Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Prisoner in my own home

I live in Iowa (no, not Idaho and no, not Ohio). This was a conscious choice we made, and sometimes I wonder about our sanity. Winter in Iowa, especially this winter, sucks. Spring in Iowa sometimes sucks (wind and cold temps). Summer in Iowa can suck (wind and humidity). And don't forget about the fall--it can suck, too (wind and cold temps). See a theme here?

In the past 4 years I have been housebound many times and you run out of things to keep you occupied, especially with small children who require constant entertainment. Now I realize if I had a job I would be able to get out of the house . . . to go to a job. Staying home and trying to entertain myself is more appealing than a job right now.

Take yesterday and today for example. Travel was not recommended across much of the state because instead of roads, we had ice skating rinks. School was cancelled. So what CAN you do inside in Iowa in the winter?

1. Clean the house. This is so much fun (enter dripping sarcasm here). You would think my house would be immaculate by this time, but somehow it gets messy again. Did I mention I hate to clean? People who enjoy cleaning are sadistic.

2. Unpack boxes. This is because we moved 2 1/2 months ago. We still have boxes to unpack. From the last time we moved 4 years ago. Yes, people, we moved fully packed boxes from Minnesota to Iowa to another place in Iowa. What is in these boxes? I don't know, I haven't unpacked them yet. I hate unpacking boxes.

3. Pretend you are like bears and hibernate for the afternoon. This only works if everyone else in the house is sleeping so you can get some sleep, too. Works best when you keep your pajamas on all day.

4. Read funny blogs. Wish yours were that funny. Wish someone actually read yours.

5. Shop online. But remember, I'm cheap so I just add things to my basket to pretend like I will actually be buying them. Try to think up schemes to make money so I can actually do some real shopping.

That should keep me busy for about a day. Then when I actually do get to go outside I get to do all sorts of fun things like get the oil changed, buy tampons, and return books to the library. All in 6 degree weather.

Wanna move to Iowa?

3 comments:

Bad Mommy said...

LMAO. Whatever, you are so funny. Here's what you do: put your blog link in your BC siggy and post a bunch. That's where 85% of my traffic come from.

No, I do not wish to move to Iowa because I live in the same crap next door in Nebraska.

We're like soul sisters, seriously, I feel your pain. My girls have become tv/movie junkies.

Does E go to kindergarten in the fall? It's awesome when the kiddies get to school. The problem is justifying SAHM status at that point. You should start having more kids, space them 3-4 years apart ;)

Unknown said...

You forgot #6: IM with my sister while she's at work. Fun and time-wasting for both of us!

minnemom said...

Ah, Iowa. I lived there once. Then I moved . . . to Minnesota, where the weather's less cloudy, less icy, and a whole lot colder.

I'm going to Mall of America on Monday. Are you jealous?