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76. Ninja Kick Winter's Dick
22 Plays1 month ago
If you’re one of those poor unfortunates that struggles intensely through each wintertime, this episode is for you. <3
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Hosts: Christina Bell & Molly Wilde
Music: The Confrontation, by Jonathan Boyle, licensed from Premium Beats by Shutterstock
Editing: Molly Wilde
Disclaimer: The purpose of this podcast is for entertainment and enjoyment. We are not professionals in any regard. We do not have professional knowledge, training, or education in physical health, mental health, or spiritual matters. Any suggestions or recommendations made during our episodes should be independently researched by the listener before considering implementation, or better yet, listeners should ignore everything we say. We cannot be held responsible or liable for anything we say, or any actions taken by any persons as a result of listening to our podcast episodes. Stay safe, stay informed, stay smart.
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Transcript
Nostalgic Road Trip Discussion
00:00:26
Speaker
How you doing? Full. I just ate a shit ton of food. Nice. What'd you eat? Panda Express.
00:00:37
Speaker
oh my god do you remember when i decided i wanted to do road trip dinner on hard mode when i was leaving anahadas last year and i decided to get panda express from from a rest stop just this past october just this past october okay Yeah, kind of. I think I told you about it. Oh my god, it was so funny. Because it was just like, I just really wanted something different.
00:01:05
Speaker
And I was like, and there was a Panda Express at this place. And I was just like, I haven't had Panda Express for, I literally think since I've been in like, since I was, since I was like 20. Shut up. That long?
00:01:17
Speaker
Yeah. That's a long time. i don't, I don't think I've seen one around here. or At least if there is one around here, I haven't like happened across it. Hey, did I just blow out your eardrums? I'm sorry.
00:01:28
Speaker
No, you're good. Okay.
Technical Audio Adjustments
00:01:30
Speaker
Cause I'm like, I got loud all of a sudden and I thought, Oh, no, you're fine. You're fine. New microphone settings. So we have no idea. Waveforms are huge, but like, that's perfectly fine. They're very healthy.
00:01:41
Speaker
Yeah, you know, my waveforms are never that big, like, normally, when I'm looking at them either, so that's okay. Yeah, cool but you sound good. Sorry to interrupt. Go ahead and continue with your Panda Express story. It's just, like, I haven't, like, there was one in the mall where I worked between going to BYU and then going to Berkeley.
00:02:02
Speaker
And so I would go there sometimes, like, you know, on my meal breaks and stuff. But, like, I don't think I've had it since then. And then I saw one at the at the rest stop on the way home. And i was just like, I'm going to do it. I'm going do road trip dinner on hard boat. That's awesome.
00:02:28
Speaker
Oh, my God. So, yeah. So I even got lo mein. o and i was like very carefully like twirling up some lo mein on a fork and like while you're driving shoving it in my mouth i was so i mean i did spill plenty of noodles on my boobs um that's okay i always do to like noodles are noodles are good noodles are good But I always just stuck the fork into the like pile of noodles or into like a chicken piece or whatever and then just like picked it off my shirt. you know I was just like, I can be patient as long as I get to have this. yeah like can meat I can eat this quite slowly. But like I mostly just wanted the orange chicken or whichever. i don't even remember what else what else I got. But like you know those are easier because it's just like, oh, you just like...
00:03:22
Speaker
be a I got the mushroom chicken. oh that's so good. And I got the honey sesame chicken. And I got... think that's one of the ones I got too. I think I got the orange chicken and the honey but sesame chicken and then the lo mein.
00:03:37
Speaker
And I got the beef broccoli. So I got the three entree dinner. Oh, fuck yeah. And I got the noodles as the side. h because the other all the other you know entrees had vegetables in them so i didn't need to get like a side of vegetables also was like no i love i love noodles i want the noodles oh my god yeah oh if there was a panda express nearby i'd probably hit it pretty hard pretty often i think so
00:04:09
Speaker
I got my kid the honey walnut shrimp, which is breaded shrimp with this honey walnut sauce all over it. And I got him fried rice as a, you know, it's actually, it's a bowl, not like, not like a plate thing with one or two entree choices. It's just called bowl. And you get one entree choice. You got the fried rice and then the entree on top of it. Yeah. Yeah.
00:04:36
Speaker
Yeah. Good stuff. And he said he ate the whole thing. i didn't go and double check, but like, he's usually, usually not lying when he tells me he's eaten the whole thing because he knows that I will ask him to produce the evidence. So he doesn't usually lie about that. Nice.
00:04:53
Speaker
Love it. That's good. That's great. I'm jealous. Yeah. And I think, you know, on the nights that we are recording,
00:05:05
Speaker
I think that I'm going make it a new thing for me that I'm just going to get some kind of carry out or fast food. What, what, like hopefully more on a healthier side of fast food, but you know what I'm saying? Yeah. yeah Um, because, huh?
00:05:20
Speaker
Convenient food. Yeah. Convenient food. Um, just because like, you know, a lot of times I'm, tired and overwhelmed and you know, everything else. And that just, yeah. And it's hard to just like come up with something to eat. Like before I have to record, like I have to figure out what he wants to eat, what I want to eat and just bubble blah, blah, blah, blah.
00:05:42
Speaker
So I just made the executive decision because i was on my gas buddy app. Okay. Like just for reference, it's been like in the single digits,
00:05:53
Speaker
here for like a week or two now actually i think it's getting into the double digits you know but it's still like teens like yeah i was almost constantly still dipping deck back down yeah so yeah and i know that actually in in the cold weather they always recommend never going below a quarter of a tank of gas so i um was getting close to being at a quarter and i'm like all right i have time i might as well just go fill up my tank before i have to pick him up from latchkey and then
00:06:24
Speaker
I was on the Gas Buddy app and it was like, okay, nobody knows this area probably, but like yeah the Meyer gas station at 16 and Dyke had the cheapest.
00:06:38
Speaker
It had the the cheapest gas of the area, the whole area. Like normally it's a Costco that's near like, it's actually not nearby me. it's It's beyond where he goes to school. Yeah. So it's a little extra drive to get there, but it's like usually way cheaper than the other Costco's.
00:06:58
Speaker
But lately, like the last couple of times I've checked, this Meyer has been cheaper. And when you have the Meyer credit card, it's an extra 10 cents off m per gallon. Right. So yeah, it was two 39. And I think and they i think the Yeah. And I think the Costco that's further, that's usually cheap, cheapest was like in the two forties or something, two 30, two 43 or something. So i was like, Oh my God, Costco or Meijer is cheaper right now. Plus I get 10 cents off. So it was two 29 per gallon. I was like, yeah. And it's not ah like crazy long drive. It's really close to where he goes to school.
00:07:39
Speaker
yeah so it was like perfect so i was like all right i went there i got my gas and then i was sitting there like i pulled over in the mayor parking lot just to kill some time and i'm staring at a panda express and i'm like fuck it i'm going for it so i've got some before i picked him up and i was like all right i got us food we're going home and eating my god hell yeah so yeah And I'm making it a little bit more of a habit that I'm picking him up earlier than later, because I used to wait till close to six.
Winter Survival Strategies
00:08:16
Speaker
And I like getting him closer to 530. And then I have a little bit more time at home, too. So it's like. nice to just get home and chill yeah you know yeah i definitely get that so i'm just changing up my my routines a little yeah and that is kind of a good segue yeah into our topic yeah yeah and it was unintentional hell yeah i love when that happens i love when we're perfect yeah because we are yeah all the time we're so fucking perfect yeah don't you know my god
00:08:59
Speaker
and you um Our topic today is extraordinarily relevant because we're talking about surviving winter.
