Progress Report

First to answer your questions from my last post:

No I wasn't crossing my eyes on purpose Michelle LOL! For some reason one side of my face was puffier than the other! I have some Oil of Oregano but have difficulties getting it down!

Will I give up cutting my hair so short - NOT ON YOUR LIFE!! But I will leave that area alone for a little bit.  And yes the juicer is back on the counter! I don't eat poorly but I could eat better. I am drinking a nice concoction of apples, spinach, cucumber, yellow pepper, carrots, celery and ginger as we speak......errrrr.......so to speak:)

The swelling has decreased to the point where I have hopes of entering the world once again - tomorrow!!

And the big question of course: "With the upcoming holiday season that also marks an anniversary of a not-so-stellar moment in your life, I'm wondering if you have a "game plan" to navigate the next few weeks to keep away the negative feelings and emotions?"

Keeping busy is key as you said Freckles. Hence the whirl of productive activity I now find myself engaged in. And we all benefit - the house is looking better, areas that haven't been touched for awhile are getting a massive re-organization and cleaning and I'm too busy to think. Yesterday I cleaned out the kitchen cupboards to make room for new dishes that I ordered. 

I seem to have a thing for poppies lately:)  I filled 3 boxes for Talize, the local thrift shop - the two of us do not need 30+ wineglasses or 30+ mugs!! The more organized I get the better I feel. I'm getting control back over my environment.  And I like that. 

Getting together with good friends and family helps too. A friend and I went on a Christmas Spirit walk recently - we walked through a candle lit forest, stopped from time to time with our group to sing carols together around campfires and ate way more than our share of hot chocolate and cookies! I felt happy to be sharing a festive couple of hours in the great outdoors with a group of like minded people and it helped raise my spirits.

When we arrived we were greeted by carollers.

There was a large tree covered in lights and candles everywhere. 

 

Throughout the walk there were several campfires to keep us warm.

Hard to see but the pathways were marked by pairs of lanterns.

Lanterns made from 2L pop bottles and candles!

Staying toasty warm!

Not very fancy but beautifully effective. 

Lined up and waiting to go inside a century old schoolhouse for
a mini-concert (and to warm up!). Then it was time to stand outside
around a roaring fire with hot chocolate and cookies while
singing more carols with a choir of teenagers. Oh,
and we had our picture taken with Santa!! 

The evening had a really good feel to it. I was counting my blessings :)

Another thing I've done is give myself some things to look forward to - like the flooring, new furniture for the TV room coming this Thursday, new dishes, new dining room carpet - I just love getting packages delivered to my door!!

And Kazi (who is boyfriend-less now too) and I decided that we would hold a Christmas Eve party for us and our single friends. Instead of moping about feeling sad I suggested gathering together in our NEW TV ROOM and watching National Lampoon's "Christmas Vacation" and our annual favourite "The Christmas Story" so planning that will keep both of us busy in a positive way.

Finally, who can be sad around these 2 lovey dovey girls??

Beautiful Lily - wherever I sit she is sure to follow. 

Mischievous Luna of the very big eyes!! "Life is a picnic"!!

Cuddling together - <3
They make my heart happy!!

 Well, that turned into a whole post! More to come on the renos!