What's New With Me/Currently: December

November was a quiet month for me, and for good reason. Call it the calm before the storm, if you will. I was storing all my energy (and money, tbh) for the whirlwind that is December. There were a lot of quiet nights with cooking or ordering in and movies, and it was perfect. 

Dueling pianos with my girls

pizza and beers with Blue's brother and wife

And then there was Thanksgiving. I was fortunate enough to have off from work Wednesday-Friday, which was awesome. But historically speaking, I almost never actually enjoy Thanksgiving. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE the food, but I rarely get to eat it, and my mother (my only living relative) and I have a rocky relationship, which makes this holiday and Christmas more stress-inducing than anything else. Usually I try to do whatever she wants on both holidays just to keep from fighting. This year, she wanted to go on a retreat in east bumblefuck Connecticut. It took 5 trains and nearly 5 hours each way, and there was nothing to do when we got there. No planned activities, no TVs, no radio, and forget about internet. You know what there was a lot of? Praying. Now I have nothing against praying, in fact I was raised Catholic and did the whole sacraments and alter serving thing, but I'm not a practicing Catholic anymore, and I don't like "forced prayer." (I also did not appreciate being woken up by screaming children running up and down the halls and ringing a damn bell directly outside my door at 7:45AM for breakfast when I don't even eat breakfast, but that's a whole other issue.)

It wasn't all bad. Luckily my mom had warned me about the no TV/radio/wifi, so I came armed with my laptop, movies for the Fall Film Challenge from the library, chocolate, and wine. We also went on a nature hike and learned about how the land had previously been used as a summer camp for underprivileged youth, and even went inside some of the old cabins that were still standing. They also had rescued donkeys (I have no idea why), so we hung out and fed them. I was worried about not actually getting to eat Thanksgiving, so Blue made me a pre-Thanksgiving the weekend before. But the food they served was fantastic! (I mean, Blue's mashed potatoes were better, but overall it was pretty good.)

Blue's Pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner

I made pumpkin pie

hanging with these jackasses donkeys on Thanksgiving

Watching: I just started The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon after Christina recommended it and while I'm only on episode 3, I'm loving it so far! Also really looking forward to Star Wars: the Last Jedi and Pitch Perfect 3.
Listening to: Getting reacquainted with Britney Spears and Lady Gaga in prep for their concerts in 2 weeks! Also, the latest P!nk album- Beautiful Trauma.

Reading: A Perfect Stranger- Megan Miranda

Loving: That including today, I only have 8 days of work left for the year! 

Wanting: Not much. I posted a wishlist here. I just added a Sephora gift card because Steph just informed me that my new favorite perfume comes in a spray (I have a rollerball). And Blue confessed that she got me a charging case for my iPhone since lately my battery likes to drop from 80% down to 24% within 45 minutes even when I'm not using it and every background app is closed. Fun times. 

Drinking: I found this awesome service called Hopsy that delivers cold mini-kegs of local craft beer to your front door! You can choose from pre-curated 4 packs of light, dark, customer favorites, or create your own mix. I got the customer favorites one and was definitely impressed! If you're interested, use my referral link here for a $30 discount and free shipping (and I get $20 too!). Also would make a great last minute gift for any beer-lovers in your life! 

mini-kegs delivered to my door!

Lighting: Candles. I may have gone a little cray on BBW's 3-wick candle day last Saturday. But they were $9- how could I resist?! 

Spending: See above! Other than that I've been pretty good about not spending until vacation! 

Choosing: To ignore Mercury in Retrograde, though it will probably be difficult since I'm doing one of the main things you are not supposed to do during this time, which is traveling. Yikes. I also found this handy guide about what to expect this time around based on your sign (ya know, if you're into that sorta thing, which I am). 

Sending: Nothing. I haven't sent holiday cards in years, and even though I've been saying that would change, it hasn't. Oh well, one less thing to stress about!

Singing: I've mentioned that I don't really like Christmas music, but two I will always sing this time of year are Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas" and Lou Monte's "Dominick the Donkey" (hee haw, hee haw!). 

What's new with you lately?

Linking up with Anne, Catherine, Kristen, and Gretch