Day 676/55 - Joy

Well, gee.  It's been, what, 24 days since I last blogged.  So much for blogging every day!

Ahh well.  Onward.

Lately I've been thinking about joy.  Not happiness necessarily, but joy.  Two Thursdays in a row now I've heard great quotes about joy.  Maybe someone's trying to get my attention.  

Here they are:

"We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn't always know this, and am happy I lived long enough to find it out."

- Roger Ebert

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”

- Abraham Lincoln 

Both are timely after a long gloomy week of rain rain rain.  

Then again, I haven't worn my coat in a week, and our lawn is greening up.  Some random flowers came up in our flower bed, and the day lilies are slowly making their way up too.

Ahh joy!  

 

Day 700/31 - Winter Blues

OK, I'm just going to do one post about this, then I promise, I'll shut up about it.

After all, this is supposed to be a postive blog.  One where I count my blessings, not whine about the lemons of life.

Still, I just need a little time to enter my complaint about the winters around here.

It's true that I grew up a mere 2 hours from where I'm currently sitting.  So yes, I knew well what we were in for when we packed up and left comfortable Colorado.  With its 300 sunny days a year.  And its random 60 degree days all winter long.

But there was a reason I left the Midwest, and her name is Mother Nature.  

The first time I went to CO in the middle of winter I was floored.  It was sunny there. A lot. 

WHAT?  

When we lived in CO and I met people who weren't from there on vacations or whatever I almost always got the same question: it snows there all the time, right?  The weather is awful there, right?

Well, I'm going to let you in on a little secret (sorry CO friends, you'll be OK, no one will believe me, anyway).

The weather there is awesome.  

Sure, it doesn't rain very often.  And yes, those dry, 100 degree summer days can be brutal.  But shorts in March?  Every year?  Yes please!

I am waiting.  And waiting.  And at this point, I'm pretty sure I'll be waiting until April.  

Please, God, not May!


PS: In the meantime, can you CO peeps please lay off the short sleeves posts? Help a girl out! 

Post 701/30 - Garden Planning

Well, it was another slow day around here.

However, I did decide to start planning for some gardening this summer.  

Even looked at some seeds and supplies while I was at Home Depot. 

Oh yes, I know I need to get on this...but did I mention it's still winter outside?  This year, I think I have some time.  

More on this development later, I'm sure.

 

Day 702/29 - The Luck of the Irish

I don't know if you know this, but St. Patrick's Day is a big deal around here.

They have a huge parade downtown, not to mention the legendary South Side Irish parade.  And of course, they dye the river green every year, which is pretty fun to see in person.

Last year, we decided at the last minute to head into the city for the river dyeing.  

By the time the day was over, the highs topped out at 80 degrees.  Here's a picture of Hubs and Tot waiting for the train:

 

Yes, they are both wearing shorts.

It was a fantastic day, and we were really glad we went because we knew it was a St. Pat's Day for the record books.

Fast forward to today.  Where the high topped out somewhere around 30, maybe 35.  I don't know.  It was freaking freezing!

Here's Hubs and Tot waiting for the train this year:

 

All bundled up. Hubs is even wearing his long underwear. Burrr!

Still, we had fun.  Taking the train alone is big time excitement for Tot.  By the time we walked from Union Station to where they dye the river, it was already green, so we just took a look, then headed back towards the train station.

With a stop at Do-Rite donuts.  And yes, they do.

 

I realize the inconsistency of a post about donuts the day after a post about working on my fitness.  

But then, why do I work on my fitness if not to enjoy donuts?

Day 703/28 - Working on My Fitness

One of the things that I do to attempt to combat the winter blues is to exercise.  I try to go 5 days a week.  And because I'm easily bored by exercise, I try to mix it up as much as possible.

To make a long story short, before we moved to CO I had really let my fitness slide.  There are many reasons, but let's just say it wasn't pretty.  

So it's been a long slow journey back, but I'm getting there.  

When we first moved to IL and joined the gym, it was all I could do to get to the gym and spend 30 minutes on the elliptical.  Then I added back weights.  And finally, I was ready to start adding back some classes, which I love.

First, I added yoga.  It took a few months of regular yoga not to feel like I was going to die the next day, but I got there.  

Then, I added body pump, which I love!  Lately, I've been doing body pump on Saturday mornings while Hubs is studying.  I keep thinking that eventually I'll stop having the sorest quads in the metro area on Sundays...but that has yet to happen.

Finally, I added cycling class.  This was the toughest of all.  I was really really nervous to add this back to my repertoire, but I knew I had to.  My first few classes back were tough.  Really tough.  Especially with the sore buns and all.  But I'm getting better.  

Or so I thought.

My usual Friday instructor is out after having hip replacement.  (not sure what that says about a life of exercise...but I must not dwell on the negatives)  So a new person instructed us today.

She had a tattoo of the Ironman symbol on her leg.

We did things I've never seen before in spin class...like one-legged climbs and sprints, or this thing where you move your legs but try not to move your body up or down as if balancing a book on your head. 

Dude.

But all this is for the greater good.  Every time I think about how old I am compared to how young tot is, I feel more and more motivated to keep up the fitness fight.  

I finally feel like I might be winning.

Day 704/27 - There's a skunk in my yard!

I don't know that this really qualifies as a "Magic Moment," but I find the wildlife situation around here to be surprising and fascinating, so I'm writing about it anyway.

We moved to Chicagoland from Colorado.  Now, you tell me, which do you think might have a more vibrant and diverse wildlife population: Boulder, at the foothills of the Rockies, or the western suburbs of Chicago.

Before living here, I'd have guessed Boulder.  It seems logical to me.  And yes, we saw plenty of wildlife. In the almost 14 years I lived in CO, I saw big horn sheep, some sort of antelope, deer, coyotes, elk, skunks, porcupines, foxes, hawks, falcons, and snakes.  

But in the 14 MONTHS I've lived in IL, I've seen muskrats, coyotes, foxes, falcons, egrets, cranes, skunks, snakes, deer, hummingbirds, and cardinals. Pretty impressive, I'd say. I had no idea I'd be in for such a wildlife treat.

On the other hand, living near such a menagerie can have its downsides.  

Exhibit A: the stinky skunk currently living (we think) under our patio.  

We have the tiniest hole on the east side of our front patio.  We didn't even worry about it last year because it was so small.

But did you know that skunks can get into a spot via a hole as small as your fist?  

I do now!

So today we finally bit the bullet and had a pest guy (I call him "Trapper Carl") come out and set some traps.  

Stay tuned!

Day 705/26 - Not Everyday is Brazzle Dazzle

So, I started this blog so that I would HAVE to find the sunshine in every day.  But let's just be honest, sometimes, it's hard! 

I've definitely been in some sort of pit of despair.  OK, that may be a little bit of a hyperbole, but still.  Some days, the monotony just gets to me. And I guess it's those days that I really, really need this blog to remind me that brazzle dazzle can be found.

Truthfully, I have it pretty good. A house over my head. A healthy child. A husband who loves me. A pretty sweet job. I could go on. But man, sometimes, it feels like it's just not enough.  

So here's to the days, like today, when it's hard to find the magic moments.  Hopefully, they will be few and far between!