November 1st. As in, almost Thanksgiving - almost Christmas - the year is basically over, November. Can you believe it? I love fall, and I love November (what? It's my birthday month!) but what I don't like is being cold.
Yes, I know. In the Spring I will bitterly complain that it is wet, the summer is too hot and humid, and here we are gearing up for 5 months of "OMG it's cold" in the blog world. Deal with it.
Although I live in Georgia and we haven't had any snow like up North, it has dipped below zero and started cooling down inside. As it is a new house, we are still playing around with the heat and how much we need. It's pretty energy efficient, so we don't need heating most days. Other days I NEED it. Badly.
To cut down on heating costs though, I try to do some other things to keep warm. Ready?
1. Hot Water Bottles. I don't know how big these are in America, but they are truly amazing. Mine is a stuffed dog (who may or may not be nicknamed Hot Toddy) who has a pouch inside for the bottle. I boil water before I go to bed, pour it inside, and snuggle with him all night long. Hubby only gets a little bit jealous.
2. Ginormous Hot Drinks: Normal mugs don't suffice. I find I cool down quickly with lots of cold water, so I drink a lot more tea during the day. Probably a good thing because my Diet Coke addiction is lessening. So what's better than a normal mug with tea? A freaking GIANT mug with tea.
3. Showering: I know, genius right? Hot water heats you up? What I'm referring to is showering right after a workout. When I run, I need to shower right away or I end up get chilled for a couple of hours. If you're sweaty, you'll cool down even faster, making it important to get clean and dry as quickly as possible.
4. Move: No, I don't mean like move to Hawaii. Although....that would obviously work. I mean get up and move around! Even a short walk will get your circulation going and help you stay warm.
You've humored me by reading the post - now you get to find out the winners for the Planet Gear Giveaway. Thanks to Random.org, the two winners are comment #20 and comment #8:
Congrats ladies! There are two prizes up for grabs: one $25 gift certificate for PlanetGear, and one pair of sunglasses. Whoever emails me first at gourmetrunnerblog@gmail.com can take their pick first!
What are your tips/tricks for staying warm in cold weather?
Aside from the above....wearing dozens of layers every second of the day. I'm always freezing at night, so I put on tons of clothes. The I get hot at night and consistently wake up naked in the morning. When sleeping next to hubby - no big deal. At a slumber party - AWKWARD. Just so awkward.
What temperature do you set your thermostat in the winter?
Serious dilemma. I think it tends to settle on about 68 degrees. I'm curious what the average "comfortable" temperature is for most people indoors!
Honestly we keep our house cold. My sisters complain every time they come over. 66 degrees in the magic number during the day and 63 at night when we sleep. In Wisconsin our energy bills get to high if I didn't keep it low.
ReplyDeleteAlso live in Georgia! Have to keep the house freezing from November - February in order to afford the air conditioning from March - October!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe keep the thermostat at 65, otherwise we go broke paying the oil company. My hot water bottle is a real dog named Bungee :).
ReplyDeleteSlippers or wool socks! I HAVE to keep my feet warm. I also keep blankets on the couch for snuggling up, and light candles! They may not actually emit any warmth, but they create a warm ambiance and fool me into feeling warmer. ;)
ReplyDeletehaha! Waking up naked at slumber party. To funny! I am so cold at night too and end up with tons of clothes on too! I find that the more weight I lose the colder I am. Makes me miss that built in heater .. ok I lie! ... I love your Hot Toddy and my birthday is this month too!!!! I of course and MUCH older and get to be a master after the 14th! YAY me! SIgh! Have a good day!
ReplyDeleteThat is the cutest water bottle! lol. i love fireplaces and snuggling under warm blankets and putting my clothes in the dryer before I put them on lol
ReplyDeleteI tend to run hot so I usually have the thermostat set at around 65? Anything getting close to 70 and I can't sleep.
ReplyDeletewell we did move to FL :) not that it was our choice. I haven't ever tried sleeping with a hot water bottle, but I love the idea! hot showers after my runs in the winter are soooo wonderful
ReplyDeletesounds like you got it all covered- the move thing is hilarious. One of the accounts I work with is the University of Minnesota- they ALWAYS complain how cold it is outside--- my response is always the same.... "you live in minnesota" haha
ReplyDeleteFor me personally if my neck is covered I'm warm, so I always have a scarf on when its cold outside or inside- does wonders
i am kinda jealous of your hot water bottle pup. i mean really that may be the most genius thing ever! warm drinks are a must. as well as lots of warm soup. i love fall foods! like homemade soups! yum!
