Top Ten of Being Snowed In

10--The peaceful quiet of the outdoors. Except for the hum of traffic on a couple of nearby highways, our neighborhood is normally quiet, but with the sound muffling effects of two feet of snow and the almost nonexistent traffic volume, our neighborhood is now as silent as a day in the country

9--The sense of community.  A snowstorm of these epic proportions (we got about 24-inches) takes our diverse community and puts us all in the same boat.   Neighbors that we normally rarely see have no choice but to spend hours and hours digging out and somehow that experience binds us together.  The divorced mother next door, the widower across the street, the Asian family that barely speaks English, Mormon family with five kids...we're all in this together!

8--Forced winter exercise.   Normally exercising in the winter's cold is kind of a pain in the patootie, but when two feet of snow are on the ground merely walking across the yard becomes an aerobic workout.   Add in a good dose of shoveling and you've taken it to a major kick-butt routine.  Who needs the gym when you've got your own heavy, white, although somewhat cold, personal trainer in your front yard?

7--Hot chocolate.  We've been accused by a visiting five-year-old of making a wimpy hot chocolate, but there's still nothing that brings a smile faster to my kids' tear-stained faces after a sled crash than a steaming mug of our wimpy hot chocolate.

6--Christmas presents get a second chance.  Winter Break #2 is giving the kids a whole lot of free time to foster new interest in all their mostly forgotten Christmas loot.  Board games are getting a new life.   Lego sets are reappearing.  Craft kits are being tried.  It's every toy's dream come true!

5--Cooking.  It's cold, there's nowhere to go, trying new recipes seems like only a natural thing to do.   I've knocked off delicious buttermilk biscuits that rivaled my mom's, honey-lime enchiladas that the kids went gaga over, and an all-in-one hearty breakfast dish that filled us up until mid-afternoon.  Watch the recipe blog for a whole batch of snowy day recipes coming soon!

4--Sleeping in.  With no school, no church, and no work I see no earthly reason to set my alarm clock.  I love the distinctly satisfying feeling of waking up whenever I  feel like it for once, instead of being at the beck and call of a busy schedule.  

3--Snuggle time.   Kids come in from being outside, they need a snuggle.   We don't have to wake up early so my husband wants to snuggle late in front of a movie.  The kids wonder when I'm going to finally get out of bed, so they snuggle in next to me until I wake up.   I find myself secretly wishing for arms like Elastigirl's, so I could snuggle all day and get the laundry done too.

2--Comfort over fashion.  I am never one to miss an opportunity to remain in baggy sweats 24/7.

1--Beauty.   Our yard and house never look better than just after a snowstorm.  There's something about a  sparkling blanket of freshly fallen snow that makes even our 8-year-old Toyota Sienna look somehow romantic.

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