January blahs and inactivity

I have been lazy and lethargic lately. I went back to work Monday and I really miss the freedom of sleeping in or taking a short mid-day nap when I want. I also resent the phone when it rings at work and just want to get on with my work without someone thinking our office is directory assistance or the legal office or something else. I guess I'm in the January blah phase.

I love the holidays - the lights, the music, the smiles and the family gatherings. I love that I have enough leave to take time off to cook something special for the holidays. I love that Dec. 21 means we're gaining daylight and heading toward spring.

But in January I seem to start to sag. It seems we've had snow and cold temperatures forever and it will be forever before it's warm again. I tell myself we're at the halfway point - we've been in winter for about 3 months and it'll only be 3 more until spring gets here. In just a couple of months we'll start seeing warm (relatively speaking) temperatures. I tell myself last year at this time it was 50 below, so 15 or 20 below is a snap. I tell myself it's picture-postcard-pretty out there. It doesn't work. I don't want to go out with the camera any more than the dog wants to go out.

My friends Bonnie and Mae and I were discussing a trip to Phoenix for Spring Training in March, but it fell through. We'll look at next year, but I was sure looking forward to a trip to Arizona to end the winter.

So in an effort to make an abrupt attitude adjustment, I'm trying to stay positive. It's a little easier today.

My mother should be home from the hospital by now. Her shoulder replacement surgery went very well last week. She had a little setback with a minor infection, but they cleared up that up with antibiotics. I guess there was one scary time for her when she had asthma trouble and had to have a breathing treatment. But for the most part, it went very well. This was her first overnight stay at a hospital since my baby sister's birth in 1961. She was in high spirits every time I phoned and wasn't in a lot of pain thanks to the medications. I hope her recovery is as smooth.

Mae and I are looking into a trip to Anchorage on the Alaska Railroad. We both enjoy the train travel and Mae has never taken the train all the way to Anchorage. I did it almost 31 years ago with a 3-year-old. It was such fun. Should be even better this time as I won't have to chase after a toddler. I look forward to all the photo ops on the southern half of the trip. I'm having a good time checking out everything online and making tentative plans. We may scrap the whole thing and start over, but it helps pass the cold days.

And in an effort to try to fool myself into thinking it's warm, my computer's desktop sports a photo shot in Hawaii last year. I change it frequently, but it's always a shot of someplace warm from October through March or April.

I did snap a photo of a frosty tree as we picked up juice at a local drive-through this morning. In spite of the cold, it's still a beautiful thing. The round lilac bush in the bottom left is bathed in the golden glow of the street light.

I am working hard at eating healthier these days and have been trying new ways of cooking fish. I've been happy to find tilapia, cod and occasionally mahi mahi at our local Fred Meyer store. Now and then I'll pick up a salmon filet, but I prefer the milder white fish. So far I prefer grilling them with just a little spray of Crisco olive oil spray. However, now and then, I MUST HAVE some rib-sticking comfort food like pot roast. Instead of potatoes, I'm now using broccoli, cauliflower, beans or carrots, or some combination thereof. It still tastes great and I don't feel I'm depriving myself - therefore, I'm not bingeing.

We are gaining daylight daily and I can see the difference as I'm driving home. I actually had to put on my sunglasses the other day :)

So I'm saying goodbye to the January blahs and trying to stay on this positive bent. On that note, it's time to move the clothes to the dryer and go fix some tilapia - today's tasty, healthy hot meal.

Stay happy and warm.