Ok so as many of you know i am from hawaii and have never seen a real true winter xD

I would like some pointers for when i go to work and the dogs are home alone.. im so paranoid to leave the heater on etc..

And i know to layer... but yeah HELP.. lol i have NO IDEA what to expect!

Thermal blankets and moisturizer!! Lol, don't know what I would do without the blankets and the cold weather always makes my skin dry/crack :/

As for the dogs, though.. you could buy them some sweaters and/or make them some warm beds. There are heated pet pads that are generally more safer than leaving a running heater on while you're away. I used them for my pups last winter and they worked really well! I would buy one or two (depending on how many dogs you have) and put them in the warmest room of your house :)

Chapstick! And good hand lotion! And a coat for yourself as well as gloves. Boots if it's really snowy. Oohhh, and scarves are my favorite thing about winter! They are useful and classy at the same time!!

I think it kind of depends on what kind of heat your place has. Heating pads are always great in theory but they're really not safe if no one is home. They can burn your pets or start eletrical fires. For the dogs going outside, most of the time you don't really need a whole lot of protection as long as it's quick trips to potty then back in the house. I have sweaters for my little dog because the snow will clump up on her belly and then she drags it all over the house. Plus, it's probably not very comfortable waiting for it to melt. I also check between their toes to make sure no snow or salt is stuck between them. I've never done the booties on my dogs but they don't ever spend an extended period of time outside.

As far as for yourself, give yourself plenty of time to drive to places so you can take your time in the snow. Kitty litter or sidewalk salt comes in really handy to help keep your sidewalks safe to walk on. Slipping sucks and snow does not offer much cushion. You can never be too old for gloves, hats and/or scarves. Really, if you have gloves and forget them you'll wonder how you ever survived without them. Like Sorrow said, lotion is your new best friend. Even if you bundle yourself up your skin just dries out like nobodies business. Since your page says you work in a grocery store, be prepared for the masses that come flooding in if the forecast calls for a bad snow storm. People tend to freak out and stock up on milk and bread xD

So yea, that's just what I can think of off the top of my head.

So ill be stalking up on lotion haha =P

I have a walkin closet i was going to set up for the pups while roomi and i are gone. Instead of seperating them like we do now, i want them together depending how cold it gets. I just worry. Lol.

We may do the bathroom also. House usually stays toasty when its closed but then again it hasnt gotten below 40 here in spokane. So we will have to see. If not we will let them stay in one of the rooms ans let them nest in the beds.

Ok, so tips for you. Make sure you have some snowboots! Also there are these things called yaktrax, you'll need them on the ice. Snowboots are useless on the ice, and trust me the snow will freeze over in Spokompton.

Surprisingly in Spokane you CAN NOT use chains. Luckily though Spokane is prepared for all the snow you get, so it's really not much of an issue anyway.

As for leaving the heat on while your pet is home, there should not be a problem with it if you have like central heating. Just make sure that none of the vents are covered, or nothing is touching them.

Make sure not to use de-icer or rock salt on your driveway, kitty litter is a good option but the other two will kick up and ruin the paint on your car.

I know you know to layer, but wool socks and something to cover your ears are a must. Trust me, frozen ears are seriously painful.

I'm not a fan of winter ): I guess because I've dealt with it the past 28 years, so all my life lol. If you need heaters I suggest the ones with tip over safety, if they are tipped over they will cut off. Don't use drop cords with heaters, they can catch on fire that way.. Trust me x.x

Paints since 6-8-14

Thanks everyone xD im seriously nervous about this haha!

I definitely am not making fun of you because this is totally new to you but it's just a funny thought, how someone could be nervous about the coming winter season. Like Audacious, winter has just been a part of the year my whole life. It's actually something I look forward to even as an adult. I'm kind of excited on your behave. Like, I hope you get to do some sledding or build a snowman xD

What Trig said, haha. Minnesotans say we hate winter yet we embrace it with snowmobiles and ice fishing and hot chocolate. 

