I have to admit to being the builder who wrote the email with a subject line: I\u2019m not whining, but\u2026<\/p>\n
As you can imagine, that email contained some whining, but I don\u2019t want to spend too much of my time just whining and surviving, so I am trying to think of things that have made some winter days better than others.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0 Grapefruit.<\/strong>\u00a0 This wonderful citrus is in season right now, and it feels and tastes like a burst of sunshine every morning.\u00a0 I cannot tell you what a difference it has made to eat half a grapefruit every morning this week.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Smoothies.\u00a0<\/strong> Frozen fruit, plain Kefir and some OJ in the blender take me straight to the tropics, and, I have some hope, give us a better shot at fighting off whatever is going around.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 Homemade Granola.<\/strong>\u00a0 Come February, the children and I have had enough of oatmeal.\u00a0 It was cozy in January, but now it just seems lumpy and depressing, so we are switching over to an easy maple granola.\u00a0 Our batch uses a whole large container of oats, so it lasts a while, and now I don\u2019t have a pot to scrub in the mornings.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 Long play baths.<\/strong>\u00a0 My 4 year old can spend an hour playing with boats in the bath, and he often does.\u00a0 If I am worried about dry skin I might throw a little oil in there, and the bright, warm, steamy bathroom is a mood lifter for him and me.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0 Push-ups.<\/strong>\u00a0 I am not getting into any sort of regular exercise routine these days, but when I am really feeling gross I get down and do 5 knee push-ups.\u00a0 It is not exhausting, but it does seem to kick in some endorphins and adrenaline, and make me feel powerful.\u00a0 If I do more than that (sometimes a set of 5, 5, then max), my arms hurt a little bit all day, and I kind of love that feeling, too, knowing that my muscles are still alive.<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0 Planning and dreaming.<\/strong>\u00a0 I am thinking about doing some redecoration in the big boys room this spring, so I am having fun looking at paint colors and shelf layouts and planning for what we might do.\u00a0 One caveat, I have to keep this in check or planning and dreaming turns in to coveting, but as long as I am reasonable, it is a great diversion.\u00a0 I\u2019m also researching cruises, and while it doesn\u2019t look like I\u2019ll be taking one anytime soon, I am having fun thinking about itineraries.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see, what would be more interesting, Istanbul or Hong Kong?\u00a0 Actually, I may have the kids play travel agent, research a foreign city and present a trip on a poster board, then stamp all of our fake passports.<\/p>\n How about you?\u00a0 26 days to go, what\u2019s getting you through?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have to admit to being the builder who wrote the email with a subject line: I\u2019m not whining, but\u2026 As you can imagine, that email contained some whining, but I don\u2019t want to spend too much of my time just whining and surviving, so I am trying to think of things that have made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":733,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n