Coffee, chocolate, video games...

[merimask]

I think I've been working too much, perhaps.  Everything is upsetting me today.

The news is upsetting; the stimulus plan hopes to create five to six million jobs by the end of the year (that's an optimistic estimate) but I just saw on CNN that 600,000 new applications for unemployment were opened last week.  Over half a million people fresh out of work...in one week.  That scares the heck out of me.

The child is upsetting; Char told me yesterday that she thinks I love the dog more than I love her.  I can't tell if she really meant it or she was just trying to hurt me for some reason, but it still stings.  The dog, at least, never tries to make me cry.  

Friends are upsetting; I don't know why but my online social connections are all screwy & angsty & sad lately.  This is troubling because I am SO isolated between work & the weather that all my friendships are online.  & everyone is too grumpy to be nice.   Well...not everyone, but you know what I mean.

Winter is upsetting; today was supposed to be a bit warmer than yesterday.  Instead, the cold front has stalled out right over our heads, so we have another day of single digit temps.  I cranked the heat & still I'm freezing.

So.  I'm going on strike.  I did a load of dishes & a load of laundry.  I cleaned the cat box.  I made a few barrettes for my etsy shop...and that will have to be enough, today.  I'm putting on some big warm sweatpants and a big fluffy sweater & I'm going to play video games all day, I've decided.  I haven't played any games at all since I opened my Etsy shop over a year ago (yes truly!  I know in my DevArt profile I mentioned some games 'cause I used to play those all the time, but really I haven't touched any in over a year).  Greg bought me Ratchett & Clank games for our PS3, which is over a year old & I've never used it once.  Today I will remedy that situation.

If anyone wants me I'll be curled up on the couch, playing R&C.

EDIT:  Okay so I entered a contest on Etsy  (art submissions of holiday-themed pieces...I thought my Harlequin Romance masks were perfect for that).  And later I have to hop on & buy some darn Main Showcase spots 'cause they sell out in mere minutes & they only go for sale once every two weeks.  But that will be IT.  *doesn't know how to truly relax*

Comments

[ermine-rat.livejournal.com]

This time of year seems to be the hardest on people, snow or no snow.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

February is the cruelest month. If I had a brain in my head, I'd go away to some warm place (my brother is in Vegas, my sis is in Tampa...I wouldn't even have to find a hotel room)& stay there for a week or two & try to forget my life.

'Cept I have this kid here who thinks I like the dog more than I like her...

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Where do YOU keep your brain?

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

In my (admittedly jaded) experience with teens, they say those things to be hurtful. It's extremely rare that they actually mean them...or at least, mean them for longer than ten seconds at once. It's usually said when they're feeling spiteful or sorry for themselves...or very manipulative. But usually sorry for themselves. My one-younger sister would have said stuff like that out of misguided self-pity when she was Char's age. She was the one who ran up the stairs, stomping, screaming tearfully that she 'couldn't do ANYTHIING right!'

I laughed when I heard her say that actually, because it's such a friggin' cliche! But she really said it. I NEVER said that, not once in my life. (I can't do anything right? Gimme a break. I get lotsa stuff right. Everyone does. I was never once under any other impression.)

Hmm...I'm going to send you some Skip Beat tomorrow and leave the rest of your Fday present for a little later as I keep not getting it finished. But you need some stuff to just sit down and be quiet with, without thinking about life in general. Think about Kyoko's life instead. It always works for me!

[merimask.livejournal.com]

She's being sort of a victim and sort of angry and she doesn't like this season any more than I do, so there's that. I suppose.

Kid drama in this family is like concentrated, because there's just her (only child syndrome) and I am tagged "it" in the parental influence department. With siblings, they act like buffers & take some of the pressure off. When one of us in my family got angsty or uppity the other two kids would laugh it off or help blow off steam...it wasn't all on my parents to diffuse the situation.

*sigh* I basically need a vacation from being ME. Kyoko's cute little life & quest for stamps is certainly a nice diversion. A weekend at a spa would be great too, but I'm totally dreaming, there.

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

I wanted to send you the emotibombs and steam facials and stuff...a little spa day right there...but like I said...I don't have access to the stuff for another month.

