January and Me? We're Like Hamilton and Burr, Elizabeth and Mary, Ahab and Moby, Milli Vanilli and That Skipping Recording; One Of Us Is Goin' Down

This morning? I finally pulled my lazy butt out of bed in the wee hours of the pre-dawn darkness to do one of the "gosh darn it just make your fat jiggle workouts" "good enough workouts" I had pinned on PinINterest. Which was completely necessary, because, it's January and I'm in a funk and my running has squeaked to a standstill. Again. And, doing a sequence of jumping jacks, crunches, squats and Russian twists in my cold, dank, windowless basement was the best way to raise my spirits, obviously. Except, it was still all overcast, cold and rainy when I was done.

Stupid January.

So, if you see me about the neighborhood later today, head low, rain boot shod feet slogging through the puddles, Ellie skipping ahead under her clown fish umbrella, feel free to join me, because it's likely that I'm totally playing this game I made up after my two week visit to the southwest entitled, "You Don't Need This In Arizona!"

But, I have to warn you, Ellie is quite good at it.

Me: (mumbling, scowling, sighing... being all around cantankerous, about to yell at some kids to "GET OFF MY LAWN!" in a minute.) Umbrellas. You don't need stupid umbrellas in Arizona. Or stupid raincoats. Or stupid rain boots. Or-
Ellie: (her perpetually happy three year old voice fluttering up from underneath her umbrella) Oh! I know Mommy!
Me: (pausing my scowling but continuing to shiver inside my wool sweater and raincoat) Yeah?
Ellie: I know something you don't need in Arizona!
Me: What?
Ellie: (triumphantly) PANTS! (and then she danced down the sidewalk, her sparkly purple tutu swinging cheerfully over her pink rain pants, while singing a song she just made up about raindrops)

Dude, it's like she doesn't even appreciate a good curmudgeony wallow when she sees one.