Happiness Epic Fail: Snow

After five consecutive weekends of snow totaling 100 inches in Boston, I'm at the end of my rope. Remember Jack Torrance in The Shining? He went mad and tried to kill his family because of snow. The haunted hotel may have had a little something to do with it, but everyone in Boston now knows from personal experience that it was really the snow.

Roads are all lined with 8-foot snowbanks, so once charmingly narrow two-lane roads are now one lane. They are still theoretically two-way, so every encounter with a car coming the opposite direction is a game of chicken. Am I going to pull into a driveway or are you? Can we find a spot just barely wide enough to pass each other v e r y slowly? And who is the moron who actually parked their car on the street?

I've taken to gunning it whenever the road I'm driving on is clear of other cars. Maybe I can get to the end of the block before someone else pulls onto the street.

My response to claustrosnowbia has been to bake. Winter came late to Boston this year, so the first big storm was magical. The kids had a day off from school, the meeting I didn't want to go to anyway was cancelled, and I made a hot breakfast for my kids plus a treat later in the day. Cinnamon swirl bread. We had friends over, went sledding together, and drank hot chocolate as we warmed up afterwards.

Now, six days and one February break later, there have been chocolate croissants, hot cross buns, German apple pancakes, filled pancakes, chocolate chip cookies, black and white cookies, peppermint meringue kisses, Rice Krispie treats with Oreos, and oatmeal cookies with dried cherries, pecans, and chocolate chunks. 

And I have gained six pounds. 

The baking was clearly an epic fail, but the snow is going nowhere, probably until April. I wish I were kidding but I'm not. I need another solution.

On the plus side, I've discovered a new podcast: Criminal. The episodes are short and engaging, if a little heavy. Like Serial, there are not many answers and happy endings, but there are a lot of really good questions.

What's keeping you sane this week?

What's Making Me Happy This Week: The New England Patriots

Sorry West Coast friends, but what made me happy this week was the Super Bowl.

Actually it's been making me happy for weeks. There have been play-off games, a hilarious local response to deflate-gate (Matt Damon confessed), and a palpable sense of optimism wherever two or more Patriots fans are gathered (which is everywhere).

And it's hard to imagine how the game Sunday could have been any better. Tightly contested to the last seconds, minor miracles for both teams (I've watched Kearse's catch probably a dozen times and still can't quite believe it happened), and of course the improbable interception that won the game for the Patriots. The best half-time show ever didn't hurt. Even if Katy Perry is a Seahawks fan.

But even better than all that was watching the game on a super comfy couch surrounded by family. Even my five-year-old niece was transfixed.

Last Sunday, the Patriots made me happy. (I'm not making this up -- science backs me up on this.) What's making you happy this week?