Currently… November 2022

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It’s time for my quarterly “currently” post!  I always love writing these posts of randomness, and I hope you enjoy reading them!

 

I’m currently…

Making: All of the plans for our trip to New York City!  Y’all, GUESS WHAT?!?!  WE ARE GOING TO NEW YORK CITY!!!! AND SOON!  Christmastime in New York City is my favorite thing everrrr and I am absolutely ecstatic to share it with our kiddos.  We have so many things that we want to squeeze in on this trip, and I’m working on a loose itinerary to make sure that we do everything as efficiently as possible.  Neither of them has ever flown, so Brian and I have never flown with kids, so I’m doing all the research to make sure we have everything we need so the trip will go smoothly.  We are attempting to carry on for all four of us, so that should be interesting considering it’s going to be freezing and everyone will need thick clothes, jackets, and boots that take up more space than summer clothes would.  Haha.  GIVE US ALL THE CHRISTMASY NYC THINGS, THOUGH!!!!  I'm hoping for a repeat of this trip.

Cooking: Mostly dishes that I cook all the time and love, although, I’ve also been trying to cook a couple of new dishes each month to change it up.  So far, we’ve loved all of the new things we’ve tried!

Drinking: Tons of water per usual and my cinnamon tea on the daily + craft beer, Moscow Mules, margs, whiskey, or wine on the weekends.  Wanna know something I’m not drinking, though?  My favorite Starbucks holiday favorites!  Why, you ask?  Because the last four times I’ve been to the Starbucks in our Target, they have been out of all seasonal flavors.  I mean, what?!  I have to start remembering to go to another location before I get to Target!

Eating: This is a funny prompt this month because, honestly, I’ve been having to make myself eat since the beginning of October.  Covid took away my appetite and it never came back (which is soooo weird!), so I’ve been sticking to pretty much all healthy foods.  I’ve totally stopped eating my midday handful of my beloved dark chocolate M&M’s and I’ve probably only had a bowl of frozen yogurt/ice cream, like, three times in the last month.  I’ve always loved food and loved to eat, so it’s been a little weird not having cravings or getting excited about an upcoming meal.  That said, I still enjoy the food when I eat it, but I just don’t crave it or think about it beforehand anymore.  And I never lost my sense of taste or smell during Covid, so that’s not the reason either.  It’s so very strange, though.  Anybody experience this after Covid?  So far, I know zero people who have had this side effect.  It would be nice to have my appetite back before Thanksgiving, though.  ;o)

Reading: I just finished Every Summer After and I absolutely loved it.  Now I’m making my way through Matthew Perry’s memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big,Terrible Thing.  I have loved him since I was in my early teens as Friends is my all-time favorite show.  He and Monica were my favorite characters on there, and he is my all-time favorite TV actor ever.  I love him.  My cousin married his sister, Mia (Maria as she’s called in the book), back in 2014 so I guess you could say I’m related to him now, too.  Hahahaha.  That is a BIG stretch, but just let me have my fun.  Hahahaha.  I got to meet him (and his famous dad) at their wedding back in 2014, and starstruck doesn’t even begin to describe that moment.  He gave a toast at the wedding, too, and listening to his speech was also surreal.  I absolutely adore him, y’all!!!!  So anyway, y’all KNEW I’d be picking up his book the day it was released!  Reading about his struggles has been really tough and seeing Mia’s (Maria’s) pictures in the book is just wild since she is my cousin’s wife who we hang out with when they’re in town.  (She is just wonderful and we all love her, too, by the way!)  But I am enjoying the book, even though it’s hard to read at times because he’s been through so much pain.  Matthew is a great writer, and I love that his writing style is casual… it feels just like I’m having a conversation with him.  I pray that he can stay clean and sober once and for all now. 

Wanting: To have all of my Christmas shopping and decorating done.  I feel soooo behind this year, y’all.  I’m usually good about staying on top of things and getting lots of things done in advance, but this year, I just haven’t had the time to do that.  I feel like I’m drowning a bit this year.   

Looking: At all of the Christmas inspiration on blogs and social media.  I just can’t get enough! 

Playing: A ton of Christmas music and a ton of 90’s R&B.  Also listening to T Swift’s new album on repeat still.  So much music, so little time, y’all!

Wasting: Nothing, I don’t think?  I’ve never been one to waste time or food or much of anything else. 

Buying: All the stuff we need for our trip to New York City, which isn’t much, but there are a few things that we need.  We were worried about taking Olivia on a flight since she just had surgery on her ear drum, but her ENT doctor assured us that it would be fine.  He did suggest getting some Earplanes for her to wear, though, because they help regulate the pressure in your ears as the plane ascends and descends.  I never knew these existed, and I am SO excited because I have really sensitive ears, and I hate flying for that reason.  We’re getting some for the whole family!  Oh, and I’m buying all the Christmas gifts, too, of course… ‘tis the season!

Sewing: Nothing.  Duh.

Wishing: For time to SLOW DOWN.  This is my very favorite time of year, and it always flies by, and I really hate that.  I truly cannot believe that November is almost over.  It’s mind-boggling.

