Perhaps I should be one of those people who embrace the winter being from Upstate New York where winter lasts six months and the sun only makes an appearance about 30 days out of the year. Perhaps I should love skiing and hot cocoa and big sweaters and the fireplace. Those may be the only things I like about winter. However the dry skin, the car trouble, the unplowed roads, my cold feet, having to walk Juneau in single degree weather and the gray days more than outweigh the positives about this month.
Seasonal depression is REAL, people!
Instead of drowning in my sorrows, I decided to make a list (since everyone is making lists these days) on how to beat the winter blahs.
1. Netflix. Netflix is almost always a life saver but more so in the winter. I've already had two 'snow days' this year and I'm not even a teacher. While sitting at home with a car that has been buried and Bravo only showing replays of Real Housewives episodes I've already seen, I turn to Netflix. This winter I've already completed the entire series of Breaking Bad (totally recommending it) and several movies that I didn't want to spend $10 on to watch in a theater. Thank you Netflix for changing your business plan from a DVD mailing company to everyones favorite snowy day activity.
2. Picture Frames. I'm the queen of picture frames. I have photos of high school soccer, DPhiE, family vacations, Juneau, Dave and I, etc. all framed and scattered throughout our apartment. This winter I took advantage of an online deal and ordered photos that I hadn't had time to print out. Now I have up-to-date pictures in said picture frames. I also used a coupon (probably the first of my existence) and bought picture frames to display my degrees and Dave's military certificate. No biggie, we're only three years behind.
3. Shop Online. Honestly, I've never been a huge online shopper. Really, I'm still not. But it doesn't hurt to lust over beautiful clothing that would never look quite right on my pear-shaped body.
4. Blog. I'm starting to look like a computer nerd. Everything I've listed so far has consisted of sitting behind a computer at one point or another. Oh well, beats freezing outside. Writing has always been a hobby of mine, but blogging for fun is a completely different type of therapy. Maybe it's not for everyone but I challenge you to at least look at a couple of blogs and see what people are saying. It's fascinating.
5. Oversized sweaters. I think I mentioned this in the opener... yup, I did. But I can't say it enough. Oversized sweaters are the best thing to come from hipster culture. Where to find them? Etsy.com (see no. 3- online shopping) has awesome vendors who will pick oversized sweaters at random and send them to you for just $10! No need to worry about the color or pattern, just enter the size (remember the bigger the better) and a sweater will show up at your door. Honestly, the suspense of waiting to find out what color you will get is worth $10 just by itself.
6. Crockpot. There is nothing more annoying than working an 8 hour day and leaving the office to find total darkness. Does the sun seriously set at 5:30pm? Give me a break. I'm ready to go to bed, but alas, someone must make dinner. The solution? CROCKPOT RECIPES. Set it and forget it... just make sure it's pushed far enough back on the counter and locked tight so that your curious pets don't get to it first. This way when you come home from work you can dish yourself a warm meal as soon as you walk in the door and spend the rest of the night watching Netflix.
7. Sports. It's my go-to. We have NFL Playoffs, the Super Bowl, the Olympics, NBA Basketball, NCAA Basketball, tennis, baseball scandals, etc. It's a great time of year to be a sports fan.
8. Get Creative. Dave and I were sitting on the couch one night, bored out of our minds. Juneau brought us his favorite toy: a ball. We started throwing it. We started keeping points for getting the ball through the doorway, hitting a certain part of the wall, etc. Juneau was fine with it cause he thought the game was about him. Little does he know, he was just being used to bring the ball back for the next person to throw. This game is played on a consistent basis. And to think it was created out of pure boredom.
9. Clean out your closet. A snowy afternoon is a perfect time to re-evaluate your clothing choices. If you don't wear it, donate it. And yes, it's okay if your bag of donations sits around till springtime when you actually feel like running errands.10. Spend some quality time. As much as I enjoy being adventurous, I equally enjoy sitting at home with Dave playing Scrabble and drinking hot tea. Winter forces human interaction, so don't shy away. Pop on some Netflix, start up the Crockpot and watch your favorite team play.
Here's to two more months of snow, cracked skin and wearing boots every day.
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