Uff da it's hot here.

Since I have moved down, the weather has been on a streak 100+ and sunshine, every day. It's sincerely hard to complain about all that vitamin D. Especially after leaving Minnesota in its rainiest summer on record [I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere] -- we haven't seen a lot of sun in MN people. Although that heat is a bit easier to complain about. It's probably the biggest adjustment I've had to make since moving. Here are three of my observations since moving -- two relate back to this heat.

I have a photo that I really wanted to post with this blog to emphasize my point to the midwesterns on what I mean by heat... but it has about six other individuals in it and I'm hoping to make friends and that photo is a hot mess [quite literally].

Texans are in better shape.

Stay with my here.

I have been working out in Austin now for three weeks, and every time I feel like I'm going to die... in the warm up. Heat is such a factor. I have sweated buckets, if you collected my sweat from the last three weeks, I'm pretty sure it would have been more than what I sweated the past year in Minnesota [attractive way to explain this, I know].

Prior to moving people explained to me that Austin was a very fit city, but my theory is you have to work out half the amount to sweat twice as much. With that theory in practice, of course, Austin is known as a fit city it has an advantage over the Twin Cities. Now, I know sweat doesn't correlate to fitness level or we would all just do hot yoga [which is amazing], but people who have adapted to working out hard in this heat are at a whole new skill level than us folks in milder climates. Minnesotans we just don't have it.

I would like to take a minute to apologize for all the times I complained about working out in the heat in Minnesota. My complaints were unwarranted.

Clothing is about comfort.

Living in Minnesota it went like this:

You are 0-11 years-of-age.

Adults dress you like a snowball during the worst of it. You have thin gloves under your two-sizes-too-large mittens. The mittens are snapped into your jacket with those impossible-to-unsnap-for-a-small-child-who-is-wearing-said-mittens buttons. You are now high-kneeing the hell out of your walk just to gain half a foot of distance in the clunking snow boots that are meant to endure -100 F. You most certainly are rocking bib snow pants [if you were a 90s kid], the readers that were "cool" kids may even be matching colors with your winter jackets.

Then there is the actual winter jacket, which doubles as a safety bubble, the biggest bully on the playground could take a swing at you and it wouldn't be felt through the LAYERS of unknown materials that are meant to keep out the cold. Although to be honest, you are simultaneously sweating profusely under your armpits and concerned you are experiencing a slow progression towards frostbite around your wrists. Then there is a hat, it might be a simple black ski hat, some of you may have worn the full-fledged ski mask [my apologies], others rocked an orange hunters hat, one with a fluffy ball on the top, one with ear flaps, a school spirited hat... the list continues -- But that hat was forsure covered as the adults in our lives zipped the winter jackets up over our chins [causing a mild strangling feeling if you also wore a scarf that was, of course, placed on the inside of the jacket with the extra tails falling down the front of you. This resulted in an emphasized "snowball" look] then the hood of the jacket was pulled forward and down. This caused discomfort to your tiny neck as it tried to keep from snapping under the downward force of an adult who was pulling down and wiggling the hood back and forth just to get the hood a bit further down your forehead. Only the slits of our eyes and the brim of our noses were exposed to the treacherous killer Minnesotans call winter.

Thank you Mom for always keep me so freakin' warm all winter long in my youth.

You are 12-18 years-of-age

Adults no longer dress you when you leave the house. You may even be getting ready while they are gone to work. You say goodbye to hats, because the amount of time spent with that flat-iron in the morning will not be ruined by a bit of cold ears [or if you were me and wore your hair curly... hat hair was still a real fear]. Scarves are only worn if they are cute, and certainly not tucked into the jacket. For the jacket, it will no longer be zipped at a level above mid-chest. From hips down, it could be fall. The shoes are water resistance [enough], and the pants are long [a jean, possibly a sweatpant or a yoga pant], but nothing more. This is the highest risk era for Minnesotans. How every teenage girl doesn't die of frostbite blows my mind.

You are 18+ years-of-age [a.k.a. the dresser of the 0-11 age group]

You have found a happy medium. Hat hair? Freakin' worth it. Snow pants? Too bulky. But long underwear, you have three [or are you even adulting]. Mitten situation? Upgraded to a pair that keep hands warm but also have the finger pads that allows you to continue using your smartphone. Jacket? It has gotten longer covers the whole butt and some of the thigh, makes up for no snow pants. And that thing is zipped ALL THE WAY UP.

Getting back on track with: Clothing is about comfort

Why did I bring you through all of that? To show that there is only a short period of life where you say, as the general tone of all days, I wanted to look good over being comfortable [or just down right safe].

I understand some of you are saying, "No Aly, I always zipped my jacket, I also packed my school shoes and wore my boots out to the bus." Fine, I can accept some of you had a better sense of what mattered than me at 13.

Well Texas is the same way, but a bit in the reverse. I have seen more women in sports bras, crop tops, short-shorts, dresses, and men in no shirts, short-shorts, and muscle tanks. This stood out to me at first because I found these outfits in situations you don't necessarily see as abundantly in Minnesota, such as going to Target, getting gas, or during a casual neighborhood walk. Not just at the gym [for the no shirts] or going out [for the crop tops and "skimpy" outfits].

I haven't been here long enough to know what the conversations are around body image with context of clothes. But I can say, I have always enjoyed a good crop top, and the amount of times I'd put one on in Minnesota walk around the house and then the moment I was going to walk out the door second guess the decision and slip on a full length shirt was too many. I haven't done that down here. It's hot, a crop top is more comfortable, a sport bra is more comfortable, etc. It has allowed me to look at some of the "skimpier" clothing with less negative connotation, that to be honest wasn't overly conscious I had. I simply thought, crop tops are for "special occasions" and short shorts have their time and place. I hate to say it took me until moving to Austin to gain some awareness on my own thinking, as I consider myself very body and style positive. But hey we are all evolving.

Accents go two-ways.

This one isn't about the heat.

I like to think I'm a decently well traveled human, which is why -- yes, I know that I have a bit of an accent. However, moving to a city like Austin [many transplants] I don't notice many accents -- but apparently others notice mine.

Although it is more than how words are said, it is what words we all choose to say. Joy and I are slowly introducing the Texans to the following words:

Two words that battle for the Upper Midwestern's "y'all"

Ope: Used when you accidentally run into someone. The sentence might go, "Ope! Sorry."

Uff da: This word has a Norwegian origin. This is a very handy word to have in your backpocket as it is so versatile. Lift something heavier than expected [maybe a toddler, IDK it's just a situation I've heard this word used often] you say "Uff da" on the lift. Finished yard work, get done, walk inside drink some water and say "Uff da." Playing a sport take a terrible shot, over rotate a flip, miss the ball.... you say "Uff da."

Food Category

Pop: We don't need to get into this, we all know our feelings.

Hotdish: Tater Tot hotdish anyone? This is a meal all thrown in one pan, usually with a can of soup [cream of mushroom is a favorite] and a carb/starchy vegetable, some protein, and quiet possible more cheese. [Intrigued? Check out some traditional midwestern hotdish recipes here]

Bars: Scotcheroos/Special Ks Bars, Seven Layer Bars, put it in a pan [maybe your hotdish pan] and bake away! [Like sweets? Check out some delicious bar recipes here]

Thank you for sticking through three observations, and really for getting past my winter attire tangent.

Advice: Wear what you want, when you want. Unless you are 14 in a Minnesota winter... then put on a damn coat. It shouldn't be a revelation at 19 that you stay so much warmer with a zipped jacket verse a non-zipped jacket. Do better young gen-zers.