Friday, January 19, 2018

Feeling Good Friday-January Druthers Edition

I tried to have both a little fun with yesterdays lamenting about how sick I am already about winter. Thanks for playing along! Not to write a boring post about the weather, but it hit 39 degrees yesterday and when I left the office, there was still a scant bit of daylight. It's a long time until spring, but the days are getting shorter again. The weather forecast is a day of cold sleety rain tomorrow, followed by wave of snow on Sunday into Monday. DD1 is planning on coming here this weekend as tomorrow is her baking class with her grandma. I hope she doesn't get stranded-or maybe I do, and get some extra time. I'm meeting a former colleague for a coffee meeting at 8:00, so heading out the door in a bit but before I do, it's time to reach deep and see if I can find even small things I have done this week to help improve my physical and mental wellness. This is no small task when I'm in the January druthers.


  • While I firmly believe BS in politics needs to be called out when I see it, and those in office need to be accountable, I finally realized this week, my personal social media is not the place to engage in such. After two nasty  streams of people weighing in on what I thought was a relatively benign post, I decided to just stop. People who I knew decades ago can just stay in the past. I did a bit of decluttering of people from my past where no matter the issue, we will never have the same perspective, and any engagement is not worth the stress. I'll probably improve their Facebook experience as they won't have to see my threads either.  
  • My sister-in-law had an urgent appendectomy on Sunday. It must not have been classified as an emergency as they kept her waiting until they could fit her in to the surgery rotation for 7 hours, but happy to say all went well. She went home same night and even went to her book club on Monday!
  • I haven't reffed volleyball since the 13th of December, but subbed for a college girl on Wednesday night. The season ends in four weeks, so may have been my last time. I need to decide if this is a good use of my time for next season, but still, it gets me out and about socializing with my old team, who I met up with after I was done. IT would have been too easy to just go home and plunk in front of the computer instead.
  • Having a coffee meeting with a well liked colleague is always a good day for me. The office environment can be stifling so getting off site is good for my energy. We are also going to one of my favorite coffee places in St Paul in one of my favorite neighborhoods in St Paul. Parking may be a bear though, the downside. 
  • While I haven't really tackled a weight loss strategy, I'm still holding steady and haven't put any more back on. Hopefully having gotten past the January New Year's cliche period of losing weight, I will be in a better and determined mind set when the calendar page turns. 
What are your favorite strategies for getting through the low lights of winter?  Please share in the comments how you are keeping mind and body healthy this time of year.
 

20 comments:

  1. January is such a bloody long dark month, isn't it? It seems you are doing well at trying to keep positive though.

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    1. It has been good to keep looking for highlights despite the dreariness and cold. Perhaps winter won't seem so long.

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  2. I'm with you on the weight loss. Doing great on working out (every day in January!), but my weight remains the same. I did very well with eating the first two weeks, but I notice myself slipping back into the habit of eating crackers or empty carbs when I come home from work. I need to work on a solution.

    California has quite different weather, although it can be dark & rainy in January for sure, it's nothing like what you're experiencing. I try to get out whenever it's nice, and make the most of it. I also find that general health & wellness (eating well, avoiding sugar, working out, & getting plenty of sleep) help the most. I also, about 7 years ago, started a daily email thread with my sister & best friend. We mainly talk about fitness related goals, but we of course share lots of life stuff as well. It's one of my most "connected" things I do - even though we are far away, I always feel like I know a little bit about their lives.

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    1. Using social media to add to connections and relationships, but not instead. I don't know my weight loss strategy-need to figure that out now.

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  3. Forgot to add, I've given up Facebook & a news/politics site I used to read multiple times a day. I haven't deactivated my Facebook account, but haven't posted in a month and am rarely/never on. For the politics site, I went cold turkey. I am still active in working towards things that are important to me, but both were impacting my mental health, and I really just couldn't handle the stress, bickering, arguing & overall hatred.

    I feel SO much better for having made the change.

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    1. Deleting my FB account was one of the best things I have done for myself. I avoid all social media, and, oddly enough, have become more social as a result. I spend actual time with my friends, IN PERSON. It's much nicer.

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    2. I do legitimately enjoy keeping up with peoples lives-I just need to keep politics off.

