Best Christmas Yet

Oh boy! Do I ever have a lot to be thankful for this year. I feel like every wishbone, birthday candle and dandelion I've found over the last five years have paid off. And now it is the holiday season. My first one as a re-abled person. The first one I can stay awake all through in five years. You bet your sweet ass that I'm "walking in a winter wonderland." Or almost... it's still 80* outside where I live.

Holiday shopping excitement!

I've already warned my husband that Christmas is going to be a very big deal at our house this year. I'm putting up every string of lights we own, crafting till my fingers blister from my hot glue gun and kissing every creature I encounter under the mistletoe. I already bought seven Christmas trees. Ok... it's not what you think. They're all very small. But still! I'm one jolly lady over here!

O' Christmas Tree O' Christmas Tree...

We'll be having our first Thanksgiving feast this Saturday. For some of our friends it will be the first time they've seen me up and walking in five years. Everyone I know has been using the word "miracle" - myself included. So what better time to celebrate than the winter holidays? I'm going to shine brighter than the brightest Christmas lights this year with joy.

Nesting

August has been an interesting month. It started off fantastic with my husband finally taking some time off of work and us diving into our fun bedroom decorating project. But then the fires came to California and it looked and felt like the world was ending. 

The family had already been investing time into making our home even more special. We'd been tending our garden, caring for the ever growing collection of house plants and investing our "vacation/travel fund" into a bedroom spruce up instead. Not just any re-do though. Not your Better Homes and Gardens bedroom. We're turning our bedroom into a Disney Jungle Cruise (loosely) themed room. It's going to be amazing!

We've been doing a lot of art and fun craft projects to make it uniquely ours. Not only does it personalize the space, but it saves money too. 

So while it does indeed feel like the world might be ending, we can be sipping cocktails (and mocktails) in our tiki room, or snoozing under a canopy of "man eating jungle vines." A worthy investment to lift our spirits.

All of this may sound superficial, but mental health is just as important as physical health. Keeping busy with "nesting" is an instinct almost every living thing has.

I've also learned that I can have gratitude for what I have knowing how lucky I am while also having empathy for those who aren't as fortunate. Feelings are not exclusionary. 

What I'm Into Lately

Rather than go on about my symptoms right now (many) or how I'm feeling (shitty) I thought it would be fun to talk about things that I'm into right now. New things. Things that keep me going and fill me with joy.

1. Puzzles: My husband and I started doing this last December and have been going strong all year. I can manage it sitting and focusing on such a small thing is really doable for me. I can also do it as long or as short as I want.
2. Records: I bought myself a record player after wanting one all year. I still have zero records though. Hahah! But I really like the idea of listening to records instead of watching TV.
   
   
   
   My new record player - minus the record. 
3. Socks: Fun socks just make me smile. My recent acquisitions include Wonder Woman and Grover. I have a rainbow striped pair that I call "my happy socks" that never fail to cheer me up instantly.
4. Pajamas: All things soft and snuggly. I'm embracing my comfort needs with clothes that feel like blankets.
5. Blankets: Can't have enough of them. Seriously. Never enough soft blankets of all sizes and colors.
6. Wood Burning: I bought a simple wood burning kit to try. I thought I could make cool, cheap Christmas gifts with them. We'll see if I ever get enough spoons to be able to give it an actual try, but I'm hopeful!
   Funky!
7. Acrylic Painting: I used to paint a lot and was quite good at it. I have a painting in mind that I want to do and a great canvas. Now I just need the spoons.
8. Redecorating: Putting up Christmas decorations makes me very happy.
   
   
9. Family Pictures: I've been updating my family pictures. I have one wall of just myself, my husband and our son, then a hallway full of family photos. I enjoy keeping them up to date. They help me remember all the fun we have and the people who care about me.
   
   
   
   Play it grandpa!
10. Re-Arranging My House: This has been a big one lately. My bedroom was pretty sparse compared to the rest of my house, despite my spending a lot of time in it. I also had another room all set up for work and getting ready for work. Both were seriously depressing me. I turned my "work" room into more of a library and we've been fixing up our bedroom so that it's useful AND fun. Both of these things have been hugely helping me transition from working to being home. I need my environment to reflect my needs or I get very depressed.

Now I just need to save my fun money to get some records to play! I'm looking forward to it.

Sacred Space

My job is very intense. I hear a lot of stories about people suffering and their struggles. People always ask me how I do it? How do I manage hearing such horror stories without having it affect me. How do I not absorb it like a sponge?

Well first of all not all the stories I hear are awful. If you look close enough you can find hope, tenacity, strength and beauty in almost all of them. Second I've had a lot of training to not let it effect me. But most importantly I believe in letting those stories go into the universe. Regardless your beliefs, faith, spirituality or religion I feel this is a helpful practice.

Personally I consider myself a Progressive Christian, but I have many Buddhist leanings as well. Did you know that Buddhism isn't really a religion, but a Philosophy? You can be Buddhist regardless of your religion. Fascinating! As a Progressive Christian prayer is very important to me. I pray for all of my clients at least once a day. I don't feel I need "formal petitionary prayer" like our Grandparents used to do. Like Mindfulness you can do it anytime, anywhere. But I was feeling the need to carve out a special little spot for myself to re-charge my empathetic batteries.

Enter the "Meditation/Prayer Closet." It took me about 3 days to complete (thank you chronic illness.) I remember a time when I could have done it in 1. But I did it and the only part I didn't do myself was brining my couch in. I'm grateful for help with the big things. It was important to me to do as much of it as I could on my own though, since it's my special place.

It used to be a closet in what used to be my son's room. Now it's MY room. I love it. It's the first space I've had as an adult that I got to decorate 100% just the way I wanted to. Apparently my taste can be defined as "little girl pretending to be a grown woman."

Would you like a tour of the whole room?
I thought so.

Yes I like sharks. And teal. And Disney.

This is where I keep Ariel parked and charging.

I LOVE the new sheep skin arm covers.

Here's my purse collection, shoes and shower stool.
Also my rather large jewelry collection.

That desk is where I do my makeup.

It used to be where I did my homework, but thank God that part of my life is over and done with.

We have one tiny bathroom, so this gives me a good spot to get around that's not in the way. It works out really well. 

The meditation closet, my scarf collection, my antique pie safe that holds my linens and my dog's butt. 

I adore this old pie safe.
And HERE'S my dog's head!
Those are art supplies on top and a too large stuffed animal collection.

This is a fun corner. It's all about my husband and I having fun and making the most out of life. I have Disney pins, a cross-stitch of our family that I made a long time ago, important quotes, tickets to great things we've seen and done...You get the picture (literally! Hah!)