Vendredi V - SPROING!!! Edition

Well, as much as I did my best "I'm glad winter is still here" Pollyanna impression last week, I can't say that I'm not totally jazzed that Spring seems to have Minnesota since then. Yesterday I went for a walk in the sunshine at lunchtime and it was glorious!

I'm downright itchy with spring fever these days. The extra daylight, the warmer temps, even the gritty, grotty, gravelly roads are all signs of the amazingness to come. And so:

Top 5 Things I Love About the First Days of Spring:

1. New Rubber Boots! Nothing says spring like stomping and splashing through puddles. And The Girl just got the cutest new boots and can't wait to try them. (Also: Look how huge they are! She has size six feet already. Crazy.)

2. More Room on the Bus! I'll need to double-check with The Husband on this one, but I'm fairly certain that the one-size-fits-none bus seats are developed somewhere warm. Somewhere where no one ever wears Michelin-Man-esque parkas. All winter, I get about half a seat to myself and have to give up the other half to my neighbour's parka and I feel all claustrophobic. Come spring, I get a good extra five inches of real estate all to myself.

3. No More Blind Corners! The snow removal down here isn't too bad (although it doesn't compare to the efficient machine that is Manitoba clearing), but what with almost 80 inches of snow this winter, we sort of ran out of places to put it. There are corners I haven't been able to see around since November, and many times has my poor Jetta's front bumper almost borne the brunt of one-creeping-forward-only-to-suddenly-see-the-headlights-racing-towards-me too many.

4. Less Ramp-Up Time for Runs! I'm pretty proud of myself for running outside all winter. But this has only been possible because of a fair amount of equipment. It takes me about half an hour to suit up each week (think Apollo 13 - by the time I've put on my two layers of pants, two long-sleeved layers + jacket, two layers of mittens, balaclava, belt with water bottles and iPod headphones snaked through it all and nestled next to my warm body, I feel like Tom Hanks and I want to pee in my suit). Soon enough it'll be shorts-tank top-shoes-GO!

5. Summer Chipotle! My work friend and I go to Chipotle every Friday, and during the winter we go to the one in the skyways. But nothing says spring like dashing outside and strolling along Nicollet Mall to get to the outside one and then feeling the sunshine and the breeze as I carry my tacos back to my desk!