NST December 2023 The Most Wonderful Time Of the Year?

weenancyinAmerica

Today was NSD6 thanks to my sister. She paid for the ticket to see the Nutcracker in which her grandchildren were performing and then paid for our lunch - we split a sandwich. My other sister and I drove to sister one's house and she drove from there as it was 30 miles to her house and then 42 miles from there. So quite a long trip. Sister #1 also gave me two bags of cans and bottles to take home to recycle as we get 5 to 10 cents for each one. Now I am settled in to work on the computer for a couple of hours before going to bed. If I can, I will stop and work on crossword puzzles for a time to rest the eyes. But lately Di's cat has taken to sitting on my puzzle so I haven't been able to work on it for several days. He is a tough cat to move. Tomorrow will be a busy day including doing laundry, doctor's appointment, going to the bank, paying taxes, and working at the library for a couple of hours as our book sale is coming up this Friday. Then home to clean house and take out the weekly trash containers. 

Have a good day. Hugs to those who don't.

apple_muncher

Belated happy birthday ThriftyT! Here's some cake: 🎂🎂🎂, and you don't need to share it with anyone 🤣

laura_lau

Hello everyone, quickly catching in before I get ready for tomorrow's "in the office" day. We are having a company paid Christmas lunch, so I was considering if I should wear a Christmas jumper. It usually is freezing in the office, but in the last two weeks someone must have gone crazy and put the heating up to tropical temperatures (last week in our department town hall it got so unbearable I came out of it with a massive headache), so I am not sure I want to risk it, with Christmas jumper being super thick... I'll ponder it over dinner.

I'm feeling relieved today, as most of the December commitments now have passed, with only some minor ones about which I'm a bit more relaxed, so I hope I'll be able to enjoy the rest of the month! Yesterday we finally did our first craft fair, with a stall of knitted and crochet decorations and accessories in a village Christmas market local to me, and despite it being very quiet and only having had 4 paying customers we are quite satisfied as we managed to cover the cost of the stall and the the investment for a card reader machine. We are now planning listing online the items leftover so we can catch last pre-Christmas shipping cut-off dates, and thinking about how to find other markets and fairs next year. We enjoyed it a lot, which for now is the most important thing, but the last 2 months of stock making and prepping were rather stressful. I still have to unpack everything, but will do it on Wednesday.

Today I am on my NSD number 5, also looking forward to a quieter rest of the month ahead spending-wise.

Sending hugs and healing vibes to everyone who has been poorly recently, wishing to all a bright week ahead!

lcc86

Evening turtles. Woke up early today and had to deal with a bit of a disaster in one of my aquariums. No losses but it took about an hour to sort. Managed to squeeze in a workout as well before logging on to work, but no yoga.

I met with a man about a PhD today. Very interesting conversation and definitely food for thought. Daunting but also super interesting. 

Went for a walk at lunchtime and again after work as needed to get a couple of fresh bits to go with dinner. Desperately need to wrap some presents this evening as am visiting parents later this week and now is probably the best opportunity I'll have to get it done.

Nothing very MSE achieved at all today but dealt with loads of work frogs, which puts my mind at ease.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for starting to feel that I'm actually getting a bit better, for a lie in, finishing the top of the beehive tea cosy (though it doesn't look nearly long enough, so I've asked big sis to measure her teapot!), for getting an unwanted bedside table out of the house, for Captain Janeway and her crew managing to find an antidote to the micro virus thingy that invaded their spaceship - oh, the worry 🤣🤣🤣

Thrifty_Taylor

apple_muncher said:

Belated happy birthday ThriftyT! Here's some cake: 🎂🎂🎂, and you don't need to share it with anyone 🤣

@apple_muncher, that's my favourite kind! 😋❤️😂 Good to hear that you're starting to feel better 😃

Did a yoga workout by fairy light before breakfast, chopped lots of veg & made a stir-fry with rice for today & tomorrow's dinners. Had a good day at work. I was chatting with my 5 year old 1:1 & I asked them what they'd like for Christmas. They replied "You!" It made my heart melt! They said it another 2 times later on too 😍

Posted the last of my cards out with our island, & a parcel for my best friend from when I was at school. Looked at my phone for a little while & think I closed my eyes for 10 mins.

After tea, I shortened the sleeves on 6 shirts, then did my jigsaw for half an hour.