OH! Ice scraper for your car windshield!!

Soooo first off I have to laugh because this is totally going to be you this first winter:

On a serious note though!  Spokompton tends to get freezing rain as well as snow, so along with an ice scraper you will want to keep you wiper blades tipped up off the windshield.  Nothing sucks more than having your wiper blades freeze to your winshield. haha  Not only will it be a major pain trying to remove them from the windshield, but then they are totally worthless with chunks of ice frozen to the blades.

Whatever tronibutt!! Haha!! I bought a huge winter jacket xD and war muffs LMFAO..

anyways~ thanks guys.. xD im excited. Roomie and i were laughing so hard last night we could see our breath in the air xD it was hilarious because the other tendants were like.. o.O wth why are they laughing about that... lol!!

Oh! Snow tires??!?!?!?! 

Yes. Snow tires can be your best friend if you are allowed to have them. Some come with chains, others you have to have the chains put on. But make sure you can have them! 

I lived in snow for 15 years. 5 in Minneapolis and 10 in St Louis. I personally think snow is only pleasant on the 24, 25, and 26 of December then it can go away. But then again I now live in Central Florida where snow is just a thing of the past lol. Layers are a MUST. Hats are definitely something to use because your body heat escapes from the top of your head. Hats make it so that heat stays collected somewhere and doesn't just disappear like it would if you were only in ear muffs. Gloves/mittens are your best friend, as are a sturdy pair of boots as it has already been said.

The absolute biggest thing to remember is DRIVE SLOWLY. Snow in itself isn't too terribly treacherous. What you need to learn to keep an eye for is something called black ice. It is honestly the devil turned into a frozen piece of ground. What makes black ice so dangerous is that it is a frozen patch of ground, usually found on the black tops you drive on (i.e. interstates, highways), but it looks like a harmless wet spot, like where rain may have fallen and just hasn't dried yet. Most cars that are built for snow like trucks, jeeps, and SUVs have 4 wheel drive. That is fantastic for making sure you don't get stuck in the snow, but on ice, it is completely useless. Hitting a patch of black ice going too fast will cause you to lose traction with the ground, much like hydroplaining when it rains too much, and if you aren't careful, you can spin out and crash. The worst thing though is when you have freezing rain that solidifies and makes a thin layer of ice all over the roads and then snow falls on top of it. You can still spin out on that ice and that's when the city and/or county is usually coming through with the salt trucks. That salt isn't for melting snow. It's for the ice. The more cars drive over it, the warmer it gets, and that helps to melt the ice and make the roads safe and driveable. Snow days up north aren't terribly common, but you may have ice days where the city delcares the roads too icy to get the salt trucks out and so too icy for regular commuters as well. The local weather station on TV or the radio is your best friend! Always give yourself plenty of time to listen to the forecast so you know what your driving conditions will be like. :)

As for the dogs...if you have central heat set up, keep it on throughout the day. Your whole house will be toasty warm and the dogs will be just fine. If not, as it was stated before, make sure you have something that will either run on a timer or will shut themselves off after a certain point. Otherwise a ton of blankets to cuddle in! And yes, short trips outside to go potty are the way to do it. Unless you have a dog that was bred for the cold like a Husky or a German Shepherd or something along those lines, they probably won't appreciate the cold that much since they won't have the thick coats needed to keep off the cold. So long walks aren't going to really happen the colder it gets.

Sorry, sorta wrote a novel lol. But it really isn't anything to be nervous about. Just need to know what you're getting into. And as you can see, a lot of us either live with the snow or have in the past! And you will learn the magic of sledding and the fine arts of snowball making and throwing as well as snowman building. These are ancient art forms handed down by the coldest people out there who decided they wanted to lob frozen water at each other, go careening down hills at breakneck speeds with a piece of metal or plastic under their butts, and sculpt statues out of snow. Because why the heck not!