Good Mood Items

A member shared on Monday night an analogy about a table: Why when one table leg is wobbly, do we feel the need to make the other three wobbly too?

When one Weight Watchers Pilar is not strong, why do we need to weaken the other three Pilars?

I’ve been thinking about that a lot this week and as of Tuesday morning, I have straightened my Activity Pilar with daily walks, either on the treadmill or outside when the weather is decent.

It has really helped my mood.  

I find I can easily get depressed this time of year.  My counselor and I talked about healthy coping strategies and when you practice these on a regular basis, when needed, you are more likely to turn to the healthy behaviors vs. the unhealthy ones as they are a part of your normal routine.  

I decided I needed to get a pedicure!  This time of year I don’t were sandals so I don’t often paint my toes.  When I think of something that makes me happy, seeing my ruby red chrome nail polish makes me smile.  The day I visited Wynn, my go-to-gal, I wore sandals around the house looking at my toes all day.  It is the little things that can put some brightness in a dull season.

I have to say the Christmas lights are a nice addition too.  While the weather can feel dull, leading up to the festive BIG day, I love seeing all the lights. 

I must continue to find the good-mood items and practice them daily!

Travel Update

I thought I’d bring you up to speed on our 2026 and 2027 cruise vacation plans.

 

When we made the decision to buy the RV van, it took out a good-sized chuck of our travel budget.  On top of that, the department withheld overtime payouts for the first half of the year to try and balance the budget (fiscal year, not calendar year).  This means travel will look a little different in that we will need to cruise less.  On one hand, that is fine.  We have been to a lot of places of interest and those still on the bucket list are longer-length cruises with longer travel time.  It feels like those are best left for retirement years where we can be gone for long periods of time without making big impact on our jobs.

 

I now have a long list of places I want to take the RV!  The Hubs and I don’t have days off together so once that falls into place, we will be on the road quite a bit.  While the loss of income this year has been difficult on the heart, it has forced me to take more random days off to spend time with Kenyon and not work so hard at making/saving money. 

 

Travel is important and it is what helps feed my soul while working a job that takes so much out of me each shift.  I am my true and authentic self when I am traveling.

 

With all that said, we have three cruises booked in the upcoming years.  The first is the Baltic in August 2026.

 

When I was researching Iceland cruises I stumbled upon a cruise that really interested me and included so many new countries, 6 of them.  I liked that we could still see Europe but not have to sail out of Southampton or fly in/out of London.  This cruise was perfect in that you start in Helsinki, Finland and end in Copenhagen, Denmark with an over night in Copenhagen.  We might even fly to Dublin for a day before we travel home.

 

My Bestie Phoenix and her fiancé Stacey are getting married on Catalina Island via cruise ship in September 2026.  We have never cruised Royal Caribbean and I am excited for all it has to offer.

 

We’ve been to these ports before so I don’t think we will get off the ship in Ensenada, Mexico.  Instead, I’m looking at this cruise as more about the ship and the celebration!  I also want to spend a few extra days exploring Long Beach, CA.

 

Alaska in September 2027 was not on my radar.  We’ve cruised Alaska three times (you can read about them all here) and figured my next trip would be when Wanda and Michael booked an Alaska cruise.  Instead, the Elks coordinated a group cruise, and boy did she pick a great itinerary and ship.  I am so excited to visit Sikta and return to Skagway again.  I really want to sail on NCL Joy which was icing on the cake! 

 

As excited as I am…they are both so far away!  In the meantime, we have a trip to Oceanside, CA in December with a quick stopover in Oakland, CA to visit my 93-year-old great aunt.  This is our second time in Oceanside, and we are looking forward to visiting the San Diego sights this trip.

 

In January, we will visit Vegas to see Choir of Man and the Wizard of Oz at the Sphere.  I’m also super excited about this trip and it has been several years since we’ve been to Vegas.

 

As I type all of this, I remember that we are about to start evaluation season at work…send HELP!