00:09:12
Speaker
And right now we are in the thick of it. We are in like the like, ah what do they say?
00:09:25
Speaker
It's darkest before the dawn. Yeah. yeah Yeah. And it's i have I have not been through a winter this harsh ever, I don't think.
00:09:37
Speaker
really i don't think that we've had this many extreme cold temperatures this many days in a row ever in my memory um we've had it where it was like it dipped down like two or three days it was like built you know zero or two or three degrees or something like that yeah um and it might have done this once i think maybe around february of 2015 i know it's a little oddly ah specific but I remember because um we had gone to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
00:10:15
Speaker
right Right. I was pregnant. Right. And I remember getting all these notifications of school closings while I was already on vacation down south. I was like oh boy they're closing school an awful lot. weren't there to experience it but you knew that it happened. Right.
00:10:32
Speaker
Yeah. But when we got back it was school cold. Yeah. Yeah. um It's really funny that you say that. And that especially that you commented, that's weirdly specific because like the only worse winter that I've experienced was February, 2015. Okay. In Boston. In Boston. That was the winter. And I know I've told you about this before. i can't remember if I've talked about it on the podcast, but like anybody who lived in Boston during that winter, like they'll remember.
00:11:07
Speaker
that was the winter that starting in like late January, we were getting weekly blizzards, blizzards, like full blizzards, like the storm that we just got this winter, every single fucking week. That you just got this past weekend.
00:11:23
Speaker
Sorry. Yes. This way, this this past weekend that we talked about in our last episode, that you literally got about two feet of snow. we got about two feet of snow here. So it was like four weeks in a row.
00:11:36
Speaker
of blizzard after blizzard after blizzard and we ended up with the total accumulation in Boston of nine feet of snow Jesus speak oh my god I remember class was cancelled more often than it was not cancelled yeah like the end of January and through all of February and the trains were shut down so much because of the weather and because of the snow that they ended up issuing or giving a 25% discount on the train passes in May to make up for the fact that people couldn't really use them when they bought their train passes in February. Yeah. I remember you telling me about that.
00:12:20
Speaker
Yeah. i I do remember there was a winter when my good friend who, who lived in Boston because her husband went to Berkeley. um When they lived in Boston,
00:12:32
Speaker
um There was a giant blizzard then too. And I want to say they got like four feet of snow in like one weekend or something, like all at once. yeah yeah Yeah. I was like, what? Maybe it was more than that. I don't remember for sure, but it was like an astounding amount to me. I was like, I can't imagine getting four feet of snow all at once. Like, You know what i mean? Holy shit. Yeah. Yeah. Because that's the thing. Like, it wasn't nine feet of snow all at once, but like none of it ever got to melt before the next storm would hit. I got you. So it was like. So by the time you're shoveling out the fourth blizzard, you have to hike it up over your head to like get it up on top of the mound. I'm so fucking serious. I know. I can't even imagine. Excuse me. Oh, my God.
00:13:21
Speaker
Fortunately, at that point, I didn't have my car ah with me in Boston. So like I didn't have to do any shoveling because like there was the city would shovel, you know, the roads and the sidewalks. Your apartment complex. apartment complex the management company would, you know. ah shovel out the ah walkways and everything.
00:13:42
Speaker
um But I do remember like pretty much toward the end of that stretch, when i i rarely left my left left my apartment, but when I did and I would have to go anywhere...
00:13:54
Speaker
I was like walking down the sidewalk with literally like walls of snow on either side. my If I wasn't claustrophobic before, I will be now.
00:14:05
Speaker
can't even imagine. I can't. Oh my God. Fucking shit. That would freak me the fuck out. It was so weird. Luckily, like, I wasn't too bothered and I really didn't have to leave the house that much because of how much school was canceled. Like, I stayed in my apartment and, like, just kept myself wrapped up under blankets with, like, the heat, the space heater, like, pointed at my bed for, like, most of that winter. I was either watching Friends on Netflix because it had just gotten on Netflix
00:14:36
Speaker
um or i was writing the beginnings of the novel that i started to you know be inspired to write during that winter so like it was just it or i was in the kitchen eating or cooking and eating like large batches of vegan meals
00:14:58
Speaker
that you were cooking yourself yeah yeah like i was making like a vegetable stew that i had like that i kept just sort of like adding to like more broth and more vegetables like just routinely through through the like a whole month like and i made a couple different batches of like it's almost like a sourdough starter like You still have the original zooarter the original like beginnings of stew in there and then you keep adding to it. That's hilarious. And i made myself an enormous batch of vegan chili that lasted me a good fucking while. And um think that's the first time I tried out like a vegan enchilada casserole. Oh, was so good.
00:15:45
Speaker
i was I was not technically vegan at the time. I was only vegetarian. But i did if I found like vegan recipes or vegan meals that I liked, ah I would do them. And I would you know get like the cheese substitutes that were good. um you know and i would like I would eat cheese when I could or when I needed to or whatever. Whatever. I wasn't strict about it, but like I dipped my toe in veganism a lot throughout the two years that I was vegetarian. But point being, like I was actually like whenever I did go out for any reason, I made sure to stop by a grocery store to grab like more of the essentials of what I needed. to be able to continue cooking these giant meals. Oh my goodness. Yeah, like it was just, I don't know. It was kind of, I get a little nostalgic about it. I got to be curled up with my little kitty boy, my little baby Nigel. ah
00:16:39
Speaker
And it was just, it was really nice, even though it was crazy. That shit was wild, man. Anyway, winter is insane. And that's the most insane winter I've ever experienced. But this one,
00:16:51
Speaker
I don't know what to expect for, you know, the next couple months before the weather actually starts to warm up um overall. It could be, it could approach that level of insanity.
00:17:04
Speaker
yeah never know i don't see i don't see weather i don't see snow on the forecast for the next 10 days uh on my weather app but like it could randomly happen at any point and also we still have like a solid two months of like possible yeah weather to that end
Emotional and Physical Toll of Winter
00:17:27
Speaker
to that end Like I was thinking about how like in general winter is like the hardest season for me always. And I know I've talked about this because last winter like fucked me in the ass. It was so bad.
00:17:44
Speaker
and it wasn't even like terrible weather wise. It was just like. because of the darkness because of like the gray skies even during the day like the during our you know scant daylight hours that we get this far north um like it was just i was in a hole and feel like
00:18:10
Speaker
feel So far, knock on wood, i like I'm not slipping into a hole this year.
00:18:23
Speaker
But I also like, A, I'm not living alone, which definitely makes a big difference. And b i feel like I'm being more intentional with the way I spend my time and the way I focus my energy. And um I feel like it's helping me stay out of the danger zone of the seasonal affective disorder.
00:18:50
Speaker
the sad yeah um and so i just felt inspired this morning and i took a few minutes to write down some notes on like stuff that i feel like i'm doing but also want to make sure to keep doing ah to get through the rest of this winter and wanted to talk about it here on the pod with you And, you know, talk about it to our listeners and hopefully help anybody else who might feel like winter is kicking their ass. um
00:19:32
Speaker
Or in the future, you know, in future winters, if they, you know, want to, because that's the thing is it's, it is quite hard to like get yourself out of the hole when you're already in it, but you can also to,
00:19:46
Speaker
you know, in future years to, you know, pick up these habits or, or, you know, make these changes before the deep dark sets in. Right.
