Tag Archives: Reading

Out of Work Sick (again); Possibly Anxiety Related

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! I am out sick again today because I am vomiting again. At least I know the vomiting is from the symptoms of my Anxiety, PTSD and Depression. I am really hoping that I can go back to work tomorrow. In fact I am slightly fearful that I could get fired for missing so many days but I am part of a union so since I have not been discussed about missing so many days of work I don’t think I will get fired. Plus my supervisors are pretty awesome.

Even though I fear getting in trouble for missing a lot of days, I am grateful that my supervisors promote self care. My self care today is of course cuddling with my beloved cat, Billie. Billie appears to be helping a great deal with my anxiety and depression which is helping the lessening of the vomiting. This is why I think the vomiting is anxiety, PTSD and depression related because I don’t have the normal symptoms that come with vomiting such as a fever or stomach upset or nausea.

Another way I plan on doing self care today is reading an awesome book called “Don’t Open The Door.” I really like the book and the author is Allison Brennan. Once I am done with this book, I hope to read another book she has written. I love reading books by authors that catch my attention right from the first two or three chapters. Of course when reading, my cat Billie cuddles with me which is a great form of self care.

Of course besides cuddling with my cat Billie as I read, I will be doing some art work. I of course will be coloring two giant posters. I will also start doing Diamond art. The Diamond art will be a bit more complicated to do but well worth it as I have had friends with Diamond art and they came out beautifully. It will take a lot of patients doing the diamond art but I think it will be well worth it.

Since this is a day of safe care to help reduce the anxiety provoked vomiting , I hope to go back to work tomorrow. I love my job and enjoy it immensely, Self care is necessary for both mental health and physical health. Just grateful for doing self care.

I do not have much more to say in this particular post. I do want to thank you for reading my post. It is greatly appreciated from the end of things that you read on my blog. If it wasn’t for you the reader, reading my blog I would not be writing my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Cuddle Time With Cat While Reading

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! I have been home sick today due to vomiting. I slept for a few hours and woke up during early afternoon hours. After waking up from a nap I did some self reflection and realized that part of the reason I was vomiting was due to having a slight bout of depression and some pretty severe PTSD symptoms. With this revelation, I am determined to go into work tomorrow.

On that note, as I mentioned in my last post, I slept for a while. A much needed sleep that helped me feel better with the vomiting as well as the depression and PTSD. Since being up and about in my apartment, I took a shower and ate. Since taking a shower and eating, I have been cuddling with my cat, Billie and reading a book called “Don’t Open The Door.” I’m only on chapter six but it a great book. It is a suspenseful thriller book so far. As much as I love reading with my cat, Billie curled up on my lap, I wish I could be reading outside because the weather in Seattle right now is pretty awesome. It is a perfect sunny day that is 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Reading outside on a day like this is one of my favorite things to do but reading with my cat snuggled in my lap is pretty awesome.

As far as my depression and PTSD goes, I need to get back into the things that I know will help and do them on the regular basis like I used to. The first thing is to go for walks every morning to help my mind in a good place. Secondly, to do a morning mindfulness meditation to put my head in a good peaceful place. Thirdly, to do a mindfulness meditation practice before bed to help rewind from the day. I will restart this tomorrow and I know it works if I do it on the regular basis.

I do not have much more to say in this particular post. I do want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you read on my blog. If it wasn’t for you the reader, reading my blog,, I would not be writing my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Sleeping Most of the Day

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, World!!! I have been sleeping most of the day due to being sick. I hope that I can stay up till my bed time at ten pm, Seattle time. If I stay up to ten then I know I will be able to sleep tonight especially since I plan on going to work tomorrow if I am feeling better. Being sick sucks shit.

