*This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
It’s time for my quarterly “currently” post, so it’s time for some randomness!
Making: Plans for so many upcoming events that I’m organizing plus various other things that I’m working on. Brian’s and my day date on Friday. Class auction baskets for fourth and seventh grades. Reindeer Run at the kids’ school. Christmas shopping. Olivia’s class Christmas party. Finishing up decorating for Christmas. Sending out Christmas cards. Whew.
Cooking: Lots of easy meals, but ones that include lots of veggies. Between Thanksgiving break and my trip to New York City, I’ve eaten tons of junk and had many an adult beverage these last two weeks, so I’m trying to get as many veggies (and lots of protein) into our meals as I can.
Drinking: A whole lot of alcohol. Lol. As I said before, during Thanksgiving break, B and I treated ourselves to drinks most nights, and in New York City, we definitely did our fair share of drinking – beer, wine, cocktails, etc. I had the best cocktail at the Oscar Wilde popup Christmas bar in New York. It was called the “Leisurely in Love” and it had Titos Vodka, Giffard Lychee, Combier Rose, Lavender, and fresh lime juice, and it was soooo delicious. I also had a couple of beers on the trip, and I had a couple of Amaretto sours at our hotel bar. That’s my Momma’s signature cocktail so I joined her for a couple one evening. ;o) Now that I’m back from vacation, I’m sticking to water water water. And my hot tea, of course. I did also treat myself to Starbucks the morning we got back, because I was craving a Peppermint Mocha the whole time we were in New York City, but I never got one because coffee makes my stomach iffy sometimes and I didn’t want to risk it. When I went to get my Peppermint Mocha on Monday, I was so disappointed because they were out, and I had to settle for a Caramel Brulee. While it was delicious, it did not hit the spot since I had my heart set on a Peppermint Mocha. Guess I’ll be taking another trip to a different Starbucks soon!
Eating: See above for what I’m cooking. Haha. Lots of veggies and fruits, and as little gluten as possible. I still haven’t cut it out altogether, but I’ve been eating much less of it, aside from during Thanksgiving break and our trip to NYC.
Reading: I’ve been reading the same book for a month – The Idea of You by Robbine Lee. It’s such a great book, y’all, but I just haven’t had the time to read lately, so it’s taking me forever to get through it. I’ve also been making my way through Winning the War in Your Mind by Craig Groeschel, although, I haven’t picked it up in a couple of months. And I’m, of course, working my way through The Bible and The Bible Recap.
Wanting: To get caught up on life stuff and get ahead of the game. I feel like I’ve been behind this entire year and that’s a yucky feeling, but no matter how hard I try, I just cannot seem to get ahead this year. It has truly just been one of those years.
Looking: Forward to all of the festive things that the Christmas season is going to bring! We have so many fun things coming up, and I just love this time of year!
Playing: Soooo much Taylor Swift. I just cannot get enough of her, and ever since she released the song “You’re Losing Me” I cannot stop listening. It is just the most heartbreaking song. I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it a million more times here on the blog, but the girl is a lyrical genius. I love her.
Wasting: Nothing?
Buying: Aaaallll the Christmas gifts. I think I’m about halfway done?? I haven’t checked thoroughly, but I’d like to be done as early as possible this year. Brian and I are going on a day date Friday, which usually translates to “running all the errands,” so I’m hoping that we can knock out nearly the rest of the shopping. I’m also buying all of the items for the fourth and seventh grade class auction baskets as well as items for the Reindeer Run fundraiser at the school in a couple of weeks.
Sewing: Nothing per usual.
Wishing: That this vertigo would go away. Sigh. Yep, it’s still here. It’s been almost five months and it’s. still. here. Thankfully, it isn’t affecting my daily activities as much anymore, but it would be really nice to be able to lay down, recline, sit up from laying down or reclining, run, and tilt my head up without everything spinning. I’m so freaking tired of it. I am very grateful that I can drive and do most of my other daily activities now, though. So grateful.
Loving: These Chelsea boots from Target! They are just fabulous! I purchased them for our trip to New York City and they did not disappoint. I walked all over the place in them, and they were so comfortable. They have a small block heel, so they’re stylish, but not too tall, and they have memory foam insoles for maximum comfort. They’re also water resistant and they’re surprisingly warm! I cannot recommend these enough! And the best part for me was that I got them for 30% off making them just $28! They’re not currently on sale, but they’re worth every penny of the full $39.99 price point.
