Hailey Hudson's Blog, page 28

Blogmas 2019 Day 11

Today did not get off to a great start. I woke up nauseous and in some pain; I knew I was due for another GI flare-up and could feel it coming the last few days, but that didn’t make it any better. I was also having issues with a few clients, and I had a few decisions to make that shouldn’t have been hard but they were… but anyway, once I sat with my heating pad for a while and got everything in order, things got better.

In the afternoon I was able to get up and do some cleaning, etc, and get more work done. People keep assigning me more and more work that needs to be done before Christmas and I’m just really stressed about the work volume, lol. I was given four new assignments  and got one new client just today in addition to everything I already have! Partially it’s really nice to be back freelancing full steam, but partially I’m remembering why I said no to all extra or new work for four months…

[image error]She takes my spot whenever I get up.

I was finally able to stop working for the day. My friend Kenna came over for dinner–I made hamburger patties, baked potatoes, and fruit. We visited for a couple of hours and it was really nice.

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Check out Blogmas Day 11 2018, 2017, and 2016. What did you do today?

Blogmas 2019 Day 10

It was very rainy this morning–the perfect kind of day to stay home and bake Christmas cookies. But before I could bake, I had to work. I did about four solid hours of work for one client, which mostly involved working on video tutorials; I only took a break to meet with a new client briefly at 1:00 (I’m very excited to work with this client). By the time I left at 2:00 to drive to the store and pick up my grocery order, I had knocked out a ton of work, including a project we’d been working on for about four weeks that it was so good to finally get done. I don’t normally devote so much time to a single client in one day, but I was very productive!

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After I got home and put away the groceries, it was back to work for two more hours. It was a struggle… I had been feeling fairly energetic all day, but when I got home my energy was just zapped. My stomach was bothering me a lot and I was super sleepy. But I got the work done.

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Then at 5:00 I was done for the day! I’d been planning to do my Christmas baking today (making cookies for people like my pastor, dance teacher, voice teacher, etc) because it was the only day I had time, and then I found out we had a staff meeting for Diamonds 2020–so I decided to kill two birds with one stone and do them at the same time. I’m so glad to be part of this ministry and it was awesome to chat with Sara, Bethany, and Caitlin to do some brainstorming about promoting the conference.

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Meanwhile, I made butterscotch bars (my go-to), but they came out weird because I used plant butter and baked them in two dishes that were different depths. I was supposed to make snickerdoodles too, but around 6:00 I hit a wall and was so exhausted it was all I could do to clean up the kitchen. Then I went to bed immediately after that.

Check out Blogmas Day 10 2018, 2017, and 2016. What did you today?

Blogmas 2019 Day 9

I woke up exhausted after some strange dreams about some things happening today that I couldn’t help being stressed about. After some admin work, I interviewed a dietitian over the phone for an article I’m writing; she was really awesome and fun to talk to.

Early afternoon I had an appointment with a new specialist that I’d been waiting for for what felt like a very long time. While the doctor agreed that it’s very likely I have a specific condition I asked her about, the tests they did in-office today didn’t quite prove it (although they came close). So I scheduled two other procedures, plus an appointment with another doctor at this practice who is very knowledgeable about this condition–and I also have a heart monitor for two weeks, which is what I did NOT want because honestly I hate heart monitors more than anything and am way too tired to keep up with all that. At least I can shower with this one.

[image error]Chronic illness, but make it cute

At home I tried to get some work done but I was literally falling asleep and was so frustrated with a video tutorial that I wanted to throw my computer out the window. I really needed to just rest physically and emotionally, but I couldn’t because I had stuff due today and had been at the doctor a lot longer than expected. I ended up working until 7 P.M. Then I did some Scripture journaling while listening to Audrey Assad and playing with the kitty, and now she (the kitty, not Audrey Assad) and I are going to bed to read.

Check out Blogmas Day 9 2018, 2017, and 2016. What did you do today?

Blogmas 2019 Day 8

Today I had big plans to go to church, the fellowship lunch, and the gift exchange, but that did not happen; my body was informing me we needed to rest today. So unfortunately, I had to miss everything at church, which was really sad. I stayed in bed all morning making a grocery list–looking up Christmas cookie recipes and researching a low FODMAP diet (one website informed me kangaroo meat and foie gras are both low FODMAP, which was a big relief).

Eventually I got up, did some tidying up, and bought my last few Christmas gifts for friends. Buying gifts for people is just SO much fun to me! I worked on Diamonds social media tasks for a while and then did some more tidying and getting things in order. Late afternoon I went over to the house to let the dog out (because my family was out of town for the day) and practice voice (because I feel self-conscious belting in my apartment with neighbors on the other side of the wall).

