friday i'm in love...

it’s a quiet, cool
february friday
in the big orange house.

today has consisted
of work,
checking the basement for water,
getting taught by 22 on how
to use the macgyvered sump pump,
eating a chocolate bar
dipped in a jar of icing,
contemplating a big, big decision,
watching the snow melt away
(while worrying about water in the basement),
teasing 26 about “what’s for supper”
(she is gonna make me spaghetti),
daydreaming,
secretly smiling
when 26 tells me she is
making a list of movies
we can watch together…
feeling a mix of
happy, content, peaceful
which is nice because i have
been very fragile and full of sharp, jagged,
emotional edges recently….

february will do that to a person.

♥ FRIDAY I’M IN LOVE ♥

♥ finding out i was mentioned in a blog i love to read!
♥ this optical illusion was soooo neat!! :)
♥ this! solo travel! women! i want to do this!!
♥ this is miniature insanity but soooooo cool!
♥ this song makes me happy.

embrace winter...

the first day of december…

I have been thinking
that this year
I might try something different.

Every year, I fight winter tooth and nail.
I hate the cold.
I hate bundling up. I hate shovelling.
I hate worrying if there is oil in the tank.
I hate, I hate and I hate.

But this year, I am going to turn that around.

I am going to embrace winter.
(ok. Let me re-phrase that. I am going to try my hardest to embrace winter).

I made a list (cause….you know…I love a good list…)
(plus…added bonus…some of these are also on my fifty before fifty…
so DOUBLE WHAMMY…wait…is a double whammy a good thing? haha)

EMBRACE WINTER

• hot drink recipes

• ice skating

• sledding

• cross country skiing

• downhill skiing (which i should leave til the last cause I will probably break a bone)

• snow shoes complete! ♥

• marvel movie marathon

• bake cookies complete! ♥

• make a snowman army

• make a puzzle

• cut out snowflakes

• go bowling

• winter bonfire

• board game night

• pj party

• walks outside…get sunlight/vitamin d when you can

• try curling complete! ♥

• make a winter playlist

• make snow angels

• get a new candle

• sauna/hot tub nights

• tubing

• make a snow fort

• have a snowball fight

• nap by a fireplace

• bubble bath

• blanket fort pj popcorn cartoon nights

• read SOOO many books

• go look at Christmas lights complete! ♥

I think that should cover this winter. :)
but it occurred to me that A LOT of these would be much more fun
if done with other people soooo…I may be
looking for willing (or slightly unwilling) volunteers…heehee.

I actually took pugsley out for a wintry walk on the trails today
as an attempt to get a good start on this list right away…
and honestly…it was by far the best choice I could have made today.

and see…in the spirit of “embracing” winter,
I bought myself a pretty red shovel.
……………………………………………………….

oh…and unrelated-but-must-be-said…
the response to this story about my geek girl ink cards
in one of our local papers has blown my mind…
in a very good way. :) I was completely surprised
and sooooo incredibly happy with all the comments, likes,
emails, orders and support.

My heart is full. ♥ Thank you!!!!

tuesday truths...the whiney, pouty, sulky i-hate-winter edition...(WITH FOG PHOTOS!)

the truth is
i’m tired.
i really want to stay awake,
i want to come home and work on new drawings
and paint new cards
and reorganize my closets
or, at the very least, pick up my clothes off the floor.

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but the truth is
it is taking all i have to
stay up past 8 pm…

i turned on my heated blankets
on my bed about an hour ago
and. it. is. taking. everything. i. have.
not to go to bed RIGHT NOW.

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the truth is
i know this is just what every winter
does to me…
it makes me sleepy and sulky,
constantly cold and
kinda temper-tantrumy-cranky-just-wanna-kick-things-and-eat-candy …
all i want to do is hibernate
until there is sunshine and warmth again….

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so i tell myself
”self…if you just get one thing done each night
when you come home,
just one at the very least
THEN you can put your pjs on,
crack a cold can of diet coke
and go climb into that preheated bed
with your phone, your books, your music, your movies
and your robot nightlight
AND you can stay there all night if you wanna…
(just…please don’t eat sunflower seeds in bed again,
you know you are going to spill them
and those shells hurt if you roll over on them….)”

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tuesday truths...winterblues

I've been struggling a little this winter...
I haven't quite been myself.
Winter always wears me down but this year
I'm a little bit sadder, a little more uncertain...
my self confidence is a little worse for wear
and my heart feels a little bruised...
I feel like if I pretend hard enough
that everything is A-OK...then...
maybe I can fool myself too.

And for the most part...it works.

But I am starting to feel a shift.
The days are getting just a smidgen longer...
that tiny extra bit of brightness
has been enough to push me forward a couple of steps.
I can feel a little spark of energy...
and I want to turn it into a full blown fire.

I have been getting back out with my camera
and even went back to the gym...
made it to yoga...spent some time in the hot tub/sauna...
walked through snow filled woods...
and started some new art projects that I am excited about.
I'm reading books and joining book clubs
and writing groups...sometimes you just have to
force yourself to keep going...until you realize you
aren't forcing it anymore...

there IS a light at the end of the tunnel...
just keep swimming
(OK.  I might be getting my sayings confused
but you get my snowdrift).

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tuesday truths {the "winter makes me bitter" edition}

☼☼☼
i hate being cheated
out of the promise of a good storm day.
i love a good storm day.
what is the point of living in a place
with bitter cold winters
if you can't get a good storm day once in a while.

and today...i felt cheated.
i'm still bitter.

☼☼☼
i am failing spectacularly
at almost
all
of my new years resolutions...
ALREADY.
it's been so long since i have been to the gym,
i think i forget where it is.
i am existing on diet coke and mike and ikes.
no sauna.
no board games.
no eating healthier.
sigh.
winter does this to me.
i just want to wrap myself in
layers of fuzzy blankets
and sleep
until the sun comes out...

☼☼☼
i may have created a new playlist
consisting of mainly power ballads
and one country song
at 3 am the other night
when i couldn't sleep...
 

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