Which ones do you like to play?
Party Games
Holiday Gift Games
Frog Source
Synthetic Frog Dissections
Politics Report
Brits Think Our Healthcare is Outrageous
Hungry Bloggers
Review: Thin Slim Foods
Poetry Talk
Poetry for Young People: Robert Frost
Yes, it’s still fall, and there’s still time to make non-Santa crafts!
Craft World
Fall Lanterns
Grateful Dead Music
Favorite Dead Bands
That 80s Blog
E.T. Xfinity Ad
Real Book
InCryptid Series
Family Guy Talk
Best Family Guy Spoofs
Northwest Specialties
Best Place To Spot Santa
What do you think of these new services?
eShopper Forum
Afterpay, Sezzle and Other Pay Later Programs
Garden Report
Shopping For A Green Thumb
Cat Talk
Cat Cookies
Female Talk
Ectopic Pregnancies Are Not Viable!
Dessert Report
Holiday Treats For Teens
Weird Animal Report
Snakes Had Legs
I’m currently…
reading Discount Armageddon (LOVE)
visiting with my sister and niece, the precocious little Mogwai who always manages to impress me!
getting rid of BOXES of books and cleaning out the laundry room in the process. An entire floor-to-ceiling bookshelf is empty!
writing all the words. This is the time of year when I sleep like the dead, which is such a welcome change–but it means that I’m much less productive and have to really stay on top of deadlines.
super excited about the Bones Coffee that’s supposed to be delivered in less than a week! Also excited about the Home Alone 12 Days of Christmas box coming from Fortune Cookie Soap! I’m honestly not sure if I’ll be able to wait and count them down every day.
drinking green tea
still dealing with tinnitus and it’s really irritating. Now I get why people say it’s so intrusive, even leading to depression. White noise helps, but I really enjoy my silent time each day and I haven’t had silence in over two weeks now. I really hope this heals soon.
finalizing sleepover plans for the weekend. Wood Sprite is looking forward to seeing holiday lights with a friend. This friend’s mom invited them a couple of weeks ago and I just love not having to plan every activity!
Indy’s birthday coming up! I’ve had a few presents delivered already (and I gave one away on accident!) and I love watching him try to figure out what they are.
watching Prodigal Son and Castle Rock (and listening to my sister remind me to catch up on How to Get Away with Murder so we can talk about it! Sorry, J!)
walking with weights and really starting to feel it. I’m the pickle jar master!
breaking all my nails on cleaning and decorating projects
getting super excited about Thanksgiving with my family and decorating for the holidays this weekend! We always decorate and watch Elf on December 1, which is the beginning of a month of holiday movies. Yeah, we skip when we need to, but with Indy’s new schedule we may watch most of the ones we have scheduled this year! We end with It’s a Wonderful Life on New Year’s Eve. We love to get a Lord of the Rings marathon in during this time of year, too, but we’ve decided to do that in January.
What are you up to this week?
Jimmy Fallon wasn’t as attractive to me until this…
Even if your favorite barista won’t have it anymore, you can always make a pumpkin spice latte at home.
Poison of Choice
Pumpkin Spice Cocktails
Medicine Report
Facebook Allows Lies About Women’s Health
Freaky Phenomena
Healing a Broken Heart
Animal Report
The Orangutans Speak
Good Drinking
Tom and Jerry
What will you be playing during the holidays?
Party Games
Best Party Games for Thanksgiving
Frog Source
Toad in a Hat
Politics Report
Tracking the Periods of Abortion Patients
Hungry Bloggers
DIY Spice Blends
Poetry Talk
Authors on Poetry
Got your ugly sweaters ready yet?
Grateful Dead Music
Dead Ugly Sweaters
That 80s Blog
Childhood Defining Toys
Craft World
Wood Slice Ornaments
Real Book
Goodreads Challenge Blitzstrong>Family Guy Talk
Northwest Specialties
Elliott Bay Book Company
Family Guy Talk
Family Guy Ugly Sweaters
This week I’m loving…
holiday vibes. I’m struggling to not sing the carols, which is fantastic because come December 1 I’ll be more than ready for them!
my new flannel sheets! My parents bought me some for my birthday and I LOVE them. They have snowflakes on them and are perfect for winter. I’m just super excited about them.
