HELLderberry

Hooray for hellbenders!

A middle-aged woman is wearing a frilly maroon shirt and a black dress. She has a crocheted witch hat, black lipstick, large cat eye glasses, and a small dragon puppet on her hand.

Dress for the job you want.

JK I'm a witch every day even though I may not always look like it.

I am currently chilling with Robaxin in my system and a cat on my lap. May you find rest and recovery as well!

Seriously... they have me a steroids shot on Tuesday and started me on oral prednisone on Wednesday. I was ready to fight God by lunchtime.

a woman wearing glasses is talking on a cell phone to a man in a room . Alt: Liz Lemon holds both her thumbs up as she has an unhappy and insincere look on her face.

Thanks to steroids, muscle relaxers, and my bag of hot and cold things, I made it through the rest of the workweek.

It's in my hand but I had to think twice about it.

Your alt text is amazing.

Good News: I have the day off in an otherwise busy workweek.

Bad News: It's because my back issue has gotten much worse and I called out to go to urgent care.

Same here. May tomorrow be a better day.

Left to right: a man in a suit, Jason Kelce dressed like he's on vacation, Patrick Mahomes dressed like he's an old-time southern lawyer

couples therapist / children's therapist / individual therapist

In true ADHD fashion, I keep forgetting it's ADHD awareness month.

It's Craigslist, so NOTHING is obvious.

The best thing I give trick-or-treaters is advice about which neighborhood gives out the best candy. (It's in the historic district.)

I like water so cold that it almost makes my teeth hurt.

Me: (applied an ice pack to my aching and stiff lower back)
Also Me: Why am I suddenly freezing? Am I running a fever?

a woman is raising her arms in the air with the words `` high fiving a million angels '' written on the bottom . Alt: Liz Lemon is waving her hands in the air and saying "high giving a million angels"

On the bright side, I got to have a video chat with my work friend who moved a few months ago, Thursday Jen got Friday Jen a donut, and I got double-vaxxed after work.

a woman in a purple shirt is sitting at a table with her hand in her pocket . Alt: Liz Lemon makes a fart noise with her mouth while she uses one hand to pull on the thumb of the other hand in an aggressive thumbs down motion.

Lemon it's Wednesday-ass week ending strong! I aggravated a back injury and my only morning appointment didn't show up.

a woman wearing glasses and a blue shirt is asking what a week huh ? Alt: Liz Lemon: What a week, huh? Jack Donaghy: Lemon, it's Wednesday.

It's been a Lemon, it's Wednesday-ass week so far.

That's lovely! That one coat unites four people.

I know this is beside the point, but that's a beautiful bun.

What's your sign?

Me:

Front and back of an affirmation card from the Spiritual AF deck Front: IT'S UP TO YOU TO FIND THE BEAUTY IN THE UGLIEST DAYS. Back: Everyone's survived some super shitty days. But even when it comes to the crappiest of crap days, if you look back you can pretty much always find something beautiful. Maybe someone was unexpectedly kind to you, or for a split second the startlingly gold sunset made you forget the world was crumbling. Or perhaps there were donuts (with sprinkles!) at your first AA meeting. The trick is to train yourself to spot the beauty in that very moment (AKA real time). It makes the ugly days a little less... ugly.

I woke up feeling tired and grumpy after a long and busy week and a night of poor sleep. This is the affirmation card I pulled for today. #WitchSky

They're so good! Now I wish I had some in my pantry.

TL;DR: When everything feels like too much, make some fucking tea.

I know it's only been a week, but intentional movement and the ritual of tea first thing have helped me start the day with less overwhelm, in spite of being a therapist while the US is imploding.

Last week, I started lightly structuring my soft mornings. Balance board first, then make tea (and sometimes get a snack) before I get out my phone and start my usual morning routine.

I get up at 5 am most days (thanks to my cat Rhythm and my circadian rhythm). This gives me time for what my friends and I call "soft morning."

I love your grey hair! I have some gnarly grey streaks, but I look forward to being all salt, no pepper.

I get my first mammogram tonight. I'm more worried about the fact that my appointment is at the end of the day than I am about the procedure itself.

I thought I was one of the lucky ones because I hit menopause before 40.
PSYCH! It started again the week before I turned 41.