ReplyDeleteDipped below zero already? Are you measuring in C or F? Haha.
ReplyDeleteI used to get cold all the time and then I got knocked up and now I'm hot all the time. I was the only one at the park today in short sleeves and flip flops, but 60 degrees isn't cold enough for the puffy vests I saw the other women wearing.
Congrats to your winners.
ReplyDeleteHot Toddy is adorable. And a great idea.
I wear slippers and sweaters and take them on and off all day as my body heat varies.
Yay!! So excited!
ReplyDeleteI love your hot water bottle cover ... mines tiger print ;-)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to your winners.
My tip is humungo tea mugs too - and snuggies...I have a blue one and spend my winter looking like a smurf, not to mention a smurf with leaoprd print slippers.
ReplyDeleteOur heater in our house is probably from 1804 and it sucks! I have to get a snuggle buddy for the winter (the fake kind!)...didn't even know they existed!
LOL Max strips overnight too. Hahaha.
ReplyDeleteI wear knee high socks around the house at night when it's cool!!
Has it really been below zero already?? That's insane! It's only gotten down into the 20s at night up here in Ohio so far.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time with the cold, too. My solution is to play our Wii whenever I get that chill I can't get rid of. Or go for a run, ha.
bwahaha I wasn't going to post b/c I didn't want to sound evil but I couldn't help it!
ReplyDeleteWhen it gets cold, I put on a long sleeve shirt. Or pants. Sometimes if we're really lucky and it gets below 70, I can rock my boots!
Or just turn off the fans in our apartment.
And I don't have a thermostat. We don't even have A/C.
=)
I am from the southern part north carolina, but moved to the mountains for college, and OH MY GOSH so cold. I am thrilled that this is my last winter up here. I don't think I could take another, I am just too much of a cold wimp.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite way to stay warm is to carry around hot coffee 24/7. This might explain my crippling caffeine addiction and hyperactivity.
However, I also share the tendency to get naked at night. I get really warm when I sleep, and it has always made for super awkward sleepovers.
Why does it always seem colder there than here? So weird! I LOVE the hot water bottle idea, I need to find one! I am always freezing when I get into bed. My plan is just put as many sweats on as I can and then cover myself in tons of blankets. Works like a charm. I need to find a way to incorporate this at work, though.
ReplyDeleteWait a minute....there is nothing about stripping at night in this post....I demand a stripper post.
ReplyDeleteI like it to be cold when I sleep. I usually wear warmer clothes in the house when it gets cold. I hate to turn on the heater at all since I usually get spoiled easily after that.
ReplyDeleteWe set our thermostat beween 65-68°.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you mean it's dipped below freezing and not below zero...right?!?! This year already??!
hot toddy just gave me an idea to hollow out a stuffed animal and do the same thing. :)
Please don't hate me when I say it's coming into summer here and I can't wait...
ReplyDeleteNot that our winter gets very cold at all but I am longing for the longer days of sunshine and going to the beach.
Wish I could send some of our warmth your way :)
I just e-mailed you! Thanks so much! Carrie probably already picked hers, but it doesn't really matter to me! I'm happy either way :)
ReplyDeleteI am always cold and wear layers to sleep. I don't really drink hot drinks but the shower works for me and lots of blankets! I need to get myself a Hot Toddy! He looks so cute and I don't think Dean would mind too much :)
Hot Toddy is a phenomenal idea -- Super cute, too! I wish I had known about his cozy lil self when I was freezing in 'Bama the last few winters!!! Actually the bf ended up getting me a soft/plush electric blanket that I LOVE -- and ended up saving us lots of money! haha!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Carrie & Christina -- stoked!!
I love tea for helping to keep warm in the winter as well and I totally agree that the only thing better than tea is "A freaking GIANT mug with tea." (this made me laugh)
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing worse than getting into a cold bed so I crank up the electric blanket and the whole bed is toasty warm when I jump in. Depending on how cold it is I either turn the blanket down to low or completely off.
