Thursday Night, March 3rd

I'm feeling a lightening in my mood

Well, we are finally — my fingers are crossed — coming out of the deep freeze.  It has been unbearably cold here for the past 3 weeks.

Day time highs   of – 20 to -25 °C are just a little too extreme for a winter-hatin’ girl like me.  There were a couple of days where I was pretty much ready to throw in the towel.  Today, though, the sun poked through the clouds, (after the snow finally stopped) and the temp got up to a positively balmy -15!  I actually felt grateful.

Supposedly we are in for some more snow over the weekend, but it shouldn’t be too bad.  And they are saying we will be warming up one degree each day!  One whole degree!  I’m so excited!

I’m happy to say that I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I think maybe a lot of the way I’ve been feeling lately has had to do with the terrible weather.  Mind-numbing cold has that effect on me, I guess.  Go figure.  MInd you, I think I’ve handled it much better than I have in the past.  This time I didn’t have the urge to curl up in a little ball and stay cocooned in my bed, I just didn’t want to expend any unnecessary energy on anything.

I’ve enjoyed coming home after work, cooking simple meals — yesterday I made spaghetti with browned butter and mizithra cheese — one of my favorite things — with a simple lettuce, cucumber and sweet onion salad with a light dill dressing (in a mind for Spring, I think), and some thaw and heat meatballs.  It was fabulous.  Today it was hamburgers on the George Foreman grill.  Just hamburgers.  Oh, and butterscotch pudding — the kind you have to cook, not that yicky instant stuff.

Because I bailed on the ‘no dessert for a year’ experiment, I’ve replaced it with something else.  Life should never be a coast-a-long, don’t you agree?  We now (yes, I’ve forced my husband to take part in this one) have two tv-free nights a week.

As I explained it to Tim this would give us time to do things we want to do, but never seem to get around to.  Like reading, playing cards, going for a walk.  Well, that last one is mine, he never wants to go for a walk.  Maybe even getting to bed a little earlier.  At first he balked, but then said he’d give it a try.

I think he’s enjoying the time unplugged from the tv as much as me.  Although, when it is a night to watch television there is some concern over what to watch because he PVR’s so much.  Ah, choices, choices. . .

I’m really enjoying it, because I’m getting stuff done!  My office is clean, I’m caught up on paperwork, I have actual time to read and I’m not feeling as stressed out as I was.  I even manage to squeeze in a couple of household chores once in a while!  (Trust me, that’s a BIG deal.)

I was with my little group of writers today and it felt terrific.  They were eager to share their work and were interested in what I had to tell them.  I love listening to and reading their stories, they’re so full of honesty and enthusiasm and they’re not afraid to put their words out there for one another.  I think this writer’s group is going to be as good for me as it is for them.

I’ve even managed to write in both my personal journal and my writing journal — something I have avoided doing for ages.   I wish I understood why I take these self-imposed exiles from writing — it makes no sense — because when I am writing I am truly happy.  I think, unlike the kids, I dwell too much on the question of whether I really am a writer.

Oh, anyway . . .  I’m starting to wander where I really don’t want to go.

I’m feeling good and that’s all that matters.