Grateful for my pupil's comment, jigsaw time, laughs with other members of staff

Esmeralda2662

Belated happy birthday, @Thrifty_Taylor! Hope you had a lovely day.

@weenancyinAmerica well done on getting a nice free lunch and some goodies to take home!

Had dental hygienist today. Not a grand day out if you ask me! Anyway, some progress made on improving my gums but I do hate flossing and those interdental brushes. They make me retch. Plus you have to pay for the torture!

Managed to do a run to the tip and incorporate dropping a boxful at the tip charity shop. Downside was I bought a thimble, 2 champagne flutes and a Christmas decoration for £2, then went back for a dark blue floral vase shaped like a carrier bag for £5. I'm already dreaming of it with daffodils in! Roll on springtime.

Carried on to work after lunch wrapping and packing circuit boards. Was standing most of the afternoon so hopefully that was healthy.

OH went for a 2nd test drive in a replacement car. He's put a deposit down and can collect it Friday afternoon. Hallelujah, he's had no car since beginning Sept. Just shows how quickly a decision can be made when you've had to go to work on your motorbike in -3° one weekend and Storm Ellen the next one! I took and fetched him 1 day out of the 4 but didn't do it right, apparently.

No NSD today. Grateful for my gums having improved a bit, my bargains, OH getting a new car, the thought of lovely yellow daffodils. 

weenancyinAmerica

Off to a good start this morning - feed the pets and did the dishes. Then got two loads of laundry done and put away. Went to a new doctor and will have a biopsy next week. Okay. Other doctor sent a referral for a stress test. Calendar is filling up rapidly with doctors' appointments. Need to start on Christmas here. Once we decorate the trees at my sister's house where we celebrate the holidays, we are too tired to decorate here. But need to do something as two roommates will be here on their own for Christmas. They don't get along which makes things somewhat strained. 

I still have to sort out what we have for presents. I say "we" because Di doesn't usually buy anyone anything. I was floored last year when she actually paid for a gift card for her person in the Secret Santa family thing. This year she has an excuse - no income for the month thanks to government snafu. But we have access to what she needs for her secret person as we have been getting some presents all year and have enough for her person. I just need to think some more about mine. My sister doesn't really know her sister-in-law well enough to help. May buy some edibles down at our local Spanish market (right down the street) to go with what I already have for her. 

The grandnieces and grandnephews are easy - books! They all love to read. I gave one grandnephew a bag of books for his birthday, and his brother was reading them in the car before the birthday boy got to see them. Birthday boy had a second performance of the Nutcracker to go be in - he was one of the gingerbread men this year. Hopefully all the books made it home and the right birthday boy got to see them. The one doing the reading wasn't in the Nutcracker, he is more into sports. His birthday is the day after Christmas and his sister's birthday is the last day of the year. Try to get them separate birthday and Christmas presents so they don't "lose out". Found out their other great-aunt, my sister, only buys them a group present for Christmas and nothing for their birthdays. Surprised me as she is the one with the money in the family. 

We have got another box of books, DVDs, CDs, and puzzles to go to the library book sale. Not enough of a dent in our family supply though. Lot more cleaning to be done. Today is trash out day, so have cleared that out.

Friend brought us a chicken dinner tonight.  

Very expensive day today - paid my property taxes for half of the year. Went to the post office and made sure it was postmarked as in today.

Grateful for having access to our own washing machine and dryer, thankful for family members that like to read, friends who drop by with dinner, being able to share what we have with the library, staying warm and dry (though I may have to water this week).



 

ldee2111

Had a very busy weekend:  took DS to a Christmas party on Saturday morning (where I had a key role to play when it came to party games and classic dances like the Macarena and the one where you need to comb your hair, brush your teeth and turn into Superman. I also found myself racing a reindeer up and down a hall!). After all that, OH and I had a friend’s party to go to that evening. We didn’t get home until midnight. Up Sunday and off to a football match… OH’s family's team played excellently so it was fun to watch. Went back to OH’s parents’ house afterwards to catch up with his Dad who seems to be doing okay after his heart op. 

Yesterday (Monday) I’d a busy day at work with urgent things popping up that took priority over the prep I wanted to do ahead of meeting with manager today. So, I cancelled my body balance class booking and worked up to 7pm last night to do the prep for reporting my work for the last quarter of the year! I’m just really glad that my manager changed the meeting from being in the office to being online.

