Hey don’t look behind you now. We said don’t look! Sigh. Yeah. It’s January. Shhhhuuushhhh yes it’s stilllll lurking. DON’T! LOOK! It’s just hanging around, lurking, glowering gloomily all chilly and grey, like a glutinous unflickable blob. It’s like January’s not getting the hint. Sometimes you just have to be brutally honest and yell, “SCRAM buddy! You’re not welcome here anymore! Scat…shoo. FLICK OFF!” Ah, yes. January doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon and we’re all sitting over here feeling that post-holiday malaise: a distinct lack of energy and money, coupled with an excess of pastry/cookie/pie/candy-induced weight. Ooof. If you relate, you’ll really feel today’s episode!
We’d like to say thank you to Loving Dublin for their funny and relatable January 2018 article called, “13 Reasons Why January Is The Worst Feckin’ Month Of The Year” especially as they inspired part of our conversation and the title of the episode. Much like Loving Dublin, we talk about the reasons we feel like we’re struggling with January:
- For people like us, that holiday-high from Halloween through New Year’s is gone, and the crash has left us tired and listless, counting the days til we can feel the excitement and energy of HallowThanksMas on the horizon!
- But to get there, we have to get through our nemesis season: Summer. For us Autumn babies, it’s almost too much to bear knowing we are soon to face 110 degree days (in Southern California that is). That thought alone makes us curl up in the fetal position.
- The lovely Christmas decorations are gone (except for those spotty stalwarts about town clinging to their wire-frame lawn deer for just a little while longer). So except for them, hearth and home is back to un-Christmas normalcy. There’s an internal struggle going on as we’re happy to have calm and uncluttered space back, but missing that twinkling, joyful magic which our smiling holiday inflatables, potted poinsettias, colorful lights, and elegantly draped garlands emanate. Sniff.
- We don’t have to circle the lot for a parking space or queue up behind three other people for that rowing machine at an overpacked gym, but we kind of wish we could, because we need to work out just like almost every other person out there. Boy are we feeling the shock from that hyper-infusion of holiday sweets! And, as we discuss in the episode, the consequences of all that indulging doesn’t just affect the scale. It’s affecting our moods too!
Of course, not ALL of January is bad. No way! It has plenty of redeeming qualities and we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge them. It’s time for new beginnings and renewal, and rededicating ourselves to a better course of action…so many goals and good intentions. We’ve got some great holidays (Martin Luther King! Abe Lincoln and George Washington’s birthdays! Woohoo!) And keeping Abe and George company, it’s Kym’s birthday month! In fact, TOMORROW 22 January is co-host Kym’s birthday so drop her a line on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (see links below). Happy Birthday Kym!
As for all the rest, here are links to the things we discuss in our episode today:
- California’s Golden Boy. We LOVE and genuinely miss Huell Howser. A Southern California icon, Howser was a television broadcaster with a linebacker’s physique, a country-charm drawl, and a contagious passion for all things California (most notably in his KCET show, California’s Gold). Here is a clip from the Hearst Castle Neptune’s Pool episode Kym waxed nostalgic about. And if you’re from Orange County, or are vacationing in the area and are interested in learning more about Howser’s legacy, visit the Chapman University Huell Howser Archives in the old town section of Orange, CA.
- Hearst Castle. If you haven’t been, visiting this historic landmark is a must for anyone coming to (or living in) California. The stories of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, his “castle,” and the Hearst legacy (including granddaughter Patty’s adventures in the 70’s) are a fascinating bit of California heritage.
- The Artist’s Way. Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way, is a resource every
creativeperson should own and utilize. Don’t think you’re a creative? Oh, dear reader, you are. Trust us, trust Julia. Not everyone may be a stereotypical “artist,” but everyone is creative. YOU ARE a creative being, and this book will help you discover your talents. - Get The Funk Out! For tips and tricks on how to get out of the after-festivity funk you may be in, here is the psychcentral.com article we reference, plus this rather dated but still applicable article from dumblittleman.com for good measure.
- Sugar-Induced Depression. If you’re interested in diving into the rabbit hole about how sugar intake actually affects not just your waistline but your emotional and mental state, check this healthline.com article and its linked sources for an eye-opening read. You may still eat sugar (yep, guilty), but at least you’ll have a better understanding of WHY your body hurts, your brain feels foggy, and sadness seems pervasive.
Thank you for joining us friends! Want to know what all the write up is about? Check out The Mugly Truth Podcast’s episode “Feckin’ January!” on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
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Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox” by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com.
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