I’m Over Winter

This Polar Vortex thing sucks.

I’ve always been of the mind that I hate the cold, unless it comes with snow. Because snow is pretty.

But now…

I’m done with snow.
I’m done with winter.
I’m done with ice.

And I’m very much done with that pit in my stomach that develops whenever I have to open each month’s heating bill.

Last night we had a mixture of snow, freezing rain and ice dropped on us. Actually, I’m pretty sure freezing rain and ice are the same thing so it’s possible that the weather forecasters are just messing with us now.

Anyways, I woke up this morning to go to work and when I went to let Ollie out I found that the world had turned into a sheet of ice. Luckily I have an awesome boss who responds to 6am texts and gives me permission to work from home on yucky days. Since I no longer had an hour drive into work, I went back to bed for an hour.

I couldn’t go back to sleep though. Every time I would relax into being the big spoon to Ollie’s little spoon, I would hear the sounds of branches breaking. Every 20 minutes or so, the silence was split with a huge CRACK and a flurry of commotion.

I have a lot of pine trees in my yard and I don’t think that any were untouched. They look sad. Their limbs are weighed down with the ice and drooping towards the ground. Every so often, another one gives up and a huge tree branch snaps and falls to the ground. One of my depressed trees looks strangely like a huge mushroom.

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So yes, I’m done with winter. It’s no longer exciting and fun.
Even if I do have a weird mushroom tree.

 

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De-Lurking Fun: Who Are You?

I’ve been writing this blog for almost three years now and one of my favorite parts of blogging is when I get an email from a reader that has been reading for a while and wants to say “hi.”

I LOVE getting the random “hi” and it totally brightens my day!

Last week on Facebook I asked everyone to let me know where they live and 16 states were represented, along with Canada and New Zealand. Which is kind of AWESOME!

So now it’s your turn… I invite you to de-lurk! Whether you’ve commented before or if it’s your very first time, take a minute and leave me a message below!

To make it fun, here are some questions you can answer:

  • Where are you?
  • What do you do for a living?
  • Which celebrity would you totally makeout with if you had the chance?
  • What food can you just NOT resist?
  • What is your current ROCK OUT jam?

Thank you for reading and thank you so much for saying “hi!”

HUGS for everyone!

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5 Favs Friday: Winter Weather Helpers

Did you know that more people click through to read posts that have a number in their titles? I read that somewhere, so I decided to try it for myself.

Actually, I don’t even know if that’s true or if I made it up in my head one day and decided that it sounded like a real fact. Or maybe I just read that little tidbit in about 8,903 blog posts about how to get more people to come visit your blog. Which is kind of DUMB because they manipulated me into coming to THEIR blog by posting about how to catch my own people…

Anyways, back to the point.
Winter sucks.

Everyone is complaining about how incredibly cold it is this winter and every part of me feels the wrath of the cold. Dry skin, hair full of static, a heating bill that makes me piddle my pants a little… all things that cause me to click over to cruise websites and stare at them with longing.

You’re having winter hate fantasies too, right?

So I figured I’d share the 5 things that are helping my body survive the winter:

5 Favs Friday- Winter Weather Helpers

Please note: While this blog post is not sponsored by anyone and is truly just a list of my absolute favorite products, there are Amazon Affiliate links in this post. So if you decided to click through to Amazon to purchase any item I’ve linked, I will make a tiny commission on that sale. Commission money goes towards running this site and keeping my marshmallow cabinet stocked. However, THAT is not why I am writing this post. Just wanted to make sure we are clear!

#1. Lip Saver eos Sweet Mint Organic Lip Balm Sphere: $5 – 6
I have a confession to make… I’ve been a Chapstick girl for probably 30 years. THIRTY years of blind devotion to Chapstick. And not just ANY Chapstick… I only liked the medicated menthol version that made my lips a little tingly like I just kissed my husband for the first time. Although I’ve certainly bought lots of other kinds of lip balm, gloss, goop and sticks, I would ALWAYS have a tube of good ol’ Chapstick on me. ALWAYS. So imagine my surprised when I purchased an EOS lip balm on a whim and it suddenly became my go-to lip slicker. I started with the sweet mint and branched out to the Honeysuckle Honeydew when I got one for Christmas. They are creamy and tasty and keep my winter ravaged lips nice and kissable all day long. LOVE them!

#2. Skin Saver Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula with Vitamin E, 13.5 fl oz (400 ml): $5.19
I’ve talked about my love for this lotion before and even though I literally have a bin of various lotions living in my linen closet, this one is the best. The BEST! I get super dry skin in the winter (and just normally dry skin the rest of the year) and this is the ONLY lotion that can bring me back from looking like The Thing in just one application. Oh yeah, and it smells so good that my dog immediately comes over to lick my leg when I’m smoothing it on. Which I guess could be an added benefit if you like dog slobber.

#3. Hand Saver O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Cream, 3.4 oz.:$6.99
This is a recent purchase that I made earlier this year and it has CHANGED MY LIFE. I somehow don’t have the gene that reminds me to put gloves on when going outside, so within a minute or two of winter beginning my hands get super dry. THAT quick. My knuckles get red and sore, and a papercut seems to last for 4 weeks. While at Joann’s one day I saw this little green tub and picked it up on a whim, thinking it would be good for my husband to try (his hands are 17 times worse than mine). I used it that night and it was like Hermione fixed them up with her wand… they were smooth like a baby’s bottom. And I have a baby, so I know how smooth those booty’s really are.  Ever since, I’ve been recommending this hand cream to everyone I know. I thought it was kind of expensive when I bought it, but the Amazon price is much cheaper!

#4. Hair Saver Pantene Pro-V Expert Collection Advanced Keratin Repair Conditioner 8.4 Fl Oz:$7.97
My hair is long, it has been dyed more times that I can even count and I don’t get the chance to get it cut very often. However, every time I do stop by for a shearing my stylist is amazed at how healthy it is. I pretend that I use those $30 conditioners that they sell at the salon, but in reality I’ve been using this one from Pantene for YEARS. I slather it on my hair while in the shower and let it sit for a couple minutes and it does WONDERS for making my hair healthy, soft and shiny. I usually buy mine at Target or the grocery store.

 #5. Face Saver Origins A Perfect World SPF25: $41.00
Yes, $41 is a lot to pay for face moisturizer when you can pick some up at Target for less than $10. However, I truly believe when it comes to face lotion that you get what you pay for. This is touted as being an “age-defense moisturizer with White Tea” and has a built-in SPF 25. I’ve been using this for years and swear that some fine lines that I was growing are GONE. Also, this is one of those products where a little truly does go a long way and one jar will last me about a year with a daily application. The best part is, with other face lotions I’d have to put something heavier on some parts of my face that tend to get dry and flaky in the winter, but with this lotion I can use it year-round and it’s PERFECT. So yeah, obliterating fine lines + SPF + keeping my face soft = totally worth the price for me.

There you go, my top 5 fav’s for winter. Are any of these items on your favorites list? Do you have something not listed that you think I should check out? Tell me in the comments!

Disclosure: Pocketful of Joules is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

 

 

 

 

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