I hope everyone had an excellent week and that everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving had a great holiday! Last week was kind of all over the place and exhausting. Didn't help that it's been so bitterly cold. There was also family drama, which is always so "fun" to navigate. There was some normalcy to the week, with babysitting/tutoring, writing, art, video creation, and hanging out with Tsuki, but it was an atypical week.
On the one hand, I was able to sleep in a little bit during the boys' Thanksgiving break, but the week was still rather full. I was helping out my aunt's friends with their dogs, and that was an experience. Their older dog requires medicine, but she kept refusing to take it, despite me putting it in her favorite foods, like they recommended. She'd try to leave, ignore it, or spit it out. Sometimes she'd act like she ate it only to go elsewhere in the house and spit it out. She also chose to sit on the large water bowl at one point, spilling the water everywhere. Then there was the chaos that was my brother and his massive dog coming into town (they're just so loud, rowdy, and messy). Then we were also helping my sister move into her new place. Just didn't feel like I had much of a chance to rest and relax. Looking forward to next weekend when I can sleep in and just chill with Tsuki.
Sleep was a great struggle Sunday night, and after being unable to sleep at all, it was incredibly painful being awake Monday morning. I genuinely tried to sleep, but apparently it had other plans. It was pretty ruthless when my alarm sounded, signaling I'd be in for quite the long day. Sleep struggles are no joke, and I really wish I could take naps, fall asleep easy, and sleep in. On the plus side,
I was able to sleep Monday night, although I wished I had been able to sleep in. Dream recall was kind of hazy, but the first thing I could remember involved Land Before Time. The main group had met up with Chomper. They ended up being chased by 3 adult t-rexes, and Chomper's parents stepped in to help. Chomper was being bullied by one of the other t-rexes, and Little Foot stepped in to help. It annoyed and kind of enraged the t-rex, and it went to try and eat Little Foot. Not sure how it ended up panning out, as the next thing I could remember involved some small group of people visiting somewhere that seemed to be some sort of specialized facility. It seemed like they were visiting someone that society would label as "special needs," but the person seemed pretty smart and aware, despite people at the facility acting like they weren't all that capable. There was some set schedule of what the group would be able to do with the person, and the person seemed rather disappointed when the time was up, trying to go with the small group. Things got muddled, but the last thing I could remember is that someone was driving the car all wildly with doors open and speeding, and I was trying to get them to stop and take safety more seriously. More might have happened, but that's all I could remember once I woke up.
I didn't particularly want to get up Wednesday morning, but at least I wasn't as exhausted as previously. My dream recall was rather hazy, but I think it involved the Discord group I joined recently. There's been some drama with members being nasty in some voice channel apparently, which led to them leaving and creating their own server where they bad mouth people (or at least that's what I've heard--didn't experience any of it for myself). In the dream the old members came back, and it seemed like people were able to reach a peaceful resolution. Not sure if that could happen for real, but it would be nice. That's all I could remember from the dream, though.
I woke up rather sleepy on Thursday, wishing I could go back to sleep (but the dogs needed to be let out). While my dream recall was kind of hazy, I could remember that I met up with Corliss and Iris. We were at some kind of ice cream shop. We all ordered mint chip ice cream. It cost $8, but we only got a cup filled up about halfway (and it seemed pretty skimpy). Iris went to town on the ice cream. We brought the ice cream over to Corliss, and then Iris spied a mostly empty chocolate shake that someone had left on the table. She kept trying to eat it, while I tried to stop her because we didn't know who's it was or if they had done anything to it (it's a sad, strange, dangerous world sometimes). This kid didn't want to listen, though, as she was fixated on getting whatever she could out of the chocolate shake. More might have transpired, but that's all I could remember.