Something Wicca This Way Comes body frosting from Fortune Cookie Soap! You had to order it during their Create Your Own 24-hour event, and I didn’t, but my little sister did just for my birthday as a surprise and it’s HEAVEN in a cup. She also bought my favorite body spray of all time, Lush’s Vanilliary, something that I never buy myself because it costs three times what I’m willing to spend. I’m one good-smelling, cozy writer today.
plans working out. A lot of kids canceled on a crafting class yesterday, including the student I’d organized it for (it’s nearing the end of the semester and everyone’s scrambling between class work and holidays), and I asked the few remaining kids if they wanted to skip this time so Wood Sprite could have the extra time to get work done (we have extra rehearsals, a graduation and a bunch of other extras this week, so it’s a busy one for us as well), so we had a nice freed afternoon and got a lot done. Once WS was finished, a friend came over later for video games so that worked out well, too!
keto mug cake. My mom made the hell out of it for my birthday.
the Fortune Cookie Soap November box of the month, which is Christmas Vacation themed. I’ve never seen it! Yes, I’ve been informed that it’s such a travesty. I’m going to remedy that this season, I promise! Even so, I love the scents in the box, from “Squirrel” to “Fried Pussycat” (I’m sure the film’s fans are snickering over these references that I don’t get and I finally understand what it’s like to be around me when I’m talking about anything from Marvel comics to Star Wars to… okay, whenever my mouth is open! Ha, sorry about that, everyone!) and I’m so here for the seasonal frostings and cuticle creams. These babies are SO thick and awesome for my dry skin.
watching Castle Rock and Prodigal Son with Indy. I’m also watching Modern Love while I walk and do my weights.
flexibility. I tend to do as many last-minute things as anyone else does, and I’m really appreciating how Wood Sprite’s teachers are so flexible. From setting up private classes on weird days and times to scheduling extra rehearsals around our schedule, they have just been awesome.
all the countdown calendars I’m seeing! My family has done these since before Wood Sprite was born and I love seeing so many people get into the spirit. I’m known for making them as gifts for friends and family and I had one friend tell me that I ought to go into business making them after she’d received a particularly hilarious one that I made last spring complete with a voodoo doll kit, a homemade shank and other oddities. I don’t think it would work because they have to be super personal and I wouldn’t be able to do that for people I don’t know well, but it does sound like a really fun idea that I’d love to do.
goofy new keto snacks I make on a whim. Microwave some Gorgonzola on top of salami slices? Why not!
Pumpkin (the cat, who often gives me a face akin to the one in the “Woman Yells at Cat” meme) cautiously asking to come up on my desk. This is especially welcome after she accidentally scratched me and drew blood yesterday while attempting to pilfer some laundry mid-fold. Sometimes she’s so wild and unpredictable it’s stressful. She really is the most stressful cat I’ve ever had and it’s hard to deal with her sometimes. I think she must feel a lot like I do inside. But sometimes she’s so sweet you can’t help but snuggle her. Yeah, I might’ve called her a cunt when she sliced me open, but I’ll never quit her.
Mercury retrograde ending, amirite?
my giant Freddy Krueger mugs. I don’t have to refill things nearly as much as I used to. I made a lemon tea latte in the ceramic one and realized that it’s twice the size of my old giant mug that I used! The big plastic one fits almost two jelly jars of coffee, too.
looking back over pictures as I file them. I managed to get quite a few of Indy and Wood Sprite together, which I love so much. It’s been a really emotional year as Wood Sprite ventures deeper into the teen realm, which means we’ve had some big transitions. We’ve had a lot of growth, which has been painful and bittersweet, and as we outgrow old things we’ve found that we can always come back to each other which is beautiful, even if it means a lot of comforting one another. I don’t think it’s been an easy time for any parents that I know this year, and a lot of us have even grown apart as our kids have, which is normal but nonetheless painful, but I’m very grateful for all that we’ve done, all the people we’ve met and loved, and especially for our family dynamic and the way we never give up on one another.
What are you loving this week?
Where do you get yours? And where do you sample pricey stuff without unwittingly swapping spit with a previous customer?
eShopper Forum
Makeup Finds, Steals and Deals
Gardening Report
Garden Wizardry for Kids
Cat Talk
Cats Bond With Their Humans
Female Talk
Oppose Virginity Testing
Dessert Report
Variations on Pumpkin Pie
Weird Animal Report
Fish Waste Plastic
Sara J. Schmidt 