Mood:  down

**Editor's Note: Last night when I started this post, it was simply gray outside. As I finish it today, NYC got at least a foot of snowfall. As I trudged in to work, I had to slosh through the wet heavy stuff with the wind blowing flakes directly into my eyes. So, I'm now officially over with winter. --Kiki**  

If you’re like me, you’re absolutely sick of the winter—the below freezing temps, the black ice, the more than brisk winds, the grey and snowy days. ICK! It is wrecking havoc on my mood, on my children’s moods, and my cat’s moods. My cat is all cranky and keeps attacking my ankles. When I open the door, she cowers by the doorjamb in hopes of getting a whiff of spring but she runs into the house when the wind bristles her orange and brown fur. My daughters and I are out of craft ideas, and are sick of watching the same five episodes of Dora the Explorer and Handy Manny. They want to run outside with abandon without layering. (And personally, I do too. I just want to open the door and shout “to the park” with no other preparation than grabbing $3 for the Mr. Softee truck.)

Finally, there’s your beloved Moi with her skin as scaly as a dragon with eczema and the mood to match. All I want to do is crawl under my blankets, turn off the lights, and watch Lifetime movies all day until Easter Sunday. Luckily, a higher dose of antidepressants and active preschoolers keep me from that type of hibernation. So, I’ve found some alternatives. Hopefully, it will pull you through the final six weeks or so of winter.

Books:
If there is a budding artist, make-up or fine, inside of you, I suggest picking up a copy of Eye Candy by Linda Mason. The subtitle suggests that this book will give you 55 easy makeup looks for glam lids and luscious lashes. It does not disappoint! There is a cornucopia of bright, glittery, and colorful eye shadow designs that is more appropriate for a night on the stage than at work. If you’re feeling really bored and brave, try one of these outrageous styles and then go to the laundry mat!

Food:
Nothing says comfort food like mac-n-cheese and chicken soup. For a more modern and filling version of these old classics, let me suggest the hearty Campbell's Chunky Healthy Request Classic Chicken Noodle Soup which has chunks of chicken the size of a small die! Also, Kraft Easy Mac Macaroni and Cheese Dinner is better than the add milk original of the easy boxed mac-n-cheese.

Beauty:
You can also spend your cold days inside giving yourself at-home mani-pedis. With a $1 off coupon from the newspaper, I was able to get a new bottle of Revlon nail polish in the new shade Fuchsia Fever that

reads a hot pink in the bottle and on my nails. My tax refund allowed me to indulge a little bit, so I was also able to pick up my favorite quick dry solution—OPI’s Drip Dry that dries and hardens your manis in less than a minute! Finally, if you can spare the $7, you must invest in Sally Hansen’s JUST FEET Cracked Heel Repair Crème (which also works with dried-out hands).