00:19:59
Speaker
And then you'll be, ah you'll be a little more prepared. Um, But the other thing, too, that i I wrote this at the very end of my notes, but I'm going to say it up at the top here. All of this also applies to surviving late stage capitalism. So please feel free to adopt these practices throughout the entire year. Yeah. If it helps you get through this. Anytime in your life that you need Yeah, literally.
00:20:27
Speaker
so I have notes and i don't know if you have notes, but I am sure that you've at least sort of, yeah, gathered thoughts. Yeah. Tap in my head. Yeah. Notes in my brain.
00:20:44
Speaker
moon So I have three different sections to these notes and we're just going to take them one at a time. Our first section of Surviving Winter is to curate your environment.
00:20:59
Speaker
And this one is a big one for me. ah This is something that actually like when I learned, when I hat got like some astrology session knowledge under my belt about like myself and my chart,
00:21:15
Speaker
one of the things that was pointed out to me, which I found to be extremely true is that like something that helps me function just on a baseline level is when I create like positive, pleasant sensory experiences for myself.
00:21:33
Speaker
And like, you know, considering all senses, all five, um you know and that includes like so first note that i have lamps light you know we need it in the dark like i have so many lamps and like i also want to just sort of i want to make a note too people have talked extensively about like sunrise lamps or sunshine lamps or whatever as being like a thing that directly helps them ah like not
00:22:07
Speaker
struggle so much with the lack of sun during the winter um i have nothing against those kinds of lamps but i've also not really like derived a specific benefit from using them the way that i was told they should be used like that you turn one on in the morning and you like sit in front of it like a lizard or something like a lizard
00:22:34
Speaker
but like for real like Um, I, you know, i was just sort of like, the it didn't quite fit my needs.
00:22:45
Speaker
Or at least like, you know, it was not just like a, ah i don't know.
00:22:52
Speaker
Basically, all I'm trying to say with this is that like, you can choose any kind of lamps or lighting that you like. And as long as you use them in a way that works for your space and works for your routine, like,
00:23:07
Speaker
you're golden you should be fine and if you want to use a sunrise lamp or whatever you know the way that it's instructed to to be used like go right ahead you know not discouraging anybody but like it's more about like creating a lot of different lighting options for your space and they don't have to necessarily be like white light or orange light or yellow or whatever like the soft yellow light but like you know Jim has that incredible purple light behind his TV, you know? oh yeah. The backlight, the backlit teat television.
00:23:48
Speaker
That shit is so fucking cool. And he has like multiple bulbs in his room and different lamps that are like stained glass bulbs. And then they're fucking cool. I have one like that.
00:23:59
Speaker
Yeah. I have one like that. cool i never really use it though. Oh my So like, you know, that kind of shit. Primo. Yeah. And also, it might feel like stereotypical or cliche or overdone but holy shit christmas lights yeah strung around your apartment are like the best i love them oh my god they're in my kitchen ah which i know you've seen um but i also remember in my apartment that i lived in in boston i decided i remember like i strung those around my like because it studio apartments to like the like living slash bedroom space like
00:24:46
Speaker
I strung them up and it was the best. I didn't have a ceiling light and in that room. Yeah. So I, I needed just like any light, any lamps or anything that I could get. And I figured Christmas lights were a pretty good option yeah for that. But yeah, like 10 out of 10. So, Hey, lighting. So let's keep talking about that for a moment. Um,
00:25:14
Speaker
A couple of weeks ago, i actually bought myself one of those happy lights. Oh, yeah. And that's still in the box. But um I had been watching a ah YouTube video.
00:25:27
Speaker
um Coincidentally, the same one that I learned a little bit about gut health and, you know, started taking my supplements afterwards. The same guy in that same video was talking about a morning routine of like, taking your fiber gummies or eating your fiber, whatever's and like drinking a giant glass of water and sitting in front of that light for like 10 minutes or whatever it was.
00:25:53
Speaker
um Because remember years, not years ago, I don't know, a handful of years ago within the last handful of years, whatever. ah There was a TikTok video that you had sent me and talked about how um This person said, like, it's super important for you to be, like, looking at the sun as it's rising because it yeah triggers something in your head. yeah like the angle of the sunlight rays as they come over the horizon. yeah yeah. Yeah. And that's essentially what the happy light thing is supposed to do.
00:26:25
Speaker
So that's why. and he brought that up. He was just like, you need that because it triggers cortisol. up Yeah. And cortisol is not always, like.
00:26:36
Speaker
for stress yeah an enemy hormone it's yeah technically the hormone that keeps you awake during the day yeah it's alertness yeah yeah so he's like yeah because you have literally cortisol does that and then melatonin does the opposite so they're like the two the two sides of the same coin if you will but like That's why he said you need to do that in the mornings. You need to have that light to help you wake up. And I thought, oh, my God, well, you know how I struggle. Yeah. Sometimes with like sleepiness. And um I thought, well, maybe that'll help, you know, so I bought it and I never opened it yet. But.
00:27:19
Speaker
um yeah I do have that I have to and i want to try it up and yeah give it a go to world but it's crazy because it's going to be so out of my circadian rhythm like out of normal natural circadian rhythms I should say yeah um well it's already so hard because of the fact that like you wake up so that's what I'm saying like you yeah ready you're already operating outside up of a natural human circadian rhythm that's what I'm saying yeah so to have those that kind of light put in my face at such an early time of day. I wonder how it's going affect me. And I hope that it doesn't make me more tired later at night, like, like by seven or eight o'clock, like feel like I'm crashing, you know? Yeah. Because I have to stay awake like longer than that. Yeah. I hope, I hope so also. i hope so also, but I will say, i hope that it helps you be sleepier earlier.
00:28:14
Speaker
like not crashing yeah i don't want that but like no because i'm tired trust me i'm already tired i know and i can go to bed anytime oh it'd be so helpful to sort of naturally you know push you in that direction but anyway no trust me i don't need help with that but if i'm feeling more tired by seven or eight then i already am then there's going to be problems because nothing's ever going to get done yeah you know and i can't stay up and record with you because i'll be like o you know what i'm saying this is one of those quintessential differences between us that is so like it it's jarring to me because i am a chronic insomniac and i have been my entire fucking life right so like it's not easy even if i'm exhausted it is not easy for me to just fall asleep which is the reason why i use melatonin like literally almost every single night because i if i don't need to will and i'll not be able fall yeah it's crazy i fucked myself so many times where i'm like i forget sometimes to take melatonin and then like at one or two in the morning i start to realize ah fuck Because you're not asleep yet? or and then it's you Because I'm not asleep yet.
00:29:31
Speaker
Oh, shit. And I'm just like, goddammit, because then it's too late to take melatonin because I have to wake up in like four or five hours go to work. And so I'm just like, well, I guess this is just one of those insomnia nights now.
00:29:44
Speaker
That sucks, man. like But it's just, it's a thing. I was, you know, I was like that as a kid, too. You know, this has been my entire fucking life. So, like, it's just, it is what it is. But, like, yeah, that's the thing where I'm just sort of like, man, if I could naturally be sleepier, I'm like,
00:29:57
Speaker
in the evening without the help of meds you know that'd be a miracle but i get it i get it yeah ah that you don't have any trouble with that so that's good yeah it's i've never had i mean i can't say never i've had insomnia a couple of times honestly but hardly ever yeah and the one the the time that i really remember it in recent days was when i was starting to have more of um the perimenopause symptoms were becoming more and more obvious and i had a week where i was not sleeping well right and i was like struggling by the end of that week i was like literally i had the worst brain fog i couldn't even form a fucking sentence to somebody at work i was trying to talk to somebody and i was like i couldn't even come up with the words and then she was like get ready to walk away from me and i was like wait don't walk away. I'm trying to say something. like yeah Hold on. Then I was like, you know what? I shouldn't be here. If I can't form a sentence, I shouldn't be driving a fucking school boss right now. yeah yeah So i will I told them I had to go home. I was like, I am not well. I need to go home.
