You’ve heard of winter whites? This is winter whining.
This morning I woke up, and saw frost outside. It was the first frost of the winter. I could feel my heart sink. To say that I hate the winter is a major understatement. I despise it with a passion. I am not going to say that I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, but it’s kind of along those lines. I have days where I just can’t force myself to get up in the morning. I can lay in bed awake for about an hour, eyes wide open and staring at the ceilng, just trying to psyche myself up to inch my toe out of the blanket. And once I do get up, it feels like the day is almost over because here in the UK it gets dark around 4 o’clock. By that time, I just loose all of my energy to do anything remotely productive. I develop problems with my skin and eyes suffer with severe dryness from the heating. I feel constantly cold. I don’t feel like going out (even to my favourite restaurants!!). I just really get in a major mood… for about 3 months!!! Poor Mr P for having to put up with me. I can be a real terror. I have constructed a bit of a battle plan to help me get through this season. I thought I’d share some of my tips for getting through the winter… alive. Yeah, I know, HH is a maaaaaaaajor drama queen, but come on, you love me 
.
1) I hate to admit this, but exercize really helps… a lot! From a scientific perspective, exercize releases endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin and dopamine. Just like a hit of crack, these chemicals all work together to make you feel good. Aside from that, it gives me a sense of accomplishment, and makes me feel okay indulging in some extra cake (and there is nothing like cake to get a girl out of a downer). Unlike most people, I tend to loose a bit of weight in the winter (yay!) because I don’t want to leave the gym and walk home in the cold! I also find that when I am in good shape, I am tons less likely to get sick. I am happy to say that for the last several winters I have been able to avoid any major nasties.
2) Aside from keeping your body active, you’ve got to keep your mind active too. That’s why this year I’ve made a few winter goals for myself. I’ve made them so that instead of focusing on how miserable and cold I am, I can focus on something else. Sometimes when you are really engaged in a project, you forget about the other stuff. Well, I think I’d like to really work on my croissant skills. I simply adore croissants, and I want to get really good at making them. Pierre Herme good. One of my favourite comforts is a fresh hot croissant drizzled with a little honey and a steaming cup of tea. It is my idea of heaven. I have so many idea of weird and wonderful flavours that I want to try making, so watch this space. I also want to work on my French. I have been a little neglectful of it (bad housewife, bad!).
I’ll be shakin’ and a’ bakin’ up a storm!
3) Eat plenty of fish. According to what I’ve read, eating salmon and other foods high in omega-3 fatty acids can really help one’s mood. Maybe the Eskimos were onto something with all that fish eating! Furthermore, if you are like me, and the cold causes your skin to dry out, healthy fats from fish and almonds can be of some help. Keep in mind daaahlings, lashings of clotted cream, although fatty, won’t have the same effect. It’s the vitamin E that is so helpful- I’m just mentioning it cause I saw that naughty glint in your beady little eyes.
4) Dress the part! It is so important to keep bundled up. In all honesty, I’ve been known to wear my winter coat in the house, but what I really want is one of these. Mr P says no. He rarely denies me stuff I want, but he is afraid I’d end up falling down the stairs 
. So I have to do it the old fashioned way. I need to wear plenty of layers…. and a hat. Keeping your head covered is essential. Did you know that you can actually loose 30% of your body’s heat through your head??? Yes, totally wear a hat. Something wildly expensive, heavy on the plumage. Work it, own it, feel it, be it:
PETA who daaaahling? Does it come with hummus?
5) Learn to take pleasure in the small things. This is very important. Whenever you are feeling a little down (winter or otherwise), try to count life’s little blessings. Luxuriate in a hot bubble bath, read a great book, notice how the snow sparkles like diamonds when the light hits it in just the right way. I have to admit, I have a really bad habit of focusing on the negative. I guess this is another thing I should try to work on this winter. I think if you can learn to find the positives, no matter how tiny they are, the bigger picture doesn’t tend to look as bleak.