I hate those little ear bud head phone things, they end up hurting my ears after a while so I went for the wear on the outside kind - they hook around your ears sort of like a hearing aid. Great job on your virtual 5k and I love how your treadmill has that lap thing on it, I would love to have that on mine, maybe next time :)
that is the cutest hot water bottle holder ever!!! luv it! for me, i'm all about the layers and HUGE, fuzzy warm socks.
ReplyDeleteand yay, i'm happy for the lovely christina in winning. :)
68 degrees sounds about right to me (although I had to do a temperature conversion because it is really 20 degrees C that works for me). Sometimes I turn it up a degree, but 20-21 celcius is about perfect for the winter.
ReplyDeleteHot drinks and fuzzy slippers are my ways of keeping warm in the winter.
Layers is my secret for staying warm - lots and lots of them on both the top and bottom. :)
ReplyDelete68* is our norm - though if it's one of those days I'm chilled through and through (and my husband isn't home) I'll bump it to 72* for an hour or so: ) Shhh, don't tell my husband! Ha
I do the layering thing. When it gets really cold, I wrap a scarf around my face until I get warmed up- then I tie it around my waste. I loved the tip over at Detroit Runner about duct taping over the mesh of your running shoes to keep your feet warm!
ReplyDeleteWe keep our thermostat at 68 during the winter.
Colin loves the cold and his argument is "we never got sick as children" and he is never sick....heat breeds bacteria. I HATE the cold. I love hawaii. and I love your doggie waterbottle :D
ReplyDeleteMy thermostat is set to 63 for the day and 65 at night. In the winter time i pile on layers of clothes. And alway always wear Socks or slippers.
ReplyDeleteDo you live in the mountains?
I love your tips! I totally drink a ton of warm water with lemon or herbal tea in the winter to keep warm. I'm on my second cup today already! Also, doing the dishes helps too :)
ReplyDeleteI bundle up with lots of layers during when I'm at home and cold. I probably wont turn our heater on for a few more weeks {most likely} since its still 70+ during the day and only 45ish at night here. I keep the thermostat at 64-48 depending on how cold it is outside. We also have a pellet stove that we use a lot in the winter to heat the main areas of our house {its very energy efficient, more so that our central heat}. We tend not to heat our bedrooms and often use a space heater if we need to warm-up a small room :)
I'm a big baby about the cold too, so I have to wear a ton of layers during the winter. The husband runs hotter than me, so I have to wear more to stay warm. I love the cozy bed though with tons of blankets. So toasty!
ReplyDeleteI drink a TON of herbal Tea during the cold months! I always found it difficult to get enough fluid but not anymore!
ReplyDeleteMy optimal temp is around 80 degrees:) I know, right?! It kills my husband.
I'm kind of jealous of your water bottle.
We use our fireplace usually and tend to keep the thermostat on the colder side. I cannot sleep if it's hot so I'd rather layer up with blankets and sweats than turn the heat on when we get home!!
ReplyDeleteWHAT?! something warm that you can snuggle?! i've never heard of hot water bottles but i need one NOW. i want a ZEBRA.
ReplyDeletemy old apartment used to have an electric fireplace... just a fireplace that you literally plug into the wall. it actually gave off heat! heaven.
Love it cold in my house. I even open the windows to sleep at night in the winter time. People comment about how cold it is at my house. And they think my bf is being too cheap to pay heating bills. Hahah. What a joke! There's nothing better than a cold cold room!
ReplyDeleteI love hot tea when it is cold. And gotto find you a huge THICK mug so your tea will stay hot for longer.
Congrats to the winners!
ReplyDeleteMy neighbor calls the large coffee mugs "coffee bowls" and apparently we all have several! I love the puppy with the hot water bottle!
Growing up in the Yukon aka the most northern part of Canada there is, we had hot water bottles and heated blankets... my favorite one plugged in and then had a thermostat you could control while you laid in bed. It was HEAVENLY.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Boston I had my beloved electric blanket. I would turn it on 20 minutes before getting into bed and it was always amazing. My other favorite thing is my slippers from LL Bean that are all fuzzy on the inside and wool socks.My feet are usually the biggest problem
ReplyDelete