It wasn’t an easy year by any means, but it was a year full of learning. With any luck, I’ll take 2012 with even more passion and dedication!
I hope you all have lovely celebrations, whether out with family and friends, or curled up in bed with your animal and a good movie!
I wish only the best for each and every one of you!
xoxo,
Annie
Experts say to actually follow-through with New Year’s resolutions is very difficult but the act of making them has benefits as it promotes personal goal setting. However, when it comes to losing weight and quitting smoking, many professionals do fear the cycle of deprivation, indulgence and guilt can have extremely detrimental effects. That being said, New Year’s resolutions of other types, like taking a few online college classes in order to aid a career change to help you manage stress, could be exactly what the New Year calls for. A fresh start can make another year of life more like a fun challenge than an arduous journey.
Don’t be discouraged however, change is hard. It takes anywhere from 28 days to 20 years to actually change and break habits, so don’t give up if you make a few slip ups in the first couple months. Remember, things are never all or nothing and it is never too late to start doing the right thing.
I decided to have a cup of tea called Jumpy Monkey at about 7 p.m. last night and couldn’t get to sleep until about 6 a.m. As such, I had lots of time to fill out a great workbook for the upcoming year and resolutions, which I got at: http://www.susannahconway.com/2011/12/a-little-something-for-you/. I highly recommend that you print this and fill it out! It gave me so much useful information about myself!
So with no further ado, here are my New Year’s Resolutions:
Has anyone been to Florida – more specifically – Orlando/Kissimmee?? (I know Tara has!!).
I would love to know your suggestions on what to visit, eat, see, and take part in when Jon and I go down for a week in March with some of my family! I’ve been a few times before so I’ve seen Disney, but he hasn’t so I’m sure I’ll have to make a wheelchair-bound trip around again! I’d love to revisit the Epcot Center though, I really enjoyed that place.
But yes, any suggestions you have would be so greatly appreciated! We’re basically working on no knowledge here! If you know anything that would be chronically-ill friendly, please share! I figure I’m going to be exhausted and sickly with all the traveling. I do so poorly with motion…blech.
It will be the first time he takes a plane too! He’s so excited, but I’m wary of what all to consider in order to make the traveling as comfortable for me as possible. If you have traveling while chronically ill advice, I’d love some of that too!
(Images from WeHeartIt)
Can’t wait to read your suggestions!
xoxo,
Annie
I’m dreaming of a new style for the bedroom… This seems like an eclectic mix, but I can’t figure out which styles I like best! We bought a printer today, so my possibilities for artwork have expanded dramatically! So excited!!!
(Images from WeHeartIt)
What is your favorite style of bedroom? Is there a certain something that makes your bedroom a blissful hideaway? I’d love to know your thoughts! Hopefully this can give you as much daydream inspiration as it does for me!
xoxo,
Annie
Holiday time has officially come to a close (minus New Years Eve, but I consider that to be more of a planning celebration than a partying one!).
I had a wonderful time and got some amazingly thoughtful gifts (although I am a control freak and bought some of my own presents!). My sister bought me the most beautiful mixed David’s Tea set! I definitely love their teas, and the winter will vastly improve with such a lovely present! We have brand new luggage for our week long trip to Florida in March (I’m somewhat terrified, but I need to learn to leave the nest again!). Plus, I got some goodies from Lush, which I can use to spoil myself silly in the bath when I feel not so good.
My family was so sweet and we all played Christmas trivia and caught up with each other. I got sad and anxious a few times, merely from the age-old question of answering “how are you? (my favorite answer – “I’m alive!”). We had three different gluten-free desserts, so I had to indulge in them all. I’m still exhausted and full from the experience!
I’ve been in bed for two days now, but such is the price that an ill person pays to enjoy a small sliver of life.
I didn’t get to bring along Mr. Marms to all the houses for such celebrations, which made me super sad. I wanted to spend Christmas with my kitty. But bed allows for me to snuggle him any time he comes and visits! He’s loving Jon’s luggage as a bed too much!!
How were your holidays?
Did you receive any special gifts or gestures?
xoxo,
Annie
I’m so excited that it’s almost Christmas Day! I love Christmas Eve and Christmas Day because I get to spend time with my AMAZING family! I get to go to both of my grandparents, there is a party at my aunt’s, and unwrapping gifts with my family rocks my world!
I hope the presents that I bought are loved and appreciated as I put a lot of thought into making them very special for each individual. Plus, I loved sending Christmas cards to most of my beloved twitter family, as it warmed my heart times 147.
I love this time of year, whether people are celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, or nothing at all! I understand how Christmas can be a hard time for some people, but I still want to send all my love their way. I hope you all have a happy, (reasonably) healthy, and non-stressful holiday!
I adore each and every one of you who reads this blog, and I hope this is your best celebration ever – even if it is just listening to awesome tunes in bed.
(Images from WeHeartIt)
Happy holidays everyone! I will be thinking of each and every one of you! Send out as much love as you possibly can to those around you!
xoxo,
Annie
Well after the depressing post of yesterday, I think I need to lighten it up!
So I’m going to direct you to some amazing eye candy (in my own opinion of course!) at my tumblr:
In addition, I just want to say thank you for everyone who was supportive of the news I received yesterday! You are all beyond amazing. I’m so grateful to have such an amazing family and twitter family.
That’s right! You are all puppy and kitty levels of awesome! Which in my books, is the highest level of awesome.
Who has a tumblr? I want to follow all of you!
I hope you are all healthy and happy.
xoxo,
Annie
So.
The results of my psychological testing are in. Sort of. Basically, I scored SO HIGH above in-patient (let alone regular people) test scores in terms of distress, depression, paranoia, anxiety, etc., etc… that my psychologist could not determine results from it. I hit the top of the charts, where the (maybe) 1% lands. Like out in the universe instead of anywhere on Earth.
My Asperger’s test ended up the same way, where I scored three times higher than what I would need to be diagnosed on the autism spectrum. It can’t be diagnosed as a definitive in reference to the other test though, because of the fact that my physical and mental health afflictions are all piling over onto each other.
Basically, I’m at the point where I’m just supposed to attempt to not kill myself from my sheer level of distress.
Which is accurate, but devastating to hear, as I was hoping that some kind of diagnosis could have come out of the process. The sad thing is that I thought the answers I was giving were not that far out. Shows what I know about normal haha.
My psychologist says it fits perfectly with the sessions we’ve been having, as she’s usually working crisis mode. She’s going to place a call to my psychiatrist to make sure that he starts doing less harm, and encourage him to attempt to lower my levels of distress (likely through different medication…). Hopefully I will start seeing my psychologist about once every 2 weeks in the hope of reducing my level of stress to somewhere near (at-least) the in-patient level (whether that will take 10 years or not, I have no idea).
I expected the results to be high, as I’m an emotional disaster, but I sure didn’t expect them to be THAT high. My psychologist describes me as a raw emotional ball that can’t bounce. Spectacular.
Either way, I am extremely unwell both mentally and physically, despite the fact that I have made improvements. It’s hard to even imagine where I was before if I’m this disturbed now. I just wish I had some idea why I am like this. It’s an uphill battle for sure.
Extra special hugs to all my mental health and physically ill friends. We’re all in this together <3.
xoxo,
Annie