Let me just say that it is cold outside.

That may be an obvious statement, even under-statement, to the rest of the Nebraskan population. But I'm sorry. It is cold! And there is Still SO much Snow!

Without any signs of melting. AND. With more snow predicted for Sunday.

Don't get me wrong. I am a total Extreme Weather Junkie(Opposed to an Extreme Sports Junkie. That would be dangerous. And I would probably die if I attempted something like a skateboard or skydiving. Like I would be the statistic. So I'll stick to severe weather.)

I love the bitter cold, when your lungs freeze the minute you step outside and your nose instantly begins to deteriorate from early-on-set hypothermia. I love the mountains of snow that have changed our landscape, destroyed our pavement and turned every street into a one way road. I love that the city ran out of their snow-removal budget the first week in January and that schools will have to run a week extra to make up for all of their missed days. I love letting your car sit for an extra ten minutes, burning precious, expensive gas just to get the defrost in working order and chip a hole in the three inches of ice on top of your windshield big enough to see through. I love it all!

Zach, who works in this weather(He is in charge of snow removal for the winter at his job, a landscaping company) would disagree with me. Strongly.

It's easy for me to love this weather. I don't stand outside in it all day. I have a heater that works, and is paid for every month. My car is generally parked in the garage(Although for years and years it wasn't so I can relate to those who don't have that convenience.). My children have very warm coats and hats and scarves and gloves and if it's too cold I have the luxury to never leave my house, save for the occasional and necessary trip to the grocery store when Cabin Fever has set in. So fine, I can sit back and declare I love extreme weather and truthfully never suffer from it's devastating effects.

In my defense however, I must say that I usually spend our three months(Or what is turning in to the longest winter ever, since we're going on a full four months of this snow and ice with no signs of slowing.) without a coat. A personal choice. I still think I'm too cool for a coat.

Just kidding.

I just don't have one. I have a ginormous Colombia Coat that was Zach's in high school that I wear when I'm just running errands, but it's less than date night appropriate.

So fine. I can be the spectator to the cold weather, declaring my love and crossing my fingers that I don't add a third snow related accident to my repertoire, every time I need to go somewhere.

But it's not just snow and extreme cold that I love. Although, with all of the records we are setting this winter it is quickly becoming my favorite.

I love the heat too. The hot as hell kind of heat. The heat that brings sweat to your forehead just by looking at the dried up grass and hot pavement. I love the humidity, even though it wrecks complete havoc on my already difficult hair. I love the suffocating feel of a summer afternoon, where the air around you feels as though it is literally closing in on you. Yes, I love it all!

And don't even get me started on Thunder Storms and Tornado's. It should be pretty clear how I feel about those!

This obsession with weather at it's worst stems more from my excitement for broken records then actually enjoying the wind, water and rain. I think.... For whatever reason, if Nebraska were to get the most amounts of snow this year, have the most detrimental cold weather conditions and go the most over budget trying to clear our pot-hole-ridden streets of any state in the United States, for whatever sick and twisted reason that would make me proud!

"Yes, I am from that super, amazing State where people couldn't leave their houses for like four months and the sun didn't shine for 90% of the time!" Or "Yes, I am from the State that had the F5 tornado that ripped up all of our corn crops and combines. Yes, we did have an alarming amount of snow, rain and consequently flooding, but come on Stranger, aren't you least bit jealous?"

What did your State do? Hmmm? What CAN your State do?

I know. It's totally Sick.

I think, and I'm not sure here, but I think this all has something to do with State Pride....? I love, love Nebraska and even more so Omaha. I can't see myself anywhere else. And I'm not one of those weirdos that just loves like their suburb. I don't say, "Hi, I'm Rachel, from Dundee, Omaha, Nebraska." No. That's ridiculous. I love all of Omaha. Yes, Dundee too, but Bellevue, Papillion, Elkhorn and Benson just as much.

And I've traveled. Ok. I've been to Paris and I fell in love with the City of Lights. My heart aches whenever I see a movie or picture of that beautiful Parisian Mecca. I've been to Vienna and admired the cleanliness and efficiency of the historic city, deciding if I ever got to live in Europe, this is where I would live! I've been to Budapest and Timisoara and Basil and Geneva and Zurich and all over Germany, France, Switzerland and Romania. I've been to Sri Lanka, in Columbo and Galle with one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I've been to Peru, to Lim and Machu Pichu. I've been all over the US, to places like L.A., San Francisco, San Diego and every where in between. I've been to Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Denver, Colorado Springs, Dallas, Austin, Galveston, Raleigh, Nashville, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, TexArkana. Pretty much every where but the upper East Coast..... I've been to lots of place and I want to go to lots more places.

But in the end, always in the end, Omaha is my favorite city. Omaha is my home, my children's home, my heart's home. The city where my family is, where Zach's family is. Where Zach and I met and fell in love and got married and began our family.

So bring on the four seasons and all of their glory and destruction and anything else they have to offer. Because they are part of the foundation of the Midwest, and Omaha is part of the fiber of who I am.