Merry Christmas and more!

Hi, there! It has been a while. I hope that you are well.

I'd like to wish you a happy Christmas with family and loved ones, if you celebrate it. This year will be the first time in years in which I am not cooking a turkey dinner. 

I just came back from a week in the Twin Cities and Winnipeg. I ended up catching a nasty cold. I have been sleeping it off for days. Right now, I feel the most energetic in days. I still have a phlegmy cough. At least I am on the mend and don't have to go back to work until the second week of January.

I was too weak and sick to hit the grocery store. I'm fine with soup and items that I have at home. It's just not a full-blown turkey dinner that I typically make for my parents and me.

On Christmas eve, I had a financial counselling appointment pertaining to my consumer proposal. The Teams link didn't work. I sat there waiting to be admitted. I cancelled the call, which prompted the woman to say that we could do it over the phone.

I have a lot of thoughts about my consumer proposal. I am happy with it on the whole. The firm preparing those who are going through one for the first time needs to provide more support.

I hope to write more here. It has been a challenge trying to focus when my blog has changed its original purpose. It will be about whatever I am experiencing in my life. I haven't thought about spanking in ages.

Hairbrush incident at my local drugstore

It's a long weekend. Today is Victoria Day in Canada.

I had meant to do a trip to Winnipeg this long weekend. Due to my getting a head cold on Tuesday and saving some money, I made it a staycation. It's a longer long weekend for me.

On Thursday, I was feeling a bit better. My mom is having issues with incontinence these days. She is losing her memory, and doesn't seem to know when she needs to use the bathroom or where she should go. I decided to find some incontinence pads at a nearby drugstore.

When I got there, I cut through the hair accessories aisle to get to the incontinence section. There was a woman there. She took a brand new Goody hairbrush and proceeded to brush her hair with it.

One word: Ew!

I was congested and grossed out by what I had witnessed. I couldn't keep my thoughts to myself.

Me to the woman: Are you going to buy it?

Crickets. She decides to put it back on the hanger.

Me: You just used it. It's unsanitary and gross to put it back.

I walked away. I thought that I had felt good to come shop here. I didn't after seeing that move. Disgusting!

Now when I go to the hair accessories aisle, I'm not taking the first brush hanging there.

Asobu skinny mini insulated bottle that glitters

I found an eco-collective store earlier this year. It's awesome. I love having laundry detergent strips that are especially perfect for travel.

The other day, I was talking to a friend about insulated bottles for beverages. She recommended an Asobu skinny mini bottle. It fits in a purse, which I love. 

I remember seeing it at the eco-collective store. I decided to head back to this store today.

I found this bottle that keeps hot drinks hot for twelve hours and cold drinks cold for 24 hours. Cool!

Originally, I had my eyes set on a pink glittery bottle. The owner was so nice that he showed me a purple-blue glittery bottle. I loved it so much that I didn't even need to think about getting it.

I love this new insulated bottle.

Update on my cold and cough

The good news is that my cold has disappeared. 

My congestion seems to be mild. I did have to get a new decongestant spray yesterday. I liked my Zicam that I got stateside a few months ago. I have used it up and went with Drixoral. I find the former relieves my congestion a lot faster than the latter. However, the current spray is effective.

I still have a cough, although it's not as annoying as it was over a week ago. It's progress.

I have a few posts to write. I have been focused on getting better that I haven't got around to them. Soon!

Feeling better, but my congestion is difficult to predict

I am on the mend. My congestion seems to be up and down, though. Yesterday, I was breathing well for most of the day. It seems to get worse at night, a few hours before I'm ready to call it a day and sleep.

Today, my congestion was different. I felt great until late afternoon. I do have a decongestant in spray form, which has worked wonders. I am breathing well right now.

I still have a cough, but it's mild. Today, I went to get a backup bottle of Pei Pa Koa, a Chinese cough and throat syrup. Oddly, it's sold out at my usual stores. However, I can get it online through Amazon.

