Still vacation until I go to work pt. 1

For the last few years, I have taken advantage of the fantastic sales at the beginning of the new year by wandering around Newbury St and the Copley Mall here in Boston. Previously, I have scored finds such as Lucky Jeans, silver pendants, and blazers from Lord & Taylor. 2011 might have been my best year yet.

For months now, I have coveted a pair of Hunter rain boots (and fleece liners) more than any pair of heels. The brand's reputation is fantastic, quality superb, and I have yet to hear of a bad review from a friend.

Normally these rain boots are priced at $120.00. Not the most expensive shoes in the world, but I do have a hard time justifying that price to a simple galosh. I have spent many hours searching the web for a sale on these boots and have yet to find a deal.

Fortunately for me, I decided to walk up Bolyston on the way to the Copley Mall today. A new branch of the Tannery has popped up near the gardens and I noticed a big 50% off sign. I figured there was no harm in taking a quick look-ee-loo. As soon as I walked in there was a pair of bright blue Hunter boots with a big ol' 50% orange dot on them. When I went to get a closer look, the sales guy let me know that he was sorry because they only had one size 7 (the ones in my hand) and some 11s. Well, that is perfect for me and my teeny feet. I quickly tried them, checked out some fleece liners and was out of the store $90 poorer by 100 times happier.

Winter Fashion Isn't Going Anywhere AnytimeSoon

Punxsutawney Phil has spoken. Or at least his shadow has. Turns out there will be six more weeks of winter. This probably takes no one by surprise given the freezing cold temperatures we have been have up here in New England the snow that has caused the Carolinas to go into panic.

The only bright side that I can think of is that this gives me a chance to try out the whole legging look. I know I have always said leggings do not equal pants, but leggings are getting thicker and remind me of those glorious days in the 80s where I rocked the stirrup pants.

A (Hot Pink) Tights Under the Pants Kind of Day

Brrrrr!!! Did Mother Nature forget to pay the heat bill? We just went to high 40s to, well, this

At dinner last night my friends and I watched the crazy white happen from the comfort of our table at Cactus Club and realized that we had been lulled into a false sense that winter was behind us. Unanimously we agreed that getting dress for Friday morning would require the oldest trick in the New England Winter Clothing book. Tights under the pants.

The way I see it is if I have to deal with dreary winter weather, I might as well spice things up by wearing tights with attitude. Knowing my legs were covered in a hot pink material definitely helped to brighten my morning as I walked to the bus stop. In all reality, I do try to wear something brightly colored on a daily basis - more often than not, it is a layered item that no one can really see. Just knowing something is bright and cheerful on my body when the winds are 25 mph and the temperature is in the low 20s makes summer seem that much closer.

Hiss, hiss, whooooooooosh

I thought I would be out cold last night because I was pretty sleep deprived this week. But, instead I was tossing around. I felt like maybe it was too hot, but that didn't make sense because it was pretty chilly last night. Right around the time my alarm was about to go off, I could hear this hiss hiss whoooooooosh noise. I thought maybe the water pipes were being loud. Sometimes I can hear it traveling up to the floor above me.

Nope, that was when I realized it was warm in my bedroom. The heat was on.

I have radiators in my apartment and heat is included in my rent. Last week I was panicking that I didn't have a thermostat but learned that I have little dials on each radiator that are used to control heat. I must have spun the one in my bedroom a bit because heat was pouring out.

Lesson learned. Don't touch the dials because the heat is now ready to roll. Second, if I am going to touch it, be careful because the dial gets a little warm...

Brrrrrr.

Totally freezing here. I wore a sweater on Wednesday! A Sweater!!! I barely wear sweaters in the dead of winter and I pulled one out two days ago. Please understand I did buy this sweater from U.O. on clearance in July. It is super comfy. I totally enjoyed wearing it. But I was beyond bummed to have had to resort to wearing it so early on. This weather reminds me of freshman year of college where it snowed before Halloween! Eeeeep speaking of Halloween, what in the world will my costume be this year???

East Coast West Coast Weather Rodents

Today is Groundhog's Day and there seems to be some debate on the validity of the groundhog...

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow which means six more weeks of winter.

Staten Island Chuck disagrees and says that spring is around the corner.

But the tie was broken by Chriki the Hedgehog from Oregan when she agreed with Phil.

Out of the three I'm siding with the New Yorker. I would really like the winter to end soon...

Umbrellas are not just for Rain

The mbta trip finder informs me that if I wanted to take public transportation from my orange house to my 70s inspired office building it would take about 27 minutes. Of this 27 minute trip, 21 of them involve walking to and from various bus stops. This is not exactly worth having to wake up earlier than I currently am -- currently walking takes me about 15 minutes.

Anyway, I have found that winter weather walking is made bearable by two extra accessories: the second scarf and the umbrella.

The second scarf does wonders with the wind. First, a hippie scarf is worn close to the neck for instant warmth and help to my need for having at least two layers on each and every part of my body. Second, a knit scarf is wrapped around to help keep the hood of my coat up and to fight against the cool wind.

