MP and others I have been thinking that putting all eggs in one basket is not the right thing. I have never hated having a Christmas birthday more. I and all of us here tend to put others ahead of ourselves and on the times we feel permission / entitled to our rest/relaxation etc… when it doesn’t happen it can be quite disheartening. Then we think another year … lesson learned, and I am going to take care of me more often. There are some discussions to be had at the right time.
As I have gotten older I just feel…tired. My job is too draining, I found myself frustrated the other day that in rounds there was plenty of discussion about when things will be done but did not include me, the person all this revolves around and has to manage in the planning. sort of like life I guess. I worked Christmas eve day. up 21 hours straight my family decided midnight mass was a good idea.???
I want to offer my congratulations to the new engagements, and accomplishments. It has been a joy having D2 home.
I got accepted to a MS/DNP program at school crazy right???
Congrats DTE. That is fantastic – and will make life a bit crazy.
Congrats dte!
dte, very very impressed and happy for you!
DTE, wow! That blows me away! You blow me away!
Congrats dte!!! So happy for you!
Happy New Year to all!
Congratulations to DTE and to RM and her D! Healing mojo to all in need.
We had friends visit us here at the beach for 2 nights before New Year’s Eve. Thought H and I were then headed to a NYE bonfire, but it turns out H invited a neighbor and his GF over for drinks. It all turned out fine, but it gets to be a little annoying when he makes these plans without asking me first! Then, at the last minute, some long-time friends who live about an hour away came for Saturday/Sunday. We had originally planned to return to Cambridge yesterday, but aren’t going until today. I needed yesterday to UNdecorate from the holidays, and then it made sense to stay through this morning, when the weekly trash pick-up occurs.
We had some snow flurries yesterday (no accumulation) and it’s been wicked cold the past couple of mornings. This, of course, is all relative to the incredibly warm weather we had through the Christmas stretch …
Not much in the way of wedding planning going on here yet. I’ve learned through the years there are some things H really needs time to adjust to/get squared away in his mind. D’s engagement is one of them. We know for sure they’re getting married at the family camp we go to in NH; September, 2017. It’s a weekend affair – guests arrive on Friday and leave on Sunday, staying in the cabins, eating in the dining hall, etc. All the recreation facilities are available. Camp staff can do the wedding dinner on Saturday, but we think we’ll bring in a caterer. (H has said he wants to serve good food.) Re: flowers – D thinks it’s ridiculous to spend a fortune on flowers; would love wildflowers stuck in Mason jars. Of course getting said flowers isn’t as easy as going out to pick them … At any rate, she’s thinking more casual, given the setting. Haven’t decided if we need a wedding planner? Seems a little extravagant, but I don’t want to be running around all weekend putting out fires.
oregon – glass fusion sounds like fun! I’m not the creative/artistic type, but can follow directions quite successfully. I learned the basics of making bead jewelry at family camp and enjoy it for the 1 week we are there every summer.
cbb- our venue required a wedding planner - either the person on their staff or someone else. We chose their person and IMO he was well worth it. Though we did not have any major issues, he took care of a lot of details and H and I were able to relax and enjoy.
Congrats DTE on the acceptance!
I get the feeling tired thing! I will say that since Sept. I’ve been trying to take better care of ME. Not just eating better, getting enough sleep and exercising but ME - the ME that I want to be. That being said if I don’t exercise I don’t feel bad about it. Sometimes I have to make trade offs as to what is right. My H just said last night that I didn’t do much last week as far as moving around. Yup. Had a cold and I sat on the couch, ate candy and watched TV when I wasn’t blowing my nose. Now mind you I still managed to get the house cleaned, put away laundry, make dinner every night and go grocery shopping. So no I don’t feel bad about sitting around. I’m okay with it. I didn’t feel well and that was what I wanted to do. If we don’t take care of ourselves (mind, spirit, and body) I don’t think someone else is going to. To be truthful the more I take care of myself the better I feel and the better person I probably am to be around. 
I sat around yesterday. I have a very sore throat and upper respiratory congestion plus no voice! The congestion in my throat made me feel as if I were drowning.Sipping hot cranberry juice now so I can clear my throat and try to go back to sleep. Ugh…
DTE, the sad thing is that the work at present can be draining and not energizing for you. I suspect that becoming an NP or DNP will change that. I don’t know if the DNP gets you anything more than the NP in terms of autonomy or satisfaction, but you are closer to that than I am.
I hope you feel better NM and RM. I’m recovering from a cold I caught from ShawWife who caught it from ShawSon when he came back from India. Now, hoping not to get the recurrent cough I sometimes get. Not sure if I should ask for the steroid puffer or hope that moving to California at the end of the week will be sufficient. But, then I have to get back on the plane for my monthly trip to UK/Germany.
ShawWife is doing most of the organizing/packing – we sent our car off today full of stuff. Will see it there next week (I hope). We’re going to take our bikes on the plane and rent kayaks. The owners of the houseboat we are renting have kayaks but their lawyer not to let us use them for liability reasons. Weird. We will be looking from our houseboat/its little dock on Mt. Tam (https://www.google.com/search?q=mt.+tam&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjpz_afhJPKAhWGmx4KHeX4C-oQ_AUICCgC&biw=1555&bih=734), though we look over some houseboats to see it.
