bugs. The more cold we experience, the more bugs are killed off. A tradeoff I can live with.

Since I've not been able to walk much due to the weather, I have been doing some aerobics here and there. My work schedule still has made it cantankerously hard to get my daily five miles in. I've been able to do weights though, since I have a machine at home, but alas, the aerobic part remains elusive. As you can tell, the promise of getting up really, really early to walk went over like a lead balloon.

Today is the official two-month kickoff to my 40th birthday. That's right, in a mere 60 days, I will be the big 4-0. I plan to celebrate in style; I plan to celebrate with friends and family; and I also plan to celebrate with a 15 pound weight loss between now and then. That's going to be my birthday gift to myself. As much as I've screwed around with exercise and diets these past 8 months, I think I've finally landed on a motivating factor that'll get me going -- my 40th. (Otherwise known as vanity -- but isn't that everybody's weakness in one form or another?)

Hey, whatever it takes!