Monthly Musings - Beating the Winter Blues

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Yesterday I had to move quickly because I'd nearly forgotten the What's Up Wednesday post. Today I'm a little better prepared for another link-up I'd planned to take part in this year, Monthly Musings. Holly at Pink Lady and Patty at Good Better Best co-host this monthly sharing of tips, tricks, and conversation starters. 

Here's the list of questions to ponder as we wrap up January and - for most of us - continue into another month or so of winter. Do you get the winter blues? Or the winter blahs, as we used to call them? I realized several years ago that gloomy, dreary, rainy weather tended to get me down and feeling groggy, sluggish, and unmotivated. The blues. I love seeing snow, as long as it's fresh and white! (Not a big fan of shoveling, or of being cold, just to be clear) When it gets slushy and grey, then I'm much more likely to be grumpy and moody.

Something you do for yourself to beat the winter blues: I have fresh flowers in my dining room. I started doing this a couple of years ago, and the joy I get from seeing a colorful sign of life every time I walk into the room makes it completely worth the bit of money I spend on it. Whether it's a simple flowering houseplant (that I'll hopefully be able to keep alive) or a small bouquet of cut flowers, it brightens my day. I checked the cut flowers at my local grocery store and almost always found some marked down for quick sale after the weekend so what I spend is modest. 

Something you do for your family to bring joy over the winter: This winter is the first in about thirty years that it's just me and my husband most of the time, so I'm not sure what we will do. I think the flowers will cheer him too, so I'll keep doing that! When my kids were young, I encouraged playing in the snow (we homeschooled, so that was Phys.Ed. too!) and when we were stuck indoors and feeling bluesy, they enjoyed Family Game Night and a few times we turned something they were studying in History/Social Studies into a theme night and planned our dinner menu around a historical period, geographic region, or culture. It was just something different.

History Lesson: 1930s Family Game Night

Favorite cozy items or go-to's: Fuzzy socks, and soft blankets are my favorites. For winter, it's flannel sheets on the bed - so cozy! Also we have a foot warmer size mattress pad for our bed, and we love it! It's something like this one, but just across the foot of the bed, under the sheets. Turn it on when I'm getting ready for bed, and for a half hour or whatever while I read for a bit, and it warms the bed just enough so we feel snug all night. 

Winter exercise habits or practices:  I need to develop some good exercise habits! Especially for winter. In my defense . . . over the past few years I've been pretty limited as to what I could do, because the arthritis in my knees was so bad. Last winter I was using a cane all the time. In the summer I had a full knee replacement and went through all the rehab so I'm way more mobile now and can actually walk! There's a good walking trail around our neighborhood, and there's also a clubhouse exercise room with treadmills and the like, so I can get out and walk. I just need to establish the habit.

Do you practice journaling or meditation?  Not really, although I do have a notebook I use to keep track of to-do lists and things I want to remember, and I do meditate on the Scripture I read.

Do you light candles or use essential oils to relax? We usually have scented wax warmers on during the day, and often light candles as well.

Any bedtime rituals you would like to share that promote quality sleep: When I was going through a very stressful period during the fall, I started taking melatonin supplements about an hour before bed, and it really helped! My unwind ritual before bed includes at least one language lesson in Duolingo and some reading time.

What are your morning habits that help prepare for a good day? My weekday morning routine is enjoying my coffee while I do a Bible reading, and listening to the radio while I catch up on emails and putz around on my blogs and other websites. I also review my to-do lists each morning to (hopefully) keep me on track with the most important tasks.

Favorite way to spend a day off in the winter: Right now all my days are days off so I don't know how to answer this! If my husband is off work and the weather is decent, we like to go for walks. If it's too cold or miserable outside, I love going to the conservatory. We used to joke about having a membership to the Franklin Park Conservatory, since we visited almost every time we were in Columbus, but now we live here so we will definitely take advantage of membership!

Favorite winter themed movies: I so rarely watch movies any more . . . can I say Frozen (and Frozen 2)? I really liked Frozen and have good memories of watching it (again and again and again) with my daughter when she was young. Same goes for The Chronicles of Narnia, which I consider a wintery movie.

How do you beat the winter blues? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm linking up with Monthly Musings hosted by Holly at Pink Lady and Patty at Good Better Best.

This post will also be linked at Encouraging Hearts and Home.

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