Winter Survival Kit

It's so cold outside now. The wind is shockingly cutting and though the temperatures claim to be in the 20's, they're lying. (Whoever "they" are.) It feels much colder.

I've been thinking about my winter survival kit lately, now that it's time to bust it out, and thought I'd share some of it with you. The ideas anyway, not the things themselves. Although I supposed I'd be willing to share with some of you if you insisted on coming over sometime. But I digress.

1. Warm slippers. 'Nuff said. (Yuck, I just wrote "nuff.")

2. Warm, soft blankets. Do you see how soft this blanket looks!? It's even softer than it looks. I'm not even kidding. I wish I were covered up with it right now, snuggled in for the afternoon.

3. Leg warmers. These are not my leg warmers pictured, or my leg for that matter. I'm white but not that white. My leg warmers are in the laundry today and I miss them dearly. Sadly I only have one pair so I can't wear them every day. My calves are freezing on the off days. For the record, I wear mine under my pants because I'm not into 80's revival unlike so many other people out there today, thank you very much.

4. Memories of summer. During the winter I often find myself daydreaming about summer: fireflies, the smell of sunscreen, swimming in Lake Michigan, ice cream, eating outside, kayaking, bbqs, drive-in movies, visits to Utah, bike riding, mosquitoes (only when I get really desperate do I think about mosquitoes).

So there you have it: some of the tools I have in my winter survival kit. What are some of yours? Together we can get through the next four months... right!?

Proof

As a little girl growing up in Sydney, Kidman's fair skin and flaming red hair made her stand out in a land of tan and blonde beauties – but her unique look helped shape her. "It makes you develop your personality. Because you don't conform, you have to find different ways of expressing yourself," she says.

- People.com

Here's one more link about her as an adult with red hair: (link) with the following quote:

We've been so used to seeing her with blonde and brown hair over the years that we'd almost forgotten just how beautiful her natural colour is.
But Nicole Kidman gave us a stunning reminder yesterday when she arrived at a Hollywood luncheon, her gorgeous red hair tumbling down her shoulders.

And now, I'm done talking about Nicole Kidman on this blog forever. Too bad I'm not getting an ice cream cake out of this wager... because I was so right! And so were the 19 of you who voted for "red." Way to be!

And thanks for humoring me.

Wednesday Thoughts

Kathy, PI (that's her real mustache)

This week is the last week my coworker and friend, Kathy, is going to be working at our company. She's moving on to greener pastures starting next Monday. I've been super bummed about it so I'm pretending it's not going to happen. On Monday, I'll just chat with the card board cut-out I've had made of Kathy and act like nothing has changed. She doesn't know about this plan yet, but I'm pretty sure she'll be ok with it. Especially since she's had card board cut-outs of all of us made to bring with her to her new job. That's normal, right?

Last night I got thinking about the good times we've had with Kathy in our office - some of which I've shared with you here. Adventures such as:

The Kix cereal debate - this was the time Kathy brought a box of Kix cereal in which unexpectedly stirred up a lot of bad memories in Ann. Ann always hated the "Kid-tested, mother-approved" motto Kix cereal uses in its advertisements, claiming that it proves nothing and there is no evidence that the kids like it simply because they tested it. A lot of you weighed in. This was one of the more heated debates this blog has experienced.

Laffy Taffy joke readings - Kathy keeps a jar of candy on her desk which often has Laffy Taffy in it. For awhile there, we were all pretty into reading the jokes and trying to guess the answers, which was always an exercise in frustration. I still laugh when I read that post! Those jokes are the worst. And by the worst, I of course, mean the best.

Craigslists postings - the free table at work provides us with no end of entertainment. Somehow Kathy and I lucked out and ended up the proud owners of a toy version of the bug from A Bug's Life and a nursery clock (which is missing). Kathy tried to sell both of these things on Craiglist and shockingly, failed. Click on the link to read her craigslist posting.

The cheese challenge - this was the time Justin declared that cheese tastes good with everything. I challenged this of course, because I'm like that, and said, "what about in brownies!?" And he said it would still be good. So I made some brownies with cheese, and he ate them. Kathy hated the whole thing and says she's going to go gag whenever we talk about it. Which is why I'm bringing it up now. One last gag for old times sake.

There are so many other funny and good memories too, like the time we all went to town on the crunchy Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, devouring every last one in the vending machine during the peanut butter recall (throwing all caution to the wind). Or the time Justin and Kathy went through painful Volcano Taco withdrawals when Taco Bell stopped serving them for a time. Or the time Kathy became temporarily obsessed with Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers (or was that me?).

It is certainly not going to be the same in the office without Kathy. But every time I think of her, I'll slap on the Hannah Montana slap bracelet she gave me and eat a cheesy brownie in her honor. (That last part will never happen, but the first part will.) 

What are some things you do with your coworkers to pass the time?

Good luck, Kathy! If you come visit, we might let you in the building.

Happy Wednesday, all!

Flight of the Navigator II

Not Fred Savage.

One time years ago, I got into a debate with a friend over who the kid was in Flight of the Navigator. I was sure I was right, he was sure he was right. We went so far as to bet an ice cream cake on it. Needless to say, I ended up in Baskin Robins buying the cake of my friend's choice when it turned out it wasn't Fred Savage in Flight of the Navigator after all, but some impostor Fred Savage-look-alike-wannabe-phony.

Picture hair here and vote in the poll

This time though, I'm sure I'm right.

On Friday night I got into a debate with a different friend over what Nicole Kidman's natural hair color is. I said it was (insert correct color here) and he said it was (insert incorrect color here). We went back and forth on this the whole evening citing various movies to prove our points while simultaneously proving that we know very few Nicole Kidman movies.

