*sigh*
Me too, friends. Me too. The last couple of months have been packed with adventures new and old: skiing lessons at Alta (ohhhh, such a story of the epic fail of my first one), voice lessons (yesterday's master class was fabulous!), an editing class that's making an even more nitpicky editor at work (as if such a thing were even possible, for reals), Sundance screenings, snowshoeing, cooking, crafting, and trying in general to just get on top of things (yay, chore chart for grownups!), all while trying to beat the winter blues.
Ah, yes. The winter blues. Does anyone else get sidelined by these? I just attributed them to the snow the last couple of years here in Utah, but this winter they feel more brutal than usual - and there's nary any snow to scapegoat this time around. What is the deal? Getting up in the morning is the biggest battle I face all day, all I want are comfort foods and sweets, my self-control is weakened... and overall, I just feel blah. Which is no fun. I miss my bubbly, chipper self.
Any suggestions for beating the winter blues? I'm going to just have to step up the self-control (ahem, next week, of course) and get on top of all the things I know I ought to do to feel better - avoiding sugars and starches like the plague, totally cutting the caffeine (although I am drinking less Diet Pepsi than my former normal), working out every day, etc. All the things that I know will make me feel better... even though all I want to do is to curl up in bed with a good book and a cookie.
(Which is delightful, I might add.)
In other news, I'm "reading" (i.e. audiobooking) the most fascinating find! Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy - heard of it?
It's seven sessions in which Jackie Kennedy sat down with White House historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and talked about JFK's political (and personal) life four months after his assassination as part of a massive oral history Schlesinger compiled on the president. It is absolutely captivating!!! According to Jackie's wishes, the tapes sat sealed for half a century, released recently to commemorate the 50th anniversary of JFK taking office. It's one thing to read about the Kennedy presidency or all of the things that took place during that administration - Bay of Pigs invasion, the space race, fighting Communism, Asian tensions that led into the Vietnam War, etc. - and something entirely different to listen to the First Lady discuss it in her charming, softspoken, ladylike voice. I have nothing but admiration for Jacqueline Kennedy, the strength and grace she showed in dealing with her husband's murder and providing her family with some sense of normalcy while living within the fishbowl of the White House. She speaks of the kind of wife she was - creating a joyful, stress-free space for Jack, not picking his brains about policy and politics, unlike other first ladies like Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton, and the like.
Anyways. Fascinating. Makes me long for the world of the late '50s/early '60s, when some things were considered sacred, when being a lady was admirable and expected. I wish I could be more like that!
