Probably not a big surprise to anyone... fresh pineapple and mocha frappuccino do not make a good combination.
Individually, they taste great. Combined, well, that rumbling you're hearing is my stomach.
I'm amazed at my own reaction. I was overwhelmed when I listened to my voicemail this morning and hear my daughter whispering "papa" into the phone. I nearly broke into tears. I even managed to get it from voicemail to a .WAV file if you want to hear Caroline's first voicemail.
I immediately saved the message and called Heidi to ask how she managed to get Caroline to talk on the phone. She was incredulous. Apparently Heidi had tried to call me earlier, but did not leave a mesage. She then left the room and Caroline picked up the phone, managed to hit redial, listened as the phone rang, heard my voicemail message, and started whispering "papa, papa, papa." Heidi then noticed Caroline had the phone and hung up. She did not know that our daughter had completely melted daddy's heart in those 3 seconds of whispering.
Caroline, honey, I love you so much! I am so excited and overjoyed at the new things you do each day. Watching you grow up is amazing, touching, and educational all at once. You are the sunshine in our every day!
I'm proud to call Minnesota home. While there are times when I think I'd rather live someplace else, I'm often surprised by Minnesota's reaction to the weather here.
It's the beginning of February. We've got snow on the ground, although not that much, and it's nearly 50 degrees outside today. A few months ago, we would've called this chilly, but today people ar driving with car windows open, going outside without coats, and generally acting as if Spring were starting tomorrow.
I love it.
Some people might think we're crazy for living in a place where, just a few weeks ago, the actual temp in northern Minnesota was 56 BELOW ZERO. In reality the cold weather does not stay for long, and when it sweeps away, the crystal-blue skies disappear along with the chilll. When it's that cold, it's to cold to snow. Weird.
But now, as we roll into February and March, we have a good chance of snow. Warmer (relatively speaking) days bring us closer to the freezing point, and the chance of much snow is pretty good. Still thinking of buying that new snowthrower? Well, it's like buying a convertible in the middle of the summer, folks, the demand and the prices are high. Waiting for a good deal? Gotta wait till March or so.
Even with the weather weirdness, I think the cold weather and snow keeps out the cultural riff-raff, as it's harder to make a quick getaway when your getaway car won't start. It's hard to hideout from the police when there is a chance of freezing to death. I even think that carjackers think twice in the winter... opting to hop in and ask to warm up rather than demanding the keys. Yes, I know I'm possibly twisted in my thinking, but my wild conclusions are mine alone.
So, 50 and breezy today has folks in short sleeves milling around the lunchtime restaurants, asking if the patio is open today. Some may call us crazy. We're not. We just love the outdoors... when it's not 56 below zero.