The Friday Five: Polar Edition

Holy woolen undies, blogfriends! It is very cold here today. I've even braved the outdoors--had a fax to send, a plunger to purchase (it worked, yaaay!), and a mom who needed a few minutes' break from my niece and middle nephew. Yup, Mom got a break and I got a running commentary while watching a video the kids refer to as "Busytown." My parents probably could kiss whoever talked them into getting FiOsTV with all its very useful free children's videos.

I still need to warm up, though--so here are five ways to feel warm on a very cold day. (Sorry if cold days are foreign to those readers in more temperate places!)

1. Make hot chocolate. If I could drink milk, most likely I'd drink this. Instead, I make this on the stove.

2. Take a nap. Hey, it's conserving energy, and you get a blanket out of the deal. If I were to ask the cat (an expert on naps), she'd say you also need #3, which is. . .

3. Know the warm places to hang out. She does at our place:

Right next to the baseboards. She's sleeping there as I type.

On the counter over the dishwasher, after it has finished running.

That is a recent discovery for her. The heat is just from the hot water, because I don't use the heated dry cycle. You will notice she's not directly on the counter--there's a towel, in case anybody was feeling a little squeamish.


4. Turn on the oven and bake a little something. A few nights ago, I made a sweet & spicy nut recipe--mine's from a school recipe book, but it's fairly similar to this one. (I'll e-mail the one I use, upon request.) The bonus thing I learned from my mom is that once you take your pans out of the oven, you leave the door open a little bit and enjoy the leftover heat.


5. Pile on the warm clothes, especially if you're going outside. But do choose them carefully, or people will waste time on the internet debating what you've got on your head.


Speaking of turning on the oven, I'm off to make some dinner. It has been a very interesting day (and not just because it involved a plunger). My degree arrived today! (And there's your payoff for reading all of the Friday Five.) I can't wait to make up announcements/New Year's cards.

Wishing you a warm, wonderful weekend.