getting through january

Thank goodness January is almost over. It’s my least favourite month next to… Oh. February. Ick. There’s that to look forward to…

This January, I planned ahead a little and decided to not let it get me down. Or at least, less down, anyways.

Here are the things that have been getting me through:

1. Frye engineer boots.

   They were a big Christmas/Birthday present from my mom (my Birthday is in Early Feb.) They are warm and cosy, but also tough, resiliant and kick ass. With a warm pair of socks, they pretty much stomp on the heads of those (admittedly practical, but sorta fugly) sorels that everyone’s been wearing this year. And they’re going to last forever and look more and more amazing as they get broken in. As a bonus I feel like a superhero in the things.

2. Columbia Dietrich Trench.

   It was also a Christmas present (we found it for mega sale at Winners!). It is exactly what I wanted and I was surprised to stumble across it for such a reasonable price. It is a warm little wrapper of a coat that looks like sophisticated trench on the outside, but is actually kinda sporty and functional on the inside. Best of both worlds! It’s even pretty aptly named – If you enjoy swanning about in a moody, foggy, pre-war, noir-ish fashion. And I do.

3. EA Sports Active for the Wii, with a little of Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout thrown in for good measure.

   After a summer spent walking and swimming whenever possible, I pretty much lazed around all fall, and I felt icky for it. When both my sister and my brother’s girlfriend got Wii fitness games for Christmas, I started seriously considering the possibilities of using that cute little white box as a legitimate fitness tool. So I did a little research and decided to make Liam take me out and buy me my Birthday present early – in the form of these two games.

   So, are they a real workout?

   Yes, Definitely.

   I am sore in all the right places after playing them, especially the EA game. While the resistance band that comes with the game is a little wimpy, as are the warmups, I am definitely feeling the burn, as it were. You don’t get too bored, as there’s a different balanced workout everyday. You can set it to whatever level of activity you feel you’re able to handle, and it’s not judgey (unlike the Wii Fit), just encouraging. Which is really the best part. It makes it really easy to set up a schedule, and follow through with working out everyday.

   It is, however, still working out. You will sweat. You will get sore. You will not forget that you’re working out. It’s fun, yeah, but not as much fun as playing a traditional video game. Although you do get to do it from the comfort of your own home.

   Gold’s Gym is just a fun cardio boxing game that’s a good addition to Sports Active when you’re getting bored with the more traditional workout it offers. Punching stuff is fun. Period.

4. A slowcooker.

   My mom got this slowcooker magazine/cookbook for Christmas in her stocking and I drooled all over it. We didn’t have a slowcooker, but thankfully they are cheap things to own. We found a cute one for 25 bucks, bought our own copy of the cookbook and have cooked our way through the thing, and every dish has been delish. Seriously, I have seldom used a cookbook so thoroughly, and I have a HUGE cookbook collection. Highly, highly recommended. Plus, I am totally won over by this whole “slowcooker” thing. It’s so cozy to have yumminess stewing in the house all day during these long, cold days.

5. Nivea Smooth Replenishing lotion.

   Yeah, this is just a cheap drugstore lotion. But it is also MAGIC. My skin went insane this winter with this crazy eczema thing, and nothing, NOTHING made it feel better. It was literally like wearing tight leather gloves made of my own skin on top of my hands and it was peely and bumpy, and euuuuuuuuughhhhh sooooooo gross and uncomfortable. I tried EVERYTHING. Mostly organic and natural remedies.

   I finally got a sample of this stuff in a magazine, and thought why not? Things couldn’t possibly get any worse. Things didn’t get worse. They got better. My ouchies magically went away. Poof!

   So I ran out and got a bottle and things have been hunky dory and super soft ever since.

a new year

It’s a new year.

Normally, I don’t pay much attention to the passing of a year, more than send out a little hope and a prayer that the next one will be a good one.

But this year, I heeded the passing a little more than usual.

I didn’t do anything particularly special – we went to our good friends house and had southern food (biscuits, gravy, black eyed peas and collards! – traditional good luck foods in the south) then played Super Mario Bros Wii, and mercilessly mocked the teeny hoppers on New years Rockin Eve.

But the years passing could palpably be felt. If only because, where so many others claimed to have had a tough, miserable year, I had the best year of my life.

I swam all summer. I made my own beer. I crafted up a storm. I saw my friends on a regular basis. I made new friends. I hung out with my lovely family. I partied. I threw parties. I wore cute oufits. I grew my hair long. Liam learned to make delicious homemade bread. I went to the opera…

I got married!

I went to Paris!

It’s not like we didn’t have any problems, any hardships to bear. Liam did lose his job, afterall.

But somehow, we were able to overcome it all this year in ways both simple and small, and huge and overwhelming.

And I felt last years passing with trepidation. Worry that this new year can’t possibly be as wonderful as the last one.