Day 24 and 25: Christmas is in the Air

The past two days were good! Exhausting like hell but amazing.

Yesterday I made Chocolate chip cookies. I love making them more than eating them. Is it just me or does food taste better when someone else cooks it for you? What made the baking process even better were my nephews. They were so fascinated by the whole process. Whisking the eggs, measuring out the flour was all a game to them. By the time the dough was prepped there was flour everywhere! I do not know if the cookies were a baker’s perfection but seeing my nephews hand in the cookie jar was satisfaction enough.

Today I made the traditional Christmas Plum cake. I used to remember my mom baking them but ever since we got the new oven it seems the baking falls back to me. The folding in of the batter nearly took me out. I had to keep walking around because I kept misplacing the ingredients. Even though I sat through most of the process. I saw my ankle injury swelling and with that the pain also started getting worse. But determination can really push you. I finally mixed up the batter and five hours later we had three baked plum cakes. After then baking when I finally did take the rest I realized that the pains were all much worse. I took a pain pill and was knocked out for 2 hours.

The medicine and the rest did what it was supposed to I woke up an started with my washi tape organizing.

All in all these past two days I felt more like myself than I have in months.

Wishing you all a Blessed Christmas! May the Grace and Mercy of he Lord Jesus Christ fill your life always!

Day 23: Being Busy

I literally had nothing to do today. I woke up at 6 am but then stayed curled on by bed till 8 am. When I finally rose from my bed I realized I have nothing to do. No Monday morning weekly planning. No calls. No meetings. No pings from work. It was weird.

I thought to myself since I have sometime I would best try organizing my stationery. My biggest challenge is my washi tape collection. Its stored in boxes that are not clear. The fact that I cannot see them and have to rummage through the box to find one that I want always deterred me. At the end, I have a boxes that gather up dust.

So today, I started reorganizing my collections. By color, by width, by pattern. I have got through about half of it today. Tomorrow the real work starts. Hopefully I can get it done by tomorrow and then have a relaxing Christmas Eve.

Excited for tomorrow. I hope that I finally start using my washi for the art spreads and not have them forgotten in the back of my storage.

Day 22: Joy of Small Wins

For the first time in a year I am finally sleeping in my room. I had to shift to my sister’s room. Her room has an attached bathroom. I could not walk across the hall every time I needed to use the washroom. I used to often cry because of it.

Today I slept in my own bed. Although there was a little pain, I still could make it across the hall without falling. It felt redeeming.

Other highlights of the day, I made lunch today. I once again took my time. It felt good. I also wanted to bake some bread but I was exhausted by the cooking. As such, I choose to stop for the day. Small successes are still a success, I remind myself and then everything feels like a blessing.

Other than that I did not do much else. The weather is so cold all I want to do is curl up under my blanket and sleep.

Violet and Dolphins

Daily writing prompt
If you started a sports team, what would the colors and mascot be?

I know nothing of sports. Literally noting!

While I do enjoying watching a game on the television with the family, sports is not something that I will intentionally watch.

If I were ever to start a sports team, the color has to be violet. It could also be purple or some shade of it. That is my favorite color and would always be my first choice.

On the other hand, I have heard that the mascot needs to represent the team. Mostly, strong animals are chosen to be the mascot. My personal preference would be the dolphin. Anytime people have asked – “What animal I would want to be” the answer has always been dolphin. I just am so fascinated by them.

So there you go, Violet and Dolphins that is my answer to today’s prompt.

Day 21: Slow Down

I have always loved drawing and being creative. I may not be the best at it but I still do love it.

Today I started a new art project, drawing Pokémon characters. I had remaining blank index cards from when I used to make flash cards for studying. I always wanted to use that for something but did not know what. I knew that I wanted to make it like a series but I did not know what.

I finished drawing of 10 out of the 1025 that are there on my Pokedex app. Lets see by the end of 2026 how many am I able to complete.

I always good after spending time on doing something creative. Today was by all means one of the best day that I had in a long time.

Everchanging View

Daily writing prompt
How have your political views changed over time?

Viewpoints always change. Atleast this holds true for me.

