Marrying the Navy: winter

Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Face Gunk

Help! My daily moisturizer and I are no longer on speaking terms. For years I've been loyal; never switching brands, never complaining, never doubting. But the time has come to make a clean break.

Here's what I've used since sophomore year of high school:I saw my mom use it when I was a kid, it's reasonably priced, it has SPF, and I like the smell. And until recently, it worked fine. I say recently, because until recently I lived in Wisconsin - land of the harsh bitter winters, where a dense facial moisturizer was as necessary in the winter as a scrapper for your frozen car windows and a rope tied between the barn and the farmhouse so you won't lose your way during the blizzard. I needed the Oil of Olay moisturizer because while it's liquidy, it doesn't mess around - my dry winter skin soaked up the stuff.

I now live in a place where it can be 50 degrees on January 18th, and you can actually see the moisture in the air when you look out the window. I don't need to drown my face in goop everyday in order to prevent my skin from flaking off. I need a daily moisturizer that's much lighter, still has some SPF, and won't give me zits. I'm also a cheapskate so it can't cost more than a DVD, and it has to smell good.

You've been given your mission readers - go forth and recommend your best face gunk!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

The Insanity Continues...

Snow Day Watch 2008

Day 5 - Anacortes School District Closed

So the grand total for the week - 2 late starts, three full days off, and one high school full of giddy kids who got to start their Christmas break nearly a week early.

Day 5 - Navy base closed (except for all essential personnel).

NavyGuy is not essential, however he will be going into base tomorrow to take his final test for this portion of training (because the alternative is going on vacation for two weeks, leaking all 97 missiles that he's memorized in the last month out of his ears, and then coming back to take the test in January).

For shame northwest Washington, for shame. You have lost all my respect. (And there are a lot of school teachers in Wisconsin who are ready to dump their snow right on your driveways.)

Snow Day Watch 2008

Day 4 - schools closed and base closed.

Still snowing. Still no real plows. A whopping 6-8 inches on the ground.

Wimps.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

How to Spend a Snow Day

In honor of our third snow day in a row (the Anacortes School District is the "Wild Rose" of Washington when it comes to calling off school), I propose the following appropriate snow day procedures...

1. Listen to the radio or watch local news. Discover the snow gods have smiled upon you, and you have a SNOW DAY!

2. If you've already showered and readied yourself for the day, return to your pajamas. If there's snow to be shoveled, get one pass at the driveway done so it's easier to deal with later in the day (bonus points if you're off school simply for the cold, because then you don't ever have to go outside!).

3. Acknowledge early on in the day that the eight free hours you have acquired are a bonus; anything you accomplish in that time is extra. It wouldn't have gotten done had you been at school or work that day, so if you get anything crossed off your list - you're golden! Choose one task that can be done (in pajamas) such as laundry, and gleefully check it off the list later in the day.

4. Plan a bowl of something warm and steamy for lunch. Soup, chili, stew, oatmeal - anything that you can eat curled up on the couch while watching mindless TV. If you're lucky, they'll be a marathon of America's Next Top Model on, and you can spend the afternoon debating whether Tyra really can smile with her eyes, or if she's just squinting weirdly.

5. Nap, glorious, nap. Snuggle up with a nice warm blanket, and snooze. Snooze away.

6. Find a good twenty minute window to sit and stare outside. Bonus points if the plow goes by and you can whine about how they push all the snow from the street up into your driveway.

7. Call everyone who has a "real" job and had to spend the day at work. Get their opinion on the Tyra situation, or just ask them how cold it is outside (since you haven't been out yet). Listen to their bitching for a few minutes to be polite, then say you have to go because the hot chocolate you're warming up on the stove is done.

8. Pull out the most enticing looking book you have in the pile on your nightstand. Assemble the following items: something to drink, a snacky food, glasses (if necessary). Head to your most comfy reading place and hunker down to disappear into whatever magical land your book holds.

9. Nap #2 for the day.

10. Watch the weather channel and assess your chances of having another snow day tomorrow!

(What constitutes a snow plow in Anacortes.)

Monday, December 15, 2008

Winter Food

Some foods, are only appropriate in the winter. They don't taste right unless there's a chill in the air and snow on the ground. Example #1 - chili.

As a kid, we used to have chili in these big gray bowls with handles, and my sister and I would spend time removing all (ALL) of the beans from the dish, before we'd even dare to put a spoonful in our mouths. On the side, we'd either have rye bread or oyster crackers. Now that I'm a grown-up making my own chili, I just leave the beans out and save myself the headache.

Tonight was chili night. We finally have snow here, so chili can be properly eaten. I make the Wisconsin version - with elbow macaroni - yum, yum, yum. NavyGuy ruined his with shredded cheese and sour cream, but he'll learn.

Other "winter-only" foods on my list? Hot chocolate and beef stew. Any foods you reserve for a specific time of year?