the weather.

when we decided to move to seattle, the first thing out of EVERYONE's mouth was "oh, you are going to HATE the weather." yes, i realize it rains 9 months of the year here [according to sleepless in seattle, my source for all seattle-related information], and for a native californian that is a bit intimidating. especially since it poured the entire time we were in town touring apartments.

but, it really hasn't been too bad so far. i think this can be attributed to one of three factors:
1. the novelty hasn't worn off yet
2. we've had a "mild winter" (according to every person in issaquah)
3. two visits to sunny utah in the past month

we still get a really nice sunny day about once a week, on average. and when washington is sunny, it is goooorgeous. i feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. however, only seeing the sun once a week has its downfalls -- i've started to realize i take certain things for granted, and when you don't have those things anymore your life feels really weird. like the moon. if it's raining, there's no moon. 95% of the time our night sky is pitch black. also, shadows. we only see our shadow once in a while and every time it solicits nonstop oohs and ahhs from jackal.

anyway, when it's NOT sunny, seattle usually looks like this:

brrr. cloudy, foggy, gloomy and WET. i take jack outside everyday unless it's pouring -- he likes to jump in puddles. i just wear my favorite boots and try not to freeze to death. then we come inside, turn on the fireplace, have hot chocolate and make soup for dinner. at night it's like living inside a white noise machine, listening to raindrops outside my window. like i said, winter is a novelty for me. so i'm making the best of it. 

sometimes it's not the best, though. i bought happy lights (available at costco!) for me & b to put on our desks -- i've used mine a couple times, who knows if they work. also, our electric bill is kind of high because i turn on a bunch of lights during the day and leave them on -- i hate being in the dark. and i've pretty much forgotten what it's like to be warm or even hot on a regular basis, which makes me sad. our trip to CA in april will probably turn me into a sweaty drippy mess...but i can't wait. you can take the girl out of california, but you can't take california out of the girl.