00:31:07
Speaker
And ah yeah I laid in bed for like four hours that day. I remember like so clearly. Yeah. So that was the the beginning of process. perimenopausal treatment journey um yeah which has turned out to really just be herbal everything herbal and it's worked yeah it's been working for me yeah that's good yeah there are times when even melatonin won't help um and it's usually like oh my insomnia kicks into high gear right at the like beginning of my period like oh Right around when it starts or just before it starts. And so like, that's, and that's been pretty consistent. So like, that's an instance where melatonin doesn't even help and I just have to fucking suffer through.
00:31:55
Speaker
But like, otherwise, melatonin really does the trick. I really have so many suggestions because of things I've been learning lately about different herbs.
00:32:05
Speaker
um So we might not have a conversation right And also, now no so also maybe not at all because I'm honestly fine with what I have. So okay we're good. Okay. Anyway, we, I have so many more notes and we can't spend this much time on every single one. So okay let's, let's. Oh wait, one more thing. Oh my God. what You, you said Christmas lights, but I want to say fairy lights because they're so damn cute. Oh, true. They don't really do much, but like true. Like they don't do much in terms of like functionality. No, but they might help you feel more cozy. Yeah. Fairy lights are like what I would, what I would be able to keep on.
00:32:45
Speaker
like during the night when i'm sleeping like i could see i don't like any light all i don't i don't either but like it's the kind of thing where it's like if i'm just trying to be cozy but it's like bedtime like i could fall asleep with fairy lights on if needed yeah like but but like they're not great for like functionality purposes no no they're not yeah but you're talking about curating your space and curating in right that could part of that just like making things be cute and cozy yeah and you do need like the light for functionality you need the light to help you like be able to stay awake uh you know later into the evening when it gets dark at like 4 p.m but like you know it also is very helpful to just have like a comfortable cozy just like a place a space where you can just fully relax um
00:33:42
Speaker
And on that note, my next note is it is not possible to have too many blankets. I have so many throw blankets. It's yeah. I will literally have one on me right now. It's so cozy and I just love it. Oh, it's so good. That's the one thing that I feel like is a bummer about summertime is that like it's too, at least last year when I didn't have any AC, it's too warm to put, to like, you know, lay down with blankets on.
00:34:18
Speaker
So, you know, that's a bummer, but otherwise it's not possible to have too many blankets and you don't need to feel bad about every single throw blanket that you purchase from michael's or joanne's which oh rip that's where i got this one from oh but uh oh where else tj maxx uh target meyer meyer walmart doesn't matter sometimes you can't resist Buc-ee's. Yeah, I know we have listeners in the room in the realm of Buc-ee's, but that is so far away from where I live. I know.
00:34:59
Speaker
I got one on the way when I was um driving my bestie up from Florida with my kid in the moving truck with me. yeah And we made a pit stop at Buc-ee's and got gas and stuff. And um we were just looking around because there's like, it's literally like a big giant like store i mean they've got everything yeah yeah that's what i've heard like decor like home decor and all kinds of shit so they had like there was a pillow i forgot that i bought this pillow went but like it's hilarious it's like one of those it's a decorative but like long rectangular shape one and it says
00:35:47
Speaker
It's not drinking alone when the dog is home. Oh my God. oh I guess I thought that was funny. So I bought it. Oh my God.
00:36:00
Speaker
And then, and that's paraphrasing. I don't know if that was the exact quote, but that was essentially the meaning. Yeah, that was the meaning. um And then my kid found a thrill blanket that is like white, but has like bulldogs all over it ahha so it's the doggy blanket we call it the doggy blanket nice and it's a it's just a normal throw like a small you know ish but yeah anyway so yeah we got a blanket it we had a freaking blanket at bucky's oh my god yeah
00:36:34
Speaker
It's good. Costco too. I have two blankets from Costco that you purchased for me. The Pendleton. Pendletons. Yes. have a king size one.
00:36:45
Speaker
Yeah, me too. have a king size and a twin size. And the twin size lives out in the living room here. Now. ah The king size. i haven't thrown I haven't put it on this year because i got a new blanket from Target that I like better. um It's it's ah I don't know. I think I showed you it. It's like this really nice, cool, like retro stripe vibe.
00:37:10
Speaker
And it matches my room color perfectly. Is it like the other Pendleton's like in terms of the fuzziness? like stuff No, it's like, um it's same it's the same as like the orange burnt orange blanket that I have.
00:37:23
Speaker
hmm it's like a like a soft velvety okay plush but it's not it's not uh fleece okay um but yeah it's the same kind of thing and it i got that one from target too the burnt orange one so might have been the same i'm not sure if it was the same brand it doesn't matter ultimately that's what's on my bed bed right now uh you can't have too many blankets it's not possible all right next you make nests Yes. Use every blanket you have and make a nest. Yes.
00:37:58
Speaker
All right. Next. Scented candles and incense. This is something that I've like made a mental note about and I've still need to remind myself repeatedly but like i need to burn more incense because i'm literally never gonna run out i have so much incense and it's so cheap it's so easy to replace and it just it's so nice it smells nice but it's also like it's the kind of thing that's really soothing And it's helpful for like when you do want to maintain a spiritual practice, like it's so easy to lose that feeling when you're in that like, you know, hole in the winter.
00:38:42
Speaker
But it's not so hard to get back if you just sort of build the space that lets you feel spiritual. so like in that way, like patchouli is a good one that I like to burn when I want to feel spiritual, but also myrrh.
00:38:59
Speaker
I burn ah mer particularly when I specifically when I want to, you know, do spiritual work or divination or anything like that. Yeah.
00:39:11
Speaker
And sage, obviously, as well. But like those are those are some good ones. But then I like i have rose-scented incense. I have cranberry. I have cedar. I have balsam fir. Evergreen. like oh have so many different scents, and I love them all. um But I have been burning scented candles a lot.
00:39:38
Speaker
um the whole day during the storm on sunday like literally i got up in the morning and i lit the candles that are on my coffee table back here um hold on me look this one's fresh frazer um the other one that we were burning that's burned down he threw it away jim threw it away already but i think it was like i don't remember what it was but it was really nice uh this one's green oak and moss we haven't started this one yet um and this one is white sage and time hooho i think that if this one is white sage and time i think the other one was like like leather and amber or something o yeah
00:40:26
Speaker
so nice yeah and that also sort of adds to the mood lighting you know situation too um more so for the candles and the incense but like oh so good it's it's lovely to just burn can't like i'll burn candles just in the evening when we're sitting watching tv like we'll turn off all the other lights and we'll just burn candles and watch tv So nice. It's nice. It's wonderful. It feels good.
00:40:52
Speaker
And maybe because I've been doing that is part of the reason why I don't feel like I'm all the way in a hole right now.
00:41:00
Speaker
um But yeah, like also then moving on to. Music, movies, and podcasts. ah um It's crazy to me to think how easy it is to just, like, forget to like, do what you enjoy when you feel like trash.
