Soooo cold...

I think that I suffer slightly from Seasonal Affective Disorder.  I don't think it's any coincidence that the first letters of those words spell out SAD.  That is how I feel whenever I think about snow lately.  I am soooo tired of snow.  I am so tired of the cold.  I feel unmotivated and uninspired, and for weeks I haven't been able to get past this.

 Maybe I need a fur coat like Murph...

Here are the symptoms of SAD, according to Google Health:

• Afternoon slumps with decreased energy and concentration
• Carbohydrate cravings
• Decreased interest in work or other activities
• Depression that starts in fall or winter
• Increased appetite with weight gain
• Increased sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness
• Lack of energy
• Slow, sluggish, lethargic movement
• Social withdrawal

It doesn't help that things are particularly stressful at work right now, and that my days there drag on interminably.  But maybe that's less because of work, and instead because of SAD (see bullet 3, above.)  Or, maybe it's work. 

In fact, I'm going to go ahead and self-diagnose right here and now, because there's not a single bullet item on that list that I don't identify with.   The sad part is, there are very few treatment options, other than anti-depressants and special UV lights.  Neither really options that I would like to or could pursue. 

So, I'm going to have a 5 minute pity-party for myself, right now, and then hopefully move on.  Here are my gripes...

I am always cold.  I wear long underwear and hooded sweatshirts all the time.  When it comes to taking those clothes off for whatever reason, I delay as long as humanly possible.  We are poor, so turning the heat up really isn't an option.

I have no motivation.  When I come home from work all I want to do is eat and make one of my signature Blue Maui drinks.  After dinner I should do something productive, but I'm too cold, so I usually just dress in my warm clothes and then sit on the couch and either read a book or watch TV.  Eating and drinking leads to weight gain, which is depressing in itself.  But I rarely can muster up the energy to exercise.  Exercising not only requires motivation, but it requires me to take off those warm clothes of mine to put on work out clothes.  I usually feel better and warmer after a work-out, but even knowing that, I can't seem to convince myself that it's a good idea.  You would think that an extra 15 pounds of weight and pants that are juuuuust on the too tight side would serve as motivation, but nope, not this winter.

I've been dreaming about the beach.  Seriously.  And I wanted to cry this morning when I heard that it was supposed to snow another 4 to 8 inches in the next couple of days.  I am not a particularly emotional person, so this reaction is probably most concerning to me.  Tonight at the dinner table I asked Dave if we could turn the heat up to 82 degrees this weekend for a couple of hours and walk around in our bathing suits drinking frozen strawberry daquiris.  I was dead serious, but now I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm crazy.

I need to get over this, but I live in the Northeast and it's February, so I know that Mother Nature is not on my side.  I need it to NOT snow this weekend, and instead would like for the sun to come out so that the snow melts.  But if that doesn't happen, my back-up plan is to invest in the long-underwear industry, gets lots of sleep, eat better, and start looking into job opportunities in the Southwest.  I'm thinking Nevada or Arizona, or maybe New Mexico.  Lots of sun, and hot, dry heat - it's calling my name...

Leeeeeeeesaaaaaa.......