My (frozen) Texan blood.

It is COLD in Boston today.

Since we went to bed at 10 last night, I actually woke up/got up without fighting the alarm this morning and had enough time to turn on the local news, which turned out to be a very good thing because HELLO, 30 DEGREES when we left this morning. I kid you not, my Southern blood was frozen. Bundled up or not, it's still a shock to step outside on the first really chilly day and wait for the dreaded realization that you can officially not expect to be warm, outside of your car or house, again for the next four months, at the very least.

By the time I'd done all of my commuting from the car to the train to the shuttle to my building, I truly could not feel my toes. On top of the frozen, I got a pedicure Saturday afternoon and chose this as my color:


So my pale, pale footsies were looking mighty scary, in contrast with this purpley color (which actually looks almost black on the aforementioned pale, pale feet). It took me a good hour to shake the chill and warm up a bit.

Now, I can't really complain. If you gave me the option of living in a desert or a tundra forever, I'd choose the tundra, hands down, for the following reasons:

My hair manages the cold much better than the heat and humidity.
My body looks much better in jeans and sweaters and long sleeve tops than shorts and tank tops (hello again to the paleness).
Holiday socks are one of my top five favorite things ever, and 4th of July socks don't look nearly as cute as turkeys and Christmas trees.
It is so much more cozy and comfy to come home at the end of the day and change into warm relaxing clothes, versus the shorts and tshirts that I resort to in the summer months.
I am pale and my skin does not like the sun. I am not a fan of sweating/"glowing" simply by walking out of my front door. I spent the first 21 years of my life in Texas proving these points.

On the bright side of cold, the (someday) homemaker in me comes out. My downtime at work is spent scouring food websites for stick-to-our-bones soups and casseroles and pasta dishes... which means my gym time increases as well. The crafty person inside of me that likes to hide away in the warmer months suddenly appears, proposing such lofty ambitions like baking cinnamon rolls for my mom's entire department, handmaking Christmas ornaments for friends, finding decoration ideas and turning myself into Miss DIY. My Christmas card list has been turned into an Excel spreadsheet, and my own wish list, as well as my list of gifts for the people that I will buy for, is in full force.

Come springtime, I'll be exhausted-- I have no doubt in my mind about that. Until then, I'll bundle up in my sweaters and jeans and boots and scarves and love the cold while it's here.

Going along with my need to cook as if we're never going to eat again, supper tonight is Paula Deen's Goulash (majorly modified for both healthyness and servings) and Cheddar-Garlic Biscuits (major love already, and it's only 1:30). If I can remember, I'll try to post pictures-- my goal is to someday keep a food blog, just as soon as I have a better camera... and a camera cord... and a computer whose USB ports actually like to recognize what's plugged in.

I also have tons of pictures from the past couple of weeks but am currently on the hunt for my camera cord. As soon as I find it, the pictures will be up! I also have tales from our birthday/Halloween weekend, so I'll hopefully get that posted tonight.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with two pictures off of my phone:

The "BOO" idea that I found at The Garner Family blog! The letters have been finished for a couple of weeks but I finally hung them up Friday afternoon. Ah, well-- better late than never!

And Brian's Heath Bar Birthday Trifle. This thing almost did me in yesterday afternoon, but it turned out to be ridiculously good (if I do say so myself) and SO stinkin' rich. Birthday Boy approved!


Happy Monday, y'all!