January Check-in and Christmas Part 1

 Hello my Lovelies,

I'm here for my January check-in. How is everyone doing? Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day and we had a day off of preschool. After 2 weeks back I was so ready for a 3-day weekend so that ought to tell you something. Haha. ****Clearly I started this two weeks ago

I write a lot about my anxiety. It's hard to put into words my feelings because a lot of the time they may seem irrational to you, but to me, they are very real and it's not always easy to just fix. I can do my best to plan ahead and anticipate problems, but it's not like I can just turn it off. I can also turn to coping mechanisms. Writing this blog helps my anxiety. I really need to make this a top priority in 2023. 

During my last post, I mentioned that I had a new plan for 2023. I'm bringing back my focus on my strength training, which is my first love anyway. I'm also not stepping on the scale until February. So how is it going? I'd say great!  Back on December 3rd, I co-hosted a Christmas Tea Party, which was delightful. I wore a pair of pants that were quite snug. I wasn't feeling great in them. This weekend I attended a Celebration of Life Service for a wonderful lady that we lost two years ago. I wore those same pants and they were comfortable all day. HOORAY!  I especially won't step on the scale now until February because I don't want to derail my progress. The reality is that the scale might not even show a good number. It could just be body distribution. What's important is that I feel good and that I see progress. After all, in my last Ted Lasso lesson, he says "Fashion is all about confidence." And right now I feel confident. 

Let's talk about Christmas now. I told you previously about all of my anxiety about flying to Maine for Christmas. If you missed it when I booked my ticket I had a 2-hour layover in Newark. Within a week my flight was changed to less than an hour layover in Chicago. I wasn't thrilled about that considering all of the Christmas movies where the weather in Chicago causes a travel delay. Anyway, after my problems with my luggage not arriving in Maine until two days before I was to leave on the last trip I was planning on carry-on only. In fact, I got a new carry-on suitcase because I knew that I would be running through the airport to catch my plane and I didn't want to be carrying anything on my shoulder. 

So let's begin. I checked in the day before and things have changed. I was not allowed to bring a carry-on suitcase on the plane. WHAT THE HELL??? Apparently, Zone 5 people can't bring on carry-on suitcases. I would need to check it. Grr. Well if I'm going to pay for it then I might as well bring my big suitcase. Then I had to repack and pull some essentials for my carry-on bag in case my luggage didn't arrive. I packed a new bag that I got for Christmas. It is a beautiful bag with a shoulder strap. It's pretty, but completely defeated the purpose of getting a suitcase on wheels. I wanted to be able to pull the weight on wheels, not on my shoulder. I would have packed my backpack, but  I tried it and it just wasn't big enough for my essentials. 

The next morning Ms. Kera picked me up and I got to the airport early. I got a breakfast sandwich and a coffee. I did a lot of walking because I knew that I would be on planes a lot of the day. I sat and watched more and more people arrive with their carry-on suitcases. Grr. Fancy pre-zone5 people. 

The flight was uneventful. I watched a movie. My seatmate slept. It was a short flight. When we arrived in Chicago I needed to BOLT. I made a quick dash for the ladies room and then I ran to my gate. My flight was boarding. WHAT? It felt like I was never going to get to the gate. I didn't have time to stop for food. I will say that the tunnel under the runway to Terminal C is pretty cool. And I sure got my cardio in. My Garmin said it was 2500 steps. 

When I got to the gate they were boarding and there were a ton of people. But, I did have time to get an iced tea at Starbucks. I did not have time to wait for a hot coffee or a bagel. I collect Starbucks mugs wherever I go. I couldn't find a Chicago mug, but I did find an awesome Chicago Travel Mug from Starbucks. I did have time to grab that. 

The flight was fine and I watched Miracle on 34th Street for the first time. I was ready for Christmas. I was also STARVING. When we arrived I thought I would get some food before I went to baggage claim, but the bagel place was closed and I didn't want to go to the seafood place. Anyway, I was anxious to see if my luggage arrived.

She did!  HOORAY! Now I could relax. And hopefully, find something to eat. 

My cousin Keeley picked me up. And bless her, she brought me a cookie for the ride. Prior to the trip, when I was planning on only bringing a small suitcase, Keeley helped me out by picking up some items at the L.L. Bean employee store. The main item was a coat. That way I wouldn't need to pack one. So I requested that she bring a blanket to keep me warm. 

On the way to the house, we stopped at an Italian restaurant. I was FAMISHED. They were understaffed and it took a while to get our food, but I had a DELICIOUS vegetarian wrap...and fries. I'm excited to add another delicious meal to the rotation. I love Maine, but I absolutely LOVE the different vegetarian meals that I can find there. 

We had one more stop to make on the way to the house. I was happy to go to downtown Freeport and walk around the lights at L.L. Bean. I didn't get to see them at night last year. It's beautiful. My mom says she feels like she's in a Hallmark Movie.

