(Hint: I’m the loser)
I am usually ok with a long cold New England winter. I like cold weather, actually, and the sheer length of winter has not traditionally bugged me because I know spring–and summer!–are around the bend.
But this year? Not so much.
This was only the first half of the snow that fell in that storm…there was more, and there have been more storms. Blergh.
Something about this winter has me clinging to sanity and on the verge of a trucker-mouthed breakdown every time it snows slash is dark (so, yes, every night). Get. me. OUT. I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t drive by the airport every morning and evening and fight the urge to pull off, by a one-way ticket to Key West, and just leave.
In an effort to make time pass and get to spring, I’m trying to keep busy, make plans, and focus on fine-tuning all the different aspects of my life. Por ejemplo…
MY HEALTH
Gym dates are being kept.
I’ve been trying to kick a lingering chest cold which has kept my workouts shorter and less intense, but frequent steam room visits and my new office humidifier are helping.
My hope is that by working out and staying healthy, I can stay happy despite the winter madness.
CLOTHES
I’m banning all-black or black-and-gray outfits from my wardrobe. I live in black and gray, usually, especially if I have a serious meeting or hearing to conduct. But I’ve got to get away from that until happier spring times arrive…the navy, gray, and taupe suits with bright tops and shoes are going to have to do the trick for those.
The other day, I was so bummed by the season that I said “screw it” and wore bright fuschia skinny ankle pants, a floral blouse, and a gray jacket. Needless to say, I brought spring to my office and made myself smile.
A friend of mine has banned tights from her wardrobe, and when it gets a bit warmer where I am, I may do the same thing.
My next spring-hastening-the-wardrobe plan may be pulling out all of my spring and summer clothes, trying everything on, and then making my infamous “piles”–toss, donate, keep. And any keepers will be somehow worked into my cold weather wardrobe slowly.
TRAVEL PLANS!
Chapeau Weekend 2013 is almost upon us!!! Every year, my friends from law school convene in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the arrival of spring, and the drinking of all the alcohols, and eating all the foods, and partaking in all the brunches.
For me, and I suspect for some of them, spring time = fancy Easter dresses, spring-y chapeaux, and the promise of sunny city strolls together.
I cannot wait.
FOOD
Simply talking about summer food has my mood brightened and those last lingering risottos, stews, and roasts tasting better. We’ve signed up for both the veggie and meat CSAs again, so there will be more wonderful produce and meat to look forward to.
This is happiness, folks.
PLANNING FOR THE BEACH
The process of getting Beach Kelly ready for the season is underway. The gym and Weight Watchers are only part of it, though. I’ve been looking at bikinis…yes, as in two-piece bathing suits–a new goal of mine!–and getting my beach pass in order. I’m so ready, you guise.
GARDEN
We started talking about the yard and the garden almost immediately after the last season ended. Some of our plans include building raised beds, an herb growing box along one railing of the deck, building some chaise lounges for the yard, and trying new varieties of produce in the yard.
HOUSE PROJECTS
This is my sore spot right now. I have so.many.things I want to do, but because of the weather, I can do so very little of them. Grr.
For example, I found a great glass door bookcase for the living room, but it needs some TLC in the form of patching, paint, and new hardware.
…but it is too damn cold to paint it, let alone work out in the garage that long. Plans as of now are to patch the “media hole” (ie, hacked out rectangle) on the middle shelf by replacing just the back of that portion, sand and paint the whole piece gray (I’m thinking Rustoleum’s Oil Based Smoke Gray on the outside, and the inside a slightly lighter shade of gray), and then replace the pulls with brass ones to match the hinges (which I’m pretty sure are brass, but a good polish is in order).
The bedroom has gotten a warmed-up mini makeover, replacing the cool silvers, grays, and blues with warmer golds, persimmon, and teals. I moved my orange lamp from the living room to the bedroom, swapped out the curtains for rich tan velvet panels, and we put in some new art:
Steve took that photograph when he was fishing years ago, and the colors are gorgeous. This bad Instagram doesn’t do it justice. I had it printed on a 20×30 canvas as a surprise for him, and it is awesome in the room.
Finally, my go-to home brightening accessory? Fresh flowers. Instant happiness.
Before you know it, it’ll be hot and muggy and I’ll be bitching about that. Until then I’ll enjoy, I promise!
C[a]SA Guarino 
