January Pants

So last year my boyfriend and I decided to finally buy a house. No, not the perfectly good 1920 rowhouse we'd been living in for five years, but another house. Because that's what you do. We also decided to do it right before Thanksgiving, and then spend the holidays frantically shuttling stuff back and forth, making mountainous donation piles, staring wistfully at our pinterest boards, and wondering when our house would start to get its act together.

Soooo ... now it's January. And normally I hate January. It shows up for no good reason after the end of the holiday season, to mock you. And where I live, it doesn't even snow to trick you into thinking the holiday feelings were stretching out into the new year. Nope. It's JANUARY. Big, stupid, mocking, and 50 degrees. You can't do anything in 50 degrees. In 60, you can go for a hike. In 40, you can dream of snow. In 50 you start to wonder what season it's supposed to be.

Anyway. So while my head has been spinning with all the things I want to do with my house, I stumbled upon Apartment Therapy's January Cure. Apparently the genius folks over at one of my favorite blogs have found a way to tackle the January Blahs by giving you a list meant to distract you from the fact that WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER AND IT'S STILL NOT SNOWING. I know I'm late to the game, since this started on January 2nd and it's now January 9th BUT! There's nothing stopping me from grabbing onto the tail of the bus, Back to the Future-style, and join the home improvement.

I've already done Day 1: Make a List of Projects and Day 2: Make an Outbox, thanks to the moving process. The other day I sat on the floor and stared vacantly at the fireplace for a while, which in my mind counts as Day 4: Get a Fresh Perspective in 10 Minutes. This is going to be a piece of cake!

What's everybody else doing to conquer the January Blues? Or am I the only one afflicted?

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Inspiration in the A.M.!

Omigod it really works. A couple weeks ago, I tried an experiment: to get up and exercise each morning, pre-work. At least 30 minutes of something, be it jogging or following along with the wonderful Roller Derby exercises here. And you know what? All those crazies were right! I felt happier and more energized throughout the day. I walked through the halls with a spring in my step (okay - maybe a hobble, since jogging makes my hips sore). I woke up less tired and more motivated, and all day I patted myself on the back.

This is just one step towards being a happier Morning Monica. M. M. is the one who shuffles around in a.m. darkness, angrily snapping off overhead lights, grumbling to herself and frowning at her boyfriend and cats. She answers every question with "no". She battles through morning rush-hour traffic and even though her commute is 45 minutes long, still isn't prepared to be friendly to people when they try to say "good morning" to her in the parking lot. The attitude can't be blamed on "let me get my coffee first" - no. Morning Monica is a scary, frightening creature who reacts to everything poorly until at least 9:00.

Next step? To read pretty blogs every morning before getting ready. Not just any blogs, pretty blogs. Like this one, that brings well-lit photos and inspires me to create new outfits every day. Or this one, that makes me think of ways to make my house more morning-friendly. Pretty blogs leave me with nothing but positivity on my way out the door, and so what if traffic still unravels me? I'll have knocked out the morning with an energy boost and by looking at pretty things.

Inspiration in the A.M.!

Omigod it really works. A couple weeks ago, I tried an experiment: to get up and exercise each morning, pre-work. At least 30 minutes of something, be it jogging or following along with the wonderful Roller Derby exercises here. And you know what? All those crazies were right! I felt happier and more energized throughout the day. I walked through the halls with a spring in my step (okay - maybe a hobble, since jogging makes my hips sore). I woke up less tired and more motivated, and all day I patted myself on the back.

This is just one step towards being a happier Morning Monica. M. M. is the one who shuffles around in a.m. darkness, angrily snapping off overhead lights, grumbling to herself and frowning at her boyfriend and cats. She answers every question with "no". She battles through morning rush-hour traffic and even though her commute is 45 minutes long, still isn't prepared to be friendly to people when they try to say "good morning" to her in the parking lot. The attitude can't be blamed on "let me get my coffee first" - no. Morning Monica is a scary, frightening creature who reacts to everything poorly until at least 9:00.

Next step? To read pretty blogs every morning before getting ready. Not just any blogs, pretty blogs. Like this one, that brings well-lit photos and inspires me to create new outfits every day. Or this one, that makes me think of ways to make my house more morning-friendly. Pretty blogs leave me with nothing but positivity on my way out the door, and so what if traffic still unravels me? I'll have knocked out the morning with an energy boost and by looking at pretty things.