Babbling About Holiday Whirlwind And Cozy Upgrades

#205: The year starts with a swirl of twinkle lights, back roads, and choices about what comfort really looks like. We open up about juggling split holiday plans, laughing through Dirty Santa with Mal’s big-hearted family, and why a heated mattress pad seemed perfect until the fine print clashed with a Tempur-Pedic. That twist led to a smarter swap—a weighted blanket that actually helped insomnia—and a reminder to match products to how your body and your gear work.

From a quiet New Year’s Eve that ended before midnight to a plate of black-eyed peas and greens with a friend and her newborn, the season became less about hype and more about rituals that stick. We talk about the strange whiplash of going from festive chaos to regular life, how to protect your energy after the rush, and why finishing the guest room and podcast studio still mattered even while a bigger house issue sits just offstage. Small upgrades, better lighting, chairs that fit the vibe—these choices make creative work and hosting easier right now.

The heart of the episode belongs to Kricket, my twelve-year-old Chihuahua. We walk through her move from a grade two to a grade three heart murmur, what that means for small breeds, and how cardioprotective meds can delay congestive heart failure. We cover side effects to watch, what a post-play cough can signal, and how to balance caution with calm. If you’ve ever weighed the risks and rewards of pet care—or turned a gift fail into a life win—you’ll find practical takeaways and a lot of heart here.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a cozy reset, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find us. Your notes and stories keep this community warm.

Transcript

New Year Babble And Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What is up, everyone? Welcome back to another episode of the Babbles Nonsense podcast. I cannot believe we are already in 2026, but I also can kind of believe it. Um, so yeah, first episode of the new year. We're just gonna kind of babble on and talk about things that have happened over the holiday break and just give some updates in life. So, yeah, stay tuned. All right, guys. I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday break if you celebrate. Um, hope everyone got what they wanted for Christmas and, you know, celebrated the new year. I did not celebrate the new year, but let's start with Christmas first. Um I I think I mentioned this on the podcast before. Gosh, it's been so long since I just sat down and rambled and babbled or whatnot. So it's just feels so weird and foreign. Um, because usually I have like a topic or something. But um nonetheless, for Christmas, oh, also if I sound a little nasally, I am. No, I do not have COVID or the flu, thankfully. Knock on wood, I tested for that, negative, just a good old fashioned sinus infection because the weather in Alabama seems to be a little bipolar. I think I saw a meme that said summer and winter are fighting over Alabama right now because it's one day 70 degrees and the next day 20. So it's constant like air conditioner heat, and my heat awful, not the best. So I hate when I have to turn it on. I have to close one of the vents in my bedroom because the bedroom gets so hot, and then the living room and stuff like that is much colder. So that's a whole nother issue. But, anyways, back to Christmas. So um I always go to it's kind of like a ping pong ball for me around the holidays, especially like Christmas and things like that, because when I moved to Huntsville, I moved to Huntsville when I was, I want to say 18 or 19, I can't remember. And um, sometimes I couldn't make it home, especially when I graduated nursing school and I didn't know if I was working the holiday, or maybe I was working the holiday, but I got off at seven, it was just too late to drive home because it's about an hour, hour and 15 minutes home, and I hated driving on the back roads um all the way to Winchester just because it was like a two-lane road. There was really no um ditch or whatnot. So, and there's no lighting and it's super dark, and I have an astigmatism, and I just hate driving in the dark if it's really dark on the back roads. Anyways, too much information for y'all. But I got used to going to my good friend Mal's house and celebrating the holidays with her family. Um, and she has a really big family, and it's just it's something different that I didn't have growing up because we don't like we do have a big family, we have an extended family, but everybody wasn't always together except on Thanksgiving, um, which we used to celebrate. It used to be a huge Thanksgiving at my uncle's house prior to him passing. Um, but I started going to her family's house on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and that just became part of my tradition, and especially since I don't have, you know, a significant other, then it it almost feels like that's what it would feel like if you did have a significant other, just all the traveling around. But I really do enjoy her