Winter has arrived

Christmas is such a busy time, and even though I have two whole weeks off during the Christmas season, I rarely see friends or do any of the "normal" routine of stuff that is sometimes rather mundane, but somehow comforting at the same time.

Christmas is also the time when my friends are as busy as I am, attending to family and Christmas traditions, stealing moments between all the seasonal flurry to relax in quiet and ponder the next thing they need to do. 

The arrival of our first real snow happened on the first day of 2015 and with it brought the realities of winter.  The Christmas season is now done, and its time to put away the decorations leaving the house to look fresh and new. Time to empty the fridge of the seasonal foods and make room for healthier choices that seems to be on every one's "New Years Wish List". 

Time to get outside and brave the cold and wind, and toughen up our "indoor" skin.  Today was a briskly cold but sunny day.  It was a perfect day to try out my new snowshoes.  

 

Debbie and I (with very little planning, which seems the only way to get stuff done when it comes to busy people) hopped in the car, and drove to the Golf Course and started an hour long walk across open fairways and in under the cover of big trees.   The wind was howling but I barely felt the wind... it just felt so good to be out in the sun, enjoying catching up with a great friend and feeling pride in owning a modern and sleek pair of snow shoes.

I have wanted a pair of snowshoes for a while, but felt I didn't really need to spend the money on something I wouldn't use very often.
But last winter, I decide to challenge myself to change a few bad habits... and I paid myself each day that I successful!  It took me 6 weeks to earn $100 from this challenge, and I couldn't think of a better reward than a beautiful and slick pair of snowshoes.
Of course, the ones I wanted were not available (by February, there weren't many good pairs of snowshoes on the market).. so I held onto my $100 and waited.  Surprisingly, Costco had the ones I wanted when I visited in AUGUST!  They are perfect and I will use them often since my two greatest friends have each a pair as well! 

Look out snowy world....