tips: thriving in winter

 It snowed again last night....

Are you sick of winter and ready for all those spring catalogs to start popping up in your mailbox?

Normally, I would be right there with you ... but I'm trying to be present, soaking in each day (and not jumping ahead to what's next).  I suppose this includes the seasons too.  I don't want to simply survive this winter, I want to thrive.  To enjoy.  As Nichole said so much better than I could, "Don't write off the season, waiting for the next."

Let me be honest with you.  It is all a mind game.  I'm focused on being immersed in the wonder of winter -- without becoming cynical about the weather, or melancholy from the darkness, or sick of staying indoors. Want to see how I've managed it so far?

step #1 - change up the colors in our living room pillows (see the ousted color here)

step #2 - my parents generously updated our 1930s fireplace for Christmas.....genius!  I turn it on every day.

step #3 - invest in cute winter accessories since you'll wear them every. single. day. for months

step #4 - read.  minimize overdosing on TV and crack open a book on dark winter nights.

Surprisingly, these small steps have made a big difference in our attitude.  Any other tips for reveling in the moment (especially a wintry one)?

p.s.  I might need to do another post like this for February and March.  We have a ways to go until spring in Indiana. :)

currently reading:

During the first big snow last weekend, we spent a couple of days cozied up inside reading.  Zach is making his way through the Harry Potter series after seeing the most recent movie (I am stoked that he is finally reading the books!).  I picked one of the classics I had never read - Tess of the D'ubervilles.  To be honest, I had no expectations for this book, and it has been a surprising, heart-wrenching story so far. 

I'm almost to the end and I can't wait to see what happens. 

currently reading...

1. just finished Epic, by John Eldridge.  It is a fantastic, short read to get you thinking about the story God has placed us in and our role in the story.  For me, it sort of helped explain why I wrote this post, and a reminder of the hope that we have.  It is too easy to lose sight of that most days.

2. Pacing the Panic Room's posts on the new Harry Potter theme park at Universal.  Truthful, detailed, and all you needed to know about butterbeer.  As a big fan, I'm almost tempted to go....is there an off season??  Find the posts here and here.

 3. Our textbook for a new class I'm co-teaching this year.  It is an elective for upperclassmen discussing a range of ethical dilemmas faced by medical doctors and scientists.  I'm stoked!  It is a fairly short book, but it is concise and direct.  I'll be teaching the science, while one of our Bible teachers covers the ethics, theology, and philosophy + I get to have some of my old students again. 

4. Zach has read all of Malcolm Gladwell's books and loves his writing style.  On vacation this year I was desperate for a book after finishing my own, so I started to read What the Dog Saw.  I'm not normally one for non-fiction writing (despite what this list may say about me), but he is an excellent storyteller.  I'll keep reading this one throughout the school year since it is a collection of short stories, from which he draws some fascinating conclusions.

book frenzy

I really want these beauties.

Read an interview with the designer of the clothbound books here.