JC's Top 12 Winter Safety Tips!

Hi guys!

I noticed that some of you are getting snow and ice and freezing your butts off. Now that the novelty has worn off, you're probably really hating it. I bet you're wondering how we manage up here in Canada!

Welp. I want you to be safe and warm, so I put together a handy list of Winter Tips for you. I am nice.

1. If your kids are playing in the snow, check them often. Sometimes kids get stuck while burrowing in a snow fort. Danger!


2. Snow can be heavy, particularly if it has been ploughed into a pile. It's dangerous to burrow, because it might collapse on top of you, especially if children are playing on top.


3. If your car has been snowed in, clear the exhaust before you turn it on. Or the exhaust may back up into your car interior. The results can be deadly.


4. If you have to shovel snow, take it easy. The weight of snow can hurt your back and I've heard of people who have done a lot of digging sometimes have a heart episode the next day because of over straining. Shoveling snow can be strenuous exercise. Check this video out.


5. If you're walking down the street you should pay attention to icicles forming along the edges of roofs. Icicles have been known to fall onto the sidewalk below - a friend of mine was struck by one. It gave her some new ideas but she was not happy.


6. Ice storms can produce beautiful formations on trees and it's tempting to photograph them. But they can be heavy! Trees do shed heavy boughs covered in ice so please take care.


7. Driving: DO NOT use your car as a "coat". If you get stuck in the snow and have to walk to safety without a real coat, you'll be intensely cold. Also, keep a few blankets in your car....and a bucket. You never know.


8. Roads might not seem slippery, but ice can be invisible and patchy. This is known as "black ice" and it's a killer. Black ice and speed do not mix well. Brakes do not work on a slippery road. If you have to drive, you should reduce your speed. See Transport Canada for valuable winter driving safety tips.


9. Regular or "all season" tires can be pretty useless in snowy conditions. Especially true if the roads are neither cleared nor salted/sanded/graveled. Snow tires are essential for getting up and down hills. It's no fun at all to be that person spinning your wheels on a hill and going nowhere. The people behind you will honk at you.


10. We have these great things that I call "Crocodile Teeth", (which is a way better name than "folding steel traction aid", duh). If your car gets stuck, you put them under your wheel and the sharp teeth grip down into the surface so that your wheel can roll across the top. Totally great! But read the directions carefully: using these the wrong way can cause them to fling up into the air when the wheel spins. It can hit someone and really hurt them. And believe me, the last thing you want is to have to go to the ER when you're stuck in the snow.


11. Temperatures below -10°C can be dangerous if you're not dressed properly. In Montreal in can go down well below -24. This is seriously cold. Thermal underlayers are great for keeping warm and snow pants will keep you warmer too. You definitely need good mittens and warm, dry boots. Everything waterproof! Hats that cover your ears are best and a scarf to cover your face. I always tell my kids, "your nose doesn't grow back". Frostbite, frostnip and chilblains can happen! Read this.


12. Don't eat yellow snow.

BE CAREFUL. Have fun. Build a snowman. And repeat after me:

"Fuck is it cold!"

You're practically Canadian now.

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The Tipping Point.

It has finally come to this.

Things have shifted in my world, to the point where I'm looking at alternate ways of taking the edge off the grocery bill. I mean besides cutting out treats.

I don't blog for money. But that doesn't mean that money can't come from it. Like countless bloggers before me, I've often considered installing ads in my sidebar. Neil Kramer at Citizen of The Month bravely took the ads leap this week.

We all have different philosophies where ads-on-blogs are concerned. After eight years, it was a deeply personal decision for Neil.

The thought of compromising the look of my blog freaks me out; we're talking about Art Direction here, and my blog is my style. My brand, if you will. Most ads are ugly to me. Also, they're tailored for each viewer. Give up control of my visuals? My mouth just went dry. I can't even spit. I feel dizzy...and faint...I can't make a fist.

Here's an example, handily screen-capped from Dooce's sidebar (I rarely go there - why read Dooce when you can read Neil, right?):

No offense to Dooce, or Neil, but I don't want something like this on my blog. It matters not that you don't care, because I DO.

So unless I draw it myself, there will be no ads here. What about sponsored posts?

To me, art = love. Having spent decades in advertising as both an artist and a producer, I have a well-formed opinion on commercial art. It's sex for money, verses sex for love. At the end of the day, sex for money can be enjoyable AND lucrative. Theoretically then, I have no problem with it. But the theory falls apart when I think about the kind of products I'd get into bed with, so to speak.

I'm afflicted with responsible consumerism, so that narrows the field somewhat. Products I use already, and love, okay, but just try getting their attention.

Hi @AcanaDogFood! My dog loves you. Will you pay $ or dog food to put your brand name on one of these drawings? --> http://t.co/Kmj6IoZYcG
— The Animated Woman (@LittleAnimation) August 29, 2013

Hey @AcanaDogFood, throw me a bone! http://t.co/NFWl4Jdt1Y
— The Animated Woman (@LittleAnimation) August 29, 2013

@AcanaDogFood ...hello? Anyone there?
— The Animated Woman (@LittleAnimation) August 30, 2013

Before you diss me for approaching a brand directly on Twitter, remember that it did work for me before, here and here. Of course it helps if the brand are not brain-dead on social media. And one can't spend all one's time chasing after brands.

I have done reviews before but I don't really want to "review" a product for money. Reviews need real passion to drive them into a place that's interesting for a reader; I doubt I have the kind of writing talent required to pull that off if the product doesn't move me to love it or hate it.

And so we arrive at The Tipping Point.

Think of me, if you will, as a Street Performer; I dress up in a funny costume, bounce around the screen, make you laugh, make you cry, do a few backflips, and at the end, I pass the hat.

The amazing followers of Amanda Palmer ponder the difference between asking and begging. I think there is. So I'm asking; if you love my work as The Animated Woman, please feel free to approach The Tipping Point....and tip.

I won't perish without it, but it will be really fucking awesome if you do.

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