Alrighty, it’s Sunday evening and I really don’t feel like writing right now, but I’ve let myself get really behind on writing. I don’t want it to be that way, and the only way to get myself out of it is by writing, so here we are.
This week was not my best week ever. I woke up Monday morning with swollen tonsils that persisted pretty much the entire week. I have had issues with tonsil swelling before, and this time was the worst it has been. One day I ended up going home early to rest, and Friday I left work half an hour early so I could go to urgent care. They tested me for covid, the flu, and strep throat. I came back negative for all three. So we don’t know what it actually is, but we know it’s none of those things. They told me it’s likely either a viral infection that I’ll just have to wait out or it’s allergies, which she gave me some tips on how to manage. I also have an appointment with a nurse practitioner this coming Thursday to talk about getting my tonsils removed, but it was explained to me that it’s a really tough recovery and I probably don’t actually need it. One of my best friends is getting her tonsils removed in December and that was really helpful for me to be able to compare my situation to hers for perspective because she definitely needs hers removed, and my problem is definitely not as bad as hers. For the most part, this week I’ve been able to push through and get some things done, but I definitely didn’t go to the gym and took lots of extra naps.
One thing I did this weekend was rework my daily schedule to try to balance both of my jobs and other things I want to do outside of work, like writing for the blog, doing crafts, and going to the gym. This week will be my first week to try it out and see if it helps me feel like I have more time to attend to all of the things I’m working on right now. I changed my night routine a little bit to help me keep my room clean, which I really struggle with. I also changed my approach to movement since the seasons are changing and the weather is cooling down. One of my favorite things to do is to pick a new neighborhood or area in my town and walk while I listen to podcasts. I love it so much because I get to see new areas of the town that I pride myself on being very familiar with, I see lots of new and different things that I may not have ever seen before, and I just find it to be a fun and relaxing time for me after work. I’m not able to do this in the summer because when I get off work, it’s the hottest time of the day, and it’s just not possible for me. I’m so excited that the weather is starting to shift toward fall so I can be outside more because it’s something I really love.
These are the goals that I set that guided the way that I reworked my schedule.
I did a pretty good job at regularly engaging in creative activities this week, so here is are two journal spreads I made.
I had a major accomplishment at work this weekend. I have been working for my dad on and off since I was around 13 years old. He has a retail store where we sell nuts, chocolate, dried fruits, granola, olives, jams, syrups, honey, and all kinds of things like that. I used to work only in the summer and the winter when I had breaks from school, but when I finished college, I came back and started working full-time. Now that I have another job, I work about 18 hours a week there. Over the years, I went from only packing products in the back to helping customers with cash-only transactions, to being able to use the credit card machine, to becoming the main person who answers the phone, to running the store by myself on Saturdays when it’s my turn. The very last thing that I still hadn’t learned to do was make a gift basket, which is a very common request we get from customers. We always have pre-made baskets available, but often customers will want to build a custom basket. Sometimes you get the luxury of handing it off to someone else if it’s during regular work hours, or sometimes they’ll be able to wait until you have a trained basket maker available. Sometimes you’re not so lucky, so it’s important to be able to make a basket on the spot. I have been completely avoiding learning this skill because when I took floral design in high school, we had to make bows for corsages or for some of our bud vase designs, but I was always awful at it and never got the hang of it. This Saturday, it was my turn to work again, and my dad insisted that it would finally be the day that I would learn to make a basket. We worked together on a custom basket that was going to be picked up that day, and he walked me through all the steps. Once he left and it was time to hold down the store by myself, I picked a small basket, chose a few items that I thought would sell well and fit into a fall theme, and attempted my first solo basket. The cellophane took me a couple of tries, but when I went out into the store to make sure of what it was supposed to look like, I realized I really wasn’t too far off anyway. I picked a couple of ribbon colors that made me happy and again fit a muted fall color palette. I really thought the process would end in tears and frustration, but I ended up LOVING my end result. I was so proud of what I was able to do that I texted a picture to my dad, my mom, AP and AJ, my coworker who is our top basket maker, and my other best friend, N. Then I had a customer come in who wanted me to make a custom basket, and instead of saying “Oh, my basket maker won’t be here until 2 o’clock, can we schedule a time after that for you to pick it up?” I was able to make the basket on the spot for him. I was very nervous to do it, but I knew what to do, and that basket came out looking pretty darn good too! I was so proud that I was able to make that happen, and when I handed the basket to him, he said “You’re the best.” That means he liked it too! I just think it’s really cool that I finally broke through the barrier that has been keeping me from trying to do this for several years. Now, all there is to do is keep practicing!
Here's my very first gift basket and bow!!
This coming week, I plan to get back into the gym and get back into the habit of my fall neighborhood walks, which is very exciting. Also, my 23rd birthday is this Friday, so I’m looking forward to that. I think one of my coworkers is going to make cheesecake for me, and I’m planning to go get ear piercings with AP this coming weekend. Lots of things to look forward to! Until then…
Love always <3
Nicole
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