Minnesota Monday Trivia Answers (On Wednesday!)



It's another cold night in Minnesota. Right now it's 0 degrees--and that's the high for today! The temperatures are falling and later tonight it will reach -3 (with a wind chill of -24). A fluffy snow has been falling all day and it's beautiful.



Remember, it could always be worse...
Photo courtesy of Weatherman Paul Douglas Blog

I've never been much of a complainer about weather--after all, I live in Minnesota. I try* not to complain for three reasons.

1. This is Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes and 10,000 Extreme Weather Patterns. I should never have a reason to complain. Instead, I should fully expect it to be either really cold, really hot, really dry, or really humid. If it's something other than those four extremes, then I count myself blessed and I take advantage of the beautiful weather. Thankfully, in Minnesota, we have many wonderful weather days (or, we don't, and we just appreciate the few good days because of all the bad!). :)

2. I can't change the weather by complaining! I think this one is self-explanatory.

3. Whenever I hear people complaining, I think of the Israelites in the dessert for 40 years. Those people complained. A lot. And where did it get them? No where--literally. What must God think when He's blessed me with a warm house, a full belly, and a healthy family? If all I can do with my time is complain, then I've missed something. Instead of focusing on the weather, I try to focus on my blessings. I also try to see each weather pattern as a blessing. God knows what He's doing.

I giggle when I pass people in Wal Mart and hear a conversation that goes something like this:

"Hey, Phil."
"Hey, Marge."
"Boy, it's cold outside!"
"You ain't kidding."
"Nice seeing you."
"Stay warm."

I heard this conversation just the other day. I love that we tell people something they already know.

Anyway, I digress. I was going to share the answers to my Minnesota Trivia Questions from the other day. I hope you learn something new!

Minnesota is a large state, but how large is it compared to the other states?
a. Fifth largest state
b. Tenth largest state
c. Twelfth largest state
d. Twentieth largest state

The name "Minnesota" is a Dakota name, but what does it mean?
a. "Land of Sky Blue Waters"
b. "Big Water Country"
c. "Many Waters"
d. "Clear Water"

The Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro Area is called the Twin Cities and is densely populated. What percentage of the population of Minnesotans lives in the Twin Cities?
a. 30%
b. 40%
c. 50%
d. 60%

Minnesota is known for its extreme weather (the wind chill was -60 here last week and today it was 38 degrees!). What is the record high and low span of temperature across the state?
a. 106 °F
b. 133 °F
c. 156 °F
d. 174 °F

Minnesota ranks high in the nation for many things. Which one of these things does Minnesota NOT rank high?
a. We have some of the best roads nationwide
b. We have the highest percentage of citizens who participate in regular physical exercise
c. We're one of the highest voter turn out states
d. We have the second highest percentage of high school graduates nationwide

We're also ranked the lowest in all but one of these areas:
a. Lowest percentage of overweight and obese children in the nation
b. We're one of the lowest taxed states in the nation
c. One of the ten states with the lowest percentage of unemployment nationwide
d. Our teen pregnancy rate is the 8th lowest in the nation

Your Turn: What do people complain about the most where you live? I have a feeling it's probably weather! :)

*I try not to complain, but inevitably I slip up. When I do, I remind myself it could be much worse...and I think about Spring and Summer. That usually helps me put things back into perspective.

Minnesota Monday...More Snow

It's Minnesota Monday time! I know you've probably heard this a few times already, but it really has been an unusual spring around here. There's still so much snow! We might get more tonight and tomorrow, but I'm hoping it turns to rain.

 

Here are a few pictures I've taken over the past couple of weeks. I can't wait until I'm taking pictures of green grass and brightly colored flowers.

 

Happy Monday!

 



My in-law's backyard

This is the Classic Golf Course near Nisswa, MN - one of
our favorite places to go out for a nice meal. We celebrated
my mother-in-law's birthday here.

This was the yard BEFORE the last two snowstorms. The
purple sled in the corner was completely covered until
this afternoon, when the rain melted the snow again. It's still
not this clear in the yard. Hopefully in the next couple of days.

Back porch after the last snowstorm.

Some people have asked for pictures from my writing room
window. Here is the view.

A little better view (with about three inches of snow).

What about you? Is there snow on the ground where you live? Just for fun, what is the temperature where you live today? (No bragging, please...) :)

Busy, Busy, Busy...

It's 12:08 a.m. and I just looked at the clock. I've been busy working on my current novel, Enticing Julia Morgan, and I've lost all track of time. This isn't the first time it's happened...

I'm lucky because my husband gets up with the kids before school on most mornings, so I can indulge in some quiet, late-night writing. I'm currently at 89,662 words, with 100,000 as my goal. It's getting to the point where my fingers can't move fast enough as the story is pouring from my heart.

I was a bit nervous as I started out writing this story. The first story I wrote had been in my mind for over ten years, but this one I had only plotted for three weeks before I started working on it...and I was afraid I couldn't pull it off. Would I need to let this story incubate for ten years, as well?

The answer, I'm happy to say, is no. I discovered this story as I wrote it, which is a new adventure for me. But everything about writing this story has been new to me. It's been a learning experience, to be sure. A good one.

