Coffee Talk: Winter, Walking, and Writing

March has arrived and I realized that it's been a while since I've done a coffee talk. Well, I have my coffee and I'm ready to talk, so let's chat.

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For the first time in several years, we have had a true winter here in the Midwest. We've had tons of snow and cold weather as opposed to the normal, mild winters we usually have. In fact, I was looking at my facebook memories yesterday and I was outdoors the last couple of years. There was no snow and everyone was light jackets last year, and t-shirts the year before that. Crazy to see considering how yesterday was -3 degrees F in the morning with a cold wind that was described as "dangerous" by the weather outlets. 

Now, while I've acclimated to winter this year, and the coldest in years, I am starting to long for spring.

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Speaking of yesterday's cold, it was the first day in quite some time that I couldn't walk back and forth to work. The wind was the kind that takes your breath away, and I just wasn't ready to walk in that. There are limits to my walking to work, and yesterday tested that limit. I didn't go hiking this past weekend either for the same reason. It was just stupid cold.

I am, of course, still walking and hiking as much as possible, and I'm still tracking my mileage. In January, I walked/hiked 80.68 miles and in February, I walked/hiked 88.38. I think it's funny how I managed to walk/hike more in February when A) it was colder than January, and B) it was a shorter month than January. I guess you can say that I'm a bit obsessive about getting my miles in at this point. 

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While I'm writing, it's still more at a snail's pace. I'm definitely feeling like normal these days, but that normal is different than it used to be. This means I'm still trying to adjust to my new normal. I'm loving it, and I'm embracing it, but I'm now fully aware of the fact that I need to ease myself back into writing. It's not for a lack of ideas or a constant stream of words, storylines, and atmospheric conjuring on my part, it's more that I'm just not fully in my writing mode yet. But, I am getting there. I'm also a bit behind on my newsletter this month, but it's nearly done.

It's not entirely due to adjustment, however, as you all know that I started my new position with my employer. It's a wonderful, but challenging, new change, and it has been taking up much of mental prowess right now. Once I get more settled into my new role, I'll have more time to think of other things.

Well, that's it for Coffee Talk for this time around. I hope you stay warm, happy, and healthy, my friends.

Until next time,

H.A.