As I mentioned in my last post, I plan on doing some art work. The art work I plan on doing is coloring a giant poster. In fact I might color two giant posters as it helps me cope with stuff that is going on with not understanding housing paperwork. See, I got a letter in the mail saying something about eviction but when it was explained to me that it was due to an increase to my rent, I felt somewhat better but I am still anxious about it. I know in reality that they can’t evict me due to not giving me proper paper on my door as well as by mail. I was reassured that I won’t be evicted but I am still anxious about it even though it was just informing about my increase in rent. That is why I am planning on doing art work by coloring. I also plan on doing art work by diamond art.

Of course I will be reading a book called “Don’t Open The Door.” So far the chapter I have read seems to be a good read. I look forward to reading this book and reading out loud to Billie when I am home to read to him. Of course I do read when I am taking public transit but I don’t read out loud when I am on the bus or light rail.

I do not have much more to discuss. I do want to thank you for reading my blog. If it wasn’t for you the reader, reading my blog, I would not be writing my blog.Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Home Sick After a Four Day Weekend

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World! Sadly, I am not going to work today due to the fact that I am sick. I am sick with flu-like symptoms. Mainly, I am just puking my brains out which is a slang phrase of vomiting. As much as I would rather be working today, I am glad I didn’t see my mom over Mother’s Day weekend as she has Covid which is not good for her since she has stage three lung cancer. Missing work today and not seeing my mom over the weekend is a good thing as I don’t want to get anyone sick or expose anyone to Covid.

On top of being sick, I had a severe case of insomnia. Having insomnia on top of being sick is never a good thing. I really dislike being sick as well as having insomnia but both at the same time sucks shit. I am hoping to get some sleep and start feeling better soon.

Since I am home sick, I plan on reading. The book I just started reading is “Don’t Open The Door” by Allison Brennan. I am just starting the second chapter but so far it is captivating. I really hope that it continues to keep my eye on continuing to read the book.

Another thing I hope to do is do some art work. I plan on coloring at least one if not two of my big coloring pictures. I also plan on doing some diamond art painting. Diamond art painting is a bit tedious but well worth the accomplished feeling when finished even though I just started doing the Diamond Art Painting over the weekend.

I, of course will be hanging out with my cat, Billie while I read. Of course I will be hanging out with my cat Billie as I do art while listening to some music. Billie my cat is such a cuddle bug however he is much more of a cuddle bug when I am reading or doing art work. He is definitely more of a snuggle bug when music is on.

On to a slightly different topic but very similar to topics I wrote in the above paragraphs. As I mentioned Billie is very much a lovey dovey cuddle bug. I know this sounds weird but I read to Billie for a multitude of reasons. One reason is I have dyslexia and reading out loud to my cat Billie helps with my self confidence. The second reason I read out loud to Billie is because I have a couple of speech impediments, one of which is that I stutter and the other is that when I say anything with an r it sounds like a w. So, many of my speech therapists throughout the years including my current speech therapist have suggest to read out loud especially to animals and if I didn’t have an animal to read to a stuffed animal.

I do not have much more to say in this particular blog. I do want to thank you for reading my blog. If it wasn’t for you the reader, reading my blog, I would not be continuing to write my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Hoping for Sleep

Posted on by Gertie

Hello, World!!! It is just barely past two o’clock in the morning Seattle time. I really wish I could get some sleep as I cannot miss any more work since I have missed so much. I’m sure I will get some sleep even if it is for another hour or two since I have had some sleep tonight.

Since I am unable to sleep I have decided to start one of the diamond art kits, I bought from Amazon. As of right now it appears to be a daunting yet fun task. I am looking forward to continuing to do diamond art and seeing what the end result looks like even though I already know what the picture is supposed to be. I hope to take pictures of the diamond art throughout this artistic process.

After getting somewhat frustrated and slightly overwhelmed with starting the diamond art kit, I am doing, I decided to read. I am reading a book on a tarot cards that is meant for beginners. I am happy that I am reading it as I am understanding tarot cards a lot more. I am hoping as I continue reading the book, I will be reading my own tarot cards soon. Hopefully sooner than later especially since I have three tarot decks to choose from. I most likely will choose my very first tarot deck which happens to be a cat deck.