I didn't want to get up Friday morning and was feeling pretty lethargic (but the dogs wouldn't like being left waiting). My dream recall was kind of fuzzy, but it involved being at a school. A bunch of the kids that I've worked with were at the school and would spot me in the hallway, insisting on how I needed to come to their class, help them, play with them at recess, etc. Sort of felt like I was a celebrity. I ended up at the cafeteria of the school (not sure what school it was), and the power went off for a couple of minutes. It was strange. There was this trio of older people (seemed potentially high school or college aged) that were hanging out by the door. They ended up going outside and there were shards of a meteorite everywhere because apparently the power outage was the result of a meteor crash in the parking lot. The pieces of space rock were pretty cool, and I ended up discussing it with one of the members of the trio. He started excitedly talking about how it reminded him about Your Name before stopping himself, convinced that he was nerding out and that I'd be uninterested. As soon as I expressed similar interest in Your Name, he immediately came back to life with enthusiasm. Details got fuzzy, but there was something about Miraculous and the main duo of Cat Noir and Ladybug. Not sure exactly what happened, but that's all I could remember.
It was kind of painful getting up Saturday morning, and my dream recall was pretty hazy. There was something about chatting with people about neurodivergence, but details were quite muddled. It would have been nice to keep sleeping, but, alas, commitments to help out my aunt's friends with their dogs. Wasn't much easier getting up this morning. I had thought things would be fine when I woke up, as I didn't feel as tired as other days, but as soon as I opened my eyes, it felt really painful. Would have been nice if I could have gone back to sleep, but alas, obligations. Really doesn't help things since it's been so cold; makes leaving the warmth of the blankets a major struggle. It'd be nice if society would allow more rest during the winter (and just in general--it really needs to calm down and stop pushing people to the breaking point). No idea what happened in the dream realm; everything was a complete blur.
The boys were excited for a short week for the holiday. Plus, the older brother was excited because Monday was his birthday; he was ecstatic to receive the gift I got him: 30th anniversary Nightmare Before Christmas Funko Pops (he adores pretty much everything Nightmare Before Christmas). I hope they are able to rest and relax during Thanksgiving break; they've been working really hard.
Tsuki enjoyed the beginning of the week, getting cozy and snug for plenty of cat naps, lounging, and relaxation. She enjoyed lounging on her window shelf, sprawling out on the chair, snuggling with me and the blanket, and getting cozy by the fire. Wednesday brought my brother and his massive dog, which caused her to go into hiding for practically the entirety of the rest of the week. She doesn't like them at all and finds them quite scary (they are extremely loud, messy, rowdy, large, and chaotic). Tsuki mainly hung out in the closet, under the bed, or if she was feeling a bit bravery, in her cat bed. She'd end up coming out of hiding for a bit, wandering down the stairs partway, trying to gauge whether they were still here, and then get spooked, bolting back up the stairs. Tsuki was curious about my sister's new place (we took her to visit), but she was really confused about the new location, wandering around trying to figure out what this new place was. Tsuki's super grateful to have the house back to its normal calm and quiet; that duo is just too much.
Artwork for the week included more diamond art:
This week I created new content for Creativity Chronicles and YouTube shorts! I even started collaborating with other websites! Feel free to check out the newest articles and shorts!
New Creativity Chronicles' articles included:
Please make sure to take care of yourself as we navigate the hectic holiday season. There's bound to be plenty of demands, unexpected surprises, and all-around busyness. It's okay to take breaks when necessary (I'm already pushing pause on my normal routines and expectations because I just don't have the energy for all of my normal tasks--there are some that I can't forgo, but others will be done another day). Practice self-care because you won't be much help to anyone if you're spent and completely burnt out; you can't fill someone's cup if your own is completely empty. There's nothing wrong with wanting to help others, but make sure you also help yourself. You matter. You're worthy. You are important, so be gentle with yourself; you're doing the best you can. You're human; it's okay if you can't do it all. Do what you can. Ask for help when necessary. Breathe and take things one step at a time. You'll be just fine. Have a wonderful weekend!
Food for thought for the week: