A few pictures I have coloured from the wonderful adult colouring in book: ‘Johanna’s Christmas’ by Johanna Basford. I hope it brightens up your day a little. x
Christmas Colouring In…
Tag Archives: Christmas tree
Self Care In A Pandemic (19): Christmas Pudding Socks…
Hi Friends,
I hope this blog finds you well, or as well as can be. I guess you may be wondering why I’ve titled this blog post ‘Christmas Pudding Socks’! ? ! 🙂
Well, for one, it is getting very chilly in Scotland this winter. The days are still reasonably mild, and some days are very pleasant with hints of sunshine and no rain, but probably for most of you dotted about in warmer climes, it is very cold. It is definitely the season for warmer clothes, central heating and cosy socks.
I’m wearing a cute pair of festive socks with little Christmas puddings on them! 🙂 This blog post is not so much about my socks, or the cold weather in Scotland, but more so about finding little things amidst your day that bring you some cheer. With all the problems going on in the world, and perhaps in your life this pandemic year, a pair of Christmassy socks aren’t going to solve your problems, but they can cause you to smile, to feel that little bit cosier, and to take notice of the little things. I have a beautiful glass Christmas tree mug that I’m drinking my hot beverages in now that it is December, something I treated myself to a few weeks ago. Sometimes, it’s the little things that help us get through the day, or give us something to look forward to, like making a hot and comforting drink in your favourite mug.
With so much going on in the world, and perhaps your own life, try to find those small moments of joy in your day to day living. I’m not saying go and spend money and buy things that you think will make you happy, not that at all although sometimes there is a place for a wee self care treat every now and then – what I am saying is that you can practice self care in this pandemic by carving out little moments and experiences for yourself that feel special, no matter how seemingly small or insignificant they might be to other people.
There should be time to delve into the deep and meaningful elements of life, particularly as you consider or begin to consider how you might like to move forwards in 2021. Yet, there is also importance in taking the time to slow down, to notice the little things that make you smile throughout your day, and for doing something kind for yourself as well as others.
What is bringing you that little spark of happiness today? It may not be Christmas pudding socks, or a Christmas tree mug, but perhaps it is that phone call with a loved one, watching a cosy film, curling up with a good book, turning on those comforting ‘fairy lights’ and experiencing your little moments of ‘hygge’.
Whatever it is, try to find or create those special moments in your day to day life, even and perhaps especially with so many of the big things going on around us.
Please feel free to share some of the special moments that make your day that bit brighter if you want to encourage, uplift or inspire me or other people reading this. And if not, stay safe and cosy, and we will ‘catch up’ very soon. x
An update, on the eve of Christmas-eve…
Hello again dear friends.
I realise that it has been a while since I blogged, and that my last post was regarding tips on finishing up at work before the holidays. That seems like quite some time ago now, and I hope you have all been doing well and finding Peace in what can otherwise be quite a busy season.
As an update, I did finish up at work for the holidays, after which I got to cleaning and decorating my home for Christmas. I also mentioned that I had a festive trip planned, and I can now share with you that I was away in the Black Forest in Germany, and visited some festive European Christmas Markets in Frieberg and Strasbourg. More on that soon!
As it is the eve of Christmas-eve, and I’m sure most of us love seeing cosy Christmas pictures, I thought I’d share a few of my own with you, and wish you a Peaceful day.
A Christmas (Blog) Story (2)
The story so far (Work):
It’s nearing the end of the first full week of December, and I don’t know about you but I’m beginning to feel quite ‘Christmassy’ now. Christmas lights and trees and markets have been going up around the city since mid-November, but it’s only now that I’m beginning to catch the holiday feeling. This probably has to do with the fact that having not had time off work for summer this year, I have annual leave days to use, which means…..tomorrow is my last working day of 2019! (“Yay!” 🙂 ).
Last working week of 2019:
This week has been surprisingly interesting for my last work week before the holidays. I attended a training session in a beautiful office building that I hadn’t been in before in the city centre. Added to the fact that I was really engaged in the training and will have some new pieces of work to take forward, and the ideas I’ve generated so far have impressed my boss, I also had a great view of the central square and the ‘big wheel’ and Christmas markets from the window of the training room!
I’ve been tying up loose ends, and am well ahead of the game. It’s given me the chance to do some preparatory work that will help my boss so I’m pleased to be rounding off the year with some more quality work contributions. I have another external meeting tomorrow, and then probably some notes to write up, and then it will be time to wrap things up (just to be Christmassy about it 😉 ) and down tools for the winter.
