Thursday, January 7, 2010

Baby it's cold outside

I wonder how many blog posts are going to have that title?  Probably a lot.

Anyway, yep, it's getting pretty cold here.  It's not so much the cold that's bothering me, it's the snow.

It. Won't. Stop. Snowing.

I finally decided I should try my hand at shoveling. Since, you know, I've never shoveled before. Heh. Yeah. Spoiled. Plus I was working from home and was in desperate need of a break.

I got all sorts of bundled up. Long johns, jeans, long sleeve tshirt, sweat shirt, brother's old ski coat, two pairs of socks, head band ear cover thingy, hood, ski gloves, rubber boots.  I was READY!  I dug into the first scoop and my first thought was "Holy Hell! Snow is heavy!"  Our driveway is loooooong and three spaces wide.  I decided from the get-go that there was no way I was shoveling that third space.  The wind was blowing in just the perfect direction to build up some nice 2.5' to 3' high snow drifts right where my car would back out, so I had my work cut out for me.  Over an hour and a half later I totally lost steam. I threw in the towel after I realized I had just yelled "God Damn You Piece Of Shit!!!" out loud.  Oops. Sorry neighbors! I finished what I could.  It's definitely not pretty and I never even scraped the concrete, but at least we can get the cars out. I came inside and took off all my layers only to discover I was sweating my ass off!!  How is that possible?! It's like 4 degrees out!

Then I started shaking.  Not because I was cold, but because I was so worn out.  I'm in probably the best shape of my life, but damn, that about did me in.  I don't think I'll need to do any shoulder or back exercises the next few days.  (I'm currently trying to ignore the fact that I just looked outside and all the snow drifts are already piling back up.  Zach can do it next time!)

Lookie!
shovel

So I came inside and warmed up? Cooled off? I don't know! THEN I started getting really cold.  All I wanted was some hot chocolate. GOOD hot chocolate. I hate the mix stuff. Gag.  So I whipped out my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and found a really easy, really quick, and REALLY tasty recipe.  Ahh heaven.

hot chocolate

Hot Chocolate
2 ounces unsweetened or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped OR 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate pieces (which is what I used)
1/3 cup sugar
4 cups milk

1) In a medium saucepan combine chocolate, sugar and 1/2 cup of the milk. Stir over medium heat until mixture just comes to boiling. Stir in remaining milk, heat through, but do not boil.
2) Remove from heat. Pour into mugs and add whipped topping or marshmallows.

This makes about 6 servings so I cut it in about 1/4...ish.

YUM!
hot chocolate frothe

Stay warm, everyone!

3 comments:

Stacey said...

That picture was all it took for me to whip up some hot chocolate. I used bittersweet chocolate with about 1tsp of dark chocolate coacoa and whipped cream on top. Delish! I think this will take the place of my green monster today. It's too cold for a smoothie!

Stacey said...

Uh, and sorry I can't spell cocoa!

KLS said...

Ooh I'm going to try that cocoa!! This has been one of the few times I no longer live in KS. :)

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Greenwood, Missouri, United States

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