So, here are some things I've learned:
- Don't go two weeks without turning your car on. I found out (the hard way) that if you do that and then think you're going to drive yourself to work, well, you're wrong. I was attempting to drive myself to a conference in Milwaukee one morning, only to find that my car battery had died due to what I'm assuming was the cold and not turning it on for an "extended" period of time. But, I didn't realize "that was a thing" until after I frantically called my dad (in Kentucky) and mimicked the noise the car was making. "So I turn the key, and it just goes eee eeee eee! and I don't know what it means!" Or something to that effect. Sigh. This does not happen (due to cold weather) where I come from.
- Don't procrastinate shoveling, or your front steps may turn into what looks like a slide too. Ok, really we didn't procrastinate that time, but I'm still in awe of how much snow can accumulate in a short amount of time up here. Our neighbor had kindly used his snow blower on our driveway that afternoon, but when we got home at 5 we still had to shovel again due to accumulation. Is it spring yet? Lame.
- And lastly, I've learned that your snot can literally freeze in your nose when you walk across a parking lot when it is -8 plus windchill. And your'e welcome for that image.
And here are some things that I've come to love and appreciate up here:
- An electric blanket. Trust me, when it's below zero outside (and you're too cheap to turn the heat up any higher than 65) a regular blanket just isn't going to cut it. And the pup agrees. It's an animal magnet. (The cat would be on here too, if she hadn't discovered that hot air comes out of the vent. She mostly just sits on it now. Jerk.)
- Long Johns. I know those sound like something (precious) old men wear, but they are wonderful under work clothes to keep you from freezing your legs off. (Thanks for buying me some, Sandy!!) And really, there are some cold days that I come home and change out of my work clothes and just walk around the house in my long johns. Picture a really weird gray body-suited super hero without a cape. I don't know why the super hero part, but stick with me here. I just like to remind my husband what a catch I am, I guess. (Bless his heart)
- Ice Remover Spray stuff. I don't remember exactly the brand, but it comes in this windex-like spray bottle, it's yellow, and you spray it on a frosted windshield and it just melts all that stuff off. It's wonderful. We've already gone through one bottle this winter, and immediately bought two more. For 1-3 bucks, so worth it to not have to scrape the ice off your windshield every morning.
- A good humidifier. As many times as I've fussed about southern humidity making my hair a frizzy mess, I had no idea how much humidity affected my skin until we moved up north where there is virtually none. Since we've been here, and especially since it got cold, I've felt like I've just been drying up. My skin gets so dry, and I've been getting sick more (which I read can be caused by cold dry air that keeps viruses/germs/etc alive longer, or some such like that). So, in the midst of my second cold in about a three week span, we went out and got a warm mist humidifier. We only use it every few nights, but I really think it's made a difference in how dry my skin is, and I haven't been sick since! (knock on wood).