family. They crack me up, they've kind of like adopted me into their own. And we always do Dirty Santa on Christmas Eve, and that's always a good time and fun. Um, and then we do name drawing on Christmas Day, and of course they've included me in that because they consider me family now. I consider them family as well. And um I feel so bad because I never know, like as you like, I don't know about y'all, but as I've gotten older, like I just tend to buy myself stuff throughout the years if I want, like throughout the year if I want it. I don't I probably should do better about that. I think I saw somebody actually um say like they save up so much money and maybe only buy themselves one thing a month, and then it's not like all all this overspending and stuff. So that's a good tip and idea that I think I need to try. But regardless, I tend to buy myself stuff that I want throughout the year. So come the end of the year, Christmas time, when someone's like, What do you want? I'm like, I don't know. You know, I I just don't, I don't ever know what to say. But anyways, um we're in this group text, and um they want everyone to put like four or five things in this group text so that your secret Santa can get you something without like you knowing who it is. And so I couldn't think of anything, but then my friend, um, a couple of my friends were like, you really need a heated mattress pad. They were like, it's the best thing ever. And I'm like, well, I don't know. I have a temperature mattress and they kind of sleep hot sometimes, and I wake up hot sometimes, especially with this weather right now. They were like, No, it's so good in the winter time, like when it, you know, it's cold, you turn it on for like five minutes, it heats the bed up, and then of course, if you want, you can turn it off, and then you'll just sleep like you normally sleep. And I was like, Oh, that actually does sound good because I don't know if y'all are aware or if you've ever had a temperature or know anything about them, but they take on the temperature of the room, and I have the cooling one. So when you first get in it in the wintertime in mine, because I close one of my air vents, it is super cold, and I'm like, oh god, this is so frigid. So I was like, that sounds like an amazing Christmas present. So let me put that in the group chat. That or a weighted blanket because I've been wanting to try a weighted blanket because I have insomnia and it's supposed to help with that. I'm supposed to feel like a hug. Maybe I wasn't hugged a lot as a child. I don't know. Hugs weird me out now, so maybe so. But um also me not knowing really the price of things and not looking it up, and I know there's a a spending limit, I probably shouldn't ask for those things. But anyways, I got the heated mattress pad, and I felt really bad because um Mal ended up drawing me and she was like, You have a queen, right? And I was like, No, when I moved into the house, I upgraded to a king mattress, so I felt bad because she was like, Well, I'll go exchange it. So she exh she exchanged it, and then her mom brought it to me and we got to visit. And then I waited till the next day because it was later that night or the the night before that I had gotten it, and so I'd waited till the next day to put it on the bed because I was already ready for bed and stuff like that. And so I go to open it up and I'm like, Well, I probably should wash this before I put it on the bed. Let me read the instructions because this has all these plugs and everything, like because it says on the on the the box that it's washable, and so I'm reading the instructions and I can't find anywhere about the washing. So I go to the QA section and it says, Do not put on a memory foam mattress. And I was like, huh. It says um not recommended or something, and it says, please see your specific retailer's website to determine if you can. And so I was like, okay, well, let me, you know, go to the Temper Pedic website and look up there. It specifically says no heated mattress pads on Temper Pedics um because of the type of I guess memory foam it is. It's that temper material and it's um it's meant to get softer as it warms up. Um, that's what kind of determines the firmness level. And so that's why like it can retain body heat and it can it gets softer as you lay on it or whatnot. And then like I was like, but like I'm sure it's okay, right? But y'all, y'all have to know one of my OCD biggest fears in life is like fires. Like I will walk back into my house. I'm sure every girl can relate to like triple check, seventh check, eighth check, whatever tenth check, that my straight iron is off, that you know, the the oven isn't on. I just I'm super terrified. Um but I was like do going down a rabbit hole of the Google and just trying to see, like, are you sure? Like, why is other memory foams, it's okay versus Temper Pedic, it's not, but apparently it'll avoid the warranty and it will cause your bed to sag over time since that type of material gets softer with heat, and so then it has more weight than it's supposed to. Whereas other