How to Survive Cabin Fever
source: google images
It’s winter, winter everywhere, and not an ice scraper to spare! The six day work weeks have begun for me, and no matter what my shift is, it seems I’m going to work when it’s dark, and it’s really dark when I leave.
So, I’m getting cabin fever.
Here are the rules and realities that I’ve come to believe in for surviving the perpetual darkness of the winter season:
- Crazy colored, fuzzy socks are a must! It’s true, especially if you’re boyfriend won’t turn the heat up anymore. Big, fuzzy, warm socks are a godsend after 9 hours on the sales floor.
- So is an eclectic mug collection. I’m too lazy and a wimp to brave the cold and see my favorite coffee shops, so I save time and money with our Keurig single cup coffee maker. I’m well stocked on apple cider, cafe’ mochas, espresso, and a variety of bold blends. Pick your mug for fun: the flamingo? the New Orleans cafe’ du monde mug? one of the maple leaves set?
- If it’s dark all the time, it means it’s the “night life” all the time! Wanna know what I’m doing for fun this holiday season? I have SOOOOO many cosmetics (Hello, I work at the mall and manage that department!) that I’m going to wear each and every one of my eye shadows until I’ve gone through them all! Today I wore Turquoise Sands! Doesn’t that sound like I do in fact have a life? I said sounds like! Stop that snickering!
- Stay indoors. Watch The Vampire Diaries. I will leave the house, a drastic and bold move (if I plan, I just go right after work) to venture to the library and stock up on whole seasons of TV. I’m currently rewatching Season 1 of The Vampire Diaries since it’s newest season is on that ridiculous thing the networks call “midseason finale”. How garish!
- Household chores gettin’ ya down, throw in an audio book! I’m trying to madly finish up a few titles on my To Be Read list for 2011, so I’ve been double-tasking by getting ready in the morning to an audio book. I can also listen while cooking, cleaning my room, or wrapping presents.
- Become a Sports Fan. Nothing like a fan club that requires sitting in front of the TV, snack food, and obscene amounts of cheering. Looking for a team to root for? *brushes shoulders* Might I suggest the ol’ Green and Gold, 14-0, Titletown Champs Green Bay Packers?! Alright, alright!
- Write in a journal. Start a journal. Now more than ever, keeping a gratitude journal has been important to me. The long hours and days at work and little free time makes it important to spend that time in a meaningful way and be grateful for the little things like taco dip, vampire TV, and Aveeno creamy moisturizing hand lotion (OMG – this cold weather on my skin! Grrr!)
- If you can’t hibernate, have a party! The holidays should be a time for friends and family. Spend your days with those you love indulging in laughter and creating new memories. What will I remember about this holiday season so far? My toddler niece telling me on the phone “I found Coco the Elf, he’s down the hall!”
How are you handling Cabin Fever this winter?
The Dating Game: Werewolf Edition
Last Guilty Pleasure Friday, you voted for your favorite vampire. Shocking results showed that True Blood’s Eric Northman was the leading supernatural man of choice by a whopping 45% majority vote. Now, I like Eric, but I must say I was in with the 2nd place crowd voting for The Vampire Diaries Damon Salvatore, who earned a respectable 35% of the vote. If you missed your chance to chime in, you can view the original post here and take the poll!
So today, we’ll be talking about another guilty pleasure of mine: werewolves! And it seems where there are vampires, there be wolves! Learn about our contestants and vote below; which mystery manimal would you most like a date with?
Bachelor #1: Jacob Black There’s something about the boy who started out all scrawny and awkward, but whose fans fought so hard to keep him in the Twilight series that makes me admire Jacob Black. Played by Taylor Lautner, Jacob is sensitive, mischievious, and 180° all the time, so he’ll be able to keep you warm on those chilly winter nights fast approaching. To bulk up for the physical transformation, Lautner kept extreme diet and strength training, doing drills and weights during set breaks and basically eating a lot of hamburgers. But don’t let his brute strength scare you ladies, he knows how to treat a woman. His favorite first dates include motorcycle rides, cliff diving, and holding hands at the movies.