00:41:20
Speaker
Yeah. It's, like... I'm embarrassed to admit this being the person that I am being like the music fanatic that I am. But like, I've had to remind myself multiple times over like the past year or two how great it is to just sit and listen to music because I've been listening to podcasts so much. yeah Podcasts and audio books. And like,
00:41:48
Speaker
Those are great and they have their place, but like I need to like be more intentional about listening to music. Yeah. like I was listening to an audiobook earlier like while I was working um and then I was still listening to it when I was like starting to drive home.
00:42:06
Speaker
And then I was like, you know what? I'm really... just in the mood for music and so i was just sort of like you know going through like recently added stuff and just like reminding myself like what have what have i added to my playlist within the last like six months and like just sort of refreshing my mind on some of that and like i'm just like damn like i feel so weird that i have not just been listening to music constantly But that's a big one.
00:42:36
Speaker
um But then like the same with movies and podcasts, like movies, podcasts, audio posts, et cetera. Like the anything auditory for the purpose of like not just being alone with your thoughts, especially when your thoughts are prone to getting like bleak. Yeah. um and Especially in the world that we're living in right now. Yeah.
00:43:02
Speaker
And that's not to say that it's like the healthiest thing to just like block out all of your internal dialogue because, you know, it's all about balance. Yeah.
00:43:16
Speaker
But like. to indulge in the things that give you pleasure, you know, like listening to a really good lush audio book watching your favorite classic movie or listening to an album that you loved back in the day that you haven't listened to in a long time.
00:43:38
Speaker
Like just doing that occasionally just sort of lifts you and i think that's as essential as any of the other items on this list but yeah amen
00:43:54
Speaker
oh so i've got two more items under curate your environment okay the this uh penultimate item is delicious food and that could be anything that you feel like cooking but it also could just be panda express yeah oh yeah literally like just anything that you want to or that you can look forward to eating that you know is delicious or something that you've been wanting to try that you haven't gotten to yet like taking the time ah to you know go and get it like fucking worth it dude yes
00:44:36
Speaker
who because everybody needs to eat it's important to nourish yourself and it's something that can just again lift you so it's it's essential but yeah and then do you want to take a stab at what the last item on my list is oh god i already i think i know but it's probably not very appropriate yeah
00:45:09
Speaker
self-pleasure bitch oh my god how did i know because i'm a hoe oh lord that is so funny oh bitches take time to masturbate yeah oh god goddamn like give you ah give yourself a good solid orgasm at least once a week I can do that.
Balancing Productivity and Rest in Winter
00:45:36
Speaker
yeah that you If you don't have the libido for that, that's fine. But like, you know, at least once a week. If not once a day.
00:45:46
Speaker
Oh my. Whatever you got time for. Whatever you got time for. You know, squeeze one in. Squeeze one out. Rub one out.
00:45:57
Speaker
Squeeze one in and rub one rubb went out.
00:46:05
Speaker
Oh, God. Oh, my God. ah Is this a Patreon episode? No, it's not. Okay.
00:46:16
Speaker
Oh, my God. Yeah. Then I shall refrain from saying something. Oh, my God. And the nice thing is you can also combine, like, everything on this list into one nice experience, like scented candles,
00:46:35
Speaker
mood music or a smutty podcast or my podcast jesus you could do that if there is one but you could also do a smutty audiobook um some yummy stra chocolate che chocolate chocolate covered strawberries
00:46:51
Speaker
yummy chocolate she just my god like covered strawberries already yeah oh you know to put you in the mood uh and you know did i already say a scented candle yeah yeah and mood lighting in general and like a nice comfy blanket basically take yourself out on a date in your house yeah yeah Yeah, exactly. Self love, bitch. It's good. And really, like, you know, i feel like we sort of covered like all the bases, but like, ultimately, anything that gives you sensory pleasure, like, you know, yourself and you know what you like. So like, you know,
00:47:35
Speaker
maybe take a minute to reflect on like what fits into this category for you that you can cure curate for yourself um to just sort of make your daily life not just bearable but like pleasant yeah throughout this most unhospitable of seasons um yeah wear the perfume oh my god thank you for Well, I mean, yes, that's a very good important point, but that actually is going to come up in our in our third section.
00:48:14
Speaker
Oh, is it? Yes, it will. um But our second section here is called reduce your effort. Mm hmm.
00:48:25
Speaker
And this is a little bit more abstract, less tangible, but it is more about really focusing in on like, you know, what you're expending your energy on reprioritizing according to your needs, what's most important, but also like what's going to fill your cup the most. So The first note that I have here, it says to dial back your productivity expectations in all areas of life, because very literally wintertime is the season where historically humanity got to hibernate.
00:49:10
Speaker
Like, not, like, sleep specifically the entire winter, but, like, literally it was the time when work slowed to a crawl because most people were, like, working the land and, like, working estates and, like, you know,
00:49:29
Speaker
doing actual manual labor to keep the communities running yeah or if you go back this the time when the harvests are done yeah and it's time to nestle in and hunker down for the the long dark and so like we are not meant to be as productive literally in the winter time as much as we are in any other season yeah i mean know like i was just gonna say really briefly if you go back to the caveman times right know what i'm saying like you had to hunt and gather and do all that crap like during the you know warmer days and months and then it was like then you go barricade yourself in a cave for like two or three months whatever yeah don't do anything you know i mean i don't know yeah you hunker down exactly and that's like in this era in this age of late stage capitalism you know unfortunately a lot of us are stuck in
00:50:42
Speaker
jobs and industries that don't allow for rest during these months. But just because you have to keep working doesn't mean that you have to like throw all of your entire being into every moment of every day.
00:51:00
Speaker
Like dial your productivity expectations back. If you're able to get accommodations, you know, with your employer, you know, if you have the privilege to be able to do that, like do so. um And like ultimately prioritize yourself by like checking in with your own energy levels regularly throughout your day and throughout your week. And if you're, you know, a woman or ah you know, assigned female at birth, like your, your energy levels are on a monthly cycle.
00:51:39
Speaker
And so, like, that is, well, that applies to, like, the entire year. It's still something to be more attuned to than society typically allows for us to do.
00:51:51
Speaker
um But there's something that, like, you can honor yourself and your body by, like, being mindful and aware and operating accordingly you know if you have if you're fortunate enough to work in a job that allows that gives you like pto maybe reserve more of those days for these months of the year, you know, where you can give yourself a mental health day or just like a simple rest day, you know, or, you know, I try to schedule them out where I have them at semi-regular intervals where I get an extra like, you know, ah three-day weekend or something or four-day weekend, depending
00:52:40
Speaker
And like I try to plan it so that I have those extra breaks to look forward to and that I know will help me like keep things sustainable.
00:52:51
Speaker
um And I particularly pay attention to these months of the year. january february march because there's in january and february there is one federal holiday each ah during each month that allows for a long weekend but in march there's none so i know the january one but i can't think of the february one president's day weekend oh see We don't get that one for sure. So I don't even know it exists. We get, oh, I mean, January, we also get New Year's Day, but we also, we get Martin Luther King Day and we get President's Day. President's Day is ah is a nationwide one. But I never forget about it because the anniversary of my dad's death always falls on or around President's Day. So...
00:53:45
Speaker
so I usually take the opportunity to – I always take that day off, the anniversary day anyway. Mm-hmm. Even if it's – you know, even if it already falls on a day that I'm not working, I'll take like an extra day. um But like, yeah, point being, there are no federal holidays in March.
00:54:08
Speaker
Mm-hmm. And you are fortunate enough that you get like a spring break. Yeah. ah Which usually falls in March, I believe. it it It has.
00:54:21
Speaker
March or April. Yeah. it Weirdly, this last March was the the first time it was in March. Like it was always the very first week of April for the longest time.