foams, just in case you want to know, this is just a little tidbit of information. Um, other memory foams are some of them are um, I want to say polyurethane. I don't know what material temperatic is, it could be, but it's just something else. I don't know. Um, and that is more transthermal, so it's less reactive to heat. That's why some of them are like some of these other mattresses that are like, oh, we're not hot, like Timper Pedic and stuff like that, I'm assuming. Um, so yeah, the more you know. And I was like, you would think logically I would know that. You would think I would have been like, I don't know, heat, foam, probably not a good idea, nonetheless. Then I had to tell my friend, I was like, I am so very sorry. I cannot use this, but you can take it back and get your money back. She was like, No, of course I want you to have something. And I was like, Well, let me see if they have a weighted blanket. So I exchanged it for a weighted blanket. Um, and I've used it a couple times, and I actually really do love it. I fell asleep the first time with it on, and I was like looking up the benefits, and that's when I kind of found out about the insomnia thing. So, just in case anybody out there needed to know that um, and then I got a toilet seat, memory foam toilet seat for my dirty Santa gift at her house, which I was like, what am I gonna do with this? So I exchanged that and gave it to my friend who loves memory foam toilet seats. Um, I just thought it was funny that that's what it's just a fun like people think of the funniest things when they um at her house. Um that was a long explanation of what my Christmas tradition is, but I just went ahead and told that story. So other than that, on Christmas Eve, I typically spend it with Mal's family, and then I get up Christmas morning and I go to my mom's house, and then typically my sister comes, and then my stepbrothers and sisters come with all their children, so I get to visit with them, and then I drive back to Huntsville, get to to to decompress for maybe an hour, and then go back to Mal's house for Christmas dinner and to exchange gifts with her family. And that just wears you out. That wears a girl out. I was tired, I was exhausted, you know, you're still working that week. It's not like when you're a kid and you're out of school and you're excited and all that stuff. Christmas really is magical for kids, like when you truly think about it and stuff like that. But then, you know, nonetheless, got to get back to work, get back into the grind, and then New Year's rolled around, and none of my friends wanted to do anything this year. So I sat at home, which I'm honestly not that upset about because I even if I would have gone out, I probably would have been back home by like nine to ten nine or ten o'clock. I typically don't stay up for New Year's unless there's just a reason to, because yeah. Why? I love to go to bed. I love to go to bed early because I wake up early, not because I want to, but because my body does. And so I think I fell asleep on the couch around I want to say nine. And then I woke up at 11:45, which was so random. And I was just like, okay. I was like, maybe I could stay up till 12. And I was just so tired. I was like, no, I'm pretty sure I was back asleep before midnight. So yeah, but it's so weird after the holidays and stuff like that. Like everything is like, you know, you just had this like time with family and friends, and people try to slow down, and work's kind of slowing down, and you just and then you like the new year comes and it's like, okay, back to real life, even though you were still in real life. It's just weird. I don't know. I don't know how to explain it. Everybody knows what I'm talking about. It's just you're exhausted. It's like a whirlwind of just doing so much, like Christmas parties and um visiting and traveling and all the things. But I I we I really do love it. Like I know it it sounds like I'm complaining about it, but I really do love it. So, other than that, um, other than just being tired and exhausted, nothing really has been going on over here other than just work and things like that. Um, I wish I had a new update for y'all on the house situation. Um, it was supposed to hopefully be coming to somewhat of a head this month, but unfortunately it's been pushed back a little bit, so still can't talk about that. Um, I would love to talk about that. Um, and I'm sure eventually upcoming months we will, so stay tuned for that. Um, my I really want to say that one of my goals this year. Oh, back to New Year's. Sorry, forgot the most important thing. So I I know everyone does like the black-eyed peas, um, collards or greens for good luck. And I've never really done that. Um, but this year, my friend Kaylin, who that's a huge family tradition for her, um, she was cooking and she was like, Do you want a plate? And I was like, Absolutely, I would love to come over and visit. Number one, she just had a newborn, so had to go visit the baby. Um, and she's such a great cook. So went over there, got to visit with her on New Year's