Where's Nebraska?

NEWSFLASH: Minnesota STILL has snow on the ground. Wait....that's not new? There's been snow on the ground for the last 5 months? Oh, OK, never mind then. : )

One of the comments we heard most when we decided to make the move to Minnesota was, "Oh my gosh, its going to be FREEZING up there." Honestly, its not that bad. When I talk to people here and tell them I just moved from Nebraska, most of them realize that its not much of a change. Both states are in the Midwest and have all 4 seasons. They both get accumulated snowfall and have severe weather in the summer. However, if you don't know where Nebraska is, its hard to compare.

Case in point, I decided to get my haircut last week. It was time and my color needed some repair. Quick side note- I went full on blond this time and am still getting used to it- will post pictures soon. Anyway, as I was talking to the stylist she asked about where I lived. After telling her that we had previously moved, she inquired, "Where from?" And this is exactly how our conversation went.

me: "My husband and I just moved from Omaha, Nebraska a few weeks ago."

stylist: "Nebraska? Where's that state?"

me: (after a quick eye roll- in my head of course), I said "Its just southwest of Minnesota, south of South Dakota."

stylist: "oh OK, so that's close to New Mexico?"

me: (I refrained from giving her a US Geography lesson right then and there and acted polite) "No, not that far southwest, closer to the Midwest."

She proceeded to ask me questions about this new land she just heard of, Nebraska. And I did all I could not to ask her who her 4th grade teacher was? I would really like to go to talk him/her about this and let them know maybe they should review US Geography a little more before moving on to the next lesson.

I realize most Americans know where each of the 50 states are located, so I cut her some slack. But if I hear "Where's Nebraska?" from a fellow Midwesterner, I'm going to hand them one of my pre-printed US Maps from my purse. (Which I am seriously considering carrying around with me). I must admit, that once you get up into the Northeast part of the country, there are tiny bits of states that seem to all run together- but my 4th grade teacher Mrs. Skiles taught me that Vermont looks like an ice cream cone and New Hampshire is its puzzle piece. Amazing that those things stick with you, huh?

To end this rambling- Ryan and I are taking advantage of any time outside. This weekend it was about 20 degrees when we decided to take a walk around Staring Lake- close to our house. There's something about a winter walk that you don't see in the summer/spring/fall; Little puppy paws frozen into the ice, senior citizen couples bundled up in hats and coats holding hands and watching a frozen river flow.

Even though its cold, we've enjoyed every moment.

Check out these handy contraptions. They're called YakTraks and they are adjustable shoe treads. They have been great during our winter runs on ice and snow.