Ah March...Thou Art a Heartless B**ch

Every year around this time we inevitably get all excited for spring, and then disappointed when another winter storm hits, or the temperature plunges. We KNOW it's going to happen, but it still feels like a betrayal from Mother Nature. March asserted itself in grand style with a dump of about 20 cms of snow yesterday and today. The roads are a horrible mess of ice and snow, with plenty of bad accidents to prove the point.

I saw this nasty one on the way to work this morning. Yes- that's a light post on top of that poor guy's car. *gulp*. He was okay, just shaken up (obviously).

Our large accumulation of snow was starting to recede, and now all of the melt-age has been replaced by a fresh load of powder. The only bright spots are that the days are longer so I won't be driving home in snow AND darkness, and the snow will melt sooner rather than later, given the time of year.

Despite the weather though, I am in a great mood today. It's Friday, and things are going my way. There has been resolution to a long-standing issue I won't get into, except to say that it's a tremendous weight off my shoulders. I'm also weirdly excited because tonight I am moving up to level 3 of the 30-Day-Shred. Ten more days and I will have completed the program. I'm proud of myself to sticking to it for once, and kind of shocked that I actually look forward to working out somewhat. Yay me!

Have a great weekend all!

Jasper, Here I Come

Despite the cycles of above-average temperatures in January and February, this winter has been very hard on me and a lot of others. The snow has been almost non-stop, and the thaw/ freeze cycles have made commuting a complete headache most of the time. While there have been some sunny days, most of the time it's been overcast. And yet somehow we are nearing the end of winter already. By the time March rolls around we can expect more thawing than freezing (barring a few inevitable cold snaps.) I feel bad that I didn't take advantage of the snowy conditions as much as I would have liked, but life has a way of taking over, and when you're in the grip of seasonal blahs it's not easy to get motivated.

My beautiful new snowshoes have seen hardly any use this winter, and that's just plain unacceptable to me! With that in mind, I made the decision yesterday to book a solo trip for the end of March to our nearby winter wonderland: Jasper. It's about a four hour drive from here so I will leave on a Friday morning and stay two nights. There are many, many snowshoeing trails to explore, and several companies that offer guided tours. I've got my room booked, and am quite looking forward to a solitary weekend enjoying the incomparable beauty of our mountains. I might even participate in an ice hike tour of Maligne canyon. It feels great to have this trip to look forward to. Come on end of March!