Winter: It snows a lot, and also people watch football

You might be surprised to hear this, but I'm not much up on all of the various sportballs that are in season throughout the year.  I used to get invited to people's shabby apartments to watch the Superbowl when I was in grad school, but eventually people gave up on me.  I do know that drinking and eating fatty snacks are a part of that tradition, and for that reason, I almost regret never joining the festivities.  But really, you can drink and eat garbage without having to watch people ruin their lives with massive concussions any ol' time, right?

Which brings me to the other thing I am tired of hearing about on Facebook: snow.  It has snowed here in the Rockies, it snowed somewhat in the Southeast last week, it snows a terrible amount every week in the Great Lakes.  It is winter.  You don't need to complain about it, though you can post beautiful photos of your magically transformed backyard (sans whining) and/or fun outdoor adventures all you want, and I will "like" every single one of them.  I don't spend all summer whining about having to sweat, because for some reason no one can relate to this complaint. You should not spend all winter whining about getting to snowshoe and wear awesome sweaters, because I think that is stupid.

That was all a slightly offensive prelude to winter things I want to celebrate this weekend, and hopefully with the help of these links to clever peoples' sites, this list will enrich your weekend, too. New year's resolution: be more sassy. Check.

Drinking: Thank you, Bustle, for encouraging day drinking with the delicious-sounding spiked hot chocolate recipes. #4 (picture above) is definitely my favorite.

If you're feeling sad that tequila is getting left out here, try adding it to your mulled hot cider in place of rum (better try both): dump a gallon of apple cider into a Dutch oven or similarly large vessel, and add 1 large orange studded generously with cloves (great project for someone stationary who's not helping enough), 2 cinnamon sticks, and 1 dried star anise (optional). Simmer over medium-low heat until it's good and hot, and let it cook for as long as you like--the flavors get stronger with time. Add the rum or tequila directly to your cup to avoid cooking off the precious alcohol.




Eating Garbage: Or not.  Oh My Veggies has some great ideas for indulgent snacks that seem pretty junky, but aren't that bad for you. These Oven baked pickle chips are THE BEST:






Going Outside: I've posted pretty recently on showshoeing and ice skating in the Rockies, and if you're not coming out here anytime soon, you can easily search for opportunities to do the same in your neck of the woods.  Add to your list of stuff to look up: sledding.  Don't you miss it?  And if you don't miss it because you never did it as a kid, then you really owe it to yourself to get out and sled now.  Because there are few activities that make it OK for a grown adult to roll around on the ground and scream bloody murder while narrowly missing head-on collisions with large trees.  It's a real rush, I tell ya.