Goodbye Winter

Here are some scenes from this winter. I'm ready to say goodbye to you, winter. Two weekends ago it was 40 degrees outside and it felt like a heatwave. We had our windows open and went outside walking and I even removed the outer lining of my winter coat! But you tricked us. It was 12 degrees this morning. And we had 12-15 inches of snow last Sunday/Monday, with another storm forecasted this weekend.

Our backyard

Snow obstructing our garage

A picnic table at work

How To Beat Your Winter Funk

For weeks I’ve been completely unmotivated. It happens to me every January. The weeks of sub-zero temperatures wear me down. Eventually I find myself on the couch every night, watching way too much of my favorite programs, like TrueBlood or Dexter or Californication or whatever I can get my hands on.

I haven’t even cooked an actual dinner in weeks. I don’t feel like eating…nothing sounds good…I have no motivation to prepare anything. It is the time of year when I fall into my most unhealthy habits, and I feel like everything I love doing so much, like having a garden, canning/preserving food, cooking, eating healthy, exercising, is all so far out of reach.

How can I break out of this funk?

We all know the common things that we should be doing….exercise, get eight hours of sleep, eat vegetables, meditate, whatever. I know what I should be doing, I just don’t do it. It’s dark all the time. It’s cold. I’m always tired. And cold. I go home and put my pajamas on.

One night this week I did manage to pick up the book I’m reading, The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion (which, by the way, I am enjoying quite a bit…her story is about grief and hope and strength and reminds me of my experience with my mother and her stroke) instead of turning on the TV. I guess that is one step in the right direction.

How do you get out of your funk?

I’m reminded of a post this week on my friend’s blog, Fat Girl Fed Up, about setting goals. Maybe that is what I need to do. A weekly goal for blog posts. A weekly goal for reading. A weekly goal for the draft of my novel……I am going to start small so I don’t get overwhelmed, and then keep setting goals. Notice I am mixing business and pleasure for motivational purposes……..

Starter Goals:

• Make healthy Pumpkin muffins for our “breakfast theme” Superbowl party
• See a movie (I am REALLY intrigued by the preview for Sanctum)
• Finish KSurf Fiction Writing workshop assignments by 2/14. THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. This weekend, catch up on lessons
• Finish my office…l’ll post some pictures in an upcoming post…finishing my own personal writing space is related to my writing goals!
• Finish “The Year of Magical Thinking” by the end of February and start a new book
• Paint my bedroom by the end of February

Three Sauces in One Outcome

It was ambitious but last week I did complete Janet Chadwick's 3-in-1 canning project I described in a previous post (and managed to be in bed by 10:30 pm every night). Above you see (left to right) seven half-pint jars of chutney, seven pints of sweet and sour sauce....

and below, seven pints of Indian BBQ relish...

It took me several days to prepare...one night to prepare the peaches and another to prepare the tomato puree. But it was worth it.

The entire process quieted my mind and relaxed me during a stressful week with school finally back in session.

I can't wait to crack open these sauces to serve with different dishes throughout the fall and winter.