00:54:33
Speaker
But then prior to that, it was always just the week. after Easter or before Easter. Right. I can't remember which, but anyway, it was always an Easter break. We used to call it Easter break. I remember you told me that. Yeah. yeah And then they changed it to spring break and then they changed it to the first week of April. So like, yeah, it would always be like whatever week the first day of April began in is the week you're going to have off. And then last year, it it was literally the last week of March, not even a day in April. And I think this year, it's also going to be the last week of March, which is strange. So interesting. I don't know why they keep shifting it around, but yeah, yeah, who knows. But yeah, like now that you mention it, there's not a federal holiday in April either. So there's actually no federal holidays between President's Day. Not even Easter fell in April?
00:55:33
Speaker
if easter's on a sunday i know but they don't give you like a day off like the day after easter or good friday no okay good fridays always used to be a paid holiday when i was you know work when i've been working yeah see that's that's the interesting thing because that's not even like an entire christianity holiday that's just like catholic i think yeah yeah yeah but like and anyway and i did misspeak um So years prior to last year, it was always the first full week of April. I i just totally screwed that one up somehow. It used to be like...
00:56:11
Speaker
the first full Monday through Friday of April that we would have off. Not the first day of April. Like the week of that day. Yeah. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm just splitting hairs at this point, but I'm just thinking to myself, wow, I screwed that one up. Really? I know better. Why did I say that? I get it.
00:56:31
Speaker
But yeah. Weirdness. Yeah. Yeah. Because of that, like, there, because there's no federal holidays in those two months, and in fact, the next federal holiday is Memorial Day, which is the end of May. Yeah.
00:56:44
Speaker
Way end, yeah. Like, I, can't remember when I scheduled it for, it but because I have four whole weeks of vacation this year, in addition to the two weeks of PTO,
00:56:55
Speaker
Um, i attempted to, and I, I need to look at the schedule again because I did this like weeks ago. Uh, but like I scheduled for myself like an entire week off to specifically not to go anywhere or do anything, but just to have a week off to relax. And I scheduled it for at some point in,
00:57:21
Speaker
March and or April because of the fact that there are no holidays to give me a break yeah during that time. i probably scheduled it more on the March end of things because of the fact that like that's like still a harder i don't know. I feel like now that I think about it, maybe I scheduled it for later for when it might be warmer and I might be able to like, you know, enjoy outdoor time.
00:57:48
Speaker
But it doesn't matter. Ultimately, i you know, plan this out so that I have tons of like pre-scheduled breaks to allow myself to recharge and rest adequately during this time of the year that is intended for rest.
00:58:11
Speaker
So that's the reason for that. The next note that I have here under reduce your effort, I wrote um to take an audit of your appointments and your social activities in order to identify and not only like what's the most important, but like like I mentioned before, what fills your emotional and energetic cup the most.
00:58:33
Speaker
on And for anything else that doesn't quite fit into those, you know, categories. To cancel a reschedule for later in the year when it's warmer and a little easier to like feel able to go out.
00:58:53
Speaker
Yeah. I have like one quick thing to say. Okay. have a baby shower that I have to attend on Saturday and I am dreading it. no. I have not shopped for this thing. Oh, no. like ah It's John's other niece and it's her first baby. And I'm like, i I say John like it's not my niece. Technically, it is my niece because like I am married to her uncle. But like, you know what I'm saying? yeah yeah I don't have any siblings to be able to call nieces nephews to. So, ah yeah, they're children.
00:59:29
Speaker
Anyhow. um Yeah, so it's super important and I don't want to go. I really don't want to go. I get it. Not that I didn't don't like being around them. It's just like this weather and I have to shop. I have to go out and try to shop in this weather this week.
00:59:52
Speaker
oh kill me um yeah oh that's such a rough rough situation ah yeah because it is it's even though it's like not something that fills your cup it is important yeah but you know it is what it is but like yeah i as i like talked about during the hermit mode episode um like I have an unfortunate tendency to dramatically overextend overextend myself and assume that I'm going to be able to like have the energy to just do whatever and make all sorts of plans that like later i just like absolutely hate myself for you know putting painting myself into a corner effectively
01:00:42
Speaker
and So like, that's where I'm just sort of like, okay, I have learned now to intentionally not schedule things and like only, you know, do what I absolutely need to. I've even like,
01:00:58
Speaker
cut back on the like number of doctor's appointments that I have to deal with because like it's just god it's too much and so like that's one of those things where I was just like you know if you if you are able to where you are able to in your life like Cut back on things that you are not going to have like a sufficient energetic and emotional return on investment um to make it worth your.
Easy Winter Meal Solutions
01:01:31
Speaker
That's a good way of putting it yeah yeah because to just like go and do everything with the hopes that like throwing yourself into various social situations is just going to somehow make you feel better is it doesn't work that way unfortunately um and then the last note i have here is to accommodate your energy levels and this is sort of like
01:01:57
Speaker
a branch off of the last note but like accommodating your energy levels by like allowing yourself to buy like easy to prepare foods um like my go-to especially like oh i struggle so much in the mornings specifically during the winter and so like if i get myself breakfast burritos yeah my go-to option in the morning is microwavable breakfast burritos just so that like because i struggle so much with energy and then subsequently time when i like hit snooze too much in the morning uh like i and i also always
01:02:35
Speaker
need breakfast because like food is important but like it used to be it used to be that like breakfast would make me feel queasy and so i never wanted it but now like i usually wake up ravenous And so I'll accommodate myself also in terms of like, I will stop at like dunks for a breakfast food item if I absolutely need it. If I, even if I'm working from home, like I'll take the time to swing through Dunkin' drive through before i start work in the morning. um Or yeah, usually if I'm commuting, I'll i'll ah do that or I'll place an order for my favorite dinner.
01:03:17
Speaker
chicken place which does incredible breakfast food too for some reason um that's nan's in case you don't oh yeah that's what i figured yeah um but yeah like also just in general like getting the easy to prepare foods for any other meal ah including like the prepared foods like you know wraps and sandwiches and you know pasta salad and things that are easy to just like the number of times i've bought like giant containers of pasta salad and then i just take a fork and i just eat out of the container and then i put it back in the fridge um um because like you have to feed yourself But you have to like make it accessible. You have to make it easy on yourself. You don't you you know you can't hold yourself to the same energetic level standpoints or or expectations, I mean standards, ah as you do the rest of the year.
01:04:16
Speaker
so like if you have the ability buy those kinds of prepared foods or you know easy microwavable items um trader joe's is an excellent option for that too like that is like essential and then doing things like adapting if you have an exercise routine which if you do holy shit good for you adapting that so you don't have to go so hard throughout the entire year and you can like take it easier in the winter time whether that means like literally like doing less like intense workouts or just you know shortening them you know to accommodate what you feel able to do um and then i don't know if this is ever really an option like I feel like it's a very
01:05:11
Speaker
niche suggestion maybe not i don't know but like i feel like this as far as i know this isn't possible at my company but like i'm sure in some places it's possible to negotiate a temporary additional like like an increase in your work from home days um if you If you do a job where you're able to work remotely, like, you know, if you're able to say, hey, just for like the next two or three months, can I please work from home, you know, three days out of the week instead of only two, you know, ah like, and just sort of.
01:05:47
Speaker
see what might happen because ultimately you never know if you don't ask right and what's the worst they can do just tell you no like there's not there's not a lot of jobs though that you can work from home i know yeah it's like it's because it's the you know that's the you gotta have to have an office job yeah you have to have an office job and i know it sucks ass to have an office job but like ultimately if you do have one this might be a possibility for you. And like I said, if, ah if you're feeling unsure about it, what's the worst they can do? They can only just say no. Right.
