Rays of sunlight in January

It doesn't matter how prepared I am to return to normal life post-Christmas/New Years--the transition always leaves me feeling a bit whiplashed.

Nonetheless, life has returned to normal; I get to sleep in my own bed, shower in my own bathroom, and I managed to hold true to my new years resolutions for a solid two weeks before I started faltering in some areas.

Now that the excitement is over and I've been able to establish a nice routine again, though, the yuckiness of January/February has sunk in. There's no knowing when winter will end (if you can call this weather we've been having "winter"), my next vacation day isn't until Memorial Day, and, really, there's nothing to look forward to in January. Except for spring, which is still months away.

Rather then dwell on those facts, however, I've decided it would be a much better use of my time to focus on the rays of sunlight shining on my life instead of the doom and gloom. The good things in life tend to outshine the bad, even if there is more bad than good.

• The church is true!
• On Saturday, an unusually warm January afternoon allowed me to literally bask in the warmth of the sun from the calm and quiet of my parents' front porch. The sky was a cheery blue and the sun wasn't dimmed by smog. It made for a very pleasant half hour. And later that night, I actually got to see the stars. Have I mentioned that cities suck?
• Conversely, I got to drive in the snow during my morning commute yesterday (and, yes, I was happy about it). The snow is gone already and now it's just freezing cold, but it was exciting to see the snow actually stick to the ground for half a day.
• The blender I got for Christmas is awesome and I am experimenting with fruit smoothie combinations for breakfast. Yay for finding yummy and healthy meals!
• I'm actually okay with the fact that I still have 1:00 church. I can take my time in the morning, go to church by the time I'm really bored, and then go home and soak up some more relaxation before diving back into Monday.
• The Jazz aren't as embarrassingly bad as they were in December, and the BYU basketball team is legit. Still have to break into the roommate's zombie mode if I want to watch a game Tues-Thurs, but at least I get the TV the rest of the week.
• I made it past the excruciatingly boring part of Wheel of Time--I'm 200ish pages into book 11 and I've read about more than just clothes and facial expressions!
• After having two pretty busy weeks, this week is looking like it'll be pretty chill at work.
• God is my best friend.
• I think I may like whole-wheat bread more than white bread now. Never thought that would happen.
• I walked to a store from my place of residence for the first time in my life a few weekends ago. I ended up buying more than just the skein of yarn I had planned on, and carrying home my bulky purchases was a bit of an adventure.
• The reception I went to on Friday the 13th had a hot chocolate and cookie bar. I liked it.

Yep, this was definitely a good use of my time. I'm feeling a little better about life now.