“There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.”

Awesome thing #2: So Cal

Heaps of my FB friends are melting down because - gasp! - it's cold right now. In all fairness... -19 degrees?! Seriously?! No thanks. 73 and sunny? Yes, please!

I currently live in Southern California, and LOVE it.

Yeah, we have traffic, Hollywood, smog, taxes like no OTHER.... but you know what we also have??

The most beautiful beaches. We spent Christmas Day on the beach, sipping Starbucks Hot Chocolate (or Caramel Brulee, if you're the mommy), jumping in waves, chasing crabs, and digging giant sand holes to... break ankles, or something.

Sunny, clear skies 330 days of the year*. When we DO have rain, it's pretty relentless for a few days, but then? It.is.glorious. The sun reappears, the smog is cleared out, and we can see the beautiful, snowy mountains hanging out to the north.

Lovely, snow-capped mountains that... y'know, should I lose my mind and WANT to be in the snow, I can within hours. I live in OC, so it's about a 2 hour trip, but it certainly beats the hell out of needing to own and USE an ICE SCRAPER!

A plethora of ethnically diverse areas, including the most AWESOMEST DutchIndo store that I love shopping at. My grandparents were Dutch-Indonesian, and I love scoping out all the goodies they used to bring home after trips to Holland. Spekkoek - while I *could* make it - why would I when I can run up there and pick some up!?

Super great hiking spots. I took up hiking when I moved here, because... I had six months alone, and no kidlets, so... this killed time. In the process, it gave me killer calves! Win!

Disneyland! So, it's certainly no Disney World, but... it'll do.

Super fresh produce, super cheap. I have this grand idea - and I try REALLY hard at it, honestly! - that we will become locavores. I love fresh produce, and it's SO affordable here. Pink Lady apples? 49 cents a pound. Tangerines so fresh they have bright green leaves still!? I think I will!

The super awesome thing is, my kids love SoCal as much as I do... which I was kind of concerned with when I moved them here. But, they've adapted amazingly well, made friends, and dig it as much as I do. They were kinda bummed that we couldn't make it to their cousin's birthday party in Florida, but they're totally psyched to show them how great it is here when they come visit.

*I have no idea if that's an accurate number. I made it up. It sounds about right though.