Happy Groundhog Day! I make no secret about the fact that winter is my least favorite season...not that I don't enjoy curling up with my fur-kids, a fuzzy blanket, a good book, and a hot cup of tea, I definitely do! The darkness and cold get to me though, less energy... and just, well, less. But 46 days is under two months to go til spring, and even before that comes longer days with the time change 😎 Bring on the sunshine!
Until then I'll keep working on finding balance, self care, and finding a little bit of spring in each winter day. The other day I watched two birds play outside of my office window, taking a few seconds to just let my eyes follow them here and there as they flitted around playfully. I don't know enough about birds to know what kind of bird they were but they were cute and brought me a little spark of joy.
My balance check in: new water bottle, enjoying some sunshine with the fur-kids, books, tea, and fake fire coziness. I did a pretty good job of making a point of drinking more water and also had the unintentional habit of making our bed every morning. It just sort of happened a few days in a row and I also recently heard a bit on the radio about how making your bed every morning can set the tone for the day by having a little accomplishment first thing. Plus, somehow it's so nice getting into a made bed!
Balance goals for the coming week(s):
- Keep drinking the water and making the bed!
- Leave the phone alone in bed... read or sleep.
- Meditate - I didn't succeed at this goal since the last post... and I think if I could get into a regular habit it could be a valuable tool when I'm try to quiet my thoughts.
- No fast food - yes this even means the breakfast sandwich from Wawa that I find it hard to resist when I need to stop for gas in the morning.
What We're Reading and Listening to:
Truly for now it's more like what "I'm" reading because Camping Husband is deep in the weeds of reading and writing about nursing theory. He started taking a class last week and going back to school after more than a decade is no joke. I feel guilty that I'm curled up reading and writing whatever I want while he's reading and writing and worried about doing it correctly.
Audiobook:
I'm using the Libby app through the public library to listen to Becoming by Michelle Obama. I'm only about an hour or so in but it's really wonderful so far learning more about her childhood and experiences in her own voice. I find her voice to be very welcoming, like listening to a friend - I think I will really enjoy my commute these next few weeks :-)
Books:
I really enjoyed this one: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman. I couldn't put it down and spent most of a day off curled up under a cozy blanket, with a hot cup of tea, and a cat purring nearby, reading this quirky, nerdy, comforting, chick-lit. One of my favorite fiction reads in a while!
The Elephant in the Room: On Fat Man's Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America by Tommy Tomlinson. I don't remember how I came across this one, but when I went to search it in the library catalog it had a fairly long waiting list so like I sometimes do I popped over to amazon.com to just do a quick check of the kindle price and it was my lucky day... it was on sale for $1.99 (it's one of their "great on kindle" titles) and I had an ebook credit to spend. I hit the book-nerd lottery :-) The author is also a journalist and I found his writing style very engaging: funny, heartbreaking at times, and honest. This book is about so much more than a struggle with weight, but more about how our lives are so complicated and sometimes fragile, and about how the inner workings our mind, mental health and life experiences all function (and sometimes don't) to make up who we are. Very relate-able read.
I hope you all are finding little ways to enjoy winter (hopefully some of you even love winter). I'd love to hear your favorite winter activities or book, movie, or TV recommendations!
Peace, Love, and Paw Prints,
Camping Librarian
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