What a series of glorious days!!

I think that Minnesota forgot spring this year. Yes, we are having the grass change from brown to green, and the flowers are starting to bloom, and the bugs are unfortunately coming back, but the 35-50 degree days never happened. Usually in spring there is a series of days between those temperatures with either a chill to the air or a long day of rain. This spring, not so much. I swear we went form 35 to the 58-70s weather without a transition. Suddenly, I went from heavy jacket to short sleeves and capris. I don’t think I’m the only one who has noticed it either. After the strangest winter in my memory (with only one ‘snowstorm of 6+ inches in our area) I’m beginning to believe that there is a definite weather change going on. I can’t say for certain if it’s El Niño or La Niña, or if it’s global warming or global climate change, or just some X number of year pattern the weather in these parts sees. Or maybe it’s that we’re on the end of an ice age (well, we are) or going into another one. Who knows; I have lived on this earth for less than a quarter century, who am I to dictate patterns. The earth is billions of years old, and we’ve only been keeping weather data for 200-300 years. Oh, I know we have some information about what the climate was like from fossil evidence and tree rings and the like, but no one was really there recording it. There’s no oral tradition talking about the winter of 850 and how the snows were so bad that year that…

Still, after all that blathering, I like what I feel. It’s nice to have 70 degree days sans mosquitoes and other annoying little creepy crawlies. (I guess they will show up earlier this year though, since we are having the nice weather.) I’ve decided that I’m absurdly out of shape, and need to get into shape again soon. (Don’t ask what type of shape I’ve turned into, I’m not sure I have a creative enough name.) The weather is perfect right now for running (which I dislike but find very good exercise), walking, etc. I would add rollerblading, but the sticks-and-sands-of-death haven’t been removed from the road yet. Katie and I have taken to trying to exercise three times a week together, and I’m sure once Jenny moves in, she’ll be joining us. I really think that 5 days a week is better, so I’m going to aim for that. I’ll be running three days a week, and then ‘other cardio’ such as fast walks or blading or biking for two more. I still have to fit climbing in there somewhere, and I think I may take up softball. I really don’t know where the time will come from; maybe I’ll have to alternate my activities. I basically have 2 months until normal swimsuit season to magically return to normal woman shape (thought that time could be shortened with the current weather unpatterns). At least it’s much easier to eat healthy in summertime with the farmer’s market and such.