I thought I was going to die during most of January.  Mostly because it was cold.  Way too cold for my thin skin.  The idea of running outside was a joke.  I had to wear my Northface jacket EVERY DAY, except for when I was washing it, when I had to bust out the parka.  It snowed a couple of times.  My toes would get numb walking to work.  To make matters worse, it was pitch black outside when I left the office at 4:00 pm.

Then in February, something started to change.  Sure, it’s not like I woke up and the weather was downright balmy- it did snow again one morning last week- but it started to get a little better.  There is still light outside until 5:30 pm.  I don’t think I’m in danger of frostbite by the time I get to my office.  I’ve been able to go for walks outside at night with Barrie and Brooke.  I even wore a non-insulated jacket on Tuesday- it’s kind of a miracle.  People keep telling me that spring will be here before I know it and soon I’ll see little flowers sprouting up again everywhere.

Well, I haven’t seen any flowers, but all of a sudden we do have a sudden explosion of visitors.  Maybe Seattle has thawed out enough for Californians to actually be able to brave the trip up.  Whatever it is, I love visitors, even if it does mean I have to wash the sheets a lot more often.

Last weekend, with 4 hours notice, Jimmy showed up.  He went home on Monday.  Then yesterday, I got a surprise text from my BFF Mary, who flew up for the night to cover a story up here!  Yay for best friend bonding!  We met for a late dinner and some wine by my house.

Yeah, it’s blurry.  It was dark and I didn’t have time to charge my camera.

Then tonight, I’m picking up Anne from the airport!  She’s coming to spend some time poking around Seattle and then joining me on a “research trip” to Portland this weekend, where we are going to hang out with some celebrity knitters and check out the “Underground Yarn Scene.”  (Yeah, I know how crazy that sounds, but I’m stoked!)  I’m so excited about our adventure that I even took my car in today to get the flat tire fixed (yay: no more bike pump!; boo: i had to buy a new tire).

Then next weekend, we just found out that Mike’s bff (though he would never use that term), An, is coming up.  An is a little insane, but I’m really happy to be seeing him- we definitely owe him a celebratory dinner because he just passed his nursing exams.  Yay for passing!

Finally, the next weekend, my mom may be coming up.  Awww, I miss my mom.  Hopefully we’ll be able to spend a weekend doing lame mother-daughter stuff, like shopping and drinking Diet Coke.  I’ll be sure to try and take a picture of her holding onto her purse for dear life any time she passes a bum downtown.

Ok, I have to and finish cleaning in anticipation of Anne’s arrival.  I’m a little giddy at the thought of having friends and family around so much over the next few weeks!