Not just good, but great little escapes

As a person living with a chronic illness that is especially troublesome during the winter months, in the freezer section of the grocery store, or anywhere inside or out where the temperatures are below the mid-70s (I'm talking to you restaurants where I need to dine with my coat on!), finding a warm and cozy escape is essential to my health and well-being.

Luckily, I do not have to look very far for such places because I can find them in my home, and that's all good, no?

2. A warm bath with lots of lovely-scented bubbles. Enough said.

3. A cozy bed with my electric blanket, down comforter, and T by my side. (Well, it's better when he doesn't disrupt my sleep by taking over the bed and all the covers, too!)

1. A snuggly sofa with T, the kids, and me under my fleece blanket all cuddled up watching our favorite TV shows or movies. (This is best when the kids refrain from wiggling or talking in squeaky stuffed animal voices and there is actually something worth watching!)

A warm bath with bubbles, a cozy bed, and snuggling with my family - three great ways to escape the cold. What are yours?

Warm and Toasty!

The temps are a droppin' here in the Midwest leading us into what most people call winter, but what I call my worst time of the year. Sure, I like watching the snow fall, drinking hot cocoa, snuggling under a warm blanket and all that, but cold weather makes the harsh symptoms of my illness flare up big time.

Therefore, it's very important for me to keep my body, especially my hands and feet, as warm as possible during the long cold winter months. Because moving to a warmer climate is out of the question at this time, I need to rely on good things that will keep me warm and toasty. Here are three of my favorites:

2. Our electric blanket. My parents gave this to us as a gift a few years ago. It has controls on each side so I can crank mine up to high, while T keeps his turned to low or off. When our furnace went out during the night one time, I didn't even notice because I was snug as a bug under . . . my blanket. No doubt with my fleece jammies and socks on, too.

3. Heated seats. I do not drive a fancy car. It's a 2005 Subaru Outback (for the very outdoor-sy person hiding inside me - go ahead and laugh all of you who know me well) Besides not being a mini-van and having an awesome turning radius, it has heated seats up front. Yep, those darn kids just have to freeze their little bums off in the back 'til the car warms up, while I do not.

1. Gloves and mittens. I have a wide variety of warm gloves and mittens - some are small and stretchy, some are thick and woolly. I have a new favorite pair given to me recently by my good friend Barb. They are soft and knitted in pretty shades of aqua. They are my indoor gloves because they are fingerless, which is great for me when I'm typing on my computer or texting.


*Bonus good thing: My Uggs - My mom gave them to me for my birthday last year. Some say they are ugly, but I don't care. They keep my feet and toes warm and toasty, too!