Tuesday

Winter Coloring Pages

While I enjoy winter for the most part very much and look forward to the changing of the seasons the evening can get a little bit long in the evenings especially with little ones running around the house. Something I have discovered they enjoy doing is going online with me and finding sites that offer free winter coloring pages. they enjoy choosing the ones they would like to color and then I just print out as many as they want-with in reason of course-and off the go to color to their hearts content. My only cost is for the paper and the printer ink and as long as I don't let them go overboard and print out 20 pages it is some cheap entertainment for them and allows me a little quite time to myself. I usually let them print out 3 pages each at a time and if they finish those they are able to choose some other pictures they would like to color. They enjoy decorating their rooms with their finished works. they have even started making a scrap book to put all their "drawings" in.

Some of these sites that I found were really well thought out and offered a gold mine of different things for a family to do on long winter nights or when the weather did no cooperate during the day. I found games and puzzles that they could do online as well as all sorts of other activities. Their where even some sites that offered educational ideas that could keep your child in the learning mode. One site even provided a way to print out play money which you could use to teach your children to count with. I'm not a big fan of letting my little ones spend hours staring at a computer screen or the TV for that matter so I always try to encourage them to do activities where they are moving around and their minds are engaged. it doesn't always work that way as some times I get exhausted but more often then not we find something to do that I feel has been good for them.

Some of my favorite sites are Activity Village and Kaboose

So if your kids are bored and you are having a hard time finding something for them to do google winter coloring pages and in no time at all you will have them coloring away.

Sunday

Winter WallPaper

I enjoy placing different wallpaper scenes on my computer to enjoy during the day as I spend time on my computer. There are some beautiful winter wallpaper images or if you prefer pictures that you can place on your computer. As I said some of these winter wallpaper images are just beautiful and have become more and more advanced over the years. You can find some great looking images at the banner below. You can download these images for free. Yes they will try to get you to sign up for a yearly subscription service but you don't have to do that unless you really enjoy the wallpaper images they offer. This is a safe and trusted site so there is no worries about viruses or spy ware being placed on your computer. I have used them for years and change the wallpaper images with the different seasons of the year.
They have a beautiful 3D Snowy Cottage that will take your breath away. Gently falling snow with a snow covered bridge in the foreground and a quaint cottage in the background. The snow slowly accumulates and if you turn up the sound on your computer you can hear the wind gently whistling through the trees.
Another one of my favorites is the living snow globe. I have always enjoyed snow globes and having one as a winter wallpaper on my computer screen is a real treat. Sometimes I get lost in just watching the animated winter wallpaper scenes. The snow globe actually features skiers and snow boarders gliding over the snow covered hills with beautiful snow covered mountains in the background.
Your computer can almost seem to come to life with some of the animated winter wallpaper that some of these talented artist's have managed to created. Well worth checking out in my opinion.

Saturday

Winter Wonderland

Ah what a Winter Wonderland. Winter is officially here for those of us who live in the Norther Hemisphere. With the coming of winter we will be experiencing the shortest periods of daylight and the coldest temperatures of the year. Some regions will experience high rates of precipitation due to snow and blizzards. Ice fog caused by tiny ice crystals that hang in the air and only form during the coldest times of the year will also be a problem for some regions. Winter is when blizzards will form with all the associated headaches of travel delays and the dangers of frostbite to humans and animals a like. Many animals will adapt during the winter months by heading south to warmer and more hospitable surroundings or will change their body in some form to be more able to adapt to the colder climate. Other animals will deal with the coming of winter and colder and harsher weather by just curling up and going to sleep in what is referred to as hibernation.

Not everyone will experience winter at the same time. The tilt of the Earths axis has a dramatic affect on the weather of any region. As the earth moves through its orbit the amount of sunlight hitting each region of the earth is different and determines to a great degree what kind of weather that region will have. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere the Southern Hemisphere is experiencing more warmer temperatures. It does not matter what region you live in you will technically experience winter although in the southern Hemisphere will usually be much milder with little snow or ice except in the higher mountanous elevations.

If you are lucky enough to have some snowfall during the winter months there are many out door activities you can enjoy. Skiing, building a snowman, sledding or having a snowball fight are just a few of the out door activiites you can enjoy. If you are fortunate to live close enough where there is ice available either naturally made or in the form of an ice rink you can enjoy ice skating, ice fishing, ice hockey or a variety of other ice activities.

Many people do not look forward to winter and just try to get through it in the best way they know how. If you are one of these people there are many activities that can help you do just that. Winters long evenings give you a chance to catch up on reading all those books or watching those great movies that you never could seem to find the time for during the long summer days when you were busy with so many different activites. Winter gives you the chance to spend more time with family and friends visiting or playing board games. And what evening would be complete with a cup of hot chocolate. Here is a simple yet delicious recipe that you are sure to enjoy:
*20 ounces of scalded milk (don't burn yourself!)
*2 oz of unsweetened chocolate
*1/4 cup of sugar
* 2 tsp vanilla
*1/8 tsp salt
In a blender combine the above ingredients with 1/2 cup
of the milk. Blend until you have a smooth texture and then
add the rest of the milk and serve. It tastes great on a cold
winter night.

To some winter brings not a winter wonderland but a winter nightmare. Some people dread the start of winter with the colder temperature and shorter days. There will be less hours of sunlight not only due to the shorter days but there is often more cloud cover in the winter. This can affect people's moods in a negative way. this is sometimes referred to as the winter blues, holiday doldrums or the January blahs. This can affect some people in a very serious way. Seasonal Affective Disorder is the name given to this type of depression suffered by a certain part of the population. People who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD as it is commonly referred to will experience physical aches, depression, tiredness and the feeling of wanting to sleep more. Although researchers believe that some people are more genetically disposed to SAD many who experience Seasonal Affective Disorder do so because of the decreased amount of light they are exposed to due to cloud cover and the angle of the sun hitting the earth. Seasonal Affective Disorder is the price some of us must pay for living in a Winter Wonderland.