And, the best part is, my mom and my sister are loving this story already--they've had special VIP access to it... :)

As I come to the end of this story, I'm getting more and more excited. I'm convinced each time I write a story I will learn something new. Something about God, something about me, something about my writing, something about my dreams and something about life in general. Because there's no way you can pursue your passions without God using it to shape you.

It's late, and I'm rambling, but I didn't want a Monday to go by without a post. I'm so thankful I have all of you to share this journey.

What about you? Do you ever get lost in a good story (whether reading it or writing it) and lose all track of time? Do you learn something new in that story? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

**On a side-note, I'm protesting today. No Minnesota Monday until the weather starts to cooperate! It's the middle of April and we had a snow storm today! My birthday is in ten days and I can only recall one year (in 33) that there was snow on the ground. I'm not complaining...I'm just protesting. :)

**And--Happy Tax Day America!

Because I don't have a graphic to
go with this strange post today, here
are some pictures of my favorite
super-heros, courtesy of my twins

These were taken at my parents'
house this weekend. When this little
guy came up from the toy room
and my dad told him to go back
downstairs to play, he said:
"I can't! I haft to save the world!"

Minnesota Monday - on Wednesday

The past couple of weeks I've been straying away from my blogging schedule (for good reasons)! But I have so many wonderful Minnesota pictures stacking up, I thought I'd switch things up again and share my Minnesota Monday post today.

Here are some pictures taken in the past few weeks. Things have melted A LOT since these pictures were taken, but I wanted to give you a taste of how things looked around here recently.





A flock of seagulls have taken up residence on the river near our house

We've also been blessed by beautiful swans on the river

 

My hubby playing outside with the kids about three weeks ago.
The snow was about three feet deep (now we can see grass where
the snow once was!). The railing behind them is
our fence - only sticking out a foot above the snow!

I watched my Little Monkey analyze this new development...

And then take advantage of the snow to get out of the fence built just to keep him in...

Can you see the sense of accomplishment on his face?!?!

Of course, his brother had to try the same thing a couple minutes later...

But his attempt wasn't as graceful...

Although, he made it!

 Playing outside with the kids in the snow will be some of my favorite memories from this past winter--although I'm more than ready to start making some warmer weather memories!

What about you? What were some of your favorite memories this winter?

Minnesota Monday: Playing in the Snow!

We've been blessed with so much snow this year! Last year at this time, there was none. This year, it's over my three-year olds' heads. We had another storm after these pictures were taken, adding another couple inches of snow/slush/ice.

Minnesota weather can be so fickle - which is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much.

He was so excited to be out in the snow!

His boot got stuck in the snow - both boys kept
telling me: "I stuck, Mama! I stuck!"

 

They are anxious to use their swing set!

 

The next storm - it was warm enough my hubby was only
wearing a sweatshirt outside. You can't tell, but this storm
dumped a weird mixture of ice, rain, slush and snow.

It stuck to the branches and was so pretty to look at.

This picture was taken last year at the same time!

What about you? Is the weather in your neck of the woods similar to last year? What do you like most about your weather (and this isn't an invitation to brag about how nice it is where you live right now!)?  :)

Minnesota Monday - All That Snow!

In the past few years we have had very dry winters. But this year, we've been blessed with an abundance of snow.

Here are some pictures from our latest snowstorm last week. It sounds like we could get more snow today and Thursday!


This is what our van looked like when we came out of church -
it was clean when we went in.

From the front window of our van on the drive home - what
you can't see behind that wall of snow is the Dairy Queen
which opened this week, just in time for the blizzard!!

This is our driveway and look how much snow accumulated in
the couple hours we were at church.

Our backyard and the Mississippi (it never freezes behind our
house, but it freezes to the north and the south of us).

The girls in the front yard making snow angels.

It snowed through the night (no school on Monday!) and the plows came
out the next morning. My boys had a blast watching the plows.

 

This is what I did during part of the storm after church on Sunday...
there are some perks to living in a cold climate.

What about you? Any large snowstorms in your neck of the woods lately? What's the weather like today where you live?

Friday Fun: Minnesota Style, The First Snowfall of the Year

Winter has arrived in Minnesota! We had our first snowfall on Thanksgiving day and it left the world under a pristine blanket of white. I love the first snowfall. No matter how old I get, there will always be something magical about it. We watched the snow come down as we sat at the table enjoying our Thanksgiving feast.

This past week has been cold, in the teens and twenties, but I hear it's supposed to get warm again this weekend. On Sunday and Monday the forecast is predicting mid to upper forties, so the snow will disappear and there are no significant snowfalls in the near future. Here's hoping for a big dumping before Christmas and New Years!

I only took a few pictures, but I thought I'd share. I also included a couple of us picking out our Christmas Tree the next day, but it was so chilly, I didn't take many and I jumped back into the van as soon as we picked it out.

I hope the world is beautiful where you live!




Our backyard while it was snowing - we couldn't see
across the river



The next morning

What about you? Has it snowed where you live? Do you put up a Christmas Tree? Is it fresh or artificial?