The Kings: living the ohio life...

if you live in ohio, this is what your front walk looks like! :)

...well, it's really not that different from texas life except we live in an apartment and there's snow! okay, there are a few more differences than that, but generally it's similar. there are some interesting things here in columbus, ohio that make it different than my hometown and the dallas, tx area:
-7 digit dialing (you don't dial an area code!)
-no u-turns city wide (although abi & i *might* have made one the other night trying to get to the big bang!)
-no "severe weather warnings" but instead "snow emergencies"
-when it snows a lot, there is salt *everywhere* and for a while, i could hardly tell what was salt and what was snow/ice!
-people in texas drive fast, in columbus, not so much! in tx, if the speed limit is 65, you are driving slow if you are going 75. in ohio, if the speed limit is 65, even if the roads are clear, you are going fast if you are driving 65!
-there are no service roads here...which is weird to me, but apparently it's a texas thing (so i'm the weird one). there are also very few overpasses (no hi-5 here, folks!) i'm sure it's due to the fact that bridges here are already prone to freezing, it's scary to think of those overpasses in an ohio winter!
-i know i've mentioned this before, but i love the language difference:
squad = ambulance
cart = stretcher
ascrosst = across
of course, most people, upon finding out i'm native texan, comment on my lack of accent. i think most of them think i'm lying until i say a sentence containing a "y'all" in it!
-instead of counting the days over 100 degress, you count the days below freezing
-even though they have the equipment up here to handle snow and ice, schools are closed and/or delayed nearly any time there is several inches of accumulation...unexpected for me, i figured they would have to have a foot or more!
-i hardly ever hear anything in spanish. and there are no spanish billboards, and very few bilingual store products! the last time i gave discharge instructions in spanish, was before christmas! if you are from texas, you realize how insane this is to me!
-OSU is the big school here...and it is big. in fact, for some things the area is just referred to as "the campus" even though there are other universities and colleges nearby.
-people here don't know their state song....well, i'd have to ask more people to be fair...
-you should own a front door mat here, because it helps keep the salt out of your home (yes, the salt makes a bigger mess than the snow!). taking off shoes when you come in is also recommended.
-west virgina is to ohio what arkansas is to texas. in orientation, i heard a room full of ohioans joke about how w.v. is where people marry their cousins and they don't have any teeth. i'm so texan, i just assumed that every state thought of arkansas in that way....who's ever heard anything bad about west virginia?
-if you live in ohio, you should not like michigan or routinely sport the colors blue & yellow. period.

my favorite things about ohio? so glad you asked!
-i get to live with my husband again, yay!
-i get to spend time with my hubby's family
-the snow is gorgeous, no matter what other people say! i'm not sick of it yet...
-i can drink hot cocoa every day, dress for the weather because it won't change every 3 seconds, and enjoy real snuggling because it actually is cold outside
-there are cowboys fans here, too :)
-even though people drive slower here, there's about 1/2 as much traffic as dallas!
-tim horton's & meijer are wonderful!
-matt being able to work full-time hours is pretty nice too ;)
-living in the apartment, while not my ideal, does mean that neither of us has to shovel snow, spread salt or do any sort of yard maintence. nice!
-i'm not terrified of driving in the snow or ice anymore...i still don't prefer it, though.

matt and i, child-free and young marrieds....here is how we spend our time: