Wouldn't you know it?  The day after my 'coaching', I wake up in the morning and the room is spinning around and around.  I'm familiar with this feeling and I know that the best way to deal with this is to take the medication and sleep it off.  It usually takes a few hours and while the world is not altogether stable, it's better.

I couldn't do that this time.  I had to haul my sorry ass out of bed and get showered and go to work.  I got myself cleaned and dressed and took the sleep inducing medication and went to work.  It was a total waste of a day.  I sat at my desk for 7.5 hours (only got up twice to use the bathroom) and slept on and off with my head propped up on my hand to hold it steady. I still felt unsteady when I got home so I slept for a few hours and was better by dinnertime.  Pk made me some eggs (my comfort food of choice) and I sat and watched some netflix and went to bed and slept 10 more hours.  Today started out a bit woozy but is better at this point.

If I had stayed home yesterday, I would have had a 'written warning' in my employee file and then would have had to have an entire year with no infractions of any kind.  I wasn't willing to risk it. 

Elanor helped me pull the holiday decorations out today and we spent an afternoon listening to music and making the house look like Christmas.  All of the old favorites came out to play and a few new bits were added.  We bought some new outdoor lights that will glow and change colors.

They look like large C9 bulbs but are plastic.  I think they look like toy lights.  The stars are back and so are the snowmen.  Pk is finishing putting some garland around the door.  He's been working out there all afternoon. It's time for me to go and fix something warm and filling for dinner.

He and Emily are going shopping tomorrow.  I may go and try to finish up my shopping as well.  I placed all of the online orders on Friday and should have things in my hands by Christmas.  I love online shopping!

I'm looking forward to the conference on Monday. I'll also get a chance to meet Pk at his office at the end of the day and meet some of his people.  I've never been in his building (it's a tall one with lots of security) and I'd like to have a picture of his place in my mind when I picture him at work. 

I will admit to a bit of tears today.  I've never felt sad when pulling out holiday decorations.  Nostalgic, yes, but Sad?  No.  Today I felt a bit sad.  I don't have many holiday ornaments and things that remind me of my mother, she didn't get much involved in my married life.  I DO however, have many handmade things from my Aunt Joan.  Like this teddy bear 'advent' calendar.  There's a small stuffed bear that gets moved around the house and attached to various points with velcro as he searches for Christmas.  He finally finds it in the livingroom, surrounded by his family.  Aunt Joan made this when my girls were very small and I look forward to it every year.  It made me realize how much I miss her.

She is the inspiration behind 'penguinski' in our family and is responsible for the dozen or so odd little teapots I own. 

Everytime I make something as a gift for someone else, it's a bit of her spirit that I feel.  My mom was a bought gift kind of person.  Gifts from a store were preferable to handmade ones but my aunt was just the opposite.  It was hard to believe they were sisters.  So, it made me feel sad but in a good way (does that make sense?) as I remembered her and all her love.  It still surrounds my family and that makes me smile.