We live in such a weird world. Cough and cold medication is scarce in my area thanks to kids getting sick and the supply can't catch up with the demand.

Here's hoping that things get better.

Energy levels and congestion

I spent Tuesday at home. I find that I'm energetic in the morning. Once I have breakfast, I want to nap and it's all downhill from there.

Congestion is annoying. I have been hydrating a lot that I feel much better later in the day. It's interesting having a cold.

I haven't had a cold in years. It's weird, but I'm coping as best as I can.

Sick - ups and downs

I woke up today feeling good. I had breakfast and my energy dipped.

I napped. Napping helped. More rest was needed. I then headed out for the first time in days.

Fresh air does wonders. I ended up at the drugstore. There is a huge shortage of cold and cough medication.

I have nighttime cold and cough medication. It's the daily medication that I needed. Luckily, I found some, but it was slim pickings.

It was great to feel much better when I left home until I had soup upon my return. I'm now congested, so I'm off to breath better with my nose spray.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Due to a snowstorm that blew in on Christmas Eve, I decided to make Christmas dinner (it was more luch) early. My parents and I feasted on Christmas Eve. Today, I've have been eating leftovers, which I love.

I was stateside last year for Christmas and New Year's Day. It's nice to be home for the holidays this year.

I hope that you and yours have a fabulous holiday season. I am currently dealing with a sore throat and a mild cold. I'll write more about my recent travels once I have a chance. I am on a break from work.

I basically slept for two hours this afternoon. I felt tired from being sick. I'm more energetic now, which is encouraging.

Quiet day thanks to snow

It snowed for most of the day on Tuesday. I went out briefly before lunch to fetch some food and buy a few items when the snow took a brief break. As I drove back to the hotel, it started to snow again.

It was nice spending some quiet time in my room. I watched a lot of TV, took a nap, ate and drank, and had me time.

I love being on vacation. It's getting cold here, so staying indoors isn't a bad thing.

Hot flashes

I have taken a couple of days off from posting. All is okay, except for waking up a couple of times this week in the middle of the night.

I believe that I'm experiencing hot flashes. I may be premenopausal. It's weird and interesting.

So far this year, I have had a mini period in February that lasted a couple of days. It was definitely shorter than usual. January and March have been menstrual-free.

My last hot flash was last night. I woke up at 5:45 am and it was unpleasant. I ended up turning on my fan at the lowest setting that's perfect for sleep and I was able to sleep in till nearly 10 am.

I have heard that drinking cold water helps. I may need to fill an insulated water bottle with some and test it out. It has been yet another research topic. 

Broken hot water tank

On Wednesday night, I went downstairs to the basement to do some laundry. There was warm water on the floor. Luckily, I had caught it early. My hot water tank had a leak.

A nice water tank expert came over on Thursday to inspect the tank. I need a new one. He's returning later today to swap my old tank with a new one.

For the last couple of days, I have been using cold water to shower. I was oddly fine washing my hair and showering the first night. A few hours ago, it felt too cold. I did take breaks.

I will say that I like cold showers. I feel so relaxed afterwards, which I wasn't expecting!

Bloodwork, snow, and humidifer

I had bloodwork done on Tuesday morning. I was contemplating whether to go, as snow had fallen overnight. It was heavy, wet snow. Luckily, it was fine driving in it, so I was good.

I go see my doctor next week. If my congestion is still there, I'll ask about how to get rid of it. It has been a week since I caught this nasty cold. The cold is gone, but the congestion won't leave. Ugh!

My humidifier is my best friend. It does wonders. I am contemplating getting a portable one for work.

Dating a worrywart

My new love interest is a worrywart. He was trying to secure his first contract with a customer. He got so stressed out that when we were chatting on Tuesday night, he said that he couldn't have dinner and needed time to think.

Wow. That's all I can say.

Meanwhile, I had a lapse in my cold on Tuesday. My congestion went through the roof. I told him on three separate times that I was taking an early evening. Thank goodness for my humidifier.