Politics was something I never paid much heed to. It was just too complicated. I believed in what I saw and heard and did not question anything.

But as I matured, those assumptions were challenged multiple times. I started noticing that nothing was ever as it seemed. The deeper I looked into issues, the more contradictions I discovered. Ideas I once thought were unquestionably right were quite different than what they seemed.

My opinions began to sway, sometimes leaning one way, then shifting to another. At first, I saw this as indecision. But over time, I realized that my understanding of the situations were getting better.

Changing viewpoints isn’t a weakness. It means you’re willing to try to understand the perplexing circumstances and admit when you need to change your perspective. My core principles like fairness and accountability have never changed but maybe the paths to it are open to debate.

In the end, I’ve learned that confidence doesn’t come from being stubborn. Rather, it comes from asking questions and understanding different aspects of the same situation.

Day 20: Family Time

Today my sister came over with the kids and are staying over night. It’s true what people say when kids are there in a home it has life. My nephews are like little tornadoes. Everything they do is with a bang. There is nothing that can be done in silence. I sat back and let the chaos just engulf me.

Once they tuckered out and was put to sleep was when other thoughts came to my mind. My sister and I sat for hours just talking to our mom. We spoke about school projects that we did and then dad re-did because he just wanted to make it better. We spoke about my girl guide phase which my mom seemed to have forgotten. I took the chance to ask the ever prevailing question of “who is the favorite?”, to which she replies I love lefty and right. We spoke about many other things which was more of reminiscing than active conversation. It felt good.

Today was a busy day but all I can remember was that the day was amazing!

So much so that, I hit save and went to bed instead of hitting post.

Day 19: Holding On through the Pain

Today I woke up with the pain from yesterday. Even with the pain I tried to get a little things done. The organizing that I started earlier and had to stop because I was exhausted, I did a little more today. I did have to stop it in between again cause the pain started getting a little worse.

I started watching a new K-drama today. It hit a little close to home. I went to a state of panic. I felt like I could not breathe. I thought I was over this feeling. The feeling of dread, the feeling of like someone was choking the air out of my lungs. I knew I was spiraling. I had to take a minute to compose myself. I stopped watching the series and started focusing on my breathing, to center myself. It did not stop the feeling completely. It is there at the back of my mind like a numb pain.

I guess I thought that I was over it. I thought that I had taken control of my life. But it seems that just like my body, my mind and my heart is taking time to heal. The hits have stopped but the old scars are still haunting me.

I do not know how long it is going to take but I am going to keep holding on. One more step towards my healing. Breathe and keep going.

One that I can Drive

Daily writing prompt
What is your all time favorite automobile?

For many people, cars are a passion. They know about the engine, latest features, and know exactly why a car would be good for them. For me though, a car is simply a mode of transport. I do not have a personal preference as far as the car is concerned, but the places it can take me is something that I would focus on.

I don’t need a flashy car, what matters most is good mileage. If it gets me from point A to point B without breaking down or giving me any grief I am good.

I prefer cars where I can see clearly over the dashboard and reach the pedals easily. While I used to enjoy the control of a manual stick, the traffic en route to work have made me lean toward the convenience of an automatic instead.

For me, the real thrill isn’t in the car itself but in the journeys in it. If there’s one feature that adds extra joy, it’s a good stereo system.

At the end of the day, I would want a car to use rather than a car to own.

Day 17: Disconnecting from Work

I am on leave starting today. I do not know what to do. I feel a little lost. With the toxicity not constantly pounding my brain its like I an empty.

I woke up and started organizing, deep cleaning just to keep myself occupied. The fact that my pace is much slower than usual does not help. I should be thankful though, I am moving mush more than I could a month back. I want to start taking the stairs maybe 5 to start with. I am a little worried that i am pushing myself too soon but I think i need to start somewhere.

I am also hoping to start driving the car again. Baby steps, one thing at a time. I need to keep reminding myself. Now that my health has made me realize the clock on life I want to do as much as possible. I do not want any regrets. I want to be better. I know there is a high possibility I might fall at sometime but I need to remember to stand back up.

Lets see what tomorrow will bring.