If you haven’t noticed, we just made it through January. Bleary, cloudy, rainy January in Seattle is a tough one and if you aren’t on vitamin D, go get some now. I’ll wait. Drive to Bartell’s or Safeway, or the vitamin store and get a big bottle if you aren’t planning on moving away anytime soon.Every doctor on the Pacific Northwestern Coast will tell you that taking vitamin D is essential here in the top left corner of the map because of the way the earth is tilted. We really don’t get enough of the stuff to keep a crane fly happy and healthy. So the January blahs may be related to a lack of vitamin D and if we all had enough we might be walking around waiting for rainy days instead of the sunny ones, saying stuff like “Dang, another stretch of sun. When are we gonna get some rain, Steve Pool?” (I hear people actually blame the weather on the TV weatherman.)
Take your D regularly and see if it makes a difference in your ability to sing along to the radio, get out of bed on a rainy, dark morning and tell jokes at the office. Sun Deprivation Syndrom is real. Don't ignore the symptoms.
The good news is that we’re on the downside of winter now and soon the cherry blossoms will be breaking through their little bud sacs and fragrantly coloring the streets. Any day now we’ll be trading puffy coats for trench coats and counting the days to playground and park adventures with the kids. BUT, in the meantime and while we wait, do something nice for yourself beyond a pat on the back. You made it through January. I believe in the reward system and if you’ve done a great job over the last few months, so should you. Here’s a list of women rewards that aren’t going to break the bank and are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. (Men rewards to follow.)
1. Pedicure: Don’t choose black polish. Instead, try a bright pink or coral.
2. Bunco with the Girls: Self explanatory
3. Pinterest: Find a category you love and pin 20 new photos every day eg) recipes, decor, beach scenes. Make your own boards of things you love!
4. Plan a future vacation: Even if you can’t book it, plan it. Make a camping ressie for summer.
5. Take yourself to a movie. A funny movie. (Not Les Mis or Zero Dark Thirty)
6. Give yourself $20. and check out the Clearance racks at Macy’s, The Rack, Ross’s. Sales are everywhere. (Wear Red to Macy's this weekend for 20% off)
7. Read a book that the neighborhood ladies are talking about.
8. Exercise is good. Repeat this phrase ten times then go exercise. Bar III in Issaquah!
9. Tune in weekly to a favorite TV show like Downton Abbey or The Bachelor. The latter is kinda mindless but that’s the point!
10. Take your vitamin D every day.
Men Rewards:
1. Watch a sport game on TV with a beer in hand
2. Take vitamin D
February has twenty-eight days, way less than January, and then it will be March and April, typically nice months here. We can do it. Let’s support each other, enjoy that rain and keep ourselves healthy and happy.
Oh, and sharks? I just put that in the title to attract readers to my blog, just like I put a shark in my novel The Dream Jumper’s Promise (which, by the way will be free for the downloading Friday Feb 1 and Saturday Feb 2) Even if you don’t have a Kindle, smart phone or mobile device, downloading the book to your computer is easy on Amazon Kindle. See? There’s another happy distraction—learning how to download books to read on your PC, and for me, shameless promotion and selling books.
http://amzn.com/B00AA4FAJC
Hello February. Happy to see you!
Kim