Day. And then I got to visit with Ivy's baby um the weekend after. So got a lot a lot of loving on those newborn babies um for the holidays. But yes, back to the house stuff. Hopefully, one of these days I will get to talk to y'all about that. Um, hopefully sooner rather than later. But until then, mom's the word. Um, just stay tuned for that. I think the only other thing that's kind of been going on in my life, um, I finished decorating my guest room, guest bathroom, and podcast room. It's Gorgina. I need to post some pictures online. Um, and then part of me is like, why am I decorating this stuff with all the house situation? But you know what? I do love my house. Like, I'm very sad about the situation of the house because I think my decor is great. I think, you know, for my first home and wanted it to be my forever home, this is just a sad situation. And I know that everybody I hate when people do that when they're like, well, just tell us. And I'm like, no. Anyways. So for those who thought that I was getting rid of the podcast because I saw my podcast chairs, no, they are now changed out. The room looks gorgina. It's more my vibe and my style than the other chairs were. So hopefully I'll be posting pictures of that soon. Um, but other than that, I think the only other thing that I can think of that was kind of shocking to me recently, was my dog, um, Cricut, my Chihuahua. Y'all's probably seen pictures of her online, who is a very good chihuahua, I might add. Um, she got diagnosed with a heart murmur in April of this year. And um, I go to one of the vets where a girl that I used to work with, a good friend of mine that I used to work with, her twin sister is the vet. So I really trust her. And so I took her for a dental cleaning. Um, well, she used to actually see her a long time ago, but then she kind of moved to a vet farther away. So then we had to switch vets, but then she came back to town. So I switched her back because Cricket really loves her and I do trust her. Um, and so I took her for a dental cleaning in April because her bet breath was rankedastic. Um because she had a rotting tooth in there. Anyways, um, they found a heart murmur, and apparently this is a thing for Chihuahuas, and um she was like, I don't think it's anything serious yet. I think that you know, she's good without medication unless she starts coughing when she's playing. And I was like, Well, she does kind of do that, I guess, because I had taken her to her other vet, and not to speak like poorly or negatively, because I don't know if it was the same thing, but like she has had a few seizures throughout her life, and it's always been kind of like around her heartworm medication, which all the heartworm medication does say like can cause seizures, and so we've changed her to everyone, and she finally is doing fine on heart guard. Um, she hasn't had a seizure on that. And um, when I so I there was a couple of months where I was like, I don't think I'm gonna give her any more heartworm medicine. Like she's older, she's not really outside, and please do not come after me for that because I know people come after me people for that. But, anyways, um, and I think I went a couple months, but it was in the winter time, so I was like, I think it's safe to try this and see. And she started doing this dry cough, and I was talking to my friend who really knows about dogs, and I was telling her, she was like, Well, you may want to take her in and get tested. So I took her in to get tested at her old vet, and this was prior to the dental cleaning in April, and I was telling her her symptoms and what had happened and whatnot. So they tested her for heart worms, and they were like, No, she's negative. And I was like, Okay, well, can we and that's when we switched her to the heart guard? I was like, because the other one was causing seizures and like risk versus benefits, like I know all this because you know, obviously I'm in healthcare. And um, so we switched her to the heart guard and she's been doing fine on that. But then the cough was never really addressed, and she doesn't do it all the time, it's just random. And I I guess I wasn't correlating that it's after she had ran really hard or maybe played fetch or whatnot. So when my new vet had said that, um, I was like, oh, I bet that's that dry hacky cough. So we talked about it, and she was like, well, just monitor her if it becomes more, you know, caught like more closer together or like you're noticing it more, just bring her back in and let me know. So I actually went and to the vet just because sh she also hurts her back. She's guys, she's 12 years old. And on per their chart, she's a 64-year-old lady, okay? That's why she was an old lady for Halloween. She's getting old. I'm pretty sure she has arthritis in her back because she refuses, like most chihuahuas who want to be carried around, she refuses that. She wants to be jumping on things. She thinks she's a big dog. She only wants to be held when people are around. Um, which is weird because people I'm like, she's not like this when nobody's nobody's