Winter wonderland, indeed.

Did you notice I was missing? It's been 8 days since I posted which I'm sure is a new record for me. Let's just say that the holiday hustle and bustle is making me a crazy person and I have had zero desire to blog. Tis a shame, I know. But I am making an appearance today with one purpose: to show you our blizzard. What? You thought I would stop with the snow pictures? Bah.

Let me start by saying that I took off work today many weeks ago, and I picked a FABULOUS day to stay at home. Especially since the whole freaking city is shut down. Milwaukee Public Schools?! I didn't know they EVER closed! The highways? Their on and off ramps are even closed. It's pure chaos and I love it because I don't have to brave the blizzard. I do feel sorry for my co-workers today because hospitals never close, and therapy must go on. We don't get 'snow days' and if I were working today I would be in a hellified mood for sure. So everyone is lucky that I'm off today so Julia-the-biyatch can hibernate a while longer [for a few hours at least.]

Also, Nate took his last final of the semester yesterday. Do you know what THAT means, my friends? I got my husband back from his deep abyss of studying his face off. I was starting to get worried he'd never return and I'd be stuck with the shell of a man he became. I'd talk to him about his day and I would get that glassed over stare in return. Not good. I missed him! And now we get to play in this ridiculous snow together. More pictures to come, I'm sure.

So anyway, they've been predicting this blizzard for a few days now. It was supposed to start yesterday with the potential for 9-12 inches total.....2-3 inches coming down each hour. Last night before bed there was not a flake in the sky and I was feeling a bit skeptical. When I woke up this morning, this is what I saw:

Um, is that our patio furniture almost completely blanketed by snow? HOLLA! I grabbed the camera and volunteered to take Hank out for his first whiz of the day.

Last night I documented the depth of our snow at that point: a measly little 4 inches. Basically nothing, since a lot of our previous snow had melted.

This morning: 13 inches. And this is not in a drift zone and it is still coming down hard, my friends. We've easily gotten 10 inches so far and I can't wait to see how much more comes by the end of today.

Last night: our neighbor's stairs had a puny cover of snow on top.

And this morning: do you even see the stairs? Cause I don't.

Last night the patio table looked a lot like this:

And now you can't even see the chair legs. Ridiculous!!

Last night Henry could strut around our sidewalks without difficulty [except for the cursed leash getting in his way].

And this morning he had to hop around like a maniac to avoid becoming fully engulfed in the white stuff. He freaking LOVES it, you guys. It's so cute.

Again, our pathway last night:

And this morning: just a bunch of white.

So those are my comparison pictures. I think they give you an idea of the massive dumping of snow but nothing compares to physically walking around in the stuff. I mean, the snow is coming down sideways from the nasty winds and I was completely soaked when we came back inside. Can you see the foggy effect of the snow here?

Henry is losing his legs while hopping about.

Oh, and our cars? Yeah, they don't get the luxury of being in a garage so this is what we face today. Please note that my tires are nearly covered as well.

Hello, snow drift on the side of Lois' car!

I like how there is a shovel next to the car on this one. We've got some work to do when you can't even see the wheels of our cars.

The famous patio furniture, complete with the sad/lonely grill. Anyone want to BBQ today?!

This would be the side table without legs. This guy usually stands about a foot and a half off the ground, FYI.

Henry plus snowflakes equals snow dog!

He's in heaven, for reals.

My hard core snow boots [Uggs] are completely covered. And they are pretty freaking tall even for me.

I wanted to show you our outdoor decor but opening our front door was a challenge.

I like the snow in our garland with the lights, don't you?

Agh! My wreath! I mean it's pretty and all, but it better not disinegrate into nothing with all this snow!

So yeah, still weathering the conditions up here but as you can tell, I'm handling it much better on a day when I don't have to work. In fact, I think we might go sledding today---how fun is that?!

And because I know you care so much about my holiday plans: I work Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday then we are headed 'down south' for Christmas Tuesday night. I cannot begin to describe my excitement to see my family and friends. It makes me want to cry just thinking about it [what, I'm allowed to be a little emotional aren't I?]. This means I might not be hanging in the blogosphere for awhile since I only have two days to pull my stuff together for our trip [eek!] but I will be back bearing tons of pictures from our Missouri festivities. Just a hint: there will be a heroic bridal shower to share, saying goodbye to a friend who will be overseas all of next year [sob!], presents, family time, and plenty of pictures with the dogs. Yep, it's going to be fab.

So freaking ready for this trip.

Now I'm off to pelt Nate with snowballs!