5,760

That my friends is the number of minutes it has been since I have darkened the doorway of my house (besides one time when I got a bucketful of snow).
Within that time frame I have successfully...

• Had one birthday.
• Treated everyone in my house for illness - including myself.
• Watched the movie Cars more than is reasonably okay.
• Gotten a lot of writing for my National Board done.
• and, figured out the solution for World Peace.

impressive, huh?

I thought I might also write a list of ways to successfully live your life as a hermit...since I am a pro now.

1. Don't just base your knowledge of the weather on what you see in your tiny fenced in backyard.  Look at pictures on the internet of other people's backyards and city streets and be wowed.  The internet machine provides a safe distance from any cold temperatures that you would have to otherwise endure.
2. If you start to feel claustrophobic, shower.  In order for this to have more of a positive effect on you, you might want to wait until it is ABSOLUTELY necessary to do so.
3. Make sure you are stocked up on groceries.  Some grocery stores even deliver....but apparently not during "snowmageddon."
4. Marry someone that likes to shovel the driveway...or at least does it without complaining.
5. Buy a nice snow shovel so that it is more enjoyable than using the old snow shovel with the broken handle....definitely NOT ergonomic.
6. Make sure you have plenty of children's tylenol, cough syrup, and the pink stuff on hand.
7. When those people are buying out the grocery store of bread and milk, and you think they're crazy....they may be on to something.
8. Have a big project in the works....for example, I used this time to work on my National Boards and to catch up on a backlog of Friday Night Lights that MUST be watched.
9. Let your kid watch t.v.
10. If the Schwan's man stops by on Tuesday morning and you are still in your pajamas and no makeup, let him in....he might be the last semblance of the outside world you could see for DAYS.
11. Don't bother making your bed...you will get in and out of it often.
12. Have you read the book Room by Emma Donoghue?  I have....and now in my new sequestered state I can't stop thinking about it.  I'm this close to having Miles make a snake out of egg shells and naming our furniture.  (On a side note - good book - should be read.)
13. Housekeeping, like personal hygiene, should be kept to a minimum.  (This helps if your vacuum cleaner is out of commission and you are waiting on a part that has been back ordered for FOUR WEEKS!)

So there you have it.  I'm actually a much better hermit thank I thought I could be...however, I'm already scheming up a way to finally get us out of the house later today.  The boys are DYING to go spend some of my birthday money on new bedding. (Okay, so that might be me...)