Being ahead of schedule with my work has given me the chance to also go over my work logs that I keep for myself from this past year, and take a look back and assess the work I’ve done this year, and it is a good feeling to see that I’ve actually done some great pieces of work and have broadened my skills base as well as having helped out and contributed to other teams. Ok, so there may not be any pay rise, but there is a personal satisfaction in knowing that I have done my best and have gone above and beyond and have brought in some great results for my team and for wider strategies and can start 2020 on a positive note and with some new projects to get stuck into.
Health-wise this last week has been a bit of a challenge at times – other than the standard coughs and colds, I’ve had some other physical pain, and had to push through some of the c-PTSD challenges I have, so I am looking forward to the chance to give my body and mind a rest, to ‘reboot’ and spend some time in reflection and enjoying this Christmas season so as to be ready and prepared for a brand new year. It is a significant step forward for me to be writing in this way as a few Christmases ago I was in a very bad place emotionally and mentally – the depression and undiagnosed (at the time) trauma, made me feel that there wasn’t even a future to look forward to at all. So, this year is a bright change to be looking forward hopefully, and I am blessed to share a glimpse of it with you 🙂
The Christmas tree has gone up at work today as well, and it is beautiful. I’m so glad I get the chance to see it before I finish up tomorrow.
Over to you:
As you near the end of the calendar year, do you have any plans for looking back to review how your year has gone from a work perspective?
Whether you work from home, blog full time, have your own business, work for a charity, do voluntary work, work for a large or small company, or do something entirely different, it is a good time of year as you conclude projects and prepare for the new year to look over how far you have come and what you have achieved.
Even if it has been a difficult year for you work-wise, the challenges also present an opportunity for you to reassess how you do things, whether you are in the right place, whether you need to make a change and how, if there are any developmental opportunities for you and what lessons you can take forward into 2020 to help you learn, grow and thrive.
So, what have you learned from your working life this year, and what lessons will you take forward into 2020?
Winter Survival Guide (35) ~ Handmade and Homemade and Full of Love.
Why not make some Christmas gifts for people yourself? Many people love the personal touch, time, thought and effort that goes into creating something just for them. If this is new to you, why not try making just one homemade gift, or part of a gift to add in such as a ‘stocking filler’?
If you are very skilled, maybe you are doing this already, and maybe you could help someone out who wouldn’t know where to start but who would like to give it a go.
We’re all a little more creative than we think, and sometimes we just need that little bit of encouragement to give it a try. 🙂
Some ideas for home made items:
- Gift tags
- Cards
- Photo gift
- Christmas tree ornament / decoration
- A wreath
- Woodwork
- A drawing or painting
- Jewellery
- ‘Upcycled’ gifts such as bags, or decorating boxes to make them into gift boxes (I did this a few years ago – it was lots of fun)
- A key-ring
- Postcard
- Hamper
- Jam
- Food
- Cake
- Knitting
- Cross stitch / embroidery
- A song
- Anything else that takes your fancy….
Let me know of any brilliant ideas that you have that I have missed out of this list, I’d love to hear them and maybe even give it a go myself! 🙂
Winter Survival Guide (23) ~ Start a New Tradition.
Maybe you grew up enjoying some beautiful festive family traditions. Maybe you didn’t, but you longed for them. Either way, why not start a new tradition, whether you are single, in a relationship, have family of your own or will be sharing your time with friends. Regardless of your past or your circumstances now, you can always start anew.
A few years ago, I decided to start a new ‘tradition’ of my own, if ‘new tradition’ isn’t too much of an apparent contradiction that is! 🙂 I went to Berlin and Potsdam and visited the Christmas markets there, and I bought some tree decorations to hang on my Christmas tree. Since then, I have gone to Christmas markets more locally with friends, and each year I try to get a new decoration to hang on my tree. A few of these are beautifully carved, unique, wooden decorations, and on the back I can write in very small handwriting the date and place so that in the future I can remember where I got them. I like to add one new decoration to the tree each year, and I like it to be meaningful, and from an event or experience such as from somewhere I’ve been with friends or family (or by myself as was the case with the one in Berlin).
The decorations don’t need to be from a Christmas market (I also have some hand made ones I made myself the year I had my first Christmas craft stall), just one new item each year, and it’s nice to see these personal touches adding up, and hopefully if or when I have a family of my own I will be able to continue this on and share it with them.
What ‘traditions’ do you have, or what new things would you like to start? x
Life as it happens to be 