I refuse to let winter win. About a decade ago, I decided I was no longer going to hate the snow and the cold and I was going to embrace Wisconsin's longest season. I bought a pair of ice skates for $1.75 at Goodwill, a $350 down coat and a $15 hat with earflaps.

I won't go so far to say that my resulting winter experiences have been priceless, but I have had a lot more fun outdoors in January and February ever since. 

However, I might have taken the whole "embrace winter" thing a degree too far, but when temperatures dip below zero, I find myself wanting to do the least wintery things I can think of.

Last night, I grilled out pizza, burgers and smart dogs on my deck. A few years ago, I went snowbathing. (Long story ….) And this morning, after my iPhone told me it was -13 degrees outside, we blew bubbles in the backyard.

Children, of course, should not be outside in such extreme temperatures for extended periods of time, but if you super burrito bundle 'em up and run out for just a few minutes, my mama bear instincts say, in the words of Goldilocks, "it's just right." 

Then again, my personal motto is "safety second."

Inspired by this post on Facebook, we decided to try below-zero bubble blowing ourselves. Unfortunately, we did not end up with anything quite as stunning as what’s photographed in the article, but it was really fascinating to watch the bubbles drift towards the sky, freeze and then break into chards and pieces.

So if you happen to come down with the cabin fever today, I say find summer’s bubbles and go for it. It builds character. It reinforces the heartiness of being a Wisconsinite. At the very least, it kills two minutes of a possibly long television day indoors. 

By the way, I don’t recommend snowbathing. That’s just (frozen) bananas.