I'll send SB tomorrow and you'll have it in a week about...too bad I can't make it go faster!

Can I do something else to cheer you up? Seriously.

[empath-eia.livejournal.com]

I'm not grumpy! Here, have some love and peace. ^__^

(♥♦♥♦♥♦♥♦♥)

Edit I: Baw, I forget the code for stars. Have to go look it up.
Edit II: Have some diamonds instead. They're shiny too. :D

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I need to hook you up with my teenager so you can teach her how to not be a grumpyface. ;-)

Thanks for the love & peace...I've always loved your cute little hearts! How do you do that?

[empath-eia.livejournal.com]

LOL whenever you want.

Without the spaces: & hearts ;

Diamonds are & diams ;

:D

[ramblinsuze.livejournal.com]

*HUGS*

I've been on edge all week, too. Maybe there's something in the air? The cold, cold winter air? *brrrr*!

[merimask.livejournal.com]

That icon is freaking hilarious!

Yeah, it's the damn season, pretty sure. Hasn't it been an especially cold cruel winter though? We are already at our yearly quota for average snowfall & it's just Feb.

on strike

[amandaalon.livejournal.com]

Good for you! If yo can't get the game working, have a movie day or a reading day. If budget allows--order in dinner!

Stay warm.
Sending hugs!
S~

Re: on strike

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I just looked up how to start up my PS3 online (I'm pathetic, I know!) and there's hot chocolate in my mug.

Dinner will be Chinese tonight I think. Yes...things are looking up.

*hug*

Thank you dear.

[zannachan.livejournal.com]

*Hugs*

I hope that some down time with some video games helps your mood improve--you have been working really hard lately, and screwing up your sleep schedule (and these days, at least for me, short changing myself on sleep multiplies my stress/unhappy levels by at least tenfold) and you said it yourself that self employed people are less likely to take time off. Your discipline and work ethic is a big part of why you are as successful as you are at what you do--it takes more than talent (though you have that in spades, too!) but as a friend of mine strongly reminded me recently, you have to remember to take time out, not just for other people in your life, but for yourself.

Those shower bombs sound really, really awesome. I discovered Lush in Toronto--it's an incredible store, and now we have one locally too. I have stupidly sensitive skin, so I can't use most commercial soaps, but I can use theirs, and while they are pretty expensive they also last a nice long time. I didn't have good luck with the shampoo I tried, though I have a "hard water" one for Pennsic that I'm hoping (fingers crossed!) will work better. But the soaps, bath bombs, and bar lotions are all awesome stuff.

I'm afraid I am one of your grumpy friends on your friends list--sorry about that! I don't do well in winter anyway--that ugly combination of much less physical activity combined with not nearly enough sun, I suppose, and the fact that I don't cope well with really cold temperatures--and this winter has been an especially bad one, on so many levels. I want to love February, because it's birthday month in my family and for a big chunk of our friends-- my brother's, my husband's, and my birthday are all coming up quickly, and quite a few of my friends have birthdays in there too. But to be honest my birthday tends to make me moody anyway, and you add in the cold and the lack of sun and everything else and I just want to hibernate for the next two months and not move again until the sun comes back.

And I'm not half as productive on any given day!

At least the days are definitely getting longer, and we've had several days in a row of real (even bright!) sunlight, so that's a plus, and it's even starting to (finally!) warm up. May warmer temperatures and plenty of sunshine be on route to you, too.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

You're not that grumpy at all! ^_^ I actually think you're very thoughtful...that's a good thing to be.


This weather is a big big problem for me this week...there's just no escaping it. Greg's car is old & not reliable in the cold & snow, so I've been isolated & just STUCK here & that tends to make me crazy.

In other words; it's not you, it's me.

I do need to just take a break every now & then (& I'm terrible at it. Tonight I ended up taking two orders & I even finished a mask)...I just can't stop worrying about this economy. Every sale I get, I'm afraid will be my last. I'm actually doing even better right now than I was last year, but I still worry. That's the nature of my business though, & I need to find some way to make peace with it.

