Month: February 2024

Self Care is the Best Care

One of the many things that the past year has taught me is that taking care of myself is important. It’s so easy for me to take care of all the people around me, and then I forget to take care of myself.

Yesterday, I meant to write, (which as you’ve noticed, is becoming an online diary sort of blog) as it tends to be cathartic. It didn’t work to write yesterday, and instead, I had a day filled with other types of self-care.

I worked for a bit in the morning and then had notifications of jungle deliveries (Amazon) and got excited as these were the last of my dress & breast tape/bra orders. So, of course, I tried things on. I had a mini fashion show. Scott’s office is next to our bedroom, so when I say mini fashion show, really, I’m interrupting him (I’m the annoying, obnoxious coworker). I tried things on, stood at his office door waiting for his opinion.

I now have the dress for our Valentine’s date tonight. We’re celebrating a night early going to a burlesque show put on by one of our favorite producers. I have always shyed away from red as I thought red hair and red didn’t work, opting for my favorite of green. But I’m in love with this dress and even have kept a couple of the other dresses too.

The start of my self-love/self- care day was realizing I am FIERCE, I am CONFIDENT, I am BRAVE, I AM BEAUTIFUL. That’s hard for me to hear most days.

So tonight, we’re going to to an early dinner and then burlesque. Tomorrow, we are having dinner at our friends/neighbors before we all head downtown for the Nuggets game. Tom spoils us and is making tasty Mediterranean.

More self care: The most tastiest homemade salad for lunch (there was avocado, nuts and bell peppers involved), I went for a walk in our neighborhood. A half an hour walk, getting fresh air. It was around a mile and a half. I then met up with a friend for pedicures. Thank you Ben for going with me! I love friend time!

My toes are a sparkly red. They match my dress perfectly.
Ben’s toes are a sparkly Irish green.  All set for St.Patrick’s Day.
Happy Toes

After pedicures, it was some chill time for me rewatching more of West Wing while Scott was at his meetings. I did some prep work of my fingernails while watching, so today I can finish my nails with some Colorstreet.

I ended my day in bed doing one of my other favorite things (get your mind out of the gutter), I read some of my book before falling asleep.  Although there may have been some fun earlier before the hubby went to sleep. ❤️

I wasn’t expecting to have a full day of self care, but I love that it worked that way. This is my reminder to carve out some time for self care. Also, for those of you that need to hear it… YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!

Happy mid-morning cups. ☕️❤️

Things that have nothing to do with football

Today’s first cup was amidst a ton of yawns. Yawning faces make me giggle whether in humans or animals. The transformation our faces make is truly goofy. I also love the contagious effect a yawn has on others.

One of this morning’s yawns

So, why was I yawning so much? I purposely didn’t take my pill last night to see if it truly does help with my sleep. It does. Now I know, and also why I was yawning. Tonight back to talking the pill. *Sigh*

Today’s second cup was in my most awesome Harry Potter travel cup. We went over to Ashlynn’s for a bit this morning. We (ok, really Scott and Tony) hung up Ashlynn & Tony’s TV in their apartment. I finished my second cup while sitting on their couch with Coffee, the puppy.

Scott and I decided to head to Belmar after leaving Ashlynn’s and had lunch at Lady Nomada as tacos are yummy. We wandered into a couple fun gift shops after  lunch that had us wondering about what happens to all the niche collectibles after someone doesn’t want to display them anymore. We also walked over to Dicks Sporting Goods looking for Nuggets gear as we are going to a Nuggets game Wednesday and it feels weird not wearing something that represents Denver Basketball. We weren’t sold on anything there and made a couple more stops on the way home, eventually finding a hoodie for me and a shirt for him.

The late afternoon/evening was spent snuggled on the couch as we finished watching Good Omens season 2. We did get startled by the house shaking with fireworks exploding. Which made me remark, I guess the game is over. Nope, we checked our phones for the time, 6:20 (just stupid people in our neighborhood doing stupid things). We didn’t watch the Superb Owl or the halftime show… there was a sliver of me that wanted to see Usher (like a 5% sliver).

So now I close my day much how I started it, with a ton of yawns and the amusement of my face mid-yawn.

Let’s hope the fireworks stop with no midnight explosions (it’s been known to happen). I’m guessing the game is done now as there was quite a big amount of explosions a few minutes ago. I will head upstairs in a few and take vitamins and my help me sleep pill, which hopefully will help with the yawns tomorrow.

I hope if you’re a Superb Owl watcher, today was enjoyable. As always, I hope you enjoyed your first, in-between, and last cups today.  ☕️❤️☕️

Mood Listener

This morning’s first cup is mood inspired. It’s a snowy day, not a big storm,  but snowy. Which has me wanting candles, music, a warm breakfast and of course, coffee.

I,  like most of us, listen to music based on my mood. I differ in the fact that I typically don’t pay close attention to the lyric or who sings it. I go off the vibe or how the beat hits me. In fact, for a girl who worked in a music store, I’m absolutely horrible with music knowledge… like truly horrible. I’ve asked my best friend/adoptive brother and former boss why he hired me 24 (yikes, had it really been that long) years ago. His response, ‘You didn’t need the knowledge of music, just the passion for it. You had the customer service knowledge and that can sell music. Plus, Danielle liked your vibe, and Mike thought you were cute.’ So, even back then, my music knowledge was subpar. I’ve also realized that my 20 years in retail have given me the ability to tune out most lyrics and just listen to the beat.