Loving: The time change!  I know that’s an unpopular opinion, but I always feel so much better when we fall back each year… probably because it’s the actual real time.  Haha.  I mean, what’s not to like?  It feels like you’re sleeping in a little each morning, the kids are actually tired and ready to go to bed each night, we’re not driving to school in the dark anymore in the morning, and the evenings are soooo cozy with the sun setting earlier.  I do miss my evening walks and runs, but eh, it’s been too cold for those anyway lately.  Y’all can hate if you want to, but OG time is the best time.  ;o)

Hoping: That Christmas cards start to arrive in the mail soon!  I just love seeing everyone’s Christmas cards year after year, and I love how cheerful our kitchen looks with all of them hanging.

Marveling: At how you can see someone for the first time in 20 years and it’s like a day hasn’t even passed since you’ve seen them.  You’ll see this story again in my weekly update tomorrow, but I went with Olivia on a field trip to our city’s government center last Friday, and I ran into someone I hadn’t seen in 20 years.  I worked at the movie theater when I was 16-19 years old, and every Friday and Saturday, we had police officers and/or sheriffs at the theater for security, so I became really close with all of them.  I had two favorites, Lieutenant M and Officer P, and they were both the absolute BEST.  Well, Officer P ended up transferring to the sheriff’s department, and he just so happened to be there to greet us for Olivia’s field trip.  I hadn’t seen him in literally 21 years, but when I approached him and asked if he was Officer P, his eyes widened, and he remembered me immediately, even though I was just a kid the last time he saw me.  We got to catch up for a few minutes while the kids took pictures.  I asked him about Lieutenant M, and he told me that he still worked with him daily, so he called him on the phone right then and there, and I got on the phone and said “WHAT’S UP WITH MY DAWG?!” since that was our thing back then.  He knew exactly who he was talking to – LOL – and it was like no time had passed whatsoever, and it just completely made my week (month, year) getting to talk to both of them.  They’re both uber high-up at our sheriff’s department now, and I’m just so proud of both of them because it is so well-deserved!  I wish, so badly, that I’d taken a picture with Major P (as he’s now called).  ;o)

Needing: Taylor Swift tickets.  Hahahaha.  I know y’all have heard me ramble on about this Taylor Swift concert Ticketmaster fiasco for days, but I’m still just so mad about it.  There was so much shadiness surrounding the whole thing.  They have always sucked, but they reached a new low last week.  I hope that the government investigates and breaks them up once and for all.  They are a monopoly and that is illegal, after all. 

Smelling: Cinnamon cinnamon cinnamon!!!!  It’s my favorite scent of all-time, so this time of year is obviously my favorite!  My Cinnamon Bark oil in the diffuser is just pure heaven. 

Wearing: Lots of cozy sweaters, leggings, jeans, and boots.  My faux leather leggings are always a favorite this time of year (literally wearing them as I type), and y’all already know how much I love my new faux leather skirt.  Oh, and aaaallll the sweater dresses!  Man, I love cozy season the most!

Praying: That everyone stays well for all of our upcoming events, especially our trip to New York City!!!!  I/We have soooo many fun things coming up over the next couple of months – dinner with my old work family, three Thanksgiving celebrations with family, a super fun outdoor movie night with a bunch of our friends, Brian’s and my 15th wedding anniversary, the school Christmas program (that we missed last year because the kids had the flu), the Reindeer Run at the kids school that my friend, Becky, and I are chairing, our trip to New York City, and then, of course, a TON of fun things the rest of the holiday season.  I just love this time of year, y’all!!!!

Noticing: How packed our calendar is for the next six weeks.  I’m breaking out in hives just looking at it.  It’s all super fun, wonderful, festive stuff, though, and ANYTHING is better than what we went through in 2020, so I’m just trying to enjoy it and not complain.  Occasionally, the overwhelm creeps up, though, but I just try to breathe and take it one day at a time.  YOLOOOO.  Doing all the fun things > staying at home. 

Knowing: That I really need to buckle down the next couple of weeks and not only catch up on everything that I need to do but to also get ahead on things.  I’d love to be able to do enough blog posts in advance so I can take a little bit of a break from working during Christmas break like I did last year… is that too much to ask?!  Haha.

Thinking: That by the time I get all of my Christmas décor up this year, it’s going to be time to take it down.  Lol.  I typically put everything up the first week of November and then we put our main real tree up in the living room the day after Thanksgiving, but here we are in the next to last week of November and I’m still putting up all of the stuff that normally goes up November 1.  Haha.   

Opening: All of the Amazon and Target packages that have been delivering since I’ve been doing lots of Christmas shopping. 

Giggling: At all of the Ticketmaster/Taylor Swift memes this past week.  It was sheer misery trying to get those tickets, y’all, and if I don’t laugh about it then I’ll cry.  Haha.  I’ve already seen that a lawsuit has been filed against them for possibly violating antitrust laws, so we’ll see where that goes. 

And that’s what’s been going on over here lately!  What about y’all?

Happy Monday!