Winter may not be official for another couple weeks, but our climate certainly says otherwise. We’ve been bundling up, wearing extra layers of wool, & trudging through snow banks for a couple weeks now. & I love many aspects of winter – planning ski trips with friends, comfy wool socks (these are a staple for me. They’re men’s but they last for years), flannel & leggings, carefully braising beautiful meals (winter cooking is probably my favourite), skating at the rink in our neighbourhood, & reading by the fire at my parents’ house in the mountains. Just thinking about all this gets me pretty excited for the winter months ahead.

Unfortunately, my motivation seems to wane when the temperature drops far below zero. I’m not alone here either. There’s even a disorder for this season – seasonal affective disorder – SAD. Isn’t that acronym depressing? I don’t think I suffer from SAD, I just have a hard time motivating myself to get up & do a whole lot of anything. Gilmore Girls was just added to Netflix & I’ve made every excuse to watch episode after episode on the couch. I’ve watched it while blogging (like right now), writing thank you notes, cooking, & even cleaning.

In the summer months, I’m usually pretty motivated to workout. I get my butt to the gym or go for a run or even just go for a walk. We live about a minute from the river paths, so it’s easy to take advantage of this proximity. In the summer.

The great thing about the paths though is that they are cleared all year long & we’re lucky enough to experience breaks in the freezing cold pretty often. Even when it is cold out, it’s just a matter of taking the plunge. Once you get out there, it’s really not so bad.

I’ve been making an effort of getting out there more often lately. Even on the days that I don’t feel like heading to the gym, I’ve been going. I’ve been setting my alarm for 5 am & forcing myself out of bed for spin class. (I know that seems so crazy, but I have the best time once I’m there. The best!) I reminded N to pick up his skates so we can head over to the skating rink in the evening. Free dates are the best dates, right?

that’s it. Those are my thoughts about winter. None of this is truly groundbreaking, but I hope maybe it helps a little bit if you’re finding yourself in hibernation mode. You can do it! Get up, get out, & go for it. You can either hate on winter for the next 6 months or you can find a way to make it great.

Or maybe you’re already an expert in getting through the winter. Let me know if the comments what keeps you going