Tis the Season/Holiday Death Spiral

Some good news to share, finally!  I bought a Suntouch Plus light therapy lamp by Naturebright to help with my Seasonal Affective Disorder.  Cuz going to bed at 7 pm is just not cutting it.  That and I'm tired of being tired all November through March.  This particular light comes with an ionizer if you buy the separate attachment, which I didn't.  Here is information on the model I bought if anyone is interested.  It's a small, portable lamp and was under $100 which fit better into our budget.  I've been using it for a little over a week now and damn....I wish I'd bought this thing 3 years ago when my SAD first started getting bad.  The energy boost is amazing and even though the depression doesn't go away, it does become more manageable.  I also take a Vitamin D3 supplement, which helps, but this light has made a HUGE difference in a very positive way.  One note of caution:  light therapy lamps should not be used by anyone with bipolar disorder.

Other good news:  we are finally supposedly anyway done with the home in New Mexico.  I heard from my Dept. of Veterans Affairs case manager that Carrington Mortgages officially signed off the deed-in-lieu for the house on Nov. 3.  Unsurprisingly I'm still getting mail from the mortgage company who hasn't updated their files.  So once I send a letter off to them stating the VA has it signed off in their system we should be free of that house.  A really big part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop on this, but for now I'm going to be optimistic.

I also called TriCare and switched primary care managers because my Physician's Assistant pcm was just not getting the job done.  So...I need to call and make an appointment with the new doc to get back to physical therapy & request a physical.  Might as well check to make sure my iron & vitamin levels are up to snuff.

We have Thanksgiving coming up next Thursday and we're actually going to Donald's aunt's home this year.  I've got mixed feelings as the Sideline Narcissist will also be there and quite frankly I just don't want to deal with the bullshit drama that accompanies her.  So I will be bringing pumpkin pie, study material, flash drives, and headphones to keep myself sane during the holiday.

Believe it or not we've already started Christmas shopping!  I feel so flippin' accomplished cuz this hasn't happened in YEARS.  I also managed to get the kids' teachers' goodie bags out this week, so huzzah!  When we return from the Thanksgiving festivities there are even more cookies to bake & I need to get more cookie tins.  There is hope all this crap will get done now that I'm using the light therapy lamp.  But many, many naps will be had to make it all possible.