Hoping: That we all stay well for the remainder of the Christmas season. Brian is recovering from a cold and pinkeye, but the kids and I haven’t been sick in a while. *Knocks wood* I just pray everyone stays well so we don’t have to miss anything festive or important like we did the year before last when 3/4 of the family got the flu for the entire week before Christmas.
Marveling: At the fact that both Brian and my dad both got sick a couple of days before Momma and I left for New York City, and neither Mom nor I got sick. SO GRATEFUL. My dad thinks he may have had the flu as he was so very sick with aches, chills, and fever, and Brian had a bad cold and pinkeye in both eyes. Both of them came down with their sicknesses two days before we were supposed to leave for our trip, so I thought for sure one (or both) of us were going to end up getting sick on the trip, but we didn’t! Whew. Thank goodness for my trusty Thieves from Young Living!!!! I started slathering myself in it the second Brian told me he had a scratchy throat.
Needing: To catch up on so many things. My master to-do list is insanely long right now, and it seems that every single time I cross an item off the list, 2-3 pop up in its place. I took some time earlier this week to get organized and make all the lists, and it has made such a huge difference in my headspace. Even though I know I have a lot to tackle, at least it’s all written down and organized.
Smelling: Cinnamon and clove in my diffuser always and forever this time of year. This scent is what I imagine heaven will smell like for me one day.
Wearing: These jeans (I get so many questions about these and they're currently on sale!) and these faux leather leggings on repeat, these sweaters, and these boots.
Praying: For so many things. We have so many family members and friends who are suffering right now. For my cousin who is fighting cancer, for my aunt who is struggling with Alzheimer's, for my uncle who is struggling with Parkinson’s and dementia, for my uncle and aunt who are caring for both them around the clock (I can’t imagine the toll it must take on them mentally and physically), for another cousin who recently lost a loved one, for Jacob’s teacher who is beginning a very tough cancer battle, for one of my best friends who just lost her baby, for Maui who was just diagnosed with stage one kidney disease, for a medical professional somewhere to somehow figure out how to help me be free of this vertigo once and for all, FOR PEACE IN THIS WORLD, and for several unspoken requests that I’m keeping to myself. It has been a really tough year, and I’ve realized this year more than ever that it’s true that you never really know what someone is going through... things may look okay – maybe even great – from the outside, but you just never know what’s truly going on behind the scenes in someone’s life. This has made me try to be much more patient and kind with others than ever this year. And in addition to all of the above requests, I’ve been thanking God extra hard for all of the good things in life, especially the health of our immediate family.
Noticing: That these last four months of the year, which are my favorites, are flying by faster than ever. Every year it seems to go by faster than the last, and just when I think it can’t possibly fly by any faster, it does. I’m not one to rush time, but I do have to say that I am looking forward to a new year and a fresh start. While we did have so many good things happen this year, 2023 will still go down in history as one of my least favorites. We have had way too much sickness, injury, sadness, health scares, car wrecks, and bad news this year, and living with vertigo for nearly half of the year has been a huge challenge, especially knowing at this point that it may be something I have to live with forever.
Knowing: That 2024 is going to be better. I’m speaking it into existence now!
Thinking: That I’m so grateful that we actually went through with our girls trip to New York City. It was the highlight of my year! I’m so grateful that I got to have all of that time with my Momma, my aunt, and my cousin, and I’m extremely grateful that our trip went so smoothly. After having so many things go wrong this year, it almost felt like I was playing with fire taking the trip. Haha.
Opening: Lots and lots of packages from Amazon and Target and various other stores. I took full advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and I’ve been doing lots of online shopping for Christmas, so I had a pile of packages waiting for me when I got home from my trip.
Giggling: At Brian because he just texted me and asked me what on earth was going on with Olivia’s legs in a picture I posted on Instagram. He said it looks like she has three legs in the picture I posted on Instagram stories and now I can’t unsee it. Lol.
This is the picture I posted:
That picture did create somewhat of an illusion with her foot looking like her leg! Funny! You do have a long list of prayers. It is hard to see so many people struggling. I'm glad you got to go on your trip and no one got sick! I've been lucky too thank God with my boys having colds and me not catching them!
ReplyDeleteMaybe because my son often sits like that but I thought it looked totally normal! LOL. So glad you had such a wonderful girls trip away and that everyone stayed healthy for it. There is not much worse than being sick ON vacation. I feel like our prayer list looks very similar; it seems like we know so many people facing all sorts of health issues and diagnoses this year; various cancers of all stages, kidney disease, MS, etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry your prayer list looks similar. I hope things start to look up for all of your loved ones soon.
Delete