So anyway, today’s morning has been spent listening to one of my favorite curated for me mood playlists on Spotify… Dark & Stormy. Not because my mood is dark but because the rhythm just speaks to me. Giving me more sultry deeper vocals with some great beats. You can listen to the playlist here: Corrine’s Dark & Stormy Playlist. Happy listening 🎶

Happy snow covered trees

Now, after a happy breakfast of warm oatmeal with blueberries, I’m going to keep listening to music, dance, and refresh my soul with the beats.

Listen to your mood… and enjoy the rhythm. Love and Light for your Cups today.

Sleep

Today, I am groggy and sore. I’m on my 2nd cup at the start of writing this. I became one with the mattress last night.

For those of you that don’t know… that is a rare statement for me. I don’t sleep well. In fact, I haven’t hit REM sleep in a few months as I get up several times a night. Either I’m uncomfortable and tossing and turning, I’m unbearably hot (even with a fan), or I’m up using the bathroom (sometimes 7 times in that many hours).

How I know I don’t hit the sweet spot in sleep… I hear everything around me. The creaks of the house, the furnace fan kicking on and off (one night, I counted this), both fridges running, the windchimes on the deck, the cars on the street, you get the idea. It’s the weird sleep that you are asleep but yet not out to the world. That’s been my life. Only recently did I have the realization that at least it is still rest (eyes closed kind of rest). Last year before and after my MS diagnosis, some of the non-sleep was associated with stress & anxiety, where my brain wouldn’t shut off (thank you to Hallmark Channel for starting Christmas movies so early, as it was something I could turn on and zone out to). Or the fact that my body hurt (nerves firing). Now, it’s just not finding the comfy, sweet spot.

On a side note: I will go into more of my MS diagnosis in further posts… I’m finding it easier and easier to talk about, but I haven’t been posting anything online. I had not wanted every conversation/interaction to be about MS. Although, because it’s still so fresh, I do talk about it a lot. The diagnosis is one of a few reasons why last year was my hardest year.

This week I saw my neurologist for a follow-up and we talked about my non-sleep. She had prescribed some pain pills in October that have a side effect of drowsiness that might help with the nerves firing and sleep issues. I was hesitant to try them as I wasn’t in pain (thankfully!). Especially after reading more into the meds and understanding that eventually I would be on the pills later in life, so I never took them as I was afraid to, and to build up that an immunity so early in my diagnosis. However, after talking with the doctor on Tuesday, we decided I should try it and see if it helps… 3 days in, and it worked. I’m slightly nervous about taking something every night, or like I said above, building an immunity to something that I will need later in life.

I’m thankful for the good night’s sleep. I’ll try it again tonight as last night’s late night of hockey (getting home just before midnight) and taking the pill shortly after still had me not quite asleep at 2. But I slept from 2 to 8:30, getting up once for the bathroom. I’m still feeling super sleepy and slightly off-kilter… one of the other side-effects is dizziness (which is unnerving, especially in the middle of the night for the bathroom break). So, we’ll see how it works and go from there. I know there is many of options out there to help in the sleep department but in my transition from one neurologist to another a few months from now, it’s nice to know I have a reprieve from the sleeplessness.

I didn’t mean for this to be more of a journal entry, oh well. So, I’ll throw in some fun from last night. It was the first games of the spring season last night. Nordiques, Seals, and North Stars all won, (kinda cool that Scott’s 2 former teams won their games, too). There was fun in the stands with Ben & Sam and our new mascot, Flerp the Derp (the most awesomest of Yetis), and Ashlynn, Tony and Faith were there for a bit too. We had snacks from my magical bag, found out about Flerps secret pouch and most excitedly… Scott got a goal!

Go Nordiques Go!
#7 is my crush!
Flerp the Derp, the Nordiques Yeti mascot, was attacking? Maybe just curious.

Now that it’s just past noon, I’ve done a little bit of work, some online shopping (mostly tracking current purchases) and I’ve been staring at the empty second cup for quite some time. I should probably get showered, head to the grocery store for the 2 things needed before the 2 inches to 4 feet of snow arrives and get going for the rest of the day.

Thanks for your love and patience in reading todays journal entry and most of all… I hope you enjoy your cups today!

Chill Vibes, Coffee and Hockey

Listening to lofi chill beats this morning with the first cup.

It has been over a year since I posted my daily cup. I’ve tried the past few weeks to start back up again, but how do I write about my hardest year. I’ve been procrastinating or rewriting the few paragraphs already written and then getting overwhelmed and stopping.  What I’ve realized is that I need to just post my morning cup. The rest will come in time.

So today: Chill vibes morning before a bit of work, walkies in the neighborhood, or around the lake. Tonight, heading to the rink to watch the hubby play late night hockey.

Last year, Scott played all 3 seasons in the Over 40 Beer League at our local rink. The first season, he was on the Seals (and they won the championship). In the second and third season, he was on The North Stars (they won the 3rd season championship). But since knowing the team names, I’ve been hoping for him to get drafted onto the Nordiques (I may be super excited to wear my Nordiques shirt that I’ve had for years). Don’t get me wrong, I did wear teal for the Seals games and green for the North Stars games, I’m just excited to wear my Nordiques shirt for a purpose.

Scott and Team Captain Erin after the Seals won the inaugural first season

Have a happy Thursday… and remember, enjoy your first (or whichever) cups.