ICE, ICE, baby!

(cue intro music to Vanilla Ice's overplayed song....) There are some CRAZY icicles around our apartment complex from all the winter storms. Check out this pic taken from right outside our patio door that Kyle took yesterday evening.



I have a feeling winter will be upon us for quite some time in New Jersey. While my mom and sisters in Georgia have been enjoying 60+ temperatures this past weekend, I continue to bundle up and struggle against the below freezing temperatures. So when they call and talk about "how good it feels outside" and "they had the A/C running at work today," all I can do is clench the handset with jealousy and muster a fake "oh, that's nice."

I haven't seen grass in an entire month!

My apologies to anyone who actually cares to read this blog for not writing a post in so long....I actually made the blog private for a couple months due to some rediculous thoughts I had about what other people might think about me, but then I realized I was definitely having a temporary lapse in judgement, because if people are going to get bent out of shape and form negative judgements about me just because of this blog, then they must be pretty shallow individuals who aren't worth my time anyway.

Moving along now.... Ever since Kyle and I returned from our Christmas trip to Georgia, we've had snow on the ground in New Jersey. I haven't seen grass the entire month of January. In fact, this winter has broken the record for the most snow fall in the month of January for New Jersey! (click here for news article)

They actually had a blizzard up here over the Christmas holidays. We managed to get an inch or so of the fluffy white stuff in Georgia on Christmas night - the first "white Christmas" for the Peach State since the 1800's. But while the snow quickly melted away in Georgia, we returned to Jersey to find snow, snow, snow EVERYWHERE.


A view of Lake Hopatcong, the largest lake in New Jersey,
completely frozen over and blanketed in snow, January 2011.

On one hand, it's been fun experiencing what most would call a "real" winter. The scenery is absolutely beautiful, with snow-sprinkled pine trees and serene forests sparkling in the sunlight and looking as though they have been untouched for a lifetime.

But at the same time, it's been rediculously cold - barely above freezing the entire month - and that's something I'm simply not used to!

We got nine inches the other day and work was still open as if it were summertime. The plows were out all night long, so the roads were fine, but I had to do some digging with the snow shovel to get the car out of the parking lot.

Needless to say, winter has definitely been interesting in Jersey. But one thing is for sure - it will definitely make me way more appreciative of the spring and summer, something I often took for granted living in the mild South for so long!

Going on a short, freezing walk by Saffin Pond at Mahlon
Dickerson Reservation in Morris County, N.J.







Me and my sisters in LaGrange, GA on our White Christmas!