[aoi-tsuki1.livejournal.com]

If I remember being a teenager correctly, she's saying what she feels but knows ain't true because by God it feels true because no one loves her and everything sucks, plus she wants to see how you'll react and/or get more attention because you're the most important thing in her world.

You're not a horrible parent. She's not a horrible kid.

But you do need to relax.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

That is probably exactly how it is. Unfortunately. How to deal with that kind of emotional irrationality? It makes my head hurt.

Games are good. Rest is better. I tried both today & then I went & worked anyway. But, at least I got past the first boss level! ;-)

[thegeminifactor.livejournal.com]

My condolences on the funk, but sometimes the best solution really is to just do nothing all day (well, aside from the chores and such). Ratchet and Clank is a good no-brain-usin' distraction.

No, you don't know me; I was sent to friend you as a mutual friend of aoi_tsuki1 and empath_eia. I was also promised ice cream for doing so.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Thanks! This happens to me every darn winter. They used to call it cabin fever...now it's called something else but it's the same thing. I'll be fine once it's not -2 outside anymore.

I hope it was good ice cream! Something from Baskin Robbins or Ben & Jerry.

[drriftwood.livejournal.com]

Oh I am sure Char didn't mean that..She's probably just feeling sorry for herself and wants some attention and 'baby-ing'..:)
But you work too hard and NEED a break..Don't work today and don't even THINK about work
I happened to come across the postcard that you'd sent me a while ago. It was tucked in a corner of my drawer! And I thought of you..:)) *hugs*..

For some etail therapy here are some of my favorite sites:
cocoapink.net (I highly recommend their hair products and ..body butters and almost everything)
villainess.net - love their scrubs
jojoelle.com- love some of her scents
copasoaps.com - they have a lot of lavender based scents (if you find lavender calming)..I love their ginger carrot soap which is an orange cinammony scent
chagrinvalleysoapandcraft.com - I LOVE how moisturizing their soaps are- they smell herbally if you like earthy smells
auntnancyssoap.etsy.com - she has nice soaps too and is on etsy!

and oh- if you wear lipglosses/lipsticks- my latest find is this small company called silknaturals.com which carries a lot of nice lip glosses which are soo much fun to play with (especially when you are down)..I don't usually wear makeup but I LOVE playing with the ones I bought from her.

Even if you don't buy anything from the above sites they are fun to just browse and 'pretend add' stuff to the cart..:)..(I am not as jobless as the above makes me sound..lol)

Hope your day gets better!!

[drriftwood.livejournal.com]

ooh- I forgot to add : I tried the moisturizing scrub from madcitysue.etsy.com and it is verrry moisturizing (and a bit oily) and lovely!
The scent I tried was: Victorian Violets layered with white wedding..yummy!!
ok..now I'll stop..lol

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Those sites...are all made of win. OMG I love good-smelling stuffs!!! I bookmarked each & every one. Got some lavender soap from the Copasoaps place too...lavender has become a new favorite for relaxing.

*hug* Thank you! The way to this woman's heart is right through her nose... ;-)

[ramblingrican.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

I swore this season I wouldn't be as depressed as last.. and I'm still there this year.. I hate to see others as depressed.. it's definitely friggin' cold.. yours up there is obscene.. Hope things at home calm down.. close quarters doesn't help either when stuff like this pops up. Last night I spent the whole night watching movies and vegging out.. figures I watched chick flicks all night and cried my eyeballs out (except for Amelie.. I started with that.. Is should have ended with it.. I might of felt better.. LOL).

Good luck on the Etsy thing :)

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Arrrrgh. I hate winter so much & I hate THIS winter even more than usual. I had a feeling it was going to be a bad one. I just hope we get an early spring or something, because all the snow stopped being pretty about a month ago.

Amelie is such a sweet, pretty little movie. Nothing awful or scary happens in it...it's just sweet & magical. I ought to watch it,it'd probably cheer me up immensely.

[rumdiculous.livejournal.com]

Mnn, I remember saying such things as yer gal is saying, as a teen. Mostly to my dad. Never meant them, it was just a way to garner attention and say, "Hey, I'm right here."

*hugs* Never a fun thing to hear though.