Friday, January 18, 2013

How a California Girl gets through Utah winters

Nothing good happens in January. Nothing. Well, I was born in January so something good did once happen in January. I don’t know anyone who loves the bleakness of winter. Oh sure, I have friends who love to ski here in the great state of Utah (Greatest snow on earth according to our license plates. Pfff) but I don’t know anyone who loves month after month of freezing temperatures and dark mornings and nights. No one. Especially me, the California girl.

My Vitamin D goes low, which leads to sleep problems. And as you know, no sleep, no happiness. So here’s what I’ve  been up to this January (and late December) in order to ward off the winter blues, stay healthy, and keep my sanity at sub freezing temperatures.

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First of all, I always head to California right after Christmas day to see my family and gather in some sunshine to last me 3 more months of winter. We stopped at the Hoover Dam outside Las Vegas this time. What an amazing structure man can create to control nature. Unbelievable.

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Here I am snapping a few photos on the Hoover Dam. I like the message on the wall “Danger Keep Off”. Ummm, yea, no problem.

cynthia at hoover dam dec 2012

While in California, Paul and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary on Huntington Beach. We went for a 5-mile run along the Pacific  Coast Highway. Oh the splendid sunshine of my home state!

cynthia on hungtington beach dec 29 2012

An evening walk on the pier with my sweetey.

paul at hungington pier

But once we got back from California, it was back to business. Back to the business of keeping sane through this record cold winter.

First up, piano. A little Mozart and a little Norah Jones. Wolfgang keeps my brain working overtime and Norah keeps me calm and soothed.

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I’m also working on this famous Nocturne by Chopin. I love Chopin. And I’ll love him more if I can actually learn this nocturne. You can listen to it by clicking here. So beautiful it gives me tears. That’s my goal: to make others cry because I’m so awesome on the piano. Or something like that. Or cry with pity. I’ll take either.

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Second, good books. Here’s my reading pile for January. A crazy mix I know—a little Science Fiction, a biography of a University of Utah president , a book about being a Muslim woman in America, and a little light fiction by my buddy Orson Scott Card. (I’ve read Sarah twice now, loooove it.)

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Third, exercise. I wish this wasn’t necessary, but I simply don’t sleep well without a little physical exhaustion. So out come the weights and away went my running shoes until temperatures can get above 30 degrees. I wish I was one of those women on inspirational posters, running through the Himalayas with the caption “No pain no gain” or something stupid. But I’m not. My knees hurt so unbelievably bad, running or not, when I so much as so get the mail at 0 degrees. I really hate that I’m not tough.

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Besides, while lifting weights I also watch re-runs of Alias on Netflix. Go Sydney Bristow!

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I turned 39 this week, on January 14th. I’m feeling good about, I think. Feeling even better about the chocolate cake and flowers my hubby bought me.

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birthday cake jan2013

Lastly, I’ve been working on new embroidery designs for meringuedesigns.net.

twigs (3) copy

Twigs Monogram and Jigsaw Border coming next week.

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And that’s how a west coast girl gets through a snowy winter.  That and dreams of warm vacations. Preferably the kind on tropical islands.

2 comments:

Ilene said...

I like to get through winter by whining a lot. And sitting on the couch huddled under a blanket. Not my productive time of year.

The Pianist soundtrack is all Chopin (I think). Love it, so beautifully played (I probably should know who is the actual pianist).

Pam said...

I live in Tennessee so our winters are nothing like yours in Utah. I actually enjoy the cold or should I say cool days. Our winter is really only from January to mid March. So, not so bad.

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