6)… And if that doesn’t work, there’s always chocolate. Right now I am loving the chocolate from Green & Black’s. They make the good stuff, and without the high price tag to match. When you are feeling a low, be sweet to yourself. Chocolate is an instant pick-me-up that won’t break the bank. I love Green & Black’s white chocolate. The hint of vanilla that runs through it totally makes the little icicles that form around my cold hands melt. I can’t recommend it enough if you a fellow white chocolate fan. You can always find some of that in my larder, because, you know, a girl has to have her emergency stash! The thing is, they do so many incredibly lovely flavours that I’ve never really had the chance to sample… until now . The wonderful people at Green & Blacks sent me a fabulous tasting selection, some assorted bars, and some warming hot chocolate. I am so looking forward to going through each and every morsel. So long as Mr P continues to replenish the said stash on an regular basis, he himself may just have a chance of having a peaceful and happy winter too .
This tasting collection would make an awesome holiday gift. Who could fail to be delighted by a rainbow of baby chocolate bars?
So how about you daaahlings? I am always curious about how other people manage to get t through the winter. It shocks me that some of you guys actually really enjoy it! What are your tips and secrets? I could really use some.
Success comes when we least expect it!!! I don’t have any tips HH just keep on eating the odd piece of chocolate and a fab cup of coffee keeps me happy.
I get depressed during Winter too, esp. b/c all the high fat crap kills my stomach and just makes me cranky. And when I can’t go outside for my sunshine (it’s been raining for 3 days…) I snarl.
Salmon really helps though, and lots of dancing and exercise.
And the Muppet Christmas Carol.
I love the winter for lots of reasons, but mostly because everything is so peaceful and quiet. It seems like things really slow down and I have time to enjoy my house and putter about. Winter is an excuse to be lazy! Fuzzy blankets and comfy clothes are the best!
Stay warm and enjoy the chocolate!
Love this. Winters in MI are HELL!! I take 3 fish oil pills on top of my regular vitamins and an extra vitamin D. Also I take Emergin C when I am feeling the sniffles coming on. I love the Tangerine flavor. I force myself to exercise as much as possible. Make sure you get OUTSIDE especially if it is sunny out. 10 miinutes can make a huge difference. Surround yourself with positive people
Happy Holidays HH!!
Sounds like you have a great plan in place, HH. I also find that dressing with a splash of color or having a bit of bright, happy color in your home decor can lift one’s mood. On another note…please post your thoughts on that drinking chocolate. I’m fascinated by that stuff.
I bake bread during the winter. Nothing like beating your frustrations out on a bit of dough and kneading it into compliance. The reward is a house filled with heart-warming fragrance but the ultimate is slathered with butter fresh from the oven!
You sound so much like me! I moved to Florida over 20 years ago, that’s how I handled it! After the last winter it was pretty chilly for here, we might have to move farther south!
At least we get plenty of sunshine which helps tremendously, but I hate to hear all those peaple saying how great the weather is when it gets down to 60 and it’s cold for here(they should move north if they love it so much). Give me heat and even humidity and I feel very comfortable(and don’t complain like those others do). We had a beautiful weekend 80 degrees, but it was a little windy, when we were eating breakfast at a restaurant outdoors it blew our napkins off the table :0
Let me know I’ll send you some warmth and sunshine! Stay warm!
Your writing is very entertaining, I like the blog design too.
Thanks very much
Aggie
I know just what you mean. Come January when the holidays are over and its just damn cold my mood matches the weather. That’s when I start making our summer vacation plans. I drool over pictures of beaches and swim wear and that perks me up fairly quickly.
First… let me thank you for the tea! SUch a splendid way to start a week as you said. Winning something just sets me up for the week.
I am your polar (har har har) opposite. I hate summer heat and love the cold. I have a St. Bernard for a reason! In the summer our jogs are pathetic. As the temperature drops, we run more and faster. Petunia loathes summer and revels in snow… and so do I. Perhaps I was a St. Bernard or a polar bear in a former life! I do agree with all your tips about mood improvement, makes all the difference~
I totally agree about excercise- it keeps me sane, or at least slightly so. I can’t think of a better anti-depressant. Also, I’m a firm believer in an ounce of dark chocolate a day. Not just in winter, but all year long. I keep a stash in my desk at work and another at home. Just for the anti-oxidents, you know
Although I am ready for winter after living for two years in Texas and now being back in the northeast, I love love love this list of ways to not be depressed… and winter weather or not, I think that the above is just a good way to live period! Brilliant!
i do get SAD. and that is one of the main reasons we are trying like crazy to get our butts back to cali. the winters here in the NE are brutal and get more and more cloudy days as the years pass.