01:06:27
Speaker
But yeah, like any other things that you can think of, if you just, you know, take a little time to think about it and like what you can do to accommodate your energy levels, like self-accommodation is such a,
01:06:42
Speaker
under appreciated or underused tool to like help take care of yourself and help you know heal you through burnout and help you through these challenging seasons um so yeah there's that we have our last section which I'm going to try to speed run through because we are entering overtime here.
Self-Care and Personal Boundaries
01:07:14
Speaker
um our last section is self care queen. Oh my God.
01:07:26
Speaker
And this is where your suggestion about the perfume comes into play because the first note here says, use your products. Yeah.
01:07:37
Speaker
I know that you've bought stuff that you used maybe once and now it's gathering dust on a shelf. You're not talking to me specifically. You're talking to everybody. i am talking to you and I'm talking to everyone. Everybody. Because I know you. I know I'm included in everyone. I'm just saying. Yes. You're not just talking to me. not only you. You, the listener. Yeah.
01:08:02
Speaker
You've done this. And this is me telling you, this is your permission slip to use up the whole bottle or the whole tube or whatever it is over the next two or three months.
01:08:15
Speaker
Hell yeah. Yeah. use it up there will always be more people give that shit as gifts all the time and people impulse buy ulta all the time and it just is what it is so use your fucking products this next one i am going to have to implement on a more strict uh regimen because this has been a major problem for me over the last like year or so really Establish boundaries around when to reply to texts or personal emails or correspondence of any kind. If this is a pain point for you, sometimes people don't have a problem with this. Uh,
01:09:01
Speaker
cool. I used to be one of those people that didn't have an issue with, you know, being able to respond in a timely fashion to people. I have become one of those people who is not capable of responding in a timely fashion. ah And this is where I, you know, that's why I say like, this is something that I need to be more regimented about implementing for myself. Um,
01:09:27
Speaker
When I say established boundaries, what I mean is schedule for yourself a half hour a day or every other day or whatever feels possible for you to eke out some responses to your loved ones.
01:09:41
Speaker
Just be like, all right, from now until 10 p.m., I'm going to reply to a couple of texts that I've been ignoring. Okay. or I'm gonna finally reply to those emails, you know?
01:09:54
Speaker
um And actually kind of in the same vein, like with, in terms of tactics, my next note here says, to establish boundaries about around when you handle life admin tasks and this actually ah shows up for me already in the form of what i have described as business mode um um so like i
01:10:26
Speaker
sometimes have to get into a mental state of business mode where I start to treat my my ah job. I start to treat my life differently.
01:10:39
Speaker
like a job rather than feeling all sorts of like guilt and shame and fear around the responsibilities that i have like neglected or been procrastinating or you know what i.e adulting adulting ah yeah the stuff that just gives me so hella anxiety So like to sit down for couple hours, however long you need, depending on what it is you need to get done and just like put your brain in business mode, treat your life like a job, treat yourself like the administrator that's hired to handle your life and log in and pay those bills and you know, call and make those appointments that you've been putting off. you know or or you know call and like deal with the insurance bullshit that everybody's always constantly dealing with like you know depending on what you need to do like and this can also sort of bleed into like depending on
01:11:48
Speaker
Like we've all been stuck on hold for hours for whatever reason. And like, I like to, when I'm you know dealing with that, ay see what I can get done during the time that I'm sitting on hold.
01:12:03
Speaker
like that's a good idea throw some dishes in the dishwasher can i start a load of laundry um you know just sort of like almost treat it like a little bit like a game or a challenge like how much can i get done before somebody actually picks up the fucking phone You know, but it's like a good way to knock some shit off your to do list. And then particularly with regards to like the establishing boundaries situation, like there's a reason I use that phrasing because like,
01:12:37
Speaker
When you designate and schedule like a certain amount of time to handle these things, that effectively allows you to stop thinking about it for the rest of your life. Yeah. your life But like, you don't have to be thinking about it every minute of every day because it's just like, I scheduled it for this time.
01:12:59
Speaker
And so like, you know, if that time is coming up, then you'd be like, I don't have to think about it because I've scheduled it for this time. And I only have to start thinking about it when I, reach that point and i sit down to actually do that work right uh and then afterward it's like i don't have to worry about it because i scheduled the time and i did the things and it's done yeah and i don't have to worry so like that's the reason why i specifically say establish boundaries because it helps you like even help it helps you establish boundaries with your own brain hu in a way and it really does mitigate
01:13:36
Speaker
anxiety that is unnecessary yeah and then oh my god and it's so much easier to get everything else done when you don't have that noise of anxiety of like the those things like nagging in the back of your brain that you think that you you know have been putting off for just a little too long but yeah so that is that um i have two more two more notes here and then we can be done um The next note here says to make time for your hobbies and interests.
Engaging Hobbies for Winter
01:14:09
Speaker
No matter how low priority they may feel during the season, during like with your reduced energy levels and everything, those things fill your cup.
01:14:19
Speaker
mm-hmm those are the things that you will feel better if you just allow yourself to put a little effort toward them yep and again it's you know it can be the kind of thing where you schedule time for it each day you know you like give yourself a half hour to like work on a little project or what have you um but like That's like, there's a reason why like a well-rounded, healthy, like life includes hobbies, you know, and those during any rough season, no matter whether it's winter or just like in general, like depressive episodes, what have you, uh, hobbies are usually the first thing to fall by the wayside.
01:15:05
Speaker
Hmm. But they're also one of the things that can be like a lifeline during this time. So. Yeah. That is absolutely essential.
01:15:18
Speaker
um And then my last note here is last but certainly not least. Schedule events to look forward to both during and after wintertime.
01:15:31
Speaker
Like I. like i One of the things that I thought of when i when I thought of this note was that in the middle of February, i have plans to go to this like Viking themed market.
01:15:50
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Vendor fair. Yeah. I am so excited. That's great. I'm so excited. oh my God. It's going to be so fun. I'm going to bring Jim. Tom's going to come.
01:16:05
Speaker
And it's going to be great. So, like, I'm really looking forward to that, even though it is, like, in the middle of the winter still. Like, it's going to be so lovely. And then I have, like, I've been sort of combing through all the, like, local events on, like, Facebook events and just seeing what's out there that might be happening over the next...
01:16:27
Speaker
fuck like the next year really but like there's a whole bunch different like vendor fairs and markets and things um throughout the spring that I you know basically I you know tagged myself as not tagged myself I hit the button that says interested yeah so then it shows back up whenever I go to look yeah Um, even if I don't know yet, if I can commit to going, right. Like I marked it as interested so that I can remember and hopefully be able to go.
01:17:03
Speaker
uh, I just sort of like went through and did that with like a ton of different events, even though most of them, I probably won't be able to get to, but. For the springtime, like once especially once the weather starts to really, really warm up, I feel like I'm going to be just sort of walking on sunshine ready to out and just be social. Yay! So we'll see But yeah, like have stuff to look forward to just just so you
01:17:38
Speaker
don't have to like so you know just be stuck in a hole yeah mental hole and also sometimes a physical hole when you're like you know never going out and you're always at home right yeah like ah this this sort of fell through but like um it reminds me also of a couple of years ago um Jim was living in New Hampshire and there are these ice castles in New Hampshire that i have always wanted to go see.