I'm not going to try to sway you by telling you what I think. In fact, I will use this picture so there can be no claims of cheating. Anyway, our debate got so heated, I remember little else of The Interpreter (which, by the way, was an incredibly confusing movie).

We don't have any wager on this yet, but once I'm sure you guys are securely on my side, I might suggest one.  So how about you help me out here? Vote in the poll on the side or let me know in the comments what you think!

And while I have you here, I mailed a bunch of postcards off tonight but still have many more! If you want one, let me know.

Wish You Were Here

This post has two parts. Both are related to post cards in a general way, but that's the only thing they have in common. If the first part bores you, go ahead and skip to the second part. Okie dokie?

Part I
As a single person, there are some things you get used to doing by yourself. Luckily I've tricked a few unsuspecting people into being my friends so I don't really have to do too many things alone. Here's a list of things single people occasionally have to do alone, followed by either a yes or no, depending on if I'm willing to do them alone or not:

go out to eat - yes
go to the movies - no
go to parties - yes
go to weddings - yes
go on vacation - I'm not sure. And that's what brings me to my point...

I've never gone on a vacation by myself. Last year, my sister and her kids were over when I was getting ready to go to the airport to fly to Utah for vacation. My then five year old niece asked, "who are you going with?" when I said "no one," she said, "that's sad." I told her not to worry, that I was visiting friends in Utah and wouldn't be alone when I got there.

But what I'm talking about here is going on vacation to a place where you don't know anyone, and going by yourself. Have you done it? Could you do it? How was it?

There's a place I'd really like to visit, but I don't know anyone there and I don't think any of my friends want to go to this destination. I'm almost positive I couldn't go there by myself though because it's more fun to share the experiences with someone, isn't it? So I thought I'd throw that question out there for you all! What do you think?

Part II
This past week I've been doing some deep cleaning of my desk and bookshelves. This has included emptying drawers and bins and throwing some stuff away, shredding other stuff, and reorganizing the rest. Oddly enough, I've found a lot of unsent postcards. Some are from various vacation destinations, and some are Jack Handy "Deep Thoughts" cards.

As I was flipping through them, trying to decide what to do with them, I wondered if any of you would like to get one of them in the mail? I think you'll probably agree with me that non-bill mail is the best. I'm picking up a pack of postcard stamps on Monday. If you want a postcard, either tell me in the comments, or email me at misselizabethsblog (at) gmail.com, and include your address.

I'll send you a postcard of my choosing and I'll write you a little message. It's gonna be fun, trust me. (I'm pretty sure, anyway.)

Would You Rather

I know you're all busy elfing yourselves (a.k.a. making elf videos), but it's time to take a short break and answer this:

Would you rather:

 Be part of a flash mob (dancing or singing),

Things to consider:

No one ever saw it coming.

• It could be really embarrassing
• You might have to do the robot dance
• You could have to sing a solo
• You'd for sure be on youtube
• People would be taking videos of you with their phones
• It could be awesome (check out this link if you want to see a funny flash mob scene from Modern Family)

OR

Be a street performer for an afternoon? You could choose from: singing, playing guitar, spray painting yourself and standing like a statue, or being a mime.

Things to consider:



No way is this good for the pores.

• It could get cold. Or hot, depending on the season.
• You might see someone you know. (Oh yeah, did I mention you'd have to do it in the town where you live?)
• If you choose to be a statue, kids or crazies might poke you to prove you're not really a statue
• You might make a little extra money if you put out a tip jar
• Your tip jar might get stolen
• You could be on youtube depending on how good or bad you are.

 Which do you choose, and why?

Wednesday Thoughts

I feel my winter personality trying to creep in. In the winter I go into survival mode. It was dark all day yesterday. I wondered at one point how thick the clouds must be to keep us in semi darkness for a whole day.

Luckily my day wasn't all bad since I got to spend a wonderful evening with two dear friends I've known since high school, Sara and Sarah (that "h" makes their names totally different). We went to one of my favorite restaurants: Sidetrack. It's such a cozy place, with amazing food. Here are a couple pics I took last night:

When we were walking out, the wind whipped around us, chilling us to the bone. Sarah always defends winter to me and pointed out that we weren't dressed as warmly as we could have been, and that in January we'll think 30 degrees is warm. I guess she's right. But I still told them I'd see them in April. (I'm not actually going to hibernate this winter, I promise.)

During dinner we talked about some winter survival tactics. Both of them have better attitudes about winter than I do, and we made plans to go ice skating in Detroit, have snow shoeing lessons, and drink plenty of hot chocolate (though I complained about "hot chocolate belly" - that feeling that you've drunk a brick about five minutes after you're done with a mug of hot chocolate). Their good attitudes almost convinced me I can get through another Michigan winter.

I'm not a total winter pessimist though. As I've said before, there's something very romantic about winter. Those winter nights, when the sky is dark and the snow is coming lightly down. Those are my favorite nights to bundle up and go on walks. Then there's the winter mornings when the sun reflects off the snow and it honestly looks like the snow has been sprinkled with glitter the way it shines. And of course, it's nice to feel cozy inside when it's too nasty to venture out into the snow storms.

This morning I woke up and it was snowing outside. Big, fat, heavy flakes. I put my fleece on under my coat for added warmth, pulled my leg warmers up under my pants, dug my winter hat out of the bin, put my mittens and scarf on and went outside to face it. It's December now and I can no longer be in denial. But I'll try to make the best of it.

Happy Wednesday.