{"id":379851,"date":"2016-01-31T20:59:25","date_gmt":"2016-01-31T20:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2016\/01\/31\/a-monster-of-a-week\/"},"modified":"2016-01-31T20:59:25","modified_gmt":"2016-01-31T20:59:25","slug":"a-monster-of-a-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2016\/01\/31\/a-monster-of-a-week\/","title":{"rendered":"A Monster of a Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Sunday, Journeyer!<\/p>\n

Just when I think things on the work front can’t get any crazier…<\/p>\n

They do…<\/p>\n

I’m just going to leave it at that…<\/p>\n

The newest set of circumstances has me a bit unnerved, but all I can say is that I’m happy I do my job and perform the safety checks I’m required to do every single day.<\/p>\n

The stress that has been plaguing me has felt like that monster in your closet or under your bed. You just never know when it’s going to jump out at you. But something in me broke this week. I felt it. It was like that dawning realization that you can’t fight a corrupt city hall.<\/p>\n

For someone who is always trying to mediate and establish a sense of fairness, justice, peace, and love, that realization is so hard to accept. Honestly, I think the only way for me to “get over it” was for something to break inside of me…<\/p>\n

It’s like I realized that if I don’t give the giant my power, then he doesn’t have a hold over me. If I just shift my focus to everything else in the room, then I am in control of how little impact the beast can have on my life.<\/p>\n

Now I just have to decide if I work the three years needed to keep my insurance benefits or if I just want to walk away, buy private insurance, and devote my full-time efforts to The Five Facets of Healing work…<\/p>\n

In the meantime, I am glad to not have the overwhelming angst making my legs feel like they are chained each day I leave for work…<\/p>\n

So, what moments helped me get through this crummy stuff with somewhat of a positive mind intact?<\/p>\n

Sunshine. I’M TALKING MONSTER-SIZED SUNSHINE!<\/p>\n

I put away all of the Christmas totes and separated all of the children’s ornaments. Every year since they were babies, I’ve purchased each of my cherubs an ornament that represented something in their life. They’ve all been stored together, in the same tote, but now with the oldest two living on their own and Big Guy not too far behind, it was time…<\/p>\n

Though I usually enjoy a quiet, solitary day taking down the decorations, Warren joined me this year and I was grateful for the extra set of hands as we sorted, wrapped, and organized three separate collections.<\/p>\n

Most years I take down all of the holiday embellishments but I leave the ornaments on the tree. This year, so I wouldn’t have to haul those totes back out, I left up the tree but I made Valentine’s hearts for it.<\/p>\n

The dark and cold winter months are so hard on my psyche, but that lit tree is something that brightens my mood every time I walk into the house. So it will stay up as long as possible.<\/p>\n

Though I don’t enjoy the cleaning process, I do love the end result and every day since Warren and I took the time to sweep the floors and dust the furniture, I’ve smiled every time I’ve walked through the house.<\/p>\n

I was scheduled to participate in a blog swap and I was thrilled to take the time to write a post this week.<\/p>\n

Warren and I were able to sit in the hot tub several nights this week! Ah, Journeyer, there’s nothing like soaking in a spa beneath a starlit sky and living in the country means those celestial lights are even brighter!<\/p>\n

I managed to catch up on paperwork and I finished my part of reconciling all of the year-end tax documents! That’s always a load off my mind and my proverbial plate!<\/p>\n

I attended one of Big Guy’s track meets yesterday. Seeing my children doing well and enjoying their lives always feeds my happy!<\/p>\n

While there, I witnessed one of Team USA’s pole vaulters break an indoor world record!<\/p>\n

There’s nothing like seeing hard work and perseverance pay off!<\/p>\n

Speaking of nourishing our bodies! You know those school catalog sale s that you find it hard to say ‘no’ to because the next door neighbor kid is actually out trying to do his part?<\/p>\n

Back in the fall I purchased two tubs of frozen cookie dough, a macadamia nut for Warren and one called Garfield Monster Cookie. Journeyer!! OMG…the monster cookie has to be the same recipe that was used by a woman I babysat for when I was growing up.<\/p>\n

Peanut butter…oats…chocolate chips…M&Ms…and a whole bunch of other crazy goodness!<\/p>\n

Let me just say that it is comfort food. AT. ITS. BEST. A sweet little indulgence that hit the spot after a messed up day. A company called America’s Favorite Recipes makes it. Just in case you want some quick yummy goodness.<\/p>\n

Speaking of all things soothing, I’ve been practicing my speech for the upcoming event! Knowing it inside out and backwards definitely helps curb the nerves before I go on stage!<\/p>\n

My poor pup! On the five-hour drive to and from the college, she had to listen to me say the same thing over and over! Curled up in the seat next to me, she didn’t seem bothered by it! If you or someone you know is anywhere in the Fingerlakes Region of NY, tickets are on sale this week for only $20! Grab a friend and this discount! I can’t wait to meet you!!<\/a><\/p>\n

Oh, and every single night of this past week I spent a little time watching one of Hallmark Channel’s romance movies.<\/p>\n

I just love a feel-good story. If you do, too, the Hallmark Movie Channel has a monster line-up of chick flicks through Valentine’s Day! Set your DVR’s!!<\/p>\n

Isn’t it beautiful how a little heart can create monster-sized happiness?<\/p>\n

What about you, Journeyer? What moment(s) made you feel good or added a little spark to your week? Connecting with you is one of my greatest highlights each week, so please share some love in a comment below and spread a little happiness!<\/p>\n

Yours in hope, healing, and happiness,<\/p>\n

\"Annah<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Happy Sunday, Journeyer! Just when I think things on the work front can’t get any crazier… They do… I’m just going to leave it at that… The newest set of circumstances has me a bit unnerved, but all I can say is that I’m happy I do my job and perform the safety checks I’m […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":379852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1904,1387,1907,1034,1903],"tags":[316,317,1504,106],"class_list":["post-379851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-and-healing","category-grief","category-happiness-mental-health","category-happy-happens","category-loss","tag-happyhappens","tag-finding-happiness-in-your-day","tag-heart","tag-joy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Little-bit-of-heart-creates-monster-sized-happiness-quote-image.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}