exercise does help, but i miss the sun period. nothing like being out in the sun for 5-8 hours straight to make you feel alive.
i also take high quality krill and fish oils to help with moods and yes, they do work.
so do cocktails darling
Awesome tips to fight those winter blues! Palates exercies help me a lot, and yes chocolate is great too
Yeah, the chocolate is a sure way to cure winter blues
I love the bright cold winter days, but those grey English winters are hard to take when the weather doesn’t lift for days. Log fires and good food, a great red wine after a long walk. That’s what gets me through winter. I love your pictures. GG
Brilliant post as always. Love your tips. Chocolate and croissants…. yum! I’m one of those weird people that like winter. Well not all of it, I do prefer colder weather but not when its so cold you can’t feel your own extremities. I love snow but only if I get to stay in and enjoy it. I do like winter dressing – coat, scarf, gloves, hats and of course the feeling of Christmas that it inevitably brings
Have you ever tried fish oil capsules? I think they go a long way towards helping mood and dry skin. It’s worth a try.
If that doesn’t work come to LA where it’s perpetually sunny and 70 degrees. I’ll switch with you because I love love love the chilly charm of London.
In any case, exercise really does wonders for my mood too. Or maybe it’s the fact that nobody’s bothering me while I’m at the gym?
It might be exercise alone that gets me through the winter. I hate the early darkness, but I switch my routine to go run earlier in the day and just make it happen. Chocolate sounds like a good cure too, and I love white chocolate!
Winter here is really not winter, so I cannot complain. Our temps might drop to 50degress, but I seem to sleep more. I do try to work out more and take bike rides,
—Love your suggestions, Daaaling.
C H O C O L A T E works. Hot baths. I have heard that some people even place white glimmering lights around their windows
It gets dark out here at 4:30…. Sometimes I will Bake. Xx
Yes. Chocolate Chip Cookies work, too.
Poor HH! I used to suffer in winter too.You’re right, working out helps. Forget that it’s supposed to help with weight, it helps with moods. I am a firm believer. And it also keeps you healthy. Odd they don’t highlight those advantages in the classes I take.
My sister LOVES winter (she lives in Michigan). I think she’s crazy.
You could move to Florida….
Great tips! I love an Australian winter, it’s mild and rainy and windy, but at the moment I’m in California, and already it’s way colder than it gets in Oz! I think I’m ill equipped to deal with such weather. THEN I’m off to NY next week – I’m scared! lol.
I can so totally relate! Today I stayed in bed till 10ish…did not show up to work till 11:30. oy. Thank god for vacation hours.
things I do: listen to Latin music, repaint my nails or toenails, wear sparkly fun jewelry, buy flowers, turn on the lights on my christmas tree.
xoxoxo
Exercise and alcohol.
What?
Pick me up of the floor – pleeeease! You never fail to crack me up. Great pics, incredible humor, wit, and so much more. Love the mood you’ve put me in.
Hugs,
Valerie
You are too funny!!!
I am not big on winter either…I detest the cold! Love the tips…and of course chocolate always helps
Hugs
Salmon and chocolates are good but you have forgotten about your blog! Am reading this post just about 4pm now , the sun is setting but you made me smile.
I can’t stand how the days are so SHORT
Not problem getting up in the morning, but it makes me want to go to sleep at 6pm! At least the holiday season is filled with delicious baking.
Love the pictures.
Guess I should be lucky that we don’t really have winter here, eh?
I’ve been overseas during winter season too, and I agree how cold it was and I was really feeling overwhelmed, or rather, overburdened with the cold most of the time that I didn’t really get to enjoy a lot of things anymore. Anyway, the fish part is good, hehehe, because I enjoy fish like salmon and cod
Stay warmmmm, not easy I know, and I can’t believe I am about to travel to a country during winter soon. I am going to remember your tips here
As depressing as it is, you’re right that exercise really helps. I’ll have to try the fish. We did a Green & Black chocolate tasting while we were in London, and it was so much fun!
I used to enjoy my winters in Argentina, because it is cold but sunny!! but here, gloomy, wet, so depressing !! It does get dark at 4pm too…and when it’s dark, I feel I have to make dinner and start my ritual: drinking wine…but I can’t start to drink wine at 4 !!!! so that sets me in a bad mood….
