Keeping On

I figured the only way to live my life right now is to be a better daughter by continuing my quest to become a better person overall. Part of that right now is maintaining and encouraging growth in the relationships that I have now.

Went to the monthly ladies' happy hour and met some new great ladies. More plans are coming closer to happening while others are bailing. Not as big a surprise, I'm learning to take that news a bit better and be more understanding and patient about that sorta thing.

It's just been a rough day mentally and emotionally. I've just been on the verge of tears over so many things but I won't let myself cry until there's a really good reason for it. I promise to report on other things too. Just mentally exhausted because I'm an over-thinker.

Again, I truly appreciate the well wishes and good energy sent our way. It helps me over the bumps and bruises when I start to feel that I don't have enough of my own left to pull from in order to be a kind human being.

More News

News goes back and forth with my dad and we're trying to stay positive. Got some bad news, but holding our breathes until test results come back and the family talks about treatment-operation options. Welcome to adulthood and tough life junk.

I should stop gritting my teeth right now- starting to get a headache.

Plans are finally being set for all the holiday get-together shenanigans. Details are still hazy and at this rate, will remain so until stuff actually happens. Hm. Hurry up and wait sounds all too familiar. Dealing with student loan crap on top of things wasn't pleasant. Have to wait for answers and results for that too.

As much as I love holiday parties, at this rate, I'm not so sure I could enjoy them very much. Still gonna try and work hard at letting the negativity go. Maybe I could use the festivities to cleanse my spirit and fill that void with celebration of the good things in life.

Going to use this weekend to... oh wait. I was going to say snuggle up in bed and recharge but then I realized I'm double booked each day starting tomorrow. Erp. Caffeinated hot chocolate it is. Craft fairs, crafting, and dinners galore. I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season too.

The Transfer

I accomplished mailing out the cards and gift packages today. I thought hand-making the presents would save me a bunch, but those shipping costs today made it hard to believe. I think it all averaged out in the end, but biting the bullet all at once was hard to swallow. However, it's done and should all be at their destinations in a week's time.

I'd be more elated about that if it were not for a phone call I got from my mom late in the evening, which is a super odd time for her to call me. It turns out that my father was hospitalized today. That's the second time this year, the first time I heard about it while it was happening (they left me out of the loop last time because they felt I would stress out to much during my exams- okay, some truth to that but still...), and like the second time that I ever remember that happening to him.

Without going into it too much just yet, I am finding it hard to... do anything right now while he's going through two blood transfusions. I have a big fear of needles and doctors, so I can imagine this is not very fun on top of the serious issue and pain.

My brother just finished his finals for the semester, so he'll be able to hang out with our dad while we wait for the doctors to come to an agreement over surgery. I may be looking at an impromptu visit back soon.

While I don't have the best relationship with him, it was nice to have a brief talk with him so we could put on brave faces for each other. While it's been a long time since I thought he was one of those invincible-parents, I'm still knee-deep in prayers right now. There's not much else I can do but wait to hear more updates. I worry for my mom and brother too. It's going to be a long night for us all.

It's A Wrap

Pretty sure I've used this title before too. Oh well!

Work was work. I'm spreading the countdown further. It's 12 more workdays until break! Woohoo!

Did my nails in a gold-brass shimmery color, worked in the garden a tiny bit with the seedlings, and wrapped presents and prepared packages to send ASAP. I'm hoping for tomorrow.

Trying super hard to set up get-togethers with all of the events going on around town (the weather is beautiful so the city takes full advantage), birthdays, the holidays, and crafting to be done/ celebrated. I just want stuff to happen and everything seems to stagnate right now. I can only neurotically prep for so long!

Oh, I also tried to make my own smoothie last night. It had strawberries, bananas, peanut butter, and orange juice. Um... it was interesting. Not like it was disgusting, I finished the entire batch of it, but it was not great by any stretch. Oh well. I'll figure it out someday soon.

Monday Questionnaire

This is another Monday Questionnaire from Amarixe.

Pea sprout! So cute and I can't wait to watch it grow more.

