Due to the Hashimoto's that is kept largely at bay with proper medication, my body does not react at all well when I experience a particularly stressful day. Like yesterday.Have you ever had one of those days that just starts out badly and only gets worse? Of course. We all have them. Yesterday was one of those for me. I've always described these as days when, "Everything I touch turns to ashes." The problem for me is the way I feel guilty for complaining. I mean, there are people with real problems and when I piss and moan about my piddly little stresses, I feel guilty. But we have to beef, you know. I do it employing the best damned sardonic humor I can muster; I'm a Libra after all, and that kind of humor is what we do best. It worked, but today I'm wiped out...
I was going to go out today and get some Christmas shopping done, but I think I'd better lay low and do it tomorrow. I'll go to the grocery this afternoon and get the things I need to start cooking for the holiday, though. We quit having a big, lavish Christmas dinner (featuring Nettl's famous prime rib with all the trimmings, including Yorkshire pudding and English trifle) because, frankly, Thanksgiving always wipes us out, financially. Our new tradition is a party buffet on Christmas Eve (we follow the German tradition of opening gifts then), and I'm making tamales this year. I want to introduce Nettl and the kids to this southern California tradition. Although there's not much to making them, they do require quite a bit of prep work which I'll start tomorrow morning. Meantime, there's cookies and fudge to make. I just have to get the energy to do it, which means, as I've said, laying low today.
Our prediction for snow on Christmas Eve has been downgraded to rain. Humbug! I wanted snow. Still, it's growing ever grayer and wintery out there, which is at least some kind of inclement weather.
We've decided to get a pre-lit artificial tree for next Christmas. However much I've loved the smell of a real tree this year, it's already turned brittle and its boughs are drooping under the weight of the ornaments. And it's not even Christmas yet. We usually keep our tree up until New Year's Day, but this one's out of here on Boxing Day. We kept it watered and did everything we could, but let's face it, it was a dead tree to begin with and nature must take its course. Plus, there's the fire hazard. I don't even like turning the lights on at night, but I do because they kind of mask how dead it's looking. But we live in an old wood-frame house that would go up like a tinderbox if there was a problem. We just don't want to deal with this issue next year, so we've made the decision to watch Hobby Lobby's sales. When we were over there the other evening, we saw a Desert Pine that's really beautiful and realistic.
Well, here it is nearly one in the afternoon and I'm still in bed. Time to get up.
