hello, january

Well, I didn't put on any holiday weight until the last three days.  But I sure made up for lost time.

I feel a profound sense of relief to have arrived at the asceticism of January.  I don't go back to work until Monday, so the next few days still technically fall under "vacation," but they also count as post-holiday, and I eagerly anticipate the post-holiday slimdown - getting up early once again to work out in the mornings (because I didn't get my Christmas tree until the weekend before Christmas, I'm leaving it up a little longer so I can work out by its warm twinkly lights, which somehow make being awake in the dark of a winter morning a comforting experience); eating very little during the day and savoring a big homey dinner (I've been thinking longingly of broiled salmon fillets and potatoes in my delicious all-the-spices marinade); drinking alcohol only on the weekends; and generally sitting around the house wrapped in afghans and reverting to winter hermitude.  It's not just a goal to take off the holiday weight; it's an eagerness to return to the life of sparser eating and regular exercise that I've cultivated over the last couple of years.  I let my fitness routine lapse over the last month because I've been busy, exhausted and completely unmotivated, and also because I think that it's perfectly healthy to let things slide into revelry periodically; and I had a wonderful holiday season, and now I'm excited for life to return to normalcy.

I do love the holidays.  This year's were fun.  Chris came home for a whole week, and we divided the time pretty equally among his family, my family, and just the two of us.  I took the entire time off work from Christmas Eve through January 4th, and got to spend a lot of time relaxing on my own, and enjoying time with Chris.  Maintaining a relationship over distance constitutes a lot of work, obviously, and having him in the same city was a wonderful treat.

So now I have three whole days all to myself before heading back to work, and so far I have spent it paying bills and looking for iPhones on eBay.  The bill paying is going rather well, all things told.  It's nice to have put so much effort into getting my shit together over the last year.  I'm still poor but not quite as desperate.  There's a lovely security to that.

I also have one more semester to go before acquiring my master's degree in education, and a few things to get done before the semester starts.  Apparently taking a two-year hiatus means you have to renew all your PA clearances: fun.  I'll have to dig out my printer and get it connected to the wi-fi, and take a day next week to do some running around.  Also time to put together my portfolio so I can start looking for teaching jobs.

But meantime it's a gorgeous cold and snowy afternoon, there is tea to be made, a kitty to cuddle, and a house to potter about cleaning.  An excellent Friday all in all.