Post-Holiday Slide.

Each year around this time, I definitely deal with my mood changes.  Part of it is SAD, but some of it is the holidays which are always a struggle for me for many.  Regardless, I'm trying to make a more concerted effort to getting out of the house whenever I can or, if I do stay home, keeping my hands busy. Recently, I was able to get out of town to Florida for a getaway with a few close friends.  It was exactly what I needed - Vitamin D, time to relax, fun experiences with great people. 

I'm thankful for that break, because it's been a rough few weeks to get through.

In early January, we went through a round of layoffs at the company I work for. Layoffs are never easy to go through. I've never been on the 'role impacted'-side of things...but that doesn't make things really much easier. There's survivor's guilt as well as the distribution of work across those already that have pretty full workloads. Still working through the emotional and workload aspect of things a few weeks later.

This weekend, we lost one of our Second Life Jam family members suddenly. Yvie was at a SL jam in Tampa and passed away in her sleep. She was instrumental in getting live musicians and fans back together again post-pandemic and it was such a pleasure to meet her last October at the Twin Cities Jam. We left that jam with in a huge hug, talking about how we would be in touch to get the 2024 TC jam up and running.  Yvie was such an amazing, kind woman with a genuine soul. It does bring some solace to know that she passed while she was away with people she loved and doing one of the very things she loved to do. 

Birdie's Gotcha Day, March 2014

Last night, my friend Kati had to put down her Great Dane, and my god-dog-ter, Birdie. I drove with Kati to the breeder near Mankato to bring Birdie home almost 9 years ago. She was a gentle giant who had these amazing what I called 'love leans' which nearly made you fall over - but it was her way of cuddling in with you when you saw her. I feel for Kati today - the most difficult part of having a dog as a member of your family is eventually saying goodbye. It's definitely brought up the memories of letting Sierra go 10 years ago. 

So, here I am, trying not to eat ALL of my feelings at the moment and trying to stay on track. Definitely helps to put pen to virtual paper.

Recipe of the week: Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice.  Absolutely delicious.  I struggled with cutting up the chicken thighs into cubes, so I may try chicken breasts next time even though I prefer chicken thighs.  Leftovers heat up really well, so it's a great make-ahead and good to have for lunches for the next few days.