Wednesday, January 15, 2014

It's No Longer Fun, It's Just Cold.

So it's that fun time of winter. . .the time when the only holiday to look forward to is one that everyone likes to hate on despite it being the "holiday of love," the weather is nothing but bleak and dreary, and even though it's plenty cold there's no sign of snow or hope.  Yup.  I'm excited.

Now, normally, I would be excited.  I'm the kind of gal who thinks slugs are adorable and the best feeling in the world is shoving your arms into a barrel of beans, all the way up to the elbows.  Bleak, depressing winters sound like something I could get behind, right?

Well, not this week.  Sure, some days, when you just want to be melancholy and listen to depressing music, it's the most perfect weather imaginable (other than that perfect cloudy/rainy fall day where there's still a bit of color but most of the leaves have fallen).  This week, though, I have plenty to bring me down and I'm looking for a bit of. . .well, not spring, per se, but maybe that silver lining.  My silver lining is tips and tricks for dealing with the cold.

The cold gets to me much more as of late -- it may have something to do with the fact that I'm a woman and not a natural wood-burning stove, or perhaps since I've shed almost 30lbs since last May I just have less bulk to keep me warm.  Practically every time I've gone from a seated position to a standing position I get positively chilled through: the shakes, the shivers, the irreconcilable feeling of "you'll never be warm again" at the depth of my core. . .and so, because I felt like it, I thought I'd share my favorite ways of being warm and some of my silver linings through this insanely cold spurt of winter I seem to be experiencing.

1.  Get a cuddle buddy.


No, but seriously.  Nothing warms me (or anybody else, for that matter) as quickly as possible is snuggling something else warm.  I typically use my husband.  Shamelessly.  There's nothing quite so satisfying as sucking the warmth out of someone else.  Or a cat, or a dog, or an electric blanket.  However, fish tend to not make good snuggle partners.  FYI.

2.  Fuzzy socks.


These are my feet, but damn I wish they were.  Look at dem socks.  Just look at 'em.  They look so comfy and happy and fuzzy. . . .  Plus, the fuzziness makes for great traction when it's 4AM and your feet are too hot under the five blankets you put on the bed and you must remove them or die.  Because at 4AM your choices are always do the thing you want to do or die.  Or pee the bed.  But anyway, easy to grasp with your toes and pull right off.

3.  Hot beverages.


You know me.  Normally, I'm a coffee fieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeend.  Yum yum yum.  And of course I have not stopped drinking coffee, but as the day wears on, people like myself can tolerate less and less caffeine.  A nice herbal tea is just the thing for a cold night, or, if you like the sweeter stuff, hot chocolate.  I know, right?  Revolutionary.  YOU KNOW WHAT IS REVOLUTIONARY?  Apple chai.  I know, I was all like, whaaaat?  It's apple juice steamed with chai concentrate.  It's the most delicious apple cider with just a hint of caffeine.  It's like crack.  It's my only late-afternoon/evening drink if I'm not at home anymore.  I am currently drinking a blood orange rooibous.  So good.

Now where's spring?

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