Snowed In

I love waking up just a few moments before a snowstorm.  It's gray and ominous outside.  I perch myself on the loveseat and take a few moments to read, pausing occasionally to look out the window at everyone scurrying around, desperate to reach their destinations before the heavens open.

It's a magical feeling on those mornings.  Especially since the overcast skies trick Ellie into thinking it's still night time and I get a few extra minutes to myself.  Then the first few flakes start to fall and I find myself tucked away in a snow globe - cozy and warm and thankful that I have no need to venture out.

Day three of this snowy-time adventure finds me in a little different mindset, however.  Full blown cabin fever!  This morning I was standing in the windowsill with my head sticking out the top of the window, just breathing in the cold air.  "There is a world out there," I tell myself.  I can feel the craziness creeping in and I'm sure it's apparent to any neighbors who happen to look up and see a pajama-clad woman sticking her bed head out the window just to feel the sensation of wind in her hair.

It's starting to feel a little claustrophobic, and so today I've made the decision:  I am going out.  Even if just for a stroll around the block with a bundled Ellie strapped to my chest, we are out of here!  This little trip is just the cure to my cabin fever in one of two ways:

1.  I will feel so refreshed and invigorated after walking around in the cold air, that I'll know I made the right choice to get out and get my blood pumping.

OR

2. It will be such a miserable experience trudging through the slushy sidewalks riddled with dog poop and unexpected puddles, that I'll run back to the shelter of my apartment with a renewed understanding of why I never take Ellie out in the snow.

Either way, bye bye cabin fever.

Hiding Out

Who, me?  Hiding from my blog?  Hiding from my faithful (though tiny) readership?  Never.

Guess where I found Ellie hiding when we were supposed to be heading for playgroup?

Okay, so I have been absent from this space for a while.  Mostly for very justifiable reasons.  There was a weeks long vacation to Utah, we all had illnesses to recover from upon our return, things like that.  But there is one reason I've been gone of which I'm ashamed.  I've let myself feel overwhelmed by my little blog.  

Do you know the feeling?  You had a list of things to blog about, you got too busy, now it feels too late, you have writer's block, you're out of practice, you've lost the habit, everyone else posts cooler things than you do.  The list goes one and on for me.  But it stops today!  No reason to feel overwhelmed - this is my fun fun fun creative outlet.  And if it's not fun then there is no point to it.  Sorry for that rant, I just needed to remind myself publicly that this is my blog and I will post when I want to.  (Any thoughts on fighting the self-imposed pressures of blogging?)

And today I want to.  I'm coming out of blog hiding.  Just to prove how out of hiding I am, I think I will post my New Year's resolutions for the whole internet to read.

I took a refreshing break from New Year's resolutions a couple years ago, and I feel it's time to go back.  But I'm not the obsessive goal driven accomplish-er I used to be.  The more relaxed me sets a yearly theme, with a few bullet points to guide my direction.  This year's theme is:

Live with purpose.

Live with joy.

Everday.

• Nourish my marriage
• Teach Eleanor everyday
• Be a conscientious visiting teacher
• Take a course to further prepare myself for ASL interpreting
• Explore more vegetarian meals
• Pay off a lot of student debt
• Cultivate meaningful relationships with family members

I think it will be a great year as I really focus on doing things that bring joy and take the time to enjoy whatever it is I'm doing.  What are some of your New Year's resolutions?

 Ellie has vowed to spend  more time in the tub, obviously.