Top Five Things That Are Getting Me Through Winter Alive (plus 1 bonus quick thing)

I know I am not alone in this sentiment, but I am SO OVER WINTER! Except the winter Olympics. I'm not over those. I love those. However, the rest of it can go away. Since I'm sure it isn't going to listen to me and go away for another month or two, I'm doing whatever I can to make it go quicker and/or fake myself out, and these are the things I'm doing.

1. This one is kind of surprising, but in order to make it through this winter alive, I'm mostly giving up sugar. This is also related to the losing weight thing I have going on, but I discovered that when I did slip up and eat a sweet, my mood took a nose dive and I was ready to go to bed for the next two months. It's so weird! This is not to say that I'm eating zero sweets, because I'm giving in on rare occasions, but for the most part I've sent sweets packing. I haven't baked dessert save for the pie for the baby shower in weeks. I gave up my afternoon candy bar and my nightly bowl of ice cream (is it any wonder I have yet to drop the baby weight?). I gave up regular soda and only have diet soda on a rare occasion. I never thought I'd be one of these people, but I gave up most processed sugar and I feel great!

2. Things that smell like summer. Citrusy perfume, coconut scented shampoo and conditioner, pina colada flavored gum...the list goes on and on and anything that smells like summer is a winner in my book.

3. Wearing bright colors. I especially am enjoying wearing my summer tank tops under cardigans, so I can feel like I'm somewhat dressing for summer while still staying nice and cozy warm.

4. Good books. I've been reading quite a bit, and have enjoyed everything I've read so far. I tried to read Isadore's Secret, a true story about a nun who was murdered in northern Michigan early in the last century, but although it was entertaining, it was really slow, so I abandoned it and have been reading books that would be considered good beach reads. Currently I'm reading The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death and am enjoying the hell out of it. Next on my night stand is Catching Fire, and I can't wait to get to it. I love good books!

5. Decorating (or planning to) my house. We've decided on paint colors and have started shopping for new bedding. We are also watching copious amounts of HGTV and DIY to get ideas for remodeling our master bath and kitchen. It's so much fun, and Aaron and I are finally starting to agree on what we want. Now that the agreement is happening, it seems like much more of a reality. Yay!

One more quick thing that is getting me through the winter: Gabbie being silly.

(It may be kind of hard to tell, but here she's wearing Mr. Potato Head's glasses and saying, "Cheese!" while pretending to take a picture of herself with my old cell phone. She is awesome.)