Mundane Life | New Year's Gathering and a Challenging Start to 2024

It's the first day of 2024, but I'm not feeling too good. I woke up with a slight fever and a sore throat, but I'll talk more about that later. How was your New Year celebration?

After a quiet Christmas at home, my husband and I, along with some friends, organized a simple New Year party at a friend's place. It was a small get-together, with about 40 people, including kids and their friends.

Planning for the party took us a few weeks. We sorted out who would cook or arrange food catering, who would lead the caroling (we had a late Christmas celebration too), the games, and the gift exchange.

My husband and I led the caroling and the gift exchange games. Our friends handled the cooking and other tasks. We worked together as a team to make this simple but special party a success.

I took a lot of photos, but aside from the food pics (and one with wine glasses 😅), I'm not sharing any with my friends here to keep their privacy safe 😉.

The kids were super excited about playing group games like "charades" and "pass the message," and they were really looking forward to exchanging gifts. Even though I had a terrible migraine and wasn't feeling quite well, I still had a lot of fun.

The party ended around 10:30 PM. My friend suggested going to a free concert at a nearby mall, but I wasn't up for it. I felt too exhausted and wasn't keen on dealing with crowded places and potential traffic.

We got home after 11 PM, and I made sure the kids took a shower before bed because of the humid weather - necessary to shake off that sticky feeling.

I hit the bed around 12:30 AM after wishing everyone a happy new year on WhatsApp. People kept sharing messages and videos in a festive mood even past 1 AM, but I decided to ignore them and turned off my phone. My migraine was worsening, and I desperately needed sleep.

Unfortunately, my sleep was disturbed because of the sore throat and migraine. My husband suggested medicine, but I declined to give my body the chance to fight off the germs and build my immunity.

The next morning, I decided to take a COVID-19 test. Both tests showed negative results, but one displayed a faint red line that might indicate COVID-19. I plan to retest tomorrow, so for now, I'm keeping my distance from my family and wearing a mask when interacting with them.

The migraine eased up this morning, but I'm still feeling under the weather. I had a spoonful of stingless bees honey to help with my sore throat, and I know I need lots of rest to fully recover.

That's how my New Year's Day went down. It wasn't ideal falling sick, but I'm optimistic about the year ahead. Wishing everyone a fantastic New Year celebration, wherever you may be in the world! Here's to a great year ahead for all! 🥂

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Note: All images used belong to me unless stated otherwise.

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