Surviving Winter

As the fall approaches and the weather gets cooler, I listen to my friends talk about the changing of the leaves, the changing of the seasons,  and eventual winter.  Some of them are excited, and some are less than enthused.

I am one of those that is somewhere in between.  As a native Arizonan, snow accumulation above a few inches is too much for me on a daily basis. Living in Milwaukee, WI has taught me that life does continue when snow has reached a height of more than 6 inches and is still falling.  Business don't close, kids stay in school, and life keeps on moving.

I'll be honest, even after seven years of Wisconsin winters, I still want to hibernate until after Easter, but since that is impossible (bills still need to be paid), I find ways to cope.

1.  Promise yourself to get as much of the winter things that you ENJOY!
    I like skiing.  Last year I made a promise to myself to ski as much as possible.  This kind of worked.  I looked forward to the skiing and actually HOPED for snow so that skiing conditions would be favorable.

2. DON'T spend all winter shoveling (unless you LIKE shoveling)
    HIRE A SERVICE!  Why would I want to have to wake up early just to shovel a driveway?  Consider this a mental health expense.  Services are plentiful and reasonable. 

3.  BAKE and/or COOK!
    Now is the time that people get together to celebrate family.  Spend some time in your kitchen making those family treasured recipes.  I love soups.  Last winter I spent time refining soup recipes.  I made them for potlucks, office parties, or just for ME!  There was a long time period in my life that my cooking was discouraged (not because it was bad...it just wasn't priority).  Now I am feeling encouraged to cook for the people around me.  They LIKE my cooking and I am learning to enjoy it again!

4. Find time to enjoy the snow.
    I know that this one is far-fetched but when you are able take a quiet moment, watch the snow fall.  Turn off the Ipod, TV, or radio, walk away from the computer.  You can stay inside if you wish.  But take a quiet moment to watch the flakes drift down from sky.  Admire the beauty and randomness of it all.

5. Find a way to exercise!
      Joining a gym may not be in your future, but (without shoveling) there has to be a way to exercise (follow a video, an audio tape, dance wildly to the radio in your living room) The point is to get rid of the excess energy that you use on outdoor activities during other times of the year....plus you'll need a way to burn off the calories from #3 (above).

Soon enough I'll be using these techniques to survive yet another Wisconsin winter.  I hope they work for you too!

I think I am going to work on breads this winter....to go with the soups from last winter!

So if you see someone falling down a hill and he smells of fresh baked bread, it is me.  Say "Hi".....just call the ambulance if I don't respond.