Did he take any of what I said into consideration? Nope. Stress does weird things to him.

He texted me at 1 am my time to say that he can't sleep. Really? I said that I'm not feeling well once again. He apologized. I proceeded to switch my phone to do not disturb. I'm so glad that I did. He texted me at 6:30 am and beyond. I was sleeping in till 8 am.

The good news is that he got the contract. His very first one. I was so proud of him.

I am also thrilled that I don't have to deal with his crazy, worried text messages. I, too, can sleep well tonight.

Am I getting better or worse from this nasty cold?

It's tough to figure out whether I am getting better. On a good note, my energy level seems to be back to normal.

The downside? I am still congested. Drinking hot tea or soup has been helpful. Taking a shower is my decongestant. I can't wait to get home and use my humidifier.

I do a late checkout this afternoon. It's nice.

Sick day and rest

Yep, I have a cold. Sneezing. Runny nose. Congestion.

Why does one nostril clog up when you're congested? Weird. It has been my right nostril for most of the day.

I stayed home and called it a sick day. I slept for another three hours. I feel better, but I'm still not back to my normal self.

I'm doing a staycation with a cold. Oh, joy! We'll see how things go.

Getting a cold and getting paid early

I feel like I'm getting a cold. It's sucks. My throat is sore and I'm drinking lemony water to soothe it.

I get paid every other Thursday. What I love about my bank is that it deposits my pay on Wednesday night, just after 10 pm. It gives me time to pay my bills at home, rather than waiting to get home on Thursday night to do it.

Little things make me content.

Sleep and rest

I slept a lot over the weekend. My student had a cold that started on Thursday. I felt like I had caught a bit of it on Saturday. I feel that I am in the clear, thanks to a ton of rest and sleep.

Sadly, it's another workweek coming up. I am looking forward to my brief trip next month. I feel refreshed from the weekend. I just want more of it!

Packing and chicken wings

I have started packing for my upcoming road trip. I am excited, even though I am tired from working on a major software release.

I went to work on Tuesday. Normally, I work from home. I was there to have a team lunch. It involved chicken wings, for which I have a huge weakness. Yum!

The unfortunate part was that I had leftovers and I left them at the restaurant. It may have been a blessing in disguise, though. I ordered peppery wings, which irritate my throat. I'm not fully recovered from my cold.

It's okay. I got the wings for half-price. I am not all that bummed out about it. I can always go back in future.

Working on a sick day and enjoying it

On Tuesday, I took a sick day. The weird thing was that I did work. Quietly. No distractions. It was nice.

I liked not having my instant messaging app showing that I'm available. I liked not having folks asking me questions throughout the day.

I have a task where I need to rename a number of properties in our documentation. It was great going through a good chunk of the work. It was also nice to not answer e-mails.

Luckily, I am working from home today. Sadly, I have a couple of conference calls to participate in. At least I sound less congested and my cold is on its way out.

I do wish that I worked with a more competent colleague. I may just call her the idiot going forward. I couldn't have chosen a more accurate nickname for her.

Sick, missing, and tired

I am still sick. I will likely take a sick day from work today. Currently, my nose is stuffed up, I'm tired, and I have a slight cough.

Being sick makes me think more about my guy breaking up with me. I miss what we had. I don't miss being hurt, as I'm already there.

He just sent me a video to watch. In his own way, he misses me. It makes me even more upset that he is perfectly fine carrying on. I can't do that. I need time to grieve. He isn't in tune with his emotions as much as I am. I wear my heart on my sleeve.

Although I have moments of sadness, I cannot sob in despair like I did the two previous times that he broke up with me. It's that inner strength this time that demands being treated better. It is his loss. I simply need to move on. It will happen with time.

I took naps throughout the day on Sunday. I felt better after each nap, but I am tired. I believe that I have earned a sick day to shake this cold off and heal from this breakup.