I hadn’t heard anything about this so-called winter storm until I went into work yesterday, and then it was all anyone could talk about.  I don’t put stock in such mutterings; I believe it when I see it!

Well, for what it is worth, this is what I saw when I peeked out the door this morning:

I can’t shake the feeling that this winter will never end; there is a strange part of me that feels like it’s always been winter, winter forever.  It is winter madness, I tell you!

Plans for this snow day include :

† catching up on phone calls (semi-done; no one answered and I left a lot of voicemails)

† giving this “breakfast cookie” that I’ve been hearing so much about on various fitness blogs a try;  it’s obviously a “play around with it until you find a version you like” recipe - mine below includes oats, flax meal, a sprinkle of vanilla Spirutein, peanut butter, unsweetened Almond Breeze milk, cinnamon, cranberries, and walnuts.  I didn’t add any sweeteners, so I can’t claim it tastes like “raw cookie dough” as everyone else does…but it gave me enough energy to spend an hour shoveling snow so I guess I can’t complain.  I think I will try it again with a ripe banana mixed in and maybe a plop of Greek yogurt and a drizzle of raw honey next time.

† prepare some meals for the rest of the week; I am really trying to cut down on all the eating out that I do for lunch…I mean… think of all the money I am wasting on food when it could be going toward useless frippery! One must have priorities, you know.  I will be cooking a big pot of beans to use for various meals, and I somehow have to incorporate every rotting vegetable in the fridge into recipe gold using some sort of vague alchemical process.
We will see how that goes.  I think I will also make these “happy vegan” carob cookies…not because I am vegan, or even vegetarian…just because they are delicious.

† various and sundry household chores, exercise and work on a few projects…one in particular that I keep putting off because I don’t feel confident enough to even start it.  Mistakes are ok, though!  That is what I have to keep telling myself over and over.  It is a wonder I ever get anything done, truthfully.

Some things right now that are making me happy right now (I do have to remember to be thankful, especially when I get to feeling down as I have lately.  Life’s really not so bad, yeah?  )…

The Man helping me try to find friends on craig’s list  - “they’re all so SAD!“  † Xena on netflix during the treadmill † neighbors who wake up before me and get most of the snow shoveling out of the way ( I should probably bring her some cookies!) † kind librarians who run into a mutual acquaintance and inquire about me, noting “I haven’t seen S- in a while…she checks out the most UNUSUAL books!” † gala darling’s radical self love project, which I think is a marvelous idea † Ólafur Arnald’s Found Songs - the Icelandic neoclassicial musician recorded a song a day and made each track available via his Twitter; you can download  them (for free)  here, and they are all quite beautiful † Vladimir Lipetskih’s and Kevin Cooley’s stunning photgraphic images…I suppose if one is stuck in a perpetual, ceaseless season of winter, one may as well surround themselves with loveliness, whatever form it may take.

photo by Vladimir Lipetskih

photo by Kevin Cooley