1.) Mood:

Weary. I'm not sleeping well and doing my best to continuously come down from being enraged. Yeah, I'm sick of hearing about it too.

2.) You call into the radio station to request a holiday song-- which one is it?
Chances are, I'd be calling in because I'm hanging out with a bunch of friends and we're bored with too much energy to burn. Carol of Bells would be a lot of fun to harmonize together since most of us sing.

3.) What is your ideal handbag size?
Medium bags. Big enough to hold a bunch of the various supplies I tend to have on me, but I also often have a big ole tote bag or backpack too, so a smaller size makes it seem fancier.

4.) Current nail polish:
None but I'm planning on putting on some OPI "Glitzerland" as soon as I'm doing packaging gifts.

5.) What is the last fragrance you wore?
It's pretty much the only one I have- Britney Spears' Midnight Fantasy. I'm on the lookout for a new one. According to the wiki, it has "Fragrance notes: black cherries, plum, orchid, freesia, musk and amber".

6.) Current outfit:
I was geared for a nap the moment I got home, so I'm in blue owl pajamas, a tee that I've had since fifth grade, and my infamous fluffy pink robe.

7.) Which snow activity do you prefer: building snowmen, making snow angels, or snowball fights?
I had a ton of fun having a snowball fight with the SO because we were in tears and on the ground laughing at too hard to have a legitimate fight. However, I do making snow-creatures more. Like sea turtles and whatnot.

8.) What is your favorite restaurant cuisine?

I'm not counting American, so Italian. Followed very closely by Chinese buffets.
 
9.) Can you whistle with your fingers?
Not even a little. I wish though.

10.) Weekly goals:
Get those gifts out of this house! Arrange some play dates for crafting with nearly everyone I know in town and work a little bit on my personal Project Life plans. Oh, keep my sanity and my temper in check too.

Growth

Today was a good sign in my process to become a better person (something that never ends). I got up with my alarm and made a mental checklist of the few tasks that I really wanted to get done today. Nearly all of it was done to boot! I may give up on the last task until tomorrow in favor of going to bed early. Well, closer to on time than early, sigh.

I began to winterize the evaporative cooler all by myself. With my notes of instructions from the SO and his tools he set out for me to use, there was just a bit of a delay from outside forces that set me behind about an hour. That just meant that I had to finish the job in the dark, which is not all that desirable seeing as how it's on the roof that now has wet spots, but the SO was available to help me finish by that time. It's not a hard job to condition and drain the equipment, just time-consuming. Was pretty proud of myself. :)

In between waiting for those stages, I finished up the Christmas cards. Well, as finished as I could get them. There are a few that are address-less, but the rest are stuffed and ready to go. I just don't want to stick them in the mailbox until I have my gifts ready to go also. That will be done this week. I'm mentally sternly wagging my finger at myself.

Also cooked some dinner for myself and the SO which is something I want to get into the habit of doing since, you know, we need to eat to live. My cooking skills are severely lacking, but that's nothing new here. :P

I've been mentioning how I've gotten a second wind in my mild obsession with my garden. Well, my copy of the 2013 Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds came in the mail the other day and I have been amazed flipping through its pages. After hearing about how awesome this catalog was, I put my name on a wait list several months ago. It sounds pretty insane, but at least it was free, so no harm- no foul. It's given me a few ideas of things I may try next year.

The various seedlings I planted a week ago are doing well. Well, mostly. Here are some pictures of their progression.

Five days after planting, we had one moldy seed that was removed but plenty of herbs, beans, and peas sprouting already! The herbs are most likely some cilantro and parsley.

 The next day (yesterday), some had grown so much but before I could grab my camera, FMIL's cat chewed off the biggest bean sprout. *deep breaths*

 Today, this is how they look after about an hour of sunlight outdoors and two after the sun set for cold tolerance. They are growing up so fast! *sniffle* LOL.

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to keep them contained until the last frost which will be sometime in March. This will definitely get interesting!

Zzz...

Today has involved a lot of sleeping in, naps, and a few moments of upright consciousness sprinkled in between. Guess I was much more tired than I thought. :) Freaking out now that it's December!