I know this may seem like an unusual topic for a blog devoted to preparing women for life\u2019s emergencies, but when you think about it, this IS a type of emergency!<\/strong> When you\u2019re committed to sitting inside an 8-hour seminar (or 2-hour movie or 1-hour meeting) and it\u2019s so cold that your toes are going numb, your brain is not going full-tilt. Aside from not being able to appropriately concentrate on the topic at hand, should a real<\/em> crisis<\/em> occur (shooter enters the room, 8.5 quake rocks the building, etc.), you\u2019re not going to respond with the alacrity that could very well save your life!<\/p>\n So let\u2019s fix that!<\/p>\n This water bottle is a double agent: it hydrates and warms!<\/p><\/div>\n This is my NUMBER ONE TIP!!!<\/span> Personal experience has taught me that those ubiquitous cardboard coffee cups will only keep your beverage warm for about 15 minutes. Since most seminars don\u2019t give more than one break per hour, that leaves you with 45 minutes of shivering. My solution\u2014that I\u2019ve shared with pretty much every woman who has ever sat next to me in a seminar\u2014is to fill an insulated water bottle with hot water at a temperature that is still drinkable, but just barely. The water bottle I have<\/a> keeps water hot for up to 12 hours\u2026and the water remains tepid up to 24 hours later. Pretty amazing.<\/p>\n I buy these by the case!<\/p><\/div>\n Oh, you knew I was gonna go there, didn\u2019t you? J Regular readers of this blog know of my undying love for the chemical hand warmer packets<\/a>. At the start of a seminar, if I\u2019m wearing a jacket with pockets, I\u2019ll tuck one packet into each side. If I lack pockets up top, I\u2019ll tuck a packet into each hip pocket on my pants. One caveat: if your pants are made of thin material, the hand warmer packets can actually start to burn your thighs! (painful voice of experience) So make sure you periodically pull them out of your pants pockets and hold them in your hands to let them cool off a bit. A bit of a hassle, I agree, but totally<\/em> worth it!<\/p>\n This is not how I wear my shawl.<\/p><\/div>\n This is an obvious one, I know, but I\u2019ve seen so many women not think about it that I feel compelled to present this as part of the Staying Warm Solution. Even if it\u2019s pushing 100 degrees outside, always toss a pashmina or other wrap into your bag. Heck, I\u2019ve even whipped out a shawl inside a grocery store that was so cold, my husband said my lips had turned blue (ooo, sexy). Another advantage of this: if you\u2019re out and about all day and the sun goes down, you\u2019re prepared for the cool of the evening without having to go home and change clothes.<\/p>\n This is my scarf. There are many like it, but this one is mine.<\/p><\/div>\n Anyone who hangs out with me knows how much I love my scarves. I have so many, I bought a special scarf organizer for our coat closet. My favorite ones are made of tissue-weight cashmere or medium-weight patterned silk. Orvis<\/a> This is perhaps more extreme than necessary….<\/p><\/div>\n Oh, so many of you ladies are going to hate this one. I know several women who just don\u2019t feel like they look \u201cprofessional\u201d without their high heels<\/a>. But unless you\u2019re rockin\u2019 the 1980s ZZ Top look<\/a>, you\u2019re going to have nekkid tootsies whilst wearing your stilettos. So get rebellious when you know you\u2019re headed to a notoriously chilly venue. Channel your inner menswear aficionado and don a pair of slacks, along with some brogues and socks. You\u2019ll still look professional, and you\u2019ll avoid that oh-so-unattractive shivering look.<\/p>\n * * * * *<\/p>\n And now you know my Secrets to Seminar Survival\u2026well, at least relative to staying warm! Got any tips of your own?\u00a0Let me know via the Contact form<\/a>!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Like what you\u2019re seeing on the blog? I post TONS of content over on Twitter, too! Give me a follow at http:\/\/bit.ly\/KStarmerTWITTER<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To paraphrase the illustrious Mark Twain: \u201cThe coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in a SEMINAR ROOM.\u201d We\u2019ve all been there, right? It\u2019s 90 degrees outside, yet inside the seminar area, it\u2019s so cold you can practically see your breath. And this phenomenon isn\u2019t unique to seminars. Conventions, conference rooms, movie theaters\u2026so many places that we frequent in … <\/p>\nI\u2019ve attended a LOT of seminars over the years, and here are my top 5\u00a0tips for staying toasty:<\/h3>\n
Insulated water bottle filled with HOT WATER<\/h4>\n
![\"water](\"http:\/\/192.241.231.59\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/web-Iconiq-Water-Bottle-300x300.png\")
Chemical hand warmer packets<\/h4>\n
![\"Chemical](\"http:\/\/192.241.231.59\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Grabber-HandWarmers-292x300.jpg\")
Layers, layers, layers<\/h4>\n
![\"woman](\"http:\/\/192.241.231.59\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/web-elderly-woman-in-white-knitte-114481625-300x200.png\")
Silk or cashmere scarf<\/h4>\n
![\"silk](\"http:\/\/192.241.231.59\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/web-Silk-Scarf-Gray-Silk-Scarf-I-115988444-300x282.png\")
makes some really great ones!<\/strong> Both pack down super-small, but the cashmere option tends to be more forgiving when it\u2019s subjected to abuse. I have a gray cashmere scarf that has kept me warm in Japan, served as a dust mask while on safari in South Africa, and shielded my head from the sun in Costa Rica. Super-versatile, and it shrugs off wrinkles pretty easily. Silk is much more persnickety (don\u2019t use it in the rain), and the wrinkles tend to be harder to get out (which is why I go for patterns in my silk scarves)\u2026but its warmth-to-weight ratio is awesome!<\/p>\n
Closed-toe shoes\u2026with SOCKS<\/h4>\n
![\"Hiking](\"http:\/\/192.241.231.59\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/bigstock-Protecting-Against-Ticks-By-Tu-103273745-300x199.jpg\")
<\/h4>\n