Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Ranting About Winter

In my part of the Midwest, we've only had one or two days above 30 degrees in the last month. Far too many single digit temps for my taste. It's...brrr....cold here!

White, white, and more white. Yeah. Winter.

I miss walking outside. When it's below 30 and there's an additional windchill, the outdoors isn't fun. 

The continuous overcast days further depress my mood. As I write this it's sunny, but we typically have four to five days of cloud cover in a row. Freezing and no sunshine? Yikes. Oh, and let's not forget daylight is on a curfew. It's below the horizon by 5:30pm. Don't expect to see it before 7:00am, either!

What ends up happening is I sit around more. A lot more. And sitting leads to no energy. No energy leads to staring at the white sky, the white ground, and wondering if winter will ever end. Will it? WILL IT??

To add to my desperation, I read an article in the Washington Post, "The Health Hazards of Sitting," by Bonnie Berkowitz and Patterson Clark. (They included a handy-dandy poster about the dangers of sitting if you're interested.) In addition to the frigid temps, the lack of sun, the endless winter, I'm also hurting my body by sitting. Great.

It's enough to send this girl to the mint chocolate chip ice cream, the Doritos, and the 24 pack of Coke. 

The other day I bought a T-shirt and couldn't remember the last time my arms hadn't been covered by long sleeves. It will be months before I'm able to wear the new tee. It might be forever...

Do you live in an area that reminds you of Antarctica this year? Sending you a virtual hug! 

Have a terrific day!

10 comments:

  1. Awww, Jill. I'm sending you a hug full of sunshine. We've had a fair amount of sun recently, which has been good. But day after day of dreary can weary the spirit. I hope the sun returns soon to your region of the country!

    PS—You can always come visit me if you don't mind a chill in the air along with the sun. :)

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  2. Oh my goodness, yes, we have had some Antarctica days here in Iowa this year. But I've only been out on the road once during a blizzard so far this year, so I'm counting this winter a success so far. Haha! But seriously, I love my four seasons. I would go crazy if the seasons didn't change...so I'm willing to put up with some extreme days if it means I get my seasonal change every few months. :)

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    1. Me too, Melissa. I LOVE my four seasons. :)

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  3. It's been a warm winter in New Mexico, and for that I am grateful!

    No way to sit, with 26 dogs. They all seem to want to experience cold weather, savoring it to the last drop.

    On frosty nights some will stand and look up into the stars. Which is better than their trying to walk and look at the stars, because then they trip.

    http://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com

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  4. We've been in the Polar Vortex, too. I chant "Is it July, yet" as I walk on the treadmill.

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  5. Haha, not exactly. I live in Holland, and currently I am in Portugal... it is kind of nice weather here!

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  6. I do! And, like you, I'm over winter this year. I love the snow (usually) but I'm at my breaking point. Need some sun and some warm(er) weather. Soon!

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  7. I live too far south - we've only had a few days below freezing.
    And I saw that article about sitting. Glad I don't sit for that long.

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  8. Jill: here in central Indiana,the kids were out of school for an extra week at Christmas.
    They have to make up three snow days from that week. I understand that Monday was a make up day. Well, Tuesday, they canceled school AGAIN. Is there something wrong with this picture?

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  9. It's been crazy odd cold in this southern part. This morning it's 26 degrees and I had to get gas. The first pump would barely do its job so I had to drive around to another one which did the same! And the third pump wouldn't work at all. Talk about ticked off and frozen before 8:30 a.m. UGH!

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