RM, you are already very busy but can you add something that helps you focus on you? I decided to focus this year on my body/health. I have hired a PT/personal trainer who has been coming to our house three times a week, which has been great for abs, glutes, stability (and we’re going to videotape on of our sessions before we go). This has taken 3+ hours per week, plus visits to other healthcare folks. In addition, I put myself on a no starch/no added sugar diet since April. Largely because of the diet, I have lost 23 pounds (and have 7 to go to hit my target, which was what I weighed when I got my PhD). I have decided to make the diet permanent, though I may have to make a small modification when I hit my target weight so I stop losing (may not be needed as the first 15 pounds came off fast and the rest has been very gradual).
Shaw - I sort of did that in Sept. by joining a local weight loss program through the running store. We are “between” sessions now but I lost 22 lbs the last session which ended in early Dec. and I have gone down another 3-5 lbs since then so that is all good. Next session starts on the 16th. I still eat what I want. Just look to control the number of calories in. If I can’t eat something that makes me want it even more so knowing that I can have that piece of chocolate if I really want it helps. I’m also making time to sew/knit/go get a facial, pedicure, whatever. All these things are good for me. Yup I’m busy but sometimes I’m busy at things that don’t really make sense. Who cares if my floor is clean enough to eat off of. I don’t want it a MESS but really if there is a bit of mud tracked in it can wait a couple of days. That way I’m not constantly cleaning and then feeling miserable when after spending the time cleaning it’s messy in 5 minutes. Not sure what it is but you let me get the mop out and the SECOND I am done someone comes to the hours or my dog needs to go out and back in… Just not worth it anymore.
I gave up years ago on having things be perfectly clean at all times… I am somewhat of a perfectionist so I put my efforts into making sure things are okay when visitors are coming. Other than when people are coming over, I have a pretty high tolerance for dust. I had a friend/ neighbor who seemed obsessed with making sure that everything was spotless at all times . She had a lot of anxiety about it and her husband and sons would joke about all the things she threw out just to avoid any hint of clutter. I have way too much clutter but maybe there is a middle ground somewhere, with issues of clutter, weight, etc?
I used to clean on Sat. and it took most of the day between cleaning, grocery shopping, making dinner and laundry. Now I do a bit of cleaning everyday. H does the laundry now and I just have to fold and put it away (he would live out of the baskets with no issue - me not so much), Still the grocery shopping falls to me but I’ve taken to starting a list on Mondays and filling it out through the week with menus and needs so that it’s not an hour job to figure out what to buy and then go and buy it. Makes it a bit easier to stomach.
RM, sounds like you are doing great in the weight loss department!
Mom was cleared to fly so I put her on a flight early this afternoon. I feel like I need a few hours with a box of puppies or kittens to wash all the negativity away. As soon as I left, H pulled out all the boxes to start the un-decorating process. He has a rehearsal tonight and asked how much I thought I’d get done after work. I told him to expect virtually no progress. I am deeply tired. Younger D has her follow up with the ENT in a few minutes. She’s not 100% but she is progressing nicely. (Not fast enough for her, of course, but the doctor won’t be displeased.)
Fiance and her mom did NOT like the florist. Good thing we have Son to act as a go-between, because they thought they would upset me if they said they didn’t want to use him. I just made the appointment because he came very highly recommended. (Of course, I love his work…quiet elegance… but I totally get the he isn’t their style.) I emailed them that Fiance should look at the list of “recommended” florists she has and see if she finds any whose style really speaks to her. Although I am loathe to criticize Fiancé, she showed up to the appointment with absolutely no ideas of her own, leaving the florist to present his own style and ideas to her. Hopefully Fiance will spend some time online and figure out what she wants.
yes Shaw you hit it on the head for me at work. DNP allows me to teach.
MP can I hit your husband over the head for you?
CBB I think I mentioned that a girl form work got married at your summer place, it was lovely from the pictures I saw. not stiff and formal but lovely and classy.
Mp it seems like you have a good balance of not being over bearing and being helpful
My D2 has a head cold that started in Dc with a very sore throat and fever. I hope I dont catch it I am going away in a few weeks. I did learn the reason my colds last so long is most likely from the laryngeal reflux I just got diagnosed with. I think damage caused by radiation. Hopefully the treatment will avoid the long lasting cold issues.
The opportunity came up for the DNP I have mixed feelings and will see what happens/ Sometimes I think it would be easier to just retire.
Hope everyone feels better soon and everyone who needs rest/relaxation/less stress gets that.
Many congratulations, DTE. Or, soon to be Dr. DTE.
MP – A massage? A pedicure? House cleaning fairies? Tree undecorating fairies? A weekend away, or even in a downtown hotel? I’d say it is yours, and go for it.
DTE, ShawWife was told that she could teach with her MSN. But probably when there are enough DNPs they won’t hire NPs to teach.
missy…can you suggest to future DIL to start a Pinterest board that has pics of flowers she likes? Both of my Ds showed the florist what they liked and florist was able to go from there. A good florist can design multiple styles and change out types of flowers to fit any budget.