I woke up with a sore neck which I attribute to pups sneaking into bed with us at night. Cooper has finally realized that snuggling is kinda nice. Last night I thought it was around 2:00 am when he showed up, but I realized it was probably much earlier. And every time I moved, he scooted closer. I must have ended up with my head laying weird on my pillow.

So between my sore neck and my chest cough that reappeared, I felt miserable today. In fact, add in work stress, and I felt nauseous most of the time. So one of the first things we did when I got home was sit in the hot tub. It helped. So did the lavender neck wrap and a menthol rub. I’m thankful for those little niceties. I’m lucky.

Although I am thankful for feeling a little better starting this week than I was ending last week.

I was exhausted today but thankful that I got some things done. Ran a few errands and decorated the Christmas tree and worked on a new craft item. Most of the weekend I didn’t feel well, so it was good to have a day without a lot to do.

I’m thankful I got the outside Christmas lights up, some errands run and had a great dinner with Patrick at a new spot.

Tonight Patrick and I had dinner at Ann’s house. I overate, but I’m not sad about it. Ending my week with wine and two desserts was perfect. I’m thankful for the good food and great company.

I’m thankful for these beautiful flowers Patrick got me. A lovely gift on this stressful week.

I’m thankful for Patrick, French fries, and the hot tub. And my sister, Tammy, who is celebrating her birthday today with Kiss.

I got a massage today after work and it was fabulous. I really needed it. It’s been a stressful week already.

My new massage guy is an old massage guy who left town and just came back. Now he makes house calls. The up side is not having to drive home after a massage, but the downside is that our living room is a cold location for it. Next time, warm blankets. But my arm is already feeing better.

I’m thankful for my massage especially since it was a gift from a friend. I’ll schedule another one soon. I’m also thankful for a surprise visit from another friend who dropped off a late birthday present. How funny is that bag and ornament? So sweet.

I’m thankful today for getting Monday over with. It was a looong day. I’m also thankful for a good Manhattan after dinner. And Christmas lights because they are always cheerful.

I’m thankful I was able to get the Christmas decorations (mostly) up today during our first snowfall. The snow put me in a Christmas mood, as did the Hallmark movie I put on in the background. I haven’t decorated the tree yet because I need to test Cooper first. I want to see if he leaves things alone. So far so good. I still need to finish and clean up stuff, but let the holiday season begin!