To Whom It May Concern,

So......

You may have noticed that I haven't blogged in over a month. It's not because there hasn't been plenty to blog about because there has been. The little narrator in my head has still been blabbing away, but none of that rambling has made it here in print. I'm not blogging now to make excuses, just to give more of an explanation, of sorts.

My explanation is this: Frankly, My Dear, I......just didn't want to. Plain and simple.

When you combine the winter blahs that make me question if this is the year I visit the doctor and confess that I'm not even close perfect and need a little something something to help me deal with that fact and 3 separate and fantastically stubborn head and chest colds from the end of January to the first of March, I didn't want to do anything. Anything except perhaps diving into a vat of creamed butter and sugar and never coming up for air.

But the cold is starting to dissipate. The sun's appearances are becoming steadier. My running is more on schedule and a course of antibiotics has kicked those sinusitis germs to the curb. And best of all, I am finally starting to feel like doing anything again. So bring it!

Inspiration

I love being able to go to church. I love sitting in a class or meeting and being struck with inspiration; those little "a-ha" moments when I recognize some tid bit that I can use in my life to make it easier, overcome challenges, become a better person, or to just simply- make me happier. Yesterday, I had one of those moments.

If you have read my blog for awhile you may have noticed that this month it has been different. I'm not talking about the sparse content contributed so far, that happens more often than not, but I am talking about the look. There has been no cutesy background or clever header photo to fit the month of January; just plain, boring, blah. Which is about how I feel about January...blah.

January is hard. How can it not be after following all the hoopla of December? There is the post holiday letdown followed by the fatigue of lots of family togetherness, acting like a covert spy to accomplish gift requests, the decorating and worst of all, the undecorating. There is the scrutinizing of the current state of our lives with New Year resolutions, topped off with the realization of just how many facets of our lives we are falling short in and need to improve on. And in our family's case, heap on top of all that, the 3 different home reno projects we completed at our parent's homes, including one paint job turned nightmare by the discovery of black mold, which added an extra day and a half and new drywall to the schedule. Coupled with my need to complete 25 hours of dreaded, so therefore procrastinated, continuing education hours before the end of the year and you have how I feel... the complete and utter need to be and do nothing. In a word- blah.

Oh, and did I mention the weather? I am in the opinion that unless I am able to hit the slopes, the snow, cold, and grey skies aren't needed anymore and we should go directly from New Year's to spring. White Christmas? Mission accomplished. Now snow, snow, go away.

I'm sorry to be a downer, so this is where my inspiration comes in. At church yesterday, a friend of mine was dressed in this cute, cheerful, red, Hawaiian inspired dress, it was the complete opposite of blah and so it hit me... I need something cheerful and reminiscent of warmth and sun to make it through the rest of the month! So here you have it- my new blog background.

So even though I am partial to the beaches of the Pacific Northwest, I'm finding the looks of Hawaii or sunny So Cal. very enticing, not to mention inspirational.  But of course, their inspiration is not to be out done by Sunday School...

Comfort

My mother's famous crepes with peach syrup.

Warm cinnamon rolls iced with cream cheese frosting,

meatloaf, scones dripping with honey butter, bacon,

gooey chocolate chip cookies straight from the oven, mashed potatoes and gravy, pecan pie, McDonald's Cheeseburgers, German pancakes, pot stickers, crepes with peach syrup, pumpkin pie, crisp bean burritos, hot chocolate pudding over vanilla ice cream, carrot cake, hot chocolate piled high with whipped cream, coconut cream pie, caramel apples, fettuccini alfredo.

Just my latest cravings...and how I know that old man winter is sitting on my doorstep waiting to coat my world in a blanket of white.

Bring it on old man.