Grateful for working from home, for a warm home (colleague was telling me her flat is 13C!), for the helpful librarian renewing rentals by phone (not able to login just now), and for a good night’s sleep. 

grandmanerd

Tuesday 12th December 2023

E   Exercise according to your ability. Walking and being outside are good for MH too

I    Illness - self-inflicted, the usual bugs, exhaustion. Time to restock the medicine cabinet with common remedies and supplies for bike/ skateboard and climbing injuries. Note emergency chemist rota and a number for social services

N   This month is NOT just about Christmas. Keep feasting to special days and stick to healthy eating the rest of the time

I've been 'absent' for the past few days because I didn't have much to say. Little has been achieved yet something has been done every day. Yesterday it was getting 2 sacks of cans and bottles out to the recycling bin (will be put out tonight and collected tomorrow) and making a 'bung it all on a tray in the oven' meal (sweet potato chips and lean beefburgers, still choosing by whatever's taking up most freezer space. I also wrote several cards (with mini letters inside) and wrapped 1 present (actually 3 presents which went inside a box which also had to be covered in paper). 

The last 3 days have been hard and I'm struggling with the 'things left undone' . Continuing to remove the rubbish and recycling has revealed new layers (another box of records), many parts of the house are grubby (I've been too ill to notice or do much about them), routine housework (just the 5 minutes at a time) has fallen down and I'm so far behind on major projects that they're assuming mythical status. In particular I thought I'd have mum's estate all sorted and tucked away by now.

Healthy eating, exercise and looking after myself aren't optional extras but when you're ill and finding it difficult to concentrate the good routines can slip through the cracks. When you have to hold onto things to get to the bathroom and back , when you're hungry until you eat and then feel stuffed and bloated and when lurching dizziness makes the room spin or drop when you are still, it's hard to get beyond the basics (still managing  a shower most days but my hair finally got washed on Sunday about 4 days after it needed it).

So I'm going to map out the POSITIVES, both the bonuses to being ill and some of the steps I'm going to take. No expectations of 'catching up (several ships have sailed) but just doing what I can with what I have to make my immediate environment better.

Being ill, the good bits and Learning to Live with what can't be changed (with energy and motivation at an all time low)
1)   Forced relaxation
More time to read, do puzzles, and catch up on drama series. More time to think and plan. All of these help with mapping my mental health too - the 16  x 16 sudokus were extremely difficult in the September mag but in the last week I've polished these off. The puzzles are graded so if I struggle one month it's because i'm struggling with logical thought processes (mind in a turmoil, muzzy from blocked sinuses etc, general agitation). I've been reading 'lighter' fiction and cosy dramas as I can't concentrate. Lack of concentration is a  big mental health flag for me so when I read 3 pages of a book (or have to reread the same three pages over and over), pick up a puzzle and almost immediately put it down again and flick between watching a drama, playing online puzzle games and checking my email, I'm in trouble.

2)   When my body forces me to stop I need to listen
No fear of overdoing things when the slightest exertion has me heading for the nearest chair or back to my bed. i don't need to feel guilty as I know I've done all I can (even if that was just going to the bins with a couple of bags). We all need to highlight what we got done not what is still to do.

3)   The importance of routines
Five minutes cleaning when ever I go to the bathroom, picking up a handful of litter, putting away 3 things before I leave a room. They all help. Baby steps but they all count (or will do eventually). I'm going to distribute sprays and cloths (or rags) to various parts of the house and use them. I'll put chairs where I need them and when something is doing it's 3 minutes in the microwave I can sit and wipe the outside of a fridge-freezer, add a few pots to the DW or stand and do a bowlful of pots (or put things to rinse or soak).

4)    Exercise this was going quite well but it's also fallen by the wayside and I need to take it back. I also need to do the medicine cabinet inventory as some things are running out. Will co is gradually getting stock categories back online so I might have enough to make up an order soon.

That will do for now (I'm tired again). Don't feel sorry for me, this is just how life is now, I need to do what I can within my limitations.

 jokes (laughter is the best medicine, always)
 No one is more full of false hope than the mum who places things on the bottom stairs for her family members to carry up

I have an alarm clock. It's my bladder and it doesn't have a snooze button

When you fall, the grace  of just allowing yourself to just lay there, resting in the mess for a while before rising, can be the most tender form of self care. practice it

I'm on my second guardian angel. The first one quit and is now in therapy

If you got up today when you didn't want to, and you took care of the important ordinary tasks that fill a day and you managed to find a way to be kind and grateful at least some of the time, you did good.