CHRISTMAS 2018/NEW YEARS Chillout Lounge

[kanga_brumby]

Hey Everybody! Christmas is the time of year to enjoy & share with family & friends. Some people will spend this time alone & isolated too!
This is a safe place where people can post and say hello, chat or send wishes to others and have a 'Virtual Christmas/New Years'!
Whether you have plans for Christmas/New Years or having a quiet one you can kick back and just enjoy company of others. Its been a long year. Even if you have never posted on Beyond Blue before you are very welcome to come in and sit around our 'Virtual Christmas Tree' and chat 🙂
You asked for this Paul here it is for all.
Santa (AKA Kanga Peter) Ho Ho! 🙂

[velvetfaerie]

Wait

What??!!!

BBQ!!???

i just made a pot of vindaloo... I’ll bring 🤗🤗🤗🤗

[Quercus]

Hello everyone and Happy New Year (even though it's 4pm in the west now 😊).

Well new years eve was a mixed bag.

It was stinking hot so our plans for a trip to a rodeo went down the drain.

Then some moron ran over a bobtail lizard and didn't stop so they left it for us to euthanise. Poor thing.

And some idiot started illegal fireworks next door which scared the dog and my little girl wet the bed in fright sigh.

But... We went swimming at a water park. Ate watermelon for dinner.

Drove up to the zig zag lookout and stood up over the city which was hazy but the view was awesome.

Lost it laughing on the trip home when we passed an amorous couple in their undies and hubby told the kids "they're going for a swim too".

Hubby wasn't at work for the first time in years. So I wasn't alone for once. He stayed up with me and I got the kiss at midnight I have always wanted to experience.

Well it's a new year. Hello 2018. This time last year I was trying and failing. This year feels different already. One year older and a wealth of knowledge I've learned both through experience and gifted by others here.

2018 is going to be better. Because I am resilient.

I hope yours is too.

❤ Nat

[velvetfaerie]

Love the zigzag Nat 🙂🙂

[Quercus]

Hi Velvet

Go team Westies hey 😁 your 'friends' sound like jerks good to hear you started the new year setting boundaries!

Hope you're in the aircon today and feeling a bit brighter.

[CMF]

I'm watching the Hopman Cup so I'm with you 'westies' in spirit hehehe.

[Quercus]

Hehe hi CMF,

Is it bad that my first thought was... That's tennis right? God I hope it's tennis or I'll feel like an idiot. I could google I suppose. But I'm feeling slack. The kids are back to their usual trashing the house... And now one has fell off the bed and is screeching better go. Sigh.

[CMF]

Yes tennis. Hmmm, I think this year we should all banish the word 'idiot' when referring to ourselves. What do you think? Let's reserve it for those who deserve that title hehehe.

im the duffer. I was in thinking oh no, kids jumping on the bed at 10pm...I feel for you but then I remembered, it's 7pm in the west (I think). Thx for your post on my thread. I will reply tomorrow. In bed now, exhausted.

cmf x

[velvetfaerie]

Lol

tennis

yeh air con is hit and miss... I seem to have gastro... or at least an IBS flare.

😵😵😵

[Susquehanna]

I LOATHE Xmas. Having had an on off problem with severe depression for about 30 years and reaching the conclusion that severe depression is just my lot in life this year I had a life changing experience with a geriatrician who suggested that I see a psychiatrist and take things from there. I did this - new medication, new psychologist, and new approach to depression. CBT is all very well but in some cases it just isn't enough. My psychologist is a very beautiful woman which I first found quite daunting. She practises a newer different approach which seems totally logical. It addresses appalling childhoods. That was me. Xmas hits the department stores in mid - late August I.e. 4 months prior to 25 December and my mood starts sinking. The pressure to spend, spend spend is disgusting. I suffer super levels of guilt because I haven't spend enough on my grandchildren. I know this is seriously nuts especially when it usually triggers another horrible bout of depression. This year I set a limit. Oh dear, guilt trip. I try to be logical about it but it is so hard when to me happy multigenerational family gatherings with oodles of (useless or unwanted) gifts are a complete myth. I said to an Indian friend last week perhaps I should become a Muslim or a Hindu and then Xmas would be irrelevant and I could detach myself legimately from It. Good luck to those who do have multigenerational happy family gatherings. Happy 2018 to all BB people!

[Doolhof]

Hi Susquehanna and All,

Finances are rather tight in our home at present due to my not working and my husband's hours changing weekly. I made a decision at Christmas that we would not go over board with the gifts. I preferred to provide a nice meal for family who joined us and recycled items from a second hand store for gifts.

Being together is what counted the most. Being happy in each other's company, laughing, wanting to be together, all of that was so much more important than gifts that may be forgotten in a day.

Now it is the New Year, time for a fresh way of thinking, making the most out of each day. Working out what the triggers are and how to overcome them. How to let go of those guilt feelings and move on to a better place. It is not always easy is it!

Wishing us all strength and determination to learn new skills and strategies this year to help us move forward!

Cheers all from Dools