Seriously.

Stop me if you've heard this one -

IT'S SNOWING.

ALL it has done since November is snow here. Honestly. I've been out a minimum of twice each week with a full-on snowblower agenda. It's rarely a light dusting or a few flurries - it's like 3 inches minimum. It's actually been record snowfall here, so I'm not just wussing out. I'm so sick of winter I could throw the hell up. It's killing my mojo and boring me senseless. Cabin fever isn't even the right word - I feel incarcerated. And it's only mid-February.

It makes running no good. Not because I don't like running in winter - I do - but because if you figure 2 majorish snow events a week, that means the day of, and the day after - while the city cleans up - are really no good for running, unless I'm up for a sand-like workout. And it's been cold as hell, too - like, below 5 degrees. I'm not having it. This sucks.

So - I've actually taken this time of forced solitude to get some other things done. I'm working on a huge work project that's a lot of fun and also pretty cool. Dakota is, of course, a ridiculous blast. I've redone my office. It's meant less running than I wanted - but I can cope with that - the offseason is for offseasoning. I'm not going to beat my head against the wall with this stuff, or get myself into the trouble I did last season, when I wasn't doing enough and got injured. If I need to wait it out a little until it warms up just enough for major snowstorms to bypass us and streets to be clear, s'okay - I'll push my season back accordingly. I'm not going to fight mother nature here - life is too short. But that doesn't make me any less sick of winter.

The grand eating experiment? Interestingly, the weather is another significant factor in its success. Besides affecting the exercise schedule, which is symbiotic with the healthful eating, it's harder to get out and do the right shopping when the snow in my driveway is literally mid-torso (like it was on last week's storm). But there's also a mental disengagement - you want to kind of curl up with comfort food against the elements. Or, you get to what's convenient, which if that doesn't mean ordering something up, it means "whatdowegot around here?" It was another thing where I came to realize - this isn't the right time, or battle to fight. So. I finished my 6 weeks with a B-. BUT, I learned what to do to accomplish an A, and that's harder than I would have thought. I intend to try again when the sun comes out. Meanwhile, I'll stay hibernating for a bit longer, physically. Mentally, and emotionally - I'm ready to roll. So let's bring this springtime on already!

Meanwhile - hello everybody, a few new faces introduced lately, and it's lovely to have you here. The faces logo seems to be of interest, so stand by on something exciting that I'm brewing up with that. For now - back to my hole for a little while longer, lest I see my own shadow and freak myself out.