Some of you may notice I put up a new poll, go ahead and guess, I'll tell you the right answer in a week.

I know I haven't written much, I just haven't felt like it. And I always want to add pictures, but that's a whole lot more work than just typing, so I put it off.... and then I don't update at all.

So I'm just going to go ahead and update you on all kinds of things. First, I want to talk about the darkness.

I probably talked about it last year, not sure, but it's definitely affecting my world these days. Sometime around November it starts to get dark early enough to really notice the difference. And the earlier it gets dark, the more you notice it. The darkness creeps into your afternoons and makes you want, no yearn for an afternoon nap. You can't rely on the light from the windows anymore. I find I actually close the blinds quite early, and turn on all three main lights in my livingroom/dining room/kitchen, just to make it brighter and fool my body into not noticing the darkness creeping in outside. And unless I have made plans with someone or have to go to work, I cannot convince myself to go outside after dark. It can be 3:30 in the afternoon, but because it looks like 10:30 at night... I'm not going for any walk or to the post office or for groceries. It's just not happening. It actually feels really tiring and can sap your energy, even though I am taking Vitamin D regularly. Turning up the lights and closing the blinds do help though.

On the flip side, the sun is always up for at least a few hours each day, and when it is up, it feels so good! Like you could accomplish anything (almost). I use that feeling as my motivation to get up and out of the house in the morning. The knowledge that I won't feel like going out when the sun goes down is motivation to get up early and get stuff done while the sun is up. It can be a great positive, and result in a productive day!

I snapped this picture on the way to the post office last week, just because it felt soooo bright. With the thick layer of snow, the sun is almost blinding sometimes!

On that note, everything is now covered in snow! A little more than the picture above, but I didn't think to take any new pictures before the sun went down today, so you'll have to be happy with that.

This year's Christmas tree! I know it's a little puny, but that's okay. It fits just fine in the window, and since I don't have tons of decorations, it's better this way for now. I also made a wreath and hung that on my door. I was feeling creative. Funny thing was, while I decorated the tree and made the wreath, I picked a favorite christmas carol and set the Ipod to shuffle with "genius playlist" that is supposed to pick similar songs to what you started with. It didn't play just christmas songs, but mixed it with praise songs. It felt oddly appropriate.

And oddly enough, I'll do old news last:

I bought a fish! I bought him on my way back here while I stayed in Ottawa. He went through at least 20 names, but none fit him. So I while discussing it with Tyler (my cousin) he came up with a great suggestion: Scooter. And Scooter he's remained since then. (Thanks Ty!) Isn't he a gorgeous red? It's hard to see in this picture, but most of his scales are highlighted with blue. And as you can see in the background, there's a small bamboo growing in the middle of his small tank.

That's all for now.