01:18:07
Speaker
And i got tickets for us to go and I scheduled a day. i think it was president's day weekend. Actually. um i scheduled a weekend where I would go up and, you know, sleep over and hang out with him but also that we could go to the ice castles And unfortunately, it happened to work out that we didn't get to go because the day of ended up being too warm. And on those days, they close it. ah um So that was a bummer. But it was still really fun to be able to go and like hang out, you know.
01:18:43
Speaker
And just have like an enjoyable, you know, day and a half or whatever ah with him. so Nice. Yeah. It's that kind of thing where it's just like...
01:18:54
Speaker
you know i' especially like it's it can feel really hard to like rationalize spending money on that kind of stuff um but like ah as with the hobbies thing like it's worthwhile and there can also be a lot of free events that are easy to you know find and go to but like if you've got you know a spare 20 hitting up a little event like that or even just like a movie you know planning to go see a movie or something yeah totally totally worth the effort totally worth the money just to be able to get out of the house and do something even just by yourself that like lifts you up yeah i agree for sure yeah for sure
01:19:43
Speaker
So I have thoughts that hit me with your thoughts. I have thoughts. Hit me with your best pot. Well, they're not really thought thoughts, but they're, they're like my, my experiences in a couple of the things that you've just mentioned. yeah Um, so over the Christmas break, you know, we had full two weeks off and it was like, I really wanted to take advantage of it in a lot of, you know, ways and stuff. But I started getting into watching YouTube videos of like microgreens business. Cause like I've done that, you know, a bit in the past and I'm trying to like rev myself up to do more Um,
01:20:25
Speaker
but also gardening. So like learning, learning about different methods of gardening and just stuff like that. So, and just easy stuff like, Oh my God, this guy was growing potatoes in brown paper bags.
01:20:41
Speaker
It's amazing. I mean, you can do so many cool things. And yeah so I was like, I really wanted to learn a lot more about that stuff. And then um over the last few days that we've had a lot of these snow days,
01:20:56
Speaker
um I started watching more videos on herbs and herbalism and like just learning stuff. And it was like, ah I remembered that this girl Anahata's 2024 gave me a little pouch of holy basil And i was like, I started thinking about that. I was like, I wonder what the hell that is even about. So I started like reading up on it.
01:21:26
Speaker
um Then I was watching YouTube videos about the best way to grow it or how, you know, how to grow whatever. um And I was like, all right, I'm just going try this and see if these seeds are still good because it's been a year and a half, you know? Right.
01:21:42
Speaker
I was pleasantly surprised. I, a lot of times I take just like a plastic cup, like a solo cup or whatever, And cut it off, like cut it so it's real short and just put some dirt in there. And, you know, I might try to grow one or two seeds of whatever. Well, I just, these seeds are so tiny.
01:22:01
Speaker
i was like, holy shit. So like I pinched as many as I could grasp between two fingers and just sprinkled them around. Yeah. um And I, you know, just went to like, I just wanted to see what would happen. And as of this morning, I've got an eighth seedling that popped up and I'm so excited about it. It's not the time of year to start growing plants. I know that, but I, you know, i can maybe, i have pots that I bought. I can like,
01:22:32
Speaker
separate them and like i can put them under girl lights in my friend's basement where i was growing you know my microgreens so i can just have them now i don't have to wait for the spring i'm not necessarily going to plant them outside in the ground which you can and it should do you know essentially with herbs but um But I just thought I'm going to try this. And anyway, and I also purchased dried holy basil for myself just because I was like, I've never even used this. I don't know if I'm going to get the benefits that I'm hearing about or whatever. But yeah, so I'm just like learning new things. And I think for me,
01:23:10
Speaker
the last few years of my life, I have been just thirsting for knowledge about everything. I want to learn everything under the sun. I swear to God. know and that's like, to me, that's kind of a hobby is like, I want to learn stuff. And then as an ADHD person, you learn, you know, you want to get into all the things and learn all the things. And then you don't, you know, you may not take them far, but like, Yeah. Whatever. I, but these are, to me, these are things that I can learn that are helpful, like skills for who knows what might happen in the future.
01:23:45
Speaker
We need to know how to grow our own fucking food is true. Essentially what I feel. True. And also like reconnect to the earth, crochet. Like I'm like, I've learned how to crochet a bit. So I know like, if I really had to like make myself some clothing, i could figure it out. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah.
01:24:05
Speaker
But yeah, so yeah, I've been in engaging in a lot of that kind of thing just to help keep my mind occupied and keep my, you know, get get myself excited for the spring because that's when things grow and, you know, yeah and it's like in this time of the year when you're like just cooped up and everything's cold and dark, it's like, no, I just want to think about the spring and what can I do with, you know, gardening and farming and whatever things i want, you know.
01:24:35
Speaker
want to be able to try so yeah exactly i'm excited me too oh it's so good yeah that's so good yeah so there you go that's my two bits yay i love it and that is our episode yay oh thank you so much for joining us thank you for listening i hope that any of this was even remotely helpful um for someone i'm sure it was even if it just gives people ideas and gives them a little bit of hope that's really all we can ask for
01:25:18
Speaker
Literally, literally exactly.
Reflection and Listener Engagement
01:25:20
Speaker
And also, though, like, more than anything else, like, as I was, you know, the whole reason this topic even came to me to to talk about was because I have been thinking so much about like, what is it that I need to be able to get through this winter? Like any winter, but especially this one, like, because it's the one we're currently in. Yeah. And it's pretty tough. it's yeah It's on the spectrum of winters. It's it's a tough one. Yeah, it is not been weather wise, easy weather wise.
01:25:57
Speaker
And so like, that's, you know, this is what I came up with that like is all stuff that I want to implement for myself or have already started to implement for myself. And we'll continue to do so. And probably we'll even continue. mean Because it's all good habits to have, I think, in general. um But, like, you know, I'll probably maintain this, like, through the warmer months as well. Because ultimately, like, in the end, i just really need a better routine and better habits and better structure for myself. And, like
01:26:40
Speaker
It doesn't matter what season we're in Right. ah But yeah. So that's why. And, you know, I do hope that it has helped anybody who's listening. No matter where you are in the future.
01:26:58
Speaker
listening back to older episodes like even you know years down the road this will apply especially as we progress deeper and deeper into late stage capitalism so yeah in any case That is our episode. Thank you for joining us. Thank you so much for supporting our show. If you want to support our show in a more tangible way, you can do that on Patreon. Christina, you want to tell them what our Patreon yeah URL is? We haven't made you do this in a while. You asshole.
01:27:35
Speaker
I think it's www.patreon.com slash soulpod the podcast. Fuck yeah, it is And we also have an Instagram where we really don't post as much as we should, but you know, it is what it is. um And you can find us at soulpaw the podcast yeah yeah and then if you thought of anything that helps you in the winter time that we did not mention we want to hear about it so you can write to us and tell us about your winter time survival tips uh writing to and du
01:28:21
Speaker
Brain short circuits. Soulpodpodcast at gmail.com. That's the one. I love it. And all of that is below as well.
01:28:33
Speaker
In the description. What have you. but yeah. So that's it. That's us. but like We love you guys. We are so grateful.
01:28:43
Speaker
So, so fucking grateful that you're sticking around with us. And frankly, we want to know what the fuck is wrong with you. I'm just kidding.
01:28:55
Speaker
There is nothing wrong with you you. are awesome. If you like us. So yeah, but yeah, we're so grateful and we hope you have a beautiful day or night or backdoor. Yeah.
01:29:10
Speaker
Hide the pickles. Because we're coming for him. Anyway, we love you. We'll talk to you soon. We'll see you next week. Bye.