What the? I'm sorry but I am NOT ready for living in total darkness! Not only limited hours of daylight, plus the end of daylight savings, but also a cruel, endless string of dark, cloudy days. Ugh! This is how dragged down I feel in March, not November. I'm toast this winter, completely. When our kids are in college, I am so out of here. Grumble.

Given that I'm firmly stuck here for the next, oh, eight years at least, I'd better reach extra-early for my tried-and-true northern-clime gloom deterrents, not usually seen consistently until the end of December. But hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. First, I complain loudly and often. Then I force myself outside. Grumble. Yeah, the one sure thing that "feels me better" (as Nathan used to say) is the last thing I feel like doing - exercising in the great, dim, cold outdoors. Turns out that even watery sunlight is better than no sunlight at all. Hmph.

I also consume a lot of warm liquids. Pots of tea, mugs of hot chocolate (while playing Scrabble with Nathan - that could cheer me from the worst of moods), bowls of brothy soup. Good for my tummy and soul. Tonight's tortilla soup, followed by a hot cuppa joe, did me up pretty well. Oooh, now it's time to go soak in warm liquid - aka a bath - and I should be almost back to normal. Almost. Grumble.

Moderate it: warm liquids are so filling for very few calories. Even hot chocolate can be moderate if you make it yourself with low-fat milk, good quality unsweetened chocolate, and not too much sugar. Enjoy!