After a night of endless hugs with my mom and grandmom, Keeley picked me up the next day so that I could do some Christmas shopping. Our first stop was for my favorite breakfast sandwich. It's the caribou: Egg, Swiss, pear, and dijon on a bagel. It's not low in fat, but it fills my belly and makes me happy.

I'm on day three (*It's even longer now) of writing this and it's only Part 1. Sadly I de-christmased this past weekend and I hate it. I miss the joy. I miss the decorations that bring me that joy. So here is a beautiful Christmas tree. 

And here is me and my cousin Keeley in front of that beautiful tree. Please note that I am wearing my alpaca hat. It kept my head toasty warm. And I look cute in it. 

My goal for the day was to visit my favorite bookstore, Sherman's Maine Coast Book Shops. I love to read. One of my favorite jobs was when I worked at Borders. I made some everlasting friends and I was surrounded by my favorite things. 

Every time I am in Freeport I must go to Sherman's. I'm getting all of the feels just thinking about it right now. I just love perusing the shelves and finding a gem that I wouldn't have known about otherwise. 

There was a reason for the trip to Sherman's, more than just me wanting to go. I started a new tradition for the family this year. I had us celebrate Jolabokaflod. It is an Icelandic tradition of exchanging books and chocolate on Christmas Eve and then spending the night reading and eating chocolate. 

    

After I got books for everyone then there was one more step. Bring on the Chocolate! We were off to the Lindt outlet store. Chocolate as far as the eye can see. And OH MY GOSH does it smell good! I ate too much chocolate, but it was good chocolate and I regret nothing.

We needed to head back to Freeport the next day and I got one of my favorite wraps. It’s a sweet potato falafel wrap. It’s full of flavor and just plain delicious. 

That was the last day that I left the house for several days. The East Coast was pummeled with horrible weather the day before Christmas Eve. In Maine, it was just rain, but it was a lot of rain and high winds. It was a day to just hang out at the house and relax. And be thankful for the generator. We had power and a wood stove, but no internet for many hours. Luckily, I plan ahead, and I always have movies/shows downloaded on my iPad. I am a devices must be fully charged at all times kind of gal. Anyway, the rain pretty much melted the little bit of snow that was on the ground when I landed. It was depressing, but it was still beautiful. 

Christmas Eve came and I gathered everyone around 6pm and gave them their Jolabokaflod gifts and sent them on their way. Spoiler alert: I was the only one who really read, but everyone loved the idea and enjoyed their books later. I will be doing this again next year. 

So here we are, MERRY CHRISTMAS! It was a beautiful day. I received more gifts than I expected. I happily enjoyed my mourning coffee in my new pottery mug. I heart pottery!

This year I joined my cousins in a secret Santa exchange. I wasn't going to be there physically to open my gift with everyone, thank goodness for facetime. My secret Santa sent my gifts to Maine and I couldn't have been more excited. 

I literally cannot wait to make one of Paul Hollywood's breads. Now I realize that as I write this, it has been over a month since I opened it, and have yet to make anything, but I have incredibly high hopes. 

Heather got me and mom matching portable blenders. I'm sensing a theme with my gifts. And I'm not mad. 

There was another theme with my gifts. Puzzles. Everyone knows how much I love puzzles. And puzzles help with my anxiety. Unfortunately, my OCD also makes it nearly impossible to walk away before it's complete. This little beauty was completed in a couple of hours. I love Christmas even though it's always been quite stressful. But, it's even harder as the years go by without my Dad. This was my 5th Christmas without him and it's still so hard. Puzzles help. 

Last year I made my Famous Risotto on Christmas. I went out and got all of the ingredients to make it again this year. But, Aunt Gerri beat me to it. She made this incredibly stuffed acorn squash. It was as delicious as it looks. It was heaven. I got the recipe from her and can't wait to make it myself. It doesn't look too hard. Don't worry, I still made the risotto. It was just after Christmas and it was still Famous and delicious. 

Alright, this post is two weeks in the making and I still have Part 2 to start on.  It's almost February and it's been a very long month for me. I'm mentally and physically exhausted. It's hard to imagine after my Christmas vacation when I got to read and did not know what day it was. I need another vacation or for Season 3 of Ted Lasso to begin. 

Thanks for sticking around. I hope you enjoyed my pictures. 

I appreciate you.

Have a Blessed Evening,

Jennie
xoxo

****Please note****

If you feel like you are alone on your journey and you just need some encouragement I am here for you! Shoot me an email and I will do my best to check in on you or give you the words of support you need several times a week. The journey is so much easier if you have support.

jhendersonfit@gmail.com 

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yeah, sorry, I messed up and the "l" is missing....I need an assistant :-)

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