I have to force myself to get out….I would stay in my appartment the whole week…I hate Paris in the winter!!!
Sending you a smile.
Your tips are great. I’ve found the best way to make myself get started is to schedule something for early morning. That forces me to get up and move. It may be a meeting, a walk with a friend or even a class, but at 9 I make sure I have something to do. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Darlinnnnk HH, we all feel so less SAD here in S Spain (today it was 22C!) – blue skies and sunny!
Downside is it’s not Christmassy! Sigh
Have a fabuloussssss weekend nonetheless!
XOXO Lola:)
I can relate I hate the cold and dampness of winter. Give me heat, sunshine, and of course, swimming-pools or beaches!
Exercise is a must of course, as is chocolate (good brands only) and great croissants!
I will add to the list good friends, good music and excellent tea!
Come on down to Florida and soak up some sunshine! : )
Perfect timing. It has gotten cold…to cold for Texas, and I needed these tips! I try to exercise a lot during the winter months too. More cookies for me then! Thanks for sharing your soul with me, yet again. Love ya!
It’s supposed to be getting into summer over here – but it’s been raining and cold for the past four days! Kind of nice to have our version of a ‘white’ Christmas.Keeping up my exercise was key to surviving winter this year, and summer now as well
You sound sweet even when you are whining
) LOL
Same here…it’s dark at 4pm and still DARK even at 8am. Can you believe it? 8am is still dark…and no snow at all. What a lousy winter.
I told you I think you are really lvely??? I laugh with all your post and find so good but I love how say the things darliing:)
Im a strangue person dear I LOVE WINTER ! and autumn, we are in summer now and I know is true the fruits is lovely, the pool (I love swimm) but hate the hot sometimes is terrible and imagine buy some Christmas presente or cook with HOT TIME, baking is not porblem for me, Mom always made cookies and others hoyt or not hot nd Im like her:))
Only think you have the perfect time for Christmas:))) love yopur post
Come over to Florida and bask in the Sunshine. Though I can’t promise how long it would be cozy. It was 58 last night.
Oh you poor thing in the cold! I dislike Australian Winters but UK winters are much harsher so I can imagine that you would definitely need these very helpful tips!
I totally get where you’re coming from here. I don’t like late-fall or early winter at all. The holidays get me down, everyone at work is always complaining and the cold and dark are real bummers. Strangely, I usually snap out of my glum mood in the second week of January–despite the continued cold. I think with the holiday stress passed, the visible lengthening of the still too short days and my general optimism for the new year all work together to restore my spirit.
Your suggestions are all excellent for staying happy and healthy. I’ve been a bit withdrawn lately, I think because of above. Good to get some perspective on it.
I feel bad admitting that I love winter when so many have a hard time with it.I have heard that if you were born during a winter month than you will have an easier time of it – don’t know how true it is but for me it seems to be. You have a great battle plan – how about soup? Bubbling pots of hearty soup are lovely this time of year. xoxo
Helloooooooo Dahling! Too long no visit! You are still your same funny self. I don;t mind the winter-well I do a bit but l Iove the holidays…and they fall in the winter. Maybe I should be in Australia? Hmmm- Happy to be back Lovey!
Great tips for winter HH! For me some hot spicy Indian curry works wonder ..haha!:)
I HATE Canadian winters, too!! It’s dark when I wake up for work and dark when I get off work at 4 pm also! Same thing in the UK, eh? Your tips above are just about what I do to keep me SANE throughout this season. I hate it also that I have very limited natural light for food photography. Argh! Spring and Summer, be here soon…
Keeping your mind and body active during the winter is an absolute must. It is so easy to fall into a state of blahness when it’s so cold outside.
http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
Twitter: @GlamKitten88
Winter is my second or third favorite season, depending on the year. Do I feel like snuggling in front of the fireplace with hot cocoa this year? Do I have some gorgeous sweaters to show off this year? Am I into layering this year? lol IYes, ‘m weird. You’re not, because you nip any SAD in the bud with all of your ways to beat it! Excercise always kicks up the ‘happy’, so I ‘gym’ a lot too, and actually like walking out into the cold air after sweating and being around sweaty people. Oh..and I always buy loads of chocolate to perk me up. Great post as always, my dear!