I do not have much more to say in this particular blog post. I do want to thank you for reading my blog. It is very much appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it wasn’t for you the reader, reading my blog, I would not be continuing to write my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Good Night and Peace Out, World!!!

Home Sick from Work but Staying Busy w/Billie’s Help

Posted on by Gertie

Good Afternoon, World!!! Right now, I normally would be at work. Sadly, I am at home sick. I am not sure why I am not feeling very well and I think part of it has to do with a slight case of depression. Depression that is most likely due to the amount of people I have known that have passed away in a short period of time.

Since I am home sick, I am keeping myself busy. I am staying busy by doing various types of art work. The first type of art work that I am doing is coloring. I am coloring the posters that I showed you via pictures in my last two blog posts. The other type of art work I am doing is something called diamond art. I’m not sure how to explain it but it looks like a lot of fun that will take a lot of time as well as a lot of patients. I am looking forward to this new art adventure with diamond art as well as my continued love of the art of coloring. I also hope to be able to take photos of the diamond art to post them here on my blog as well as my continued progress of coloring the posters to show you how well they progressing.

Besides doing two types of art, I have been reading. Specifically, I have been reading the second edition of “Tarot for Beginners.” As of right now it is an easy read. A book that a fifth grader can comprehend which is a good thing for me because it makes it easier for me to comprehend. The best part is I haven’t picked up to read in roughly a month and am able to read it without having to reread what I have already read. I am hoping that reading this book will help me continue with my journey of mental health recovery as well as another coping skill. I hope that after reading this book that I can share what I have learned with you my reader as well as some of the spreads I do on myself as well as other people’s spread if they give permission of course.

Now it is time to get going so I can cuddle with my cat, Billie and read. Before I end this post I want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you read my blog. If it weren’t for you the reader, reading my blog, I would not be writing my blog. Again, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

A Challenging few Weeks w/New & Refreshed Lessons Learned Along the Way

Posted on by Gertie

Happy Caturday Saturday. It has been quite a couple of weeks of being challenging for me for various reasons and many of them I have had to deal with some eighth deaths in a matter of a two week period. Some of the folks I have never met but really admired in the animal welfare community especially locally here in the Seattle area who touched the life of many humans and cats. Sadly this person took her own life and wish I would have been given to meet her in person. She will be greatly missed especially in the animal welfare community.

On the continuation of discussing death. I can’t really discuss much about it due to HiPAA law but many of the client I work with overdose on drugs and alcohol. Sadly some pass away to drug and/or alcohol overdoses and It is challenging to deal with. Thankfully I have the support of my colleagues with this especially when people have been trying to get off drugs so they don’t have to have a stigma with an addiction.

Dealing with so many deaths is the last couple of weeks I have been reaching out to my support system such as my friends, family and my colleagues as well as my therapist. I am just beyond grateful that I have supportive people in my life to be there for me. Not many people have a good support system and I have a great support system.

Now on to what I do to help with my self care. One way I do self care is due at least two mindful meditations daily; once in the morning and another one before bed time. I am also trying to put in third mindful mediation in the middle of a work day to help me refocus during work. Another way I have been doing self care is spending time with my cat as well as walking two times a day; once in the morning and once the evening. Of course another self care act is going to volunteer at PAWS Cat City a least once a week. Of course working at my job helps as well. I have been reading a lot of books that I find helpful to help with my recovery journey. I also have been doing some art work and hope to show sometime soon.

As this post comes to an end just know there is always hope along the way. I want to thank you for reading my blog. If it was not for you reading and/or following my blog, I most likely would be continuing to writing my blog. Again thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out World!!!!