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  4. Happy Friday. About a year ago, I deleted my Facebook account. I found, while it was by and large a nice experience, it was cluttering my life, and zapping my time, with nothing to show for it. If people want to contact me, they can phone, write, or stop by.
    As for winter: Here in the PNW, come November, the dark days can be daunting. The sun goes down around 4:30p.m., and you don't see it until close to 8 the next morning. Having spent over a decade in the southwest before we came here, this was hard on me. I finally just did what I call "surrendering to the season." By that, I mean, I enjoyed what the dark days had to offer. The shortest, darkest days are between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I just learn to enjoy: Early evenings by the fire, pretty candles lighting the house, and the fact that when they were younger, I could get the kids to bed at 6:30! Exercise is key too--I have a dog who needs walking 2 - 3 times/day, 2 miles at a time.( I used to run, but when training for the Portland marathon, I sustained an injury. Oh, I miss running.) In any case, when I get back from the last walk in the dark, I comfort myself with how pretty and cozy the house looks from the outside. Fortunately, once Christmas is over, the days start to get noticeably longer. I also go to bed much earlier in winter than summer. In summer, well, from April on, we'll have daylight well past 9 p.m., and closer to 10 p.m. in summer. Believe you me, when you have small children, that is a challenge! You just try getting a 4-year old to bed when it's all but broad daylight out. It almost left me longing for the dark days of winter!

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    1. I used to use black out blinds for this lol

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    2. I remember fighting to get the kids in the house on the late spring school nights. I needed them in bed near 9:00 o they were so crabby next day.The dark doesn't bother me nearly as much in fall, but come January I'm no longer amused.

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  5. My husband came down yesterday and said he was done with facebook, just too political. I have always thought that. Get a fit bit, they really open your eyes.

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    1. I know I don't move enough. I thought maybe hubs would get me a fit bit-might have to buy my own.

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  6. I’ve never had a Facebook account but as you know I’m on Instagram which I love so I’ve had to limit its use to 30mins per day. I’m doing dry Jan but hopefully will stay alcohol free until my trip on 23rd Feb I’m sure I’ll drink when I’m away but I’d love to just be teetotal. I now do two yoga classes per week and my full day course one Sunday per month plus a three mile walk most days keeps me feeling reasonably healthy. Other stuff I’m doing to enjoy January is lots of journal writing plus a commitment to write 500 words per day on my latest piece of writing. I also spend time with my grandkids who make me laugh so much and take more soaks in the bath instead of showering or as well as on some days lol. We are also starting a little venture into upcycling old furniture so have been discussing opening a Facebook account for the local buying and selling site. I’m not sure about this though as I’ve held off from going on FB for so long. I’m usually of low mood in jan but so far I’m ok this year. Keep up with the Yoga Sam I’m sure that’s why I feel so good this year it makes me feel happy lol

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    1. I love your Instagram-so uplifting. I should spend more time there instead of FB.

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  7. I have stayed on FB but I do not post or read anything political, consequently I do not respond to any of the said posts and don't have anyone who has to respond to mine.

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  8. No one on my fb annoys me with politics. To begin with, all my friends are the same party as I am. Secondly, if I read on fb, I might learn political things happening. I was talked into getting a fb account, and I just don't go there anymore and don't miss a thing. Can you email me at pparsimony@yahoo.com. I cannot get past your email. Thanks. Linda

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  9. I'm on FB but only because my family are scattered far and wide (and even though my kids are near me it is one of the easiest ways to see what they are up to and keep in touch. In fact, I just posted to both DILs about a fair here soon on the 1940s-1980s and we are going to go to it together). My sister sometimes posts dumb things like "I'll say merry Christmas if I want and NO-ONE can force me to say happy holidays". I mean, who cares. Most of it is made-up rabble-rousing BS anyway. The only person who posts inflammatory political stuff is my ex (usually when he is drunk from what I can see). One time I lit into him for his racist diatribe and since it was the middle of the night in the US it stayed there for quite some time before he deleted the post. I don't post political stuff either and mostly just ignore it. Oh, and I agree with the others about the necessity of getting outside in January, even if it is raining/snowing right now - it just seems to lift my spirits so much. Anna

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    1. My original intent on Facebook was social-planning and connecting around events. seeing pictures of family, knowing what is going on around town, but it has taken on a different purpose, so I need to start my own filtering-and let people filter me.

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