Winter isn't coming. It came. It's here. And, in Minnesota, it's been exceptionally cold this year.

Sure, there are always beautiful bits and pieces. Freshly fallen snow on Saturday or Sunday morning? What a dream! It's like I'm in a snow globe inside my house! Let's go skiing by candlelight! Let's drink hot cocoa! Let's build a castle made of ice! Let's dance our tails off on a frozen lake!

But, come Monday, it's all one big, dirty sheet of ice and grief. It's -17°F, but my dog Georgie still needs a walk or she'll stress-eat all the woodwork in our house. And somehow both the outside and the inside of my car's windshield are covered in frost. And everyone is creeping along on the highway at 0.4 MPH just trying not to die. 

I wish I were being overly dramatic, but all of those things actually happened to me a couple of weeks ago (including the eating of the windowsill by the dog).

When the winter blues are truly frostbitten blue, here are several ways to cope.

1. Curse at your weather app.

Today the high is -9°F, you say? Fuck you, Yahoo Weather.

2. Hunt for heat.

Do the free trial at that hot yoga place or go to the gym just to sit in the sauna. Book a hot stone massage (I've never had one, but the word "hot" is explicitly in the title). Roast a whole chicken (or three) just so you have an excuse to keep the oven on all day. Text that high school friend whose parents have a hot tub and just be like, "What's up?"

3. Host something Indoorsy.

Mull some wine and throw a party so that all your friends will have to come to you (sneaky!). Need a good party snack recipe? I have some of those. Order your groceries online and you don't even have to leave your house.

4. Get outdoorsy, within reason.

I truly do love a good outdoor winter activity, as long as it's not frigidly frigid and dangerous outside. Those winter festivals and sports are what help us get through our longest season in the northern tundra that is Minnesota, and they are part of what makes it pretty special up here. Wherever you live, there is probably at least one specifically cold weather-related activity that you are going to really like. It might in the form of snowshoeing, skiing (flats or hills), skating, broomball leagues, curling clubs, dog-sledding, ice climbing, kite-flying on a lake... try 'em all.

photo by Ali Inay