shiny

Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah.
You've been there, right? I don't know what it is really, perhaps a bit of after-the-holidays-blahs, a sort of hangover if you will...oh, not the kind you get from over-serving yourself adult beverages, more an emotional hangover. What is an emotional hangover you ask? Bits and pieces picked up here and there. Tiny shreds of baggage you volunteer to carry around for yourself and others. Plus, I'm seriously sun-deprived. We are truly into the winter season now, and I'm pretty much over it. I know better than to complain about the weather, even though , all in all winter is pretty bearable, but I miss the sun. We've had a long string of dark, snowy days, flirting with below freezing, with just the occasional one where the sun delights us with it's "shiny".

What can I say, perhaps I'm whinier than I want to be, complaining about the weather and all, but I really miss the shiny. When the sun does tip toe out, I drop everything to adore it. I announce it's arrival like a demented carnival barker, like I've not seen it in a hundred years. SUN! SUN! THE SUN IS OUT!  I am awestruck, stop what I'm doing~unsure of what my next move should be?  what should I do? stare out the window? run outside? lay down in it? sing a song about it? bow down to it?...and before I can decide, it's gone. pffffft! just like that.

Dear Sun, please come back soon. I miss you. Love, Me.

I meant to dream up reasons why I love like tolerate winter...my scarf collection, tights and knee-high boots, hot chocolate, warm fuzzy slippers, my hair freezing on my morning walk~wait, this is actually somewhat unpleasant...


....hummmm???

Bear with me...

I'm not going to pretend I love winter darlin' and that I'm not eagerly anticipating the arrival of warmer weather [Spring I'm talking about you!] like a little kid awaits Santa, oh wait! that's winter again...hmm, I guess I'm just not as content as I should be in this current season, the wind is gusty, biting cold, whack you in the face. The snow seems heavier, comes more often, lasts forever. The short days, dark when you wake up, dark early, gloomy always...kind of get me down. I hate waking up with no sunlight streaming through my window, I hate that the sun retires before dinner, leaving us to dine in complete darkness and although I do love my collection of Ugg's very much, I really just want to throw on a pair of flip-flops and dance through the grass. I want to eat another ear of corn roasted on the grill. Down a glass of fresh lemonade or two. I want tomatoes,  peaches, apricots, nectarines, mangoes, cherries, strawberries, melons, plums… oh summer, imissyousomuch!

It’s funny how we always have something to say about the weather. When it’s raining and cold, we complain because it’s raining and cold. And when it’s finally warm, we complain because it’s “too hot”!   But still, I miss the sunshine. I miss the endless days. I miss the clear days when clouds are stretched out like sheets hung on a clothes line to dry. I miss the sudden thunderstorm. I miss the warm nights with it's gentle breeze and chorus of crickets. I miss the flowers. I miss the leaves on the trees. I miss the birds singing. The fresh, invigorating sense of renewal in the air…I miss that.

Things don't always go as planned. See, I've been trying to eat healthier, drop a few pounds-sure-why not? I just can't right now. Why not? Well because, apparently, I need to maintain a certain sugar addiction...what le heck you ask? Well, believe me I'm asking the same thing. Is my will power is truly this bad? I know, right!!!? I know, I know.  It's the middle of January. New Year's resolution season is no time to foist off new recipes for sweets.  Don't worry.  I don't want you to ruin your diet. Break steadfast intentions not yet a month along. That would be silly. Not to mention mean. No, what I want you to do is tuck this one away. Keep it for some far-flung day in the future when celebrating is in order. This is not really a I-just-started-a-diet-kind of cake. In fact, it's not really an "every day" kind of cake at all. The kind you make because it's, spend the day in my pj's Sunday or you need a quick dessert to accompany last night's leftover soup. It's just not that kind of thing.  But this weather, this weather had me craving comfort food...sweet, forbidden comfort food that was also whimsical and nostalgic. This riff on the Hostess Sno Ball snack cakes totally fit that bill [after all, I can always start my diet tomorrow]!

peace.

 

Chocolate Snowball Cake

(go here for recipe)