Wednesday, February 20, 2008

A Cold Quickie


Above: The view out my back door. I don't think from this picture you can fully appreciate JUST HOW AWFUL OUTSIDE IT IS.
In case you live outside of MN and were curious as to just how cold it gets here, let me clue you in. Today, at 10 AM, it is -8 degrees Fahrenheit with a “Real Feel” of -22 degrees Fahrenheit.

No, that’s not a typo. It is 8 FRIGGIN’ DEGREES BELOW ZERO OUTSIDE. So you may ask yourself, “why oh why, Cheap Chick, do you live in such frigid climes?”

Good question.

One reason (which my Ma reminded me of just last week when I was sniveling about how cold I was) is that there are less bugs in the Northern states. I know, I know, insert mosquito joke here. But think about it – which place has more nasty bugs that want to kill you, Minnesota or the Amazon jungle? Or, Florida? Or, the desert states, like Nevada? I can put up with mosquitoes, but scorpions and tarantulas and (UGH) earwigs????? Um, no.

The other, more thrifty reason is our taxes. I know we pay higher income tax and property tax and everything, but hey! We pay no sales tax on food or clothing! Let me repeat that for you non-Minnesotans. WE PAY NO TAX ON CLOTHES. HAH! Nyah-nyah! Sorry, I’ll stop that now.

So when I go to a store and find an article of clothing for $19.99, I know when I pay for it, it will remain just $19.99 – not turn into $20-something and some-odd cents. Same for shoes. And this almost, ALMOST, makes up for the fact that it’s so cold out, it physically hurts.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...


Thanks for the tip on everydaypeopleclothing.com. Best place to sell? Friday morning, I can’t wait, ...the money is already spent.

My tip: Grab that $10 coupon from restaurant.com and take that 1st date to Al Vente, ...review both! Show us where to find the $129 rt to JFK and the fabulous $99 W. Village Hotel. Find that $12 bottle of Enciro at Trader Joe’s for $4. Dining, nightlife, art scene, travel, free on line classes. etc. etc... Yesterday’s column was a good start, but give it up Carrie Bradshaw, we want it all.

You are a great writer and you need a stunning web site. If you don’t have a top flight designer, volunteer yourself for an MCAD student project. You’ve been noticed by the media, now show us all the complete Cheap Chick lifestyle and prolong your 15 minutes of fame. You are single, sensational, ... and most importantly nonfictional! -CC is the new CB.

Anonymous said...

Seriously-right now I'd cheerfully pay that extra couple of bucks for taxes if it meant we were even 40 degrees warmer. Sheesh!

Tiff said...

Love you Byerly' link for your cheap deal. I love Byerly's....one of my favorite stores ever!

Anonymous said...

I can feel how cold it is. Brrr.

I've lived in Arizona and Florida, and the bugs are insane. That's one huge perk to living here in MN. In Arizona, the spiders and scorpions and earwigs scared the beejesus out of me. In Florida (Miami), I had a cockroach living with me that was so huge, I gave him a name. Everyone has cockroaches there. I thought the ones in AZ were ridiculous, and then I went to FL. Dang.

When I go to Hawaii I'll let you know how the rainforest insects compare.

Anonymous said...

Hey there famous person! I have a deal with El Jefe that as soon as the youngest flees the nest we are relocating (at least half the year) someplace warm. I know people make fun of snowbirds, but there is a REASON we leave MN in Jan/Feb. to go on vacation.

My hives had hives this morning, it was so cold. And you have a lovely view out your window. Beats mine.

Marti said...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/02/11/minnesota.cold.ap/index.html

I'm not trying to be all "colder than thou," but I thought I'd give you a little something to think about the next time you get a lttle chilly! :o) Perspective and all that jazz...

On Feb. 12 we had a record breaking standing air temp of -40! Thank goodness it wasn't windy that day! :oP At the end of January, we had days where it felt -51 and my kindergartener and I were still outside waiting for the bus! You know that little boy on "A Christmas Story," right? The one all bundled up in the snowsuit? Well, that's what we looked like... so bundled that we had to waddle to the bus stop! Ha, ha!! What I wouldn't give for a nice, warm, cozy 8 below! :oP

Anyway, I love what you're doing! I can't wait for my next trip to the Cities so that I can check out all of the stores you've mentioned. Keep up the great work... and stay warm! :o)

The Cheap Chick said...

Marti, move South. We'd welcome you with open, and less frozen, arms!

Anonymous said...

You’re darn tootin’ it gets cold way up here in Minnesota! So can I count on you to bring your famous peanut butter bars to the hotdish party then?

Sorry I gotta go. I’m up at the cabin, and funny thing ya know, I thought I just heard the wood chipper start up down by the lake.