Gaining Knowledge, Wisdom & Understanding

Posted on by Gertie

Happy Friday, World!!! I am continuously attempting to gain more knowledge, wisdom and understanding so I can better improve myself as well as help myself to stay on my path recovery. In fact my path of recovery has been going well which is probably one of the reasons why I am focusing my attention on learning more about Tarot Cards and Buddhism. I am on this path of learning about Tarot Cards and Buddhism so, I can grow as a person as well as be of help to others.

You may be wondering how I am doing this and I am more than happy to share it with you. I have purchased books and workbooks on both Buddhism and Tarot Cards to read and do the workbooks. I am reading a book on Tarot Cards and then plan on doing a workbook after I am done reading the books. I also bought a book and workbook on Buddhism. I am also reading the book on Buddhism and plan on doing the workbook after I am done reading the book.

As of right now I am finding both books quite interesting and hope to gain more knowledge on both subjects. The books are written in layman terms which is quite helpful for me. I am hoping this will be helpful for my own recovery as well as being able to help others with their recovery.

I do not have much more to say in this particular blog post. I do want to thank you for my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things that you the reader, read my blog. If it was not for you the reader reading my blog, I would not be writing my blog. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Weekly Plans

Posted on by Gertie

Sunday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Twenty to thirty minute walk while listening to a podcast
  • Work
  • Start learning to latch hook crafting project
  • Read as I cuddle with my cat, Billie

Monday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Twenty to thirty minute walk while listening to a podcast
  • Work
  • Learn to do latch hook crafting project
  • Read as I cuddle with my cat, Billie

Tuesday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Twenty to thirty minute walk while listening to a podcast
  • Work
  • Learn to do latch hook crafting project
  • Read as I cuddle with my cat, Billie

Wednesday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Twenty to thirty minute walk while listening to a podcast
  • Work
  • Learn to do latch hook crafting project
  • Read as I cuddle with my cat, Billie

Thursday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Twenty to thirty minute walk while listening to a podcast
  • Work
  • Learn to do latch hook crafting project
  • Read as I cuddle with my cat, Billie

Friday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Twenty to thirty minute walk while listening to a podcast
  • Volunteer at PAWS Cat City
  • Learn to do a latch hook crafting project
  • Read as I cuddle with my cat, Billie

Saturday

  • Mindfulness meditation practice
  • Twenty to thirty minute walk while listening to a podcast
  • Spend time with my grandpa
  • Learn to do a latch hook crafting project
  • Read as I cuddle with my cat, Billie

Weekly Check-In

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! It is officially that time of week where I do my weekly check in. This past week has been a pretty good week. My current work schedule changed and I now work Sunday through Thursday. I have mixed feelings about it but once I get used to it, I know it will work to not just my benefit but the benefit of the clients I serve. I really like my job. I am, however, wondering if I am doing a good job as well as if I am a good fit for the team I am on. I know I am being self conscious about how I do at work. My supervisor says it’s “imposter syndrome.”

I may not be sure if what my boss says about the imposter syndrome thing, I know that I am doing well overall in regards to my mental health challenges. I, saw my therapist on Tuesday. It went well. She also emailed my psychiatric nurse practitioner stating how well I am doing mental health wise.

Speaking of my psychiatric nurse practitioner, I saw her yesterday. She too thinks I am doing well. So well that if I continue doing as well as I am doing, she is going to reduce my antidepressant to a lower dose. A lower dose that will make it, the lowest that it could go that will work effectively. I am excited about this.

One of the things that has been helping with my mental health challenges is volunteering at PAWS Cat City. Due to my work schedule changing, the day, I volunteer changed as well. I now volunteer on Friday mornings. I miss volunteering on Sunday mornings but I will get use to Friday mornings.

In between, working, volunteering and attending appointments, I have been reading. I have been reading a book on tarot cards. I am wanting to learn how to read tarot cards so it can help me with my recovery. I also hope that one day I can help others with their recovery with learning how to read tarot cards. I am slowly learning about tarot cards and am finding it fascinating.

I do not have much more to say about my week. Peace Out, World!!!