Bachelor # 2: Alcide Herveaux Newcomer character Alcide Herveaux, played by Joe Mangiello, has been making advances appearances on the last season of True Blood. He’s recovering from a terrible break-up with a druggie werewolf chick, but if fixer-uppers are your thing, Alcide may be your dream come true. He’s part rugged outdoorsman, part softie who wears flannel. First dates with Alcide include snuggling on the couch, long romantic drives, and chasing after his ex-girlfriend.
Bachelor #3: Tyler Lockwood High School wouldn’t be High School without the football jock alter ego werewolf character. Tyler Lockwood, werewolf, is the result of the Moonstone Curse on The Vampire Diaries. Played by Michael Trevino, he originally came to casting for the role of Stefan Salvatore, but the producers immediately saw him as Tyler. With his athletic build, playful smirk and smile, and inner struggle to fight his werewolf desires, Tyler is an ambitious and strong man. First dates include reckless house parties and drinking too much, sneaking around and rummaging through other people’s belongings, and chaining oneself up in the old abandoned Lockwood estate. Please call ahead for a date with Tyler so he can check the full moon calendar, he’s new at this.
Bachelor # 4: Mason Lockwood Tyler’s uncle on the Vampire Diaries, Mason Lockwood, acts as mentor and guardian over Tyler for awhile, explaining how the Curse of the Moonstone works and actually documenting his werewolf transition process on video camera. Played by Taylor Kinney, Mason is a bit of lone wolf…pun intended. You can never be too sure which side he’s on, Ladies, and he’s likely to disappear without much notice. He’s been known to come back though, and usually with a grudge. Despite his actions, his heart is in the right place, protecting Tyler. First dates include a faraway getaway where no one knows your name, attending council meetings, and an unwarranted desire to be in and out of his nephew’s life.
And those are our contestants for today. Let the voting begin! Who’s your guilty pleasure wolfman of choice? Would you write in your own vote for a werewolf I missed? Who’s sexier: the vampire or the werewolf?
Guilty Pleasure? Don’t Mind if I Do
It’s time I came clean about something. I am a sucker for guilty pleasures. So much so I could easily change the name of this blog to Jess Witkins’ Guilty Pleasures and have plenty to write about. I unabashedly love bad movies, bad TV, bad music, bad food, and the occasional bad book once in awhile. And I’m guessing, you do too.
So, I’m introducing a new theme here on JW’s Happiness Project, every other Friday, I will tell you about some of my guilty pleasures, and I’m hoping you’ll make me feel better about myself by sharing yours. 😉 Guilty pleasures keep me sane. If I worked all day, came home to cook gourmet meals, and only watched cinema of the existential kind, you probably wouldn’t like me very much. I wouldn’t like me either. The guilty pleasures that we indulge in define us. Take one example, the films we watch with our girlfriends may be different than the ones we watch with our partner or parents. If I had to guess how those three groups defined me based on the movies we watch, I’d say: friends=quirky, family=snarky, and the boyfriend=crazy. Why? Because my best friend is the one that watches BBC series and makes cucumber sandwiches with me, my family has to sit through me quoting every movie, and my poor boyfriend is subject to whatever whim I’m in the mood for: Jurassic Park marathon, yes!, Sphere, sure!, La Bamba, ok!, Twilight, if I beg!
So let’s dig in to the guilty pleasures that make life more manageable at times. I’m talking TV, people! September is around the corner and new shows and seasons will be starting up again, so to kick off Guilty Pleasure Friday, I’m going to share with you my favorite guilty pleasure TV dramas of all time.