I came home and almost fell asleep at 7:30 while snuggling with the kitty trying to journal, so I believe it’s time to call it a night. I am exhausted and my stomach was not kind to me today!

Check out Blogmas Day 8 2018, 2017, and 2016. What did you do today?

Blogmas 2019 Day 7

This morning I went to a women’s brunch at my mom’s church with my mom and Mrs. Alvalee. Mornings are hard for me and I was really tired, but it was nice! We ate and had door prizes and a worship time. Our table hostess was my age and I enjoyed meeting her.

My mom came back to my place to visit for an hour or two when the brunch was over, and we decorated my balcony and learned how to use my blood pressure cuff. (So exciting.)

When she left I was headache-y and worn out, and I got in bed to mess around on my phone and work on my talk for Diamonds. Eventually I had dinner. I was exhausted and ready for bed at 7:30 after that, but going to bed early last night ended up not working out and I didn’t have a great night’s sleep, so I decided to learn from my mistakes and force myself to stay up until 10:00. Since I was so riveted to The Glass Castle the other night, I watched the movie version tonight. It was a beautiful piece of art that made me cry really hard (as expected). While I still have a lot to process from the story, it made me think about trauma and family, demons and stars, right and wrong, and–in the words of Walt Whitman–how we all contain multitudes.

Check out Blogmas Day 7 2018, 2017, and 2016. What did you do today?

Blogmas 2019 Day 6

I made a bad decision last night and stayed up until almost midnight reading The Glass Castle cover to cover, so I was dragging this morning. I started the day with some emails, article edits, and scheduling meetings, and then dug into a rush work piece on strategies for building a high-earning freelance writing business. Around 1:00 I took a break to wash my hair. Next, I spent two hours working on research for the dating apps project (while listening to The Nutcracker Suite and eating Jellie Bellies). It feels good to finally have the time to dig back into work in a way I really haven’t since many months ago.

At 3:30 it was time to leave for my voice lesson! Although I sang in choir for years and know a lot about music in general, I’ve never had individual voice training–so when I discovered one of my castmates from the show teaches voice lessons, I decided to start taking biweekly voice lessons with her (she’s awesome). Today was only my second lesson but I’ve already learned so much! My warm-ups felt good but my voice was getting tired when I moved to Burn from Hamilton, the song I’m working on, so we talked about how to stay in my chest voice and not transition. Then I headed out on the 45-minute drive home and listened to Maisie Peters.

At home I made hamburger patties and fries (and set off the smoke alarm, which sent the cat under the bed for the rest of the night) and did some things like write a letter, wrap a gift, put away laundry, etc. Now it’s 7:30, and I’m going to bed for the night with one of my favorite books from when I was younger–The School Story–and then going to sleep early because I am worn out!

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Check out Blogmas Day 6 2018, 2017, and 2016. What did you do today?

Blogmas 2019 Day 5

I got my Spotify Wrapped this morning (just like everyone else you follow on Instagram). Mine is a little weird because I make a playlist for every month with a bunch of random songs–so I listen to a really wide variety of artists (I discovered 391 new artists this year, apparently) and I feel like my Wrapped isn’t really the best representation of the music that defined my year. But according to Spotify, in 2019 I basically listened to Alessia Cara (no surprise there) and various songs for the show the most (the song I auditioned with, When You’re An Addams, etc). Shawn Mendes was my “artist of the decade,” but I’ve only had Spotify since 2016 and have only used it daily since this year/late last year, so that’s not super accurate.

I slept hard last night and had tap class this morning. It was physically hard, but great to see everyone; we took several of our dances and did the choreography to various Christmas songs. At home I took some time to shower, eat, and watch the DVD of the show that I picked up today.

Then the kitty and I got on the couch for several hours of work: writing an article on cute Swiss towns (all of which I need to visit asap), writing a blog post on human Christmas gifts that are dangerous to pets (i.e. Legos), and prepping some stuff for a video tutorial I have to film tomorrow (I always complain about those and then end up enjoying them). I was given a couple of assignments from new clients today, which is exciting because I’m just now accepting new clients again after several months where I’d pulled back (and one of these new clients is a personal win/pays very well/interesting work). But it’s also stressful–I have some big projects due December 20th but I can’t really work on them yet because I have other smaller projects due every day.

At 6:00 I stopped working and kind of just laid on the couch and vegged out with my phone for a while. Then I made myself get up and practice voice (apparently the cat didn’t like my warm-ups, lol), although that devolved into just singing Favourite Ex and other Maisie Peters songs instead of working on what I’m actually supposed to be working on. I had half a ham sandwich at 8:30 and then fell into bed with a book.

Check out Blogmas Day 5 2018, 2017, and 2016. What did you do today?

