COLD JANUARY Faves

 

I don't know about where you live, but here in eastern NY, it has been bitter cold all week. I think our high the last 2 days was only 22 degrees (F). And of course, once again, it's Winter and we have no snow. I'm not really complaining but it would be nice to get these brown colored grass covered up.  I like between 2-5 inches of snow on the ground in the Winter. The mountains and west of the Captial Region has plenty of it. Ours all melted after Christmas and has pretty much stayed away. But....I'm thankful for a warm house, cozy sweaters and other blessings so I will share FIVE of my FAVES from the week.  

I do this with other bloggers who practice the gratitude spiritual discipline and we all link up at Susanne's site. 

• SHAMPOO:  Yes, this makes my fave list because I finally bit the bullet and ordered a top ranking Purple shampoo for my hair that is now all natural. It has been 13 months since I've last colored my natural brunette to a mahogany. It has thankfully, turned silver like my paternal grandmother vs salt and pepper grey. To keep it silver, my hair stylist recommended a better purple shampoo but I couldn't  find it here like she said. So I checked on Amazon and voila!  It arrived this past week and I am thrilled with it. It really works on keeping the hair from looking like it's got a yellow tint.  I highly recommend it if you are keeping your hair all natural as you age. I'm also thankful it was less money than what I was expecting. 

Breakfast fruit!

• FRESH FRUIT!  I scored some really good fresh pineapple at the store this past week so made myself a fruit cup every morning to go with breakfast. I added blueberries and pomegranate. I'm thankful for fresh, good fruit especially during the winter months. 

• SILENT READING CLUB: Our town library, for winter, just started a once a month Silent Reading Club. The first one was Monday and I decided to register for this. There were only 5 of us! Two were retired women who used to be librarians, one for Siena College and one for the state library.  One was a retired state worker, I'm a retired special ed prek teacher, and the other one was a grad student getting her masters in Education. We shared what types of books we usually read, showed what we were currently reading and then spent 45 minutes in silent reading. There was a snack bar with various granola bars, cocoa and toppings and herbal tea. I'm really thankful for our town library and all the programs they offer. 

Chicken pesto panini and beet greens salad

• SPONTANEOUS LUNCH DATE:  My cousin Trisha spontaneously texted me yesterday morning to see if I was free after 11 to meet her for lunch in Saratoga. It was perfect timing because I happened to have a late morning chiropractic appointment and was already close to Saratoga. We met at one of our fave coffee spots as they also have an amazing menu with all fresh food and great ambiance. I ordered the chicken pesto and their brand new this winter French Toast Latte with almond milk and light on the sugary syrups. It was amazing! We got caught up on our family news and what we're doing in our churches and it was just nice to sit and chat. I was also thankful I found a parking spot only 2 blocks away as it was only 18 degrees when we met! 

image courtesy of bl*r*y

• MOVIE NIGHT:  Dave and I have a lot of movie (in house) date nights during the Winter season.  This past weekend, we watched one about Charity Adams (whom I had heard of) and the Six Triple Eight contingent of black women serving during WWII.  It was excellent. Loved seeing Oprah in a small role and the movie itself was so well done. It's a piece of history that sadly,  doesn't seem to make its way into the Global History or American History books...at least it didn't in my daughters' courses in high school nor in mine. If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it....every American should watch it.  It's currently available on N*tflix. I'm thankful for historical movies and time with Dave to watch them as well as cozy fleece blankets to curl up in together. 

That wraps up my fave list for the week.

I hope wherever you're living, that you aren't experiencing these bitter cold temps like we are here and that you can get outdoors for some fresh air. I'm planning on doing that tomorrow since our temps are supposed to rise up into the low 30s.

HAPPY WEEKEND,