Typical midwestern climate. A warm-weather carrot dangles right in front of us through December and the first half of January, and just as we think we might be able to creep into February with temps in the 30's, Mother Nature reminds us with the force of a flying sockful of pennies that it is she, not us, that is in control of this place and we are just her puppets. She sends us minus temperatures to point out that we are only mere mortals.

So, before I became pagan, winter was a bitter (excuse the pun) time of year for me. The knifing winds, treacherous driving conditions, and the complete lack of life on the planet...all depressing, and there was nothing good about it.

But, as with most elements that are of a higher power than myself, I came to learn that Mother Nature has a great lesson in store for us when it comes to winter.

The earth needs winter...without it, there is no spring. There isn't any rebirth of trees, flowers, etc, without the death of them in the fall. She must rest to prepare for the labors to come.

What does that mean for us on Earth? She means for us to rest as well. Winter is a time when our schedules SHOULD slow down, so that we have a time to reflect and rejuvenate. If we don't heed her warning, she might send a virus (ahem...strep throat) to slow down us down a bit. Then, we are forced to rest. Without resting, our lives becomes that neverending rapid-fire of activity and exhaustion.

I have just recently had this epiphany, and I've noticed it in my own family. Since we don't like to get out in the cold weather, we're staying in much more...eating more dinners at home and spending more weekends just hanging out in the house...and I feel it is truly quality. I really am enjoying just being at home. With my kids, my husband, my furniture, my rooms, etc...

I'm also enjoying just BEING for that matter.

Perhaps that's why springtime is just a little bit sweeter for me, because I understand the purpose of winter.

Thought I would devote a little segment here to a heavyweight topic that many, many women and men grapple with. That certainly has been the case with myself: weight.

My childhood is the standard blah, blah, blah. Never had to worry about what I ate, was way active in school, etc. etc.

When I got to college, two things stood out: No parental supervision and a kick-ass food service. My god, I could eat donuts, bagels, and cereal for breakfast! I was in food heaven. It will come as no surprise to you all, dear readers, that I put on the weight, although I think I was still able to somewhat get away with high metabolism. Let's also keep in mind that I had no real exercise routine established. Sports? Never that great at them. Jogging? Uh, hell, no. And besides I didn't have a sports bra that did a decent job of, you know, supportage. Fitness classes? Didn't know the first place to find them and not really anxious to, anyway.

I was living la loca college life, you know??

So I got married in 1997. My wedding dress was a size 18. My wedding pictures have immortalized me and my double chin. But again, either it wasn't dire enough to do anything about, or I just didn't want to. I finally felt the need to take action around April of 2003, when I was the matron of honor in my best friend's wedding. My bridesmaid's dress was a size 16. Double chin was still present. While I was staying at my friend's house before the wedding, I thumbed through her copy of the Atkins Diet. When I got back to Minnesota, Brent and I both went on it. We lasted roughly five or six months - but we got results! I lost enough weight to turn up at my 10-year high school reunion in a size 12.

However, I knew I wasn't going to be able to eat the Atkins way my entire life. I hovered right around a size 10-12 until late winter of 2005, when a colleague of mine described her Weight Watchers experience to me. So on March 29, 2005, I joined Weight Watchers online, weighing in at 145 pounds (height: 5'3"). I reached my lowest weight ever on July 4, 2005, at 124.5 pounds. Wearing a size 8! The world of fashion opened up much wider to me than ever before.

But, you know, you have a little success, you get a little lax. By August of this year, I'd gained back everything I'd lost. Shortly after Christmas, my workplace started up their "Lighten Up" program, where entrants divide into teams of four, record their weight loss until May, and compete for the team accolade of "Biggest Losers." My starting weight a couple of weeks ago was 142.2. The next week when I weighed in, I was at 142.6. (Of course, I'd been doing Weight Watchers all this time, but the weekends were my undoing.) So, this last week, I buckled down, drank more water, exercised every morning of the week, and stepped on the scales this past Tuesday to the tune of 139.2! A loss of 3.4 pounds. Definitely good news.

As for this week, the eating thing is going great, but the exercising thing has been a bit in the shitter. I've been sick these last two days, and I have not felt even remotely close to getting on the treadmill.

So, this whole weight loss thing is an up-and-down battle for now...and I know I'm not the only one. I just keep on truckin' and take it one day at a time. I think I'd be OK if I could get around 130 pounds. Right now, I can comfortably wear a size 10, and when I get too depressed, I just remember the days when I wore an 16/18.

And of course, my wedding pictures are displayed on the bookcase in the living room, so I can always easily motivate myself that way too.

Then I wouldn't be missing two days of work due to strep throat.

I was a bit freaked out because when I called for a sub yesterday, there were none available. I don't think there was anyway I could have slogged through a school day, feeling the way I was (not even knowing how much more worse I would feel).

But, I bucked up the best I could and went into work. After checking in with the nurse and pleading my case with the office staff, they were able to switch some things around for me. So I came home, had breakfast, and went off to my doctor's appointment at nine. It was almost ten by the time I got out of there. Naturally, talking with the nurse and doctor only takes five minutes, the rest of it was waiting. Keep in mind here that I've moved from Rochester, Minnesota, home of the Mayo Clinic, and I am used to efficient, quality health care. But I digress.

After that I run to Walmart to pick up my medicine, which takes twenty minutes, so I tool around, picking up some groceries to pass the time. Honestly, I would dead by now had I some life-threatening illness and my life depended on quick doctor visits and medicine delivery.

When I come home, I am just about done for. My throat hurts, I've got a fever, I'm achy, I have a headache...so I collapse onto the couch. And I'm there the rest of the day.

I attempt to watch 'Pride and Prejudice' but get through two-thirds of it before I fall asleep. I also attempt to grade research papers, but I can only do about half of a paper before I am totally wiped out.

So, I am staying home today again. The fever broke last night and the achiness is down to minimal, but the headache is still present and I think my throat hurts more than it did yesterday.

I just gotta go into work here in a few minutes and do sub plans.

* I fear I am losing my legions of readers because of my infrequent
entries.

* I fear head lice and other microscopic critters that live on
people's bodies.

* I fear my children being abducted.

* I fear dying an unnatural death. I am OK with dying, but not
in an unnatural way, such as being murdered.

* I fear getting old.

* I fear I will be taking a sick day today, because I fear I have
strep throat or tonsillitis. Whatever it is, I think I've got two
golf balls stuck at the back of my throast

Indianapolis Colts are going to the Super Bowl!!!

One good thing about living in Iowa is that we have no professional sports team and are free to pin our loyalty to whatever team we choose. For the most part, Vikings, Packers, Bears, Chiefs, etc fans can live here in Iowa in peace and harmony.

I'm really more of a Tony Dungy fan than anything. I've liked him since his stint at Tampa Bay. He always just seemed calm and composed and nice, I guess. Of course, I don't personally know the guy, so he could totally be a jerk behind closed doors. If I ever find that out, I'll be devastated.

Anyway, Indy's going to the Super Bowl...against Chicago. A Midwesterner's dream come true!

OK, back to grading research papers.