As I’m sure many of you know, I was born and raised in Georgia, I went to college in Arkansas, and I am the first of my family to ever live above the Mason-Dixon line. Needless to say, I’ve got southern blood and I hate the cold! This has been my 3rd winter in Ohio and I am still not used to it. Last year was so unbearable that I didn’t think I could live through another winter. But of course, last year was a horrible winter for everyone. So far this winter has proven better. We’ve gotten plenty of snow. Enough snow to scare someone from Georgia who hasn’t lived here this long. But it hasn’t been as bad. (Knock on wood).
Even though I’m still not a fan after 3 Ohio winters, I have learned a few tricks and fun ways to keep warm and I thought I’d share them with you.
- Drink lots of coffee, hot chocolate, tea and other warm beverages. Our Keurig has actually been acting up lately because I’ve been using it so much.
- Cuddle under a blanket in the evenings.
- Chill by the fire and even put my feet up to the screen. Unfortunately we don’t have a fireplace in our apartment. I know. It was almost the breaking point to make us not take this apartment but it had too much going for it. Anyway, I used to do this all the time when I lived at home. And I’ve seriously been pushing to get an electric fire place since we moved here to no avail.
- Wear fleece or flannel pajamas. Now when I say pajamas here, I really mean lounge wear that may look like pajamas. Because, since I work from home I often wear said lounge wear all day or at least until lunch time when I workout.
- Eat warm soup. There is not much better than warm soup on a cold evening. Am I right? I love making this bacon cheeseburger soup and Paula Dean’s creamy potato soup in the crock pot. But I love soup even more when I don’t have to make it. Panera’s broccoli cheddar or creamy tomato in a bread bowl? Yes please!
- Do Pilates. Ok, I think it’s time to let the secret out. I’m addicted to Pilates. Blogilates and POP Pilates with Cassey Ho to be exact. I believe I have become a true POPster but that’s another post for another day. But, to my point, Pilates is a great way to warm yourself up. You don’t have to go crazy with cardio and sweat a bunch but just doing one video with a few moves can really warm you up. I LOVE it!
- Dance parties!! I love dancing. Now I’m not saying I’m good at it, but I like it. So if I’m cooking or cleaning, I’ll put on my girl power, workout, or summer playlist on Spotify and get moving. It’s a great way to stay warm and burn some calories. And it makes chores a little more fun. Also, Cassey has some great cardio dance videos that are a ton of fun too!
- Cuddle with your pet at night. We’ve been letting Pip sleep with us for about 6 months now and there are some downsides, but I love how he keeps the bed warm!
- Now as much as I would love to stay in my warm apartment and jammies 24/7 during the winter, I do have to venture out in the cold every now and then. Before I do though, I throw some clothes in the dryer before leaving the house.
- Another thing that helps when I leave the apartment is I almost always wear fleece lined leggings under my jeans or whatever I’m wearing and wool socks. These plus a scarf, hat, and good coat make all the difference! I look back at snow pictures from living in Georgia and Arkansas now and cringe because what I was wearing would NOT keep me very warm.
Hey readers! I’d love for you to meet my blog friend and fellow UGA fan, Cait Long from My Life as a Long! I ‘met’ Cait several months ago and I’d say we hit it off pretty well. I love reading bout her precious pup, Chaco who I know would be best friends with Pip. I have gotten several fitness and health ideas from her. And I’m a little jealous of her cruise vacations! Cait is a great friend. We have a lot in common and friends like her are the reason I love blogging so much!
Here’s what Cait has to say about her blog…
Hey! I’m Cait! I love Chattanooga, hot chocolate, my puppy Chaco, and vacations. My Life As A Long is my little space of the interent where I can talk about anything I want. I like to talk about married life, my puppy, our new business adventure : Nooga Designs, and anything else I can think of. I’d love it if you stopped by and said Hey!
I asked her a few questions to help you get to know her a little.
- If you could be any fictional character, who would you be and why? Don’t judge me, but I woulf totally be Elsa from Frozen. I love winter, so being able to make it snow whenever would be awesome!
- If a front page news article was written about you would would the headline be? I have no idea. I would love for it to say “Chattanooga Woman Quits Job At 25 to Sail To The Caribbean.” However, we all know that would never happen.
- What’s your favorite cold-weather activity or your favorite way to stay warm in the winter? If it is snowing, you can find me outside until I can’t stand it anymore. If it isn’t snowing, I love finding shows that have ended and are on Netflix. Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl, and Chuck are some of my favorites.
