perched: glamour shots with michelle.

Kids.
WHAT A FREAKING MONTH! I can't stand how busy and crazy I've been...
Vegas for the Scentsy Family Convention.
Kicking my own ass into gear and getting excited about my business.
Quitting my freaking job.
And so so so so so much more.

But, right now, I'm on vacation in the glorious Cape May, NJ... which I wrote about in this little ditty for Michelle while she was on vacay in MY glorious city of NYC.
*cue music: it's a small world after all*

And Michelle is here with me today, picking up my slack while I get my ~~tan~~ pasty paleness on.

Thanks, babe. Hit it!

~*~

I'm so happy to be Jackie's guest today. She's definitely one of my favorites and has been for a few months, even though our paths came thisclose in June when our family visited NYC and made a stop by the Life Suck but stupid Colin Powell kept us from meeting (w/ apologies sort of to Colin Powell...).

I'm Michelle and I unload my inner dialogue over at You're my favorite today, much to the relief of my 2 daughters and my long-suffering husband. We've lived in Minnesota for 14 years (and no, we are not in the witness protection program) and it took me about 10 of those to stop crying and trying to escape. But when I learned to accept that which I cannot change I realized that Minnesota is not, in fact, Siberia, and is actually quite a lovely place to raise a family - 8 months of the year.

So for those of you who have never been to MN, I thought I'd give you a few reasons it's not as bad as you might think (it's really a wonder that the Minnesota Tourism Dept. hasn't contacted me about a job, isn't it?)

1. Minnesota has the Mall of America (or as we local peeps call it - "MOA" - not "The MOA", just "MOA").

If you've ever wanted to shop at a mall with 4 Caribou Coffees, 2 American Eagles, 3 Engrave Your Memory Stores (because apparently in Minnesota we need a lot of shit engraved), a 2-story Old Navy, 2 Victoria Secrets, 4 Lids Stores (Minnesotans love them some baseball caps), a Glamour-Shots (that fact alone pretty much cancels out the cool and edgy vibe that Minneapolis has a reputation for. Good God), and it's very own Mall Gift Store (and 1 isn't enough...there's 2), then the Mall of America is the place for you!! Oh, and did I forget to mention the full-sized amusement park and underwater aquarium?

I Like to shop ~~as much as~~ probably more than the next ~~guy~~ girl, but I only make the 30 minute trek to MOA if:

a. I need a Nordstrom fix

b. I'm taking my kids for their annual Nickelodeon Universe trip

c. I'm going to Glamour-Shots for my Christmas card photo

d. I feel the need to self-inflict pain

2. Minnesota is home to arguably the best store in the history of stores (suck-it MOA) - TARGET.

I swear there is either a Target or a Super Target about every 5 sq. miles in the metro area. And if I didn't already live here, this fact alone would get me to move here.

3. Minnesota has kick-ass winters.

...and by 'kick-ass' I mean ~~bitter~~ and ~~brutal~~ and ~~blizzardy~~ beautiful snowscapes and plenty of opportunity for outdoor "fun" (if you don't mind frostbite on your extremities. All of them). With the exception of the gloriously mild winter of '12, we can usually count on about 10-20 days where the HIGH temp is a negative number.

I heard you....and I agree - it pretty much sucks from January through (not to) March. 2 feet of snow is beautiful until you have to shovel it and slip-n-slide around town.

But eventually, you'll reach the light at the end of the tunnel (mid-April) and you'll be looking ahead to the #1 reason I stick it out.

4. Minnesota has Lakes...and fantastic summers to enjoy them.

If you visit my blog during the months of June, July and August, I can pretty much guarantee you will get sick of me talking about the lake. We spend about half our summer at our little cabin on a little blue lake in north-central Minnesota, and it is seriously what fuels me the rest of the year.

Sure you have to put up with swarms of hungry mosquitoes who magically appear at about 7 p.m. each night, severe storms and tornado warnings and a muggy day here and there, but it's worth it for sights like this.