Sun-soaked season fades to gray...

I've been warned.

Cleveland winters are not the friendliest sort. They are harsh and cold and blustery and....gray. Many a native have cautioned me of this reality, and told me to leave before it strikes. Seriously.

But, obviously, this is where I live, and so I am absolutely determined to make the most of it.

The fall in the Great Lakes is spectacular. The trees are on fire -red, orange and yellow- and the sky is a pristine blue. When you step outside, you can't help but breath deeply of the fresh, crisp air, and close your eyes to let the heatless sun kiss your face. I love it. I love going to the park with my puppy, Froggie, and I love taking walks with my fiance, Brian. I love that everyone steps a little lighter as the joy of fall is soaked in and not taken for granted. It's beautiful.

But its fading...quickly. Cleveland has been known to get snow before Halloween, and that same snow will be clinging to the sidewalks in March. What?! In Dallas it may, on rare occasion, snow ONCE and last a whopping three hours....if lucky. Snowmen are a project for the talented and speedy, not the masses.

But, as with many other things, weather is different up North. So I choose to look on the bright side at all I have to enjoy in the coming months. More football, for starters. I can't get enough of my teams and the surprising twists and turns this season has taken. All I can say is, despite excellent or disappointing records...Go Stangs, Longhorns, Wildcats and Spartans!!!

The holiday season. My sweet aunt bought me a Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin candle(go get one!!!) for my apartment which I have already almost entirely exhausted. But I love it as it reminds me of the coming coziness of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Family and friends and food are awaiting as these two holidays approach.

Lastly, I intend to tackle the cloudy dreary months ahead not with blankets and sweatpants and movies, but with skis, snowboards, sleds and toboggans. I refuse to hole up in my apartment and have determined to get moving as a solution to my incessant feeling of being cold. Brian and I are planning trips to New York and Pennsylvania to teach me to snowboard, and we are also headed to Colorado to ski. We are going to go ice skating on the lake, and tobogganing in the park. We have thought about snow shooing and even cross country skiing. We will keep busy. And I am excited for the opportunity to have winter for the first time in many years.

So bring on the gray. Kiss the sun and warmth goodbye. I will see you in April, and by then I'm sure, appreciate light and heat all the more.

~Bec