With a New Year upon us, so is "Old Man Winter". And with "Old Man Winter" comes lower temperatures, snowstorms and icy roads. But of all the winters I have been through here in New York City - I can not recall one that was so cold - that it was actually colder here than in Alaska.

This coming weekend, I am fortunate enough to have my dear friends Julie from Maryland, Arthur and Suzi from London, England - and Montel from Juneau, Alaska join me here in New York for a dual birthday party for me and Arthur. But while I am very happy to see them - I think Montel would be better off staying at home - because when she lands here in New York on Thursday evening - it will be zero degrees Fahrenheit - a far cry from the twenty-five degree temperature in her home town.

Shouldn't that be the other way around?

As of late, the temperatures here in New York have been so cold - that the only word I could use to properly describe them would be "evil". When you get out of bed in the morning and your floor feels as cold as ice, when your frozen food would ice up quicker on your fire escape than in your freezer - and when you have two sweat suits and a robe on and you are still freezing in your home - then you know that the temperature is "evil". And the worst part is that according to our ever reliable weather persons - the temperatures will only get worse in the weeks to come.

Personally, I hate cold weather and would rather live in warm weather any day. I can't stand going outside only to have my ears, fingers and toes tingle with frostbite. I despise having to wear ten layers of clothes which creates triple loads of laundry. I hate waking up under warm, comfortable covers and feeling the freezing cold air wrap my body as soon as I stand up - and most of all - It really sickens me when I look at the television and see single digit temperatures staring back at me.

Being a veteran of cold winters, I do have a few weapons to aid me in my battle against "Old Man Winter". From chicken soup or orange juice and fruit with hot tea with lemon for breakfast, to more soup and hot plates for lunch - to even more soup for dinner. Not to mention that I also stock up on the occasional cold remedy in case a cold creeps up on me. I refuse to be one of these people that gets a horrible cold in the middle of winter and can't figure out why. I have been there too many times to let that happen to me again.

So as we move deeper into winter and as the temperatures go from single digits to below zero - I can only hope for the days where the temperature reaches above freezing for a change. But until then - I guess I better stock up on soup.