March is here

So It's March. How have you been doing?
I have not made great strides in my arts and crafts this last month but I did take on some house renos. New flooring has been able to brighten my home and my mood. It does help that the days are slowly getting longer and the sun has been peaking out at times. I sure have been enjoying the mood change. It is nice to feel less gloomy. I know that i will be facing surgery in a few months but until then, i have to make the best of the days when i am in less pain and am able to actively enjoy my day.
My little grandson is 6 months old and he is learning to roll over and I think he will be crawling soon.
Time for a new calendar page. March has many special days for me. A wedding anniversary and some important people were born in March. So let's get right to it and download those new calendar pages!

 

Grab your calendar

SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder

You may have heard of SAD before... or maybe you haven't. Maybe you have SAD. If you aren't sure about it, it is a actually a type of depression that is related to the changes in the seasons and the weather. SAD will usually start around the same time every year as the sunlight fades and autumn is approaching. It will continue throughout the winter. It saps all your energy and leave you feeling rather crumby. There might be days during the winter when the sun is shining brightly that a person with SAD might feel a small boost of mood and energy but the motivation is short-lived. People with SAD pray for the longer days and count down the days until the equinox.

I purchased myself a "happy lamp" to try and increase my daylight time with artificial sunlight. I try to remember to take my vitamin supplements but honestly, I hardly every remember... I look outside and cringe. I don't even find it cold out there in the Newfoundland winter, it is not temperature related. It is directly related to the lack of sunlight and the shorter days. We can't force the sun to stay longer... sadly... But we have to try and get as much sun as we can.

Having chronic pain disorder means that I am always tired. I send the kids to school and go back to bed for more sleep. I need more sleep! The problem with wanting to sleep more is I am missing out on some sunshine. I wish I was a morning person... I just like my bed WAYYYYY too much. But coupled with Seasonal Affective Disorder adds to the desire to stay in bed and let life just pass by. There is a lack of motivation and initiative that comes with SAD and I have a really hard time getting motivated.

The tips I get from therapy is to just start small. Don't make long term goals during winter. Take things one day at a time. Set a goal to do something good for yourself TODAY. Set your alarm and TRY to get up at a certain time. Don't forget self care. Wash your face. comb your hair. Has it been three days since your showered? Turn on the heat, get that shower! Stop delaying the self care and create your first opportunity for success today. (you would be surprised at how hard it is to take care of your self when you are suffering depression of any kind). Take those small successes like self care and build on that, once you are clean and refreshed you might get the urge to clean something else or do a load of laundry. You might even find the mood to go out for coffee. So start your day, you can take that first step into the bright glaring light of the bathroom and pretend it's the sun. (HAH just kidding we know that isn't the sun)

If you are not familiar with any type of depression, you can really be the support for a person just by trying to understand and lending and ear... and a cup of coffee.... always with the coffee!

February 2020

So It's February. How have you been doing?
I have not made great strides in my arts and crafts this last month due to medical issues but that's okay. Sometimes we need to forgive ourselves for not doing the things we wish we could do while we are concentrating on self care and the things we MUST do.
It's been a rocky start to the year but it has had many blessings as well. My stepdaughter moved into a beautiful new apartment and I helped her with a lot of the sorting and packing and organizing. I love organizing so that worked out well for all of us. I can't do much lifting and carrying but I can help out in other ways. My little grandson is 5 months old and he loves his new place. We were worried that he might feel confused or unsettled but he surprised us all. He slept better in his new place than he has in  weeks :) So that is a great blessing.
February is here already!
Time for a new calendar page!

Grab your February Calendar Pages HERE

Mid Month Check up

Mid Month Check Up

Hey everyone, how have you been?

Let's be honest... January has been pretty yucky. I had a good week and then after un-decorating from Christmas I tweaked my sore shoulder and that laid me up for a few days. Pain has a way of turning your life upside down. Life with chronic pain means that some days I will not be at my best. Some days I will not want to leave my bed. Some days I just can't.... anything. I have to constantly remind myself that THIS is not my fault. I can't let it stop me from my intention.

Then comes the bad weather... Snowstorms have a way of putting another knock in your armour. It is really a downer when you can't get out and really don't WANT to get out. Depression goes hand in hand with pain, with weather, with winter... and that is where I found myself. I am not sad, I just lost my desire to DO anything. Well, I can't stay there in that dark hole. I have to build my ladder and start climbing out. Are you with me?

So it's the 15th, mid month. Check up. Check in. Readjust. Focus...
Has anyone else felt defeated? I think it is very typical of January to feel this way. We must remember that falling short for a few days doesn't mean your journey ends. You just need to start walking again, fix your eyes on the direction of your path. Let's walk a little further today. It's okay if you feel like you missed a few steps. Let's lace up those boots and take one little step today.

What is it that we need to get those first steps started. Do we need something inspirational? of course!

One little step! That is all it take to begin. Every journey has a beginning. Some of our journeys have multiple stops and multiple beginnings. That's just what I needed.

Choosing A Journal

When choosing a journal, I found so many that had bits and pieces that I liked but nothing was "just right". I tried custom journaling. I tried scrapbook journaling. I tried notebooks. I just couldn't keep up with them. It was either a lot of work or just not what i wanted. This is what inspired me to create the Journaling Your Journey. By making my own custom journal I could pull all the elements that I loved into one great book.
If you are wondering about what this looks like all put together, check out this video.

Daily Doodle Prompts

seven FOOD doodle prompts

1. Pizza
2. Ice cream
3. Hot drink
4. Something with sauce
5. Fruit 
6. In a bowl
7. Burger

You can doodle one a day but if you forget, don't worry. You can do this at your own pace. I have provided all 7 days at once for your convenience.

In case you forgot where to grab the free download for the Daily Doodle, here it is again



 


Access your DAILY DOODLE

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday
What are you thankful for today?
Family? Friends? Something as simple as coffee?
don't forget to use your gratitude tracker to record a couple of things you are thankful for this week.

Access your GRATITUDE TRACKER

Daily agenda

For many of us with busy lives, we need a lot of space to track our daily activities. This page is for you. I like to track my days on a smaller scale but this page gives you a lot of freedom. There is even a creative corner for those of you who like to do the daily doodle and want to keep it in your agenda

you can access the DAILY SHEET

Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Now let's get this train started. Join me on this journey into 2020. Let's start with a download of the month calendar. I have broken it up over two pages. One is simply the month calendar and the second is an agenda style page.

There is plenty of space to write in appointments as well as goals or important notes for the month. I like to use this page when there are bigger events during the month. Instead of flipping through my daily or weekly pages to keep track of those things, I can just open the book to this page and see how prepared I am. This is where I keep track of the progress for things like family vacations and big parties. There is space in the weekly pages for the smaller details, but a quick checklist helps me to keep things organized. There is a blank square for those who like more freedom in their brainstorming as well as a lined section for neat note takers.

You can access my JANUARY CALENDAR