The Vampire Diaries: I just finished watching Season 2 and I can’t wait til September for the next season to begin. Sure it’s your typical love triangle, you’ve got the vampire/werewolf war going on, you’ve got an endless amount of legends to keep you just confused enough but still invested. I am in love with this show. It may be based for the teenage crowd, but I can’t help but fall for it. A big reason for that is THE WRITING. No joke, whoever the CW put together to write the episodes is smart about their plotting. Every episode leaves you on the edge of your seat, wanting more, all the while you are getting new information, and even the side stories are interesting. I give kudos to the writing team of Vampire Diaries and think any writer would because the show is action-progressed while still being believable (despite the fact it’s about vampires and werewolves). Plus, hello, major chemistry with the cast! I am as torn as Elena over Stefan and Damon Salvatore. *sigh*
True Blood: Yes, I am bought in to the vampire craze. It’s fun! And the storylines between True Blood and Vampire Diaries are drastically different. True Blood depicts a world where humans and vampires exist together, not always on good terms, but they know they’re there. And a new substance called True Blood, allows vampires to drink blood without killing people. Add a psychic waitress named Sookie, her shapeshifting boss, and hotheaded brother who always causes trouble, you’ve got great TV. The lead vampire is Bill Compton, a southern plantation man in his day. He and Sookie become bonded when she saves his life from Vampire Hunters. New twists to the tale include humans drinking vampire blood, street name V, to get high. Aren’t you intrigued yet?
Six Feet Under: No longer on air, it lasted 6 amazing seasons, this show about a family that runs a funeral home is one of the best out there. Every episode begins with a death, the person whose funeral will take place in the funeral home owned by this family. At times, Six Feet Under could be very dark, there’s a season where everything goes wrong, and you’ll want to stop watching and curl up thinking about your happy place. Keep watching! The final episode of this show is one of the best final episodes I’ve ever seen. Mainly, this show is about finding yourself, despite all the loved ones lost, all the crap that happens, however dysfunctional your family may be, this show is about finding out what you’re made of.
Dexter: See a familiar face? That’s Michael C. Hall starring as Dexter, but he also played David in Six Feet Under. Polar opposite rolls. Dexter is about a serial killer, but he only kills other serial killers. He’s a good guy? That’s what makes the show worth a watch. You want him to get away even though he’s murdered quite a few people. Apart from the killings, he tries to lead a normal life. He works as a blood specialist with the Miami Police (convenient), has a girlfriend, and a sister who also works at the police department. If you’re writing a suspense thriller, or want to study a great antihero, you should absolutely check out Dexter.
Desperate Housewives: Could be a drama or comedy, but due to all the murders that occur, I’m putting it here. Suburbia. It’s a scary neighborhood. Primarily this show is about friends. A group of women who get together and see each other through the thick and thin, but sometimes the thick includes dating each others’ husbands, burning down each others houses, poisoning one another, and general spying, lots of spying. Another example of a tight knit cast, each woman is wonderful in her role. The key players in the beginning are Edie, the blonde bombshell realtor, Lynette, the high strung mom with several trouble causing children, Susan the ever worrisome, low self-esteem, yet competitive housewife, Gabby, the saucy, selfish one, and Bree, the picturesque role model of a strong woman: excellent baker, homemaker, gun owner.
Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman: Ok, I had to put this one at the bottom or you might not have finished reading, but hear me out! I love Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman; I grew up watching this show with my mom. It’s a period drama about a woman doctor braving the Wild West frontier of Colorado Springs, CO. She’s stubborn, incredibly smart, always stands up for the less able, proves her worth, and she’s a redhead. What’s not to love here? Dr. Michaela Quinn, or Dr. Mike, as they called her on the show was a great example of a strong woman for me growing up. And the love story between her and Indian Agent, Sully, is a realistic example of a strong couple. They had arguments in the show, but they always worked through them, not every show depicts that side of a couple. I still rent a season or so from the library time to time, this show is still a favorite.
So how bout you? Do you share any of these guilty pleasures? What are the TV drama guilty pleasures you watch? C’mon, I won’t make fun, as long as you play nice to Dr. Quinn!
Jess Witkins' Happiness Project 