around. Um, so she'll jump up and down on the couch, she'll jump off my bed, which is way too high for her. I've tried to get her little stairs for the bed, she won't use them. So, anyways, um, she had hurt her back and she like was in pain for a couple days. So I took took her to the vet to get her some Mobic, some doggy Mobic for her arthritis to have on hand for when this happens once every three months or whatever. And I was telling her about her back, and then she she starts talking about heart medicine, and I was like, Oh, it's time. Like we just said in April, not it's not time, and her cough hasn't changed. And then, of course, I start asking her about Christmas instead of because I'm like, Oh, I trust her, you know what I'm and nonetheless, I don't even know why I'm giving this heart medicine to my dog. And they were like, Yeah, she needs some heart medicine twice a day, da-da-da. And I'm like, Okay. So we go home, I give her her first dose, and she seems pretty tired. And of course, it's on it that was the two days before Christmas, which they closed, you know, Christmas and then the day after. So I had to wait till Monday to because I think I I gave her so I gave her her first dose that night, and then another dose the next morning, and I just noticed that she was tired, and so I started looking up the side effects of the medicine, which did state, you know, could cause, you know, lethargy, tiredness, whatnot. Which I know, I know you have to get used to it, especially if it's changing like heart rhythms and stuff like that. But um, so anyways, I sent an email, they called me on Monday, and I was like, this is my bad for not asking questions while I was there, but why are we putting cricket on heart medicine? And they were like, Well, she was a grade two murmur in April, she's a grade three murmur now in December, so this medicine that we're putting her on is cardioprotective to hopefully prevent congestive heart failure so that she like, you know, murmurs can cause heart failure, and you want to prevent that as long as possible. And chihuahuas can live like till they're 20, and I want that for my dog. I want my dog to live till she's 20, which would be another eight years, because it makes me sad to think about her dying. It just makes me really sad. Um, because I've had her, gosh, I've had her so long. Like I think when I moved into my one bedroom apartment for the first time, like, and it was just me with no roommates, you know, that's when I got her. And so she's been kind of my roommate everywhere I've gone. She's moved to Nashville with me. I did, I'm not gonna lie, I try to get rid of her one time because when she was a puppy, she was just god awful. And I think my sister knew that I would not be able to handle getting rid of her because I'd had her for a couple years. And so I think she had literally just like torn a hole in my carpet. And I was like, that's it. I'm getting rid of her. Um, so my sister was like, I'll take her. You know, I I love cricket, I'll take her. And I was like, okay, you can have her. And I drove her to Tennessee, gave her to my sister, and drove home. And as soon as I got home and saw her little toy, I think I left one. I just started crying and I called her. I said, Okay, I'm coming back together. I was like, I miss her crazy little self. Um, so yeah, don't tell my dog, even though she can hear this. She's behind me, she's sitting in the chair with me. Um, but anyways, um so now she's on heart medicine, but and so I've like listened to her heart and stuff, and I'm like, oh, it is slowing down. And she seems to be sleeping better, so I feel bad. I hope she wasn't like suffering through all that because like I didn't know. Um, but yeah, we're trying to prevent congestive heart failure because I'm also not this crazy dog bomb where it's like, you know, do all these things that are life sustaining if it's not possible. But this something like this where it's cardioprotective, hopefully delay heart failure by four to five years because heart failure is not fun on anybody, animals or people. And yeah, that's what's been going on in my life um and holidays. I hope you all had a magical holiday break. I hope now that we're back into the hustle and bustle of things, that y'all all get what you want this year. I know, I know me and Min you did um an episode about you know goals and stuff, and I said I was gonna journal. Haven't done it. Do I feel bad about it? No. Am I gonna do it? I don't know. We'll see. We'll see. Um, but yeah, that's all I have for today. I'll be honest with you guys. I almost didn't get an episode out because it's Monday. I release these on Tuesday. I typically do them on the weekend before I release them. Totally forgot because I was just tired and exhausted. And then when I got home from work today, I was like, ooh, I have no episode for tomorrow. What can we talk about? And I was like, well, I can talk about my holidays and all that stuff that y'all all just heard. So yeah, that's what is going on, and I'll have more for you next week, I'm sure. Until next time, guys. Bye.