A weather "event?" What, like a gala or something?

     So here we are, east coast friends, once again on the cusp of a weather "event" that's going to bring cold and snow and ice and misery upon us. Oh well. I'm trying to make the best of it -- if nothing else it's a stellar opportunity to wear all my sweaters at once -- but I must admit I'm not looking forward to another round of winter weather. Mostly because, here at least, snow isn't a pretty winter wonderland thing where it's all fluffy light pretty snowdrifts and junk (I feel like that's a thing in Canada? I dunno, I've never been to Canadia-land. I'll ask a Mountie next time I meet one. Also, did you know that Mounties are actually totally badass? Like they'll chase you straight over the border into the States and shoot you down with a submachine gun if you try to flee after, I dunno, stealing a moose or whatever? Fun fact). Here it might be pretty snow for a couple hours, tops, but there's always a layer of gross slush and ice underneath that just makes it treacherous to try and get anywhere and mucks everything up with gray ice-goo.

Shit, weather.com, you ain't messin' around, huh?

     But the bright side of a weather mess like this is it's a great excuse to stay in bed bundled up like a burrito all day. Unless you have a job that won't be closed due to inclement weather and you have to trudge out there no matter what to keep society from falling into chaos -- like working for the power company, Dad -- in which case, sorry that you have to do that, but thanks for preventing the collapse of our nation's infrastructure, I guess! I work from home though, so here's how I'm getting ready to spend a few frosty days indoors. 

NEW INSULATING SHADES! 

     Hey look, a solution to all my complaining about how cold my room is! These replaced the room-darkening pull-down shades I had before, and it's a massive improvement. They keep my room noticeably warmer because they're honeycombed, so there's an extra layer of air pockets to keep warm air in and cold air out. It used to be that you could step across the threshold into my room and instantly feel the drop in temperature, like a ghost lived in here with me. Now it's much closer to the temperature of the rest of the house, and I can sit at my desk over by the window without fear of losing fingers to frostbite now! The added bonus is that they're not room-darkening, they're just "light-filtering." I consider this a plus because I don't like to wake up in a dark room, and my room faces west anyway, so it's not like the sun busts in here at dawn. I need the light to be able to come in and help me cobble together some semblance of the Circadian rhythm I seem to have been born without. With these shades I can keep them shut at night to prevent all the heat from getting sucked right out the windows without having to sacrifice the morning light. Yay! 

THE HEATED BLANKET THAT I PROFESS MY LOVE FOR EMBARRASSINGLY OFTEN!

When I first got this, I hooked it up that night and without my contacts in, I could swear it went up to 11, Spinal Tap style. I was crushed when I realized it just said H for "high" or "hot" or "hell yes" or whatever. 

     I know I talk about it more often than some people talk about their children, but I seriously think I have become a person for whom a heated blanket is a necessity. This could be because I have the cold tolerance levels of a 95 year old chihuahua, but whatever, it's amazing. There's nothing cozier than pre-heating your bed while you take a shower, then climbing in like a human hot-pocket to combat the after-shower-shivers (serious condition). 

THAT WORK THING I MENTIONED I DO!

     This weather event, be it snow/ice/raining men, will at least be productive for me because I just picked up two new books to edit, just in time to keep me from going crazy if I get stuck in the house! I've been editing a lot of research papers and citation lists lately, which is still fun because I get to learn about things I otherwise wouldn't (and even citations can be kind of fun because it's basically just rearranging and formatting things according to a set of prescribed, if somewhat arbitrary, rules, which is supremely satisfying to anyone with a slightly compulsive personality), but I always get extra excited about editing stories. I mean, getting to read books for a living is kind of a dream gig, yeah? 

     I hope if you're in an impacted area you're all keeping warm and entertained however you so choose, be it working, catching up on a month's worth of missed sleep, or marathoning all the Harry Potter movies!