More importantly let us focus on the umbrella. The umbrella helps while walking through a snowglobe snow storm. Snow often blows right into your face which makes you constantly blink or if you are wearing glasses cause everything to get blurry and hard to see...it just causes the walk to become miserable. The constant pelting of snow in the face helps remind me that the world is getting covered in snow -- and not pretty snow, snow that is going to make driving miserable, snow that is going to sit on the sidewalk forever because people don't feel like shoveling their portion of the sidewalk, snow that is going to turn yellow or black in a few days making the world dirty...yeah snow in the face while walking to work at 8:30 sucks. The umbrella keeps those flakes a healthy distance from my face allowing for me to view the snow fall from just enough of a distance that I can pretend it's not really here...

So don't be afraid of usin the umbrella in the snow...at first I thought it was weird, now I rarely leave home without one...but then again, it was this kind of reasoning that began my addition to sunglasses. so maybe, for your own sanity you do want to just forget everything that i mentioned above. :)

My iPod had a Heart Attack

Honestly, it did. I was walking to my morning meeting in the square and all of a sudden my iPod just stopped. It had more than a 75% charge still in it, so there was no way it just burned through its battery. I tried turning it back on, thinking maybe some how i banged it in my pocket. The little guy tried so hard, but just a flash of the apple would show up nothing more. At this point I am freaking. I use that thing every day, what was I going to do... I didn't want its potential death to distract me from my upcoming interview so I needed a diagnosis and I needed one stat!!

As a side note I feel like I should let you know I am currently reading Well Enough Alone which is a memoir of a woman who is a hypochondriac, so my disease radar is way WAY up. And apparently it allows for me to attribute human disease to inanimate objects, go figure.

Back to the story --- Due to my inability to be late to anything, I was 30 minutes early for my meeting. I did have my iPod charger with me, as I had used it at the office the other day and had not emptied out my bag since. Once I was in the building, I found an outlet in the hallway that was slightly hidden behind a fake tree (I'm relatively certain it was fake) and figured giving the iPod a power boost was really the only thing I could do. Once he was plugged in, there was a click or two and he awoke! He just needed a pick me up. I don't know if it was too cold or what, but I have never had to jump start my iPod before, and now I am very concerned for his well being. Let's hope he can pull through this ordeal and keep me moving.

Walking in a Snow Globe

Walking is by far my preferred method of getting around out here, and is how I commute to work every day, get to friends houses, kickball games, bars, jazzfunk, etc. With the snow falling as consistently as it has this weekend, being a pedestrian has become quite risky. I am not going to even broach the topic of Massachusetts drivers in the winter, or God help me the plow men. (Last year i was almost hit by a plow...we are talking inches between me and that gigantic yellow monster) What I am simply going to address is my method of staying on my feet and off my ass.

Over the course of the last 7 or so years I have perfected my technique of successfully staying upright while moving over snow covered sidewalks. Four Worcester winters provided me with the practicals needed to increase my ability to survive slippery steps and slush covered hills.

In my opinion, the key to keeping from landing on one's ass is that one must take small controlled steps. If you're doing it right you will begin to "feel the burn" in the hip flexer area. (I use this muscular reaction as an reason for why I shouldn't need to feel guilty for staying away from the gym...we don't need to discuss the fact that I probably shouldn't get as much of a work out as i do from walking in the snow) I'm not sure why a smaller gait is better, but i feel like it has to do with the fact that your feet stay under your center of gravity more.

Since my steps are smaller they become quicker and I have been informed that I kind of look like a cartoon character that is zipping along the roads. Personally, I feel like I look more penquin-esk. I mean not only do I waddle while doing this, but my arms are always slightly away from the body in an attempt to keep me balanced. The arms come out a bit more when things look a little more icy, subconsciously they must be the equivlent of a tightrope-walker's pole.

The most amusing part of my winter walking has to be when I have to adjust my movement to allow for me to turn up a side street. Not only do my steps become absolutely minuscule and lightening fast, but my arms fly out to become almost parallel to the ground. The best place to see this action occur is to see me try and turn down Gorham Street near Davis Square, I have been told it is ridiculous.

For additional resources regarding this topic, you may wish to refer to the Globe. I enjoyed that they point out that part of a penguin's success to staying up is because of a huge claw that is on the bottom of their foot. Is the reporting hoping that I attach a nail to the bottom of my boot? Just wondering what the point of that comment is...maybe its to remind me that no matter how careful I am I will most likely end up sprawling out on the sidewalk at somepoint into a bush. I'm thinking that yak trax may be a better option...

is it cold? let's count the layers

One easy way to figure out just how cold it is out there is to simply look in one's hamper to determine how many pieces of clothing are worn each day...for instance, let's just look at what I've worn these last two days

Thursday:
1. regular undergarments
2. tights under jeans
3. long three-quarter sweater
4. long cardigan
5. fleece lined hoodie (hoodie up)
6. scarf wrapped once, long wool coat (hood up), scarf continued to wrap again
7. regular socks, extra fuzzy socks, faux-fur lined boots
12 items of clothing

Friday:
1. regular undergarments
2. tights under jeans
3. tank top
4. sweater
5. hippie scarf
6. fleece lined hoodie (hoodie up)
7. scarf wrapped once, long wool coat (hood up), scarf continued to wrap again
8. regular socks, faux-fur lined boots
12 items of clothing

So yes, in two days there have been 24 pieces of clothing on my person. I would also like to bring attention that I think I have found a new pro to wearing butt-underwear. Butt-underwear has been discussed in my kitchen many-a-times, it's pros and cons, my love of it, etc. But honestly I feel like today I was just warmer.