 

 

 

 

Blogmas 2019 Day 4

I was super exhausted this morning and didn’t get out of bed until almost 11. I started out the day with some food prep for the party and some work on the Diamonds social media, and then dug into the dating apps research project for the next hour and a half. Around 1:30 I ate something, cleaned the bathroom, and washed my hair. Then it was back to work for a couple more hours (on some email marketing blog posts and a blog post on decorating for Christmas with a cat) before it was time to really start prepping for the party.

(I’m obsessed with my new yellow sweater and my Christmas mugs.)

I was very frustrated and exhausted and stressed in the afternoon, but once I got over that, the party I gave for the 7th-10th grade girls from my church was awesome. Before moving out, I had great plans to host people all the time–but then my health has been so bad the last six months. So although I’ve had plenty of people over to my apartment, I feel like this was the first time I’ve actually planned and hosted something more formal. And it was awesome!

The party went from 5:30 to 8:00 and six girls came; one adult stayed, and later, a couple of parents came and joined in the last few games. I served Hawaiian ham and cheese sliders (with a mustard/Worcestershire sauce/minced onion marinade to go on top–the sandwiches are baked in the oven); chips; grapes; chocolate-covered pretzels; Keebler cookies; sugar cookies; and someone brought soda. We visited, played with the cat (the girls all love her, and for the most part she loves them but also gets overwhelmed when they’re all here haha), ate dinner, had a gift exchange game with gifts I’d gotten, and ended the night with several loud and crazy rounds of Mafia. It was so much fun and I was able to really connect with some of the girls who don’t know me as well.

After the party I put on Maisie Peters, cleaned up, and reflected. Looking at these pictures makes me really happy. This is what I’d always envisioned my apartment to be before getting it–a safe, welcoming, and cozy place for people to gather and connect–and I hope I’ll have the energy to focus on hospitality even more in the near future! But right now, the kitty (who’s mildly traumatized lol) and I are heading to bed. She’s completely conked out on the couch next to me and I’m not far behind… she always sleeps very well after the girls come over!

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Check out Blogmas Day 4 2018, 2017, and 2016. What did you do today?

Blogmas 2019 Day 3

I was tired this morning but enjoyed unpacking all the Christmas stuff I bought last night (the cat enjoyed it too… lol). I worked for a couple of hours on an email marketing HTML blog post and a blog post on customer churn (and also squealed about the Black Widow trailer because AHHHH).

Around noon I went to pick up my Walmart grocery order, my library books, and my packages. I haven’t been able to eat much lately, so my grocery order was mostly household items and stuff for the party I’m hosting tomorrow. (Which I’m getting stressed about because there is a lot to do, lol.)

After that I was exhausted and took myself and my 180 bpm heart rate to bed for an hour and a half. Midafternoon I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed for a few more hours of work: refreshing a blog post on Christmas email countdown timers and then research on the enormous dating apps project, with a break for some food in between.

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When I finished working I made chocolate-covered pretzels for the party tomorrow while listening to a talk from Diamonds 2019, and wrapped the gifts I bought for our gift exchange. Then I went to bed with Andrea Barber’s (Kimmy Gibbler from Full House) book. Today was a super exhausting day!!!

Check out Blogmas Day 3 2018, 2017, and 2016. What did you do today?

 

Blogmas 2019 Day 2

A cold and windy Monday! I was exhausted/headache-y/nauseous this morning and didn’t drag myself out of bed until 10:30; when I did, I immediately sat down to finish a blog post for an Instagram growth service that was due today. Around noon I ordered groceries, ate some eggs with dairy-free cheese and French bread (apparently that’s the only thing I can stomach right now lol), and took a shower.

After lunch I got in about three solid hours of work. It was a lot of research-heavy, really frustrating stuff (although I did nail a marketing automation video tutorial in one take which was exciting). So I was glad to stop working at four when my mom picked me up to go shopping for Christmas decorations with my friend Kenna and her mom!

First we went to Hobby Lobby, where I got decorations for my apartment; some paper goods and gifts for a party I’m having Wednesday; mugs because I don’t have any Christmas mugs; a stocking and toys for the cat; and tins for when I make cookies for people. All of the Christmas stuff was 50 percent off and I saved $80!

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Then we went to Target. I got a couple more things for the gift exchange at the party plus a yellow sweater, because Sunday night I’d suddenly been seized with an urgent desire to own a yellow sweater. *shrugs*

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Finally, we went to Chili’s and visited for a couple of hours about homeschooling, dairy-free recipes, cats, and chronic illness.

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We had a really nice time! I was super drowsy all night and went right to bed when I got home at 8:30.

Check out Blogmas Day 2 2018, Blogmas Day 2 2017, and Blogmas Day 2 2016. What did you do today?