03 Jan 2020 Goals – New Year, New Goals and Our Holiday

Hello friends! Happy New Year!

I’m ba-ack! Well, at least my blog is back.

We had a wonderful Christmas Holiday with my in-laws and this week I am recovering from my trip. With EDS, I have to recuperate after the drive and really just needed the week off. You should have seen the sight of me! Wrapped in heating pads along with a heated seat, I tried to get comfortable in the car for the long haul.

It was well worth it, though, as we spent lots of time with family and got to see my brother and sis in law on the way back to Charlotte.

I wore this green velvet dress with gold jewelry, a brooch and different shoes on Christmas day. It still is a favorite! This dress was from Zara, I have found a few dresses that are similar in case you want one for the next Holiday. Love this green velvet dress, and this similar dress both under $40!

picture the green velvet dress with these heels and patterned black stockings. 🙂 Marc Fisher pumps – around $50!

Christmas Holiday

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday with your family and I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

I had a great time at my in-laws and am grateful to my brother in Springfield, VA for letting us crash their overnight, as it is a long trip. We got to Harleysville, PA the afternoon of the 23rd, and took it easy, helping with getting ready for Christmas. We spent the Holiday with my hubby’s family and chatted back and forth with mine. Santa brought me some fashionable goodies  My mom bought me these Dolce Vita wedge sneakers that I had been obsessively looking at, and they are so fun to wear( stylish but casual) I will share new clothes on the blog as well as some wonderful canvas prints of my pups that my husband ordered. I loved it! We went to church and enjoyed a Candlelight service,  part of the tradition each year.

I always love Christmas and getting together with family. We talked a lot, laughed, enjoyed each other’s company, and ate well! We opened gifts on the evening of Dec 25 and had a lovely evening. We saw about 8 deer outside in the yard, and the pups were so excited to see them. I admit I was too,! These were tame deer as this was the closest I could get to them. Truffles and Gibson had fun and of course, I dressed them in their “ugly sweaters” and Santa Suits.

We returned before New Year’s Eve and I spent the day in bed as I couldn’t keep my eyes open as well as feeling like an elephant trampled on me!  It is typical when I travel, especially by car. Doggies kept me company and we just made a day out of watching Discovery ID and Netflix.

New Year and New Decade

We aren’t, big partiers (what?  gasp!) so had a low-key evening. I enjoy watching the ball drop and may or may not make it up until midnight. We bought some tasty hors d oeuvres of shrimp dip, hot crab dip, hummus/veggies. crab cakes. and of course, have an excellent bottle of wine to toast the New Year!  ( I don’t like champagne- what? gasp!) 🙂 But guess what? Besides muscle pain, I developed congestion,cold, aches and pains, so my NYE was just spent in bed. We hoped to have all the goodies the next day.

It’s hard to believe it is a new decade, and in 2008 I began getting sick, so this was a decade of doctors, specialists, hospitals, tests, and the Unknown. We visited the Mayo Clinic, had prolotherapy, began dry needling and was diagnosed with EDS. It has been a long road, and I just try and do my best day to day. I have to say, it isn’t easy dealing with something without a cure, but I have made improvements in the last several years. I am hoping that 2020 will be even better healthwise.

Group selfies aren’t easy when you have 8 people! A couple of people didn’t make it in the pic! Laura, my sister in law, front, and center, took the pic. My 19 yr old nephew Nickolaas, my hubby behind him, my brother in law, then me at the left-back row.

Don’t worry she didn’t drive the whole way there! Truffles did so well on the drive ( with a little help from Silio to calm her down!)

Gibby slept the entire time on my lap. What a good boy!

We were greeted by Pedro, my brother’s 12-year-old Australian Shepard pup the first night. Don’t leave any food on the table as this boy will eat it in one gulp! ( I learned the hard way with a piece of pizza!)

2020 Goals-

Do you set goals for the New Year each year? I don’t make resolutions but set goals that are more achievable for the New Year.

• Medication- I am on a number of medications for my disease. Needed are anxiety, sleep, GI meds, and pain medication to name a few. My doctor proposed, after 8 years on strong pain medication, that I come down on the med in hopes of maintaining my current pain level and possibly providing more energy! The fatigue is tough, and I take a nap in the afternoon, so that would be a nice benefit. I am nervous about it, as my quality of life has improved since on it and I don’t want to go backward. So, we’ll see how it goes, trying to withdraw off a med that will be titrated slowly.
• Fitness-   Since trigger points are formed in weak muscles, I hope to strengthen my body utilizing the gym’s weight machines. I am also planning on swimming and using pool weights. I was accepted into Medicare/Blue Cross’ “ Silver and Fit” program and got to join the gym for $15 for the year, the rest is covered by insurance! So besides weight machines, I will swim and use pool weights three times a week. When not at the gym, I will use my treadmill at home. I am competitive with myself though, and just have to realize I can’t do everything I used to!
• Guitar- I need to play my guitar regularly. I am dying to play ” Bohemian Rhapsody” and learn a jazz guitar chord melody. I also enjoy singing and have a great Shure microphone, so I plan on practicing this as well! My hubby is playing piano and we thought it would be fun to learn a tune together! I got him Queen and Elton John piano books for Christmas.
• Blog- I’d love to increase my readership and I need to figure out how to utilize Like to Know It. I am also planning on using Pinterest more to bring readers to the blog. I’d love to do a post once a month on Pinterest inspiration looks. I will get a Survey out at the beginning of the year, any specific ones you know of?
• House- get estimates on flooring for all bathrooms. We are pricing Luxury Vinyl and I would be more than happy to replace our linoleum floors! They are the bane of my existence!

Fashion Photoshoots will return next week and I can’t wait to show you some new goodies! I have a pair of black Coach kitten heels I wore on Christmas Day, but have wanted a pair of black pumps with block heels for a while. I bought these Mard Fisher Claire heels in black croc and they are lovely! The block heel makes them easy to walk in and the heel isn’t too high.

So, expect to see those and some new duds soon.

 Do you have goals for the New Year? Tell me about them in the comments!

Have a great weekend!

Jess xo