November Pointless Lists

iPad art by Johanna. She certainly knows
the way to my heart.

Today is, true story, Eric's 45th birthday. Which begs the question: How did he get so old? Luckily I am as young and blooming as ever. Or maybe just immature. Yeah, I totally do better with adult supervision.

Kind of lost the thread of my thoughts here already, but what to the ever.

So. November. Pointless list time?

Books read
I read too many (never!), so you can see all of that ordeal HERE.

A Thanksgiving rant
You guys, when did Thanksgiving turn into thanks-getting? We had shops open at 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, which I was horrified to learn, except then I found out the grocery store didn't even close until 4 p.m., so really, whatever, I guess. But it just depresses me to no end.  It's like we're saying, I guess I'm thankful for my blessings, but what I really need is this XYZ and then I'll really be happy! Just... where does it end?

So we didn't buy anything on Thanksgiving Day, not even a cup of coffee (of which I was sorely tempted by, I won't lie, but I held strong). And we had a very nice day with family and Mom's homemade stuffing, and you know what? It was perfect.

Light update
I'm just trying to be kind to myself. I had an ah-ha moment at the acupuncturist's office earlier this month when my stomach was a wreck -- she said something about being self-destructive when we're stressed, and I was like, WHAT? Because I've never thought about it that way before: I do things that will make myself sick, but I justify it by saying that I'm just giving in to what my body wants (my mind?). But I have never, ever thought of myself as self-destructive.

You guys, I'm self-destructive! So now when I'm faced with a decision when I'm stressed / hungry / angry / happy / unhappy / anxious / depressed, I think, Is this self-destructive? And if I answer yes, then I do not do that thing.

I'm channeling Dwight Schrute, now that I think about it:

Project 333 update
I guess I kind of already did this one, too, HERE, but anyway, the other day I wore a pair of leggings that I have literally worn to work once a week since I got them (in September? I forget), and everyone was freaking out about my "new" outfit. I was like, uh, no, and they were all, we've never seen those leggings before! And I was like, huh, well, I guess it's true that no one really pays attention to what you wear.

I was quite comforted by that, actually.

Skilly update
Skilly is not amused by 18-degree temperatures. (That's Fahrenheit, by the way.) He goes out, then he comes back in, then forgets that it's cold and goes back out, then immediately wants back in. That's kind of how he is when it's hot too, though. Cats are jerks.

Never mind. He's perfect.

Johanna update
This past weekend, Eric and Johanna made her a pair of nunchucks in Eric's shop. It's probably fine. What could happen?

She's also on a traveling basketball team (not her idea) and is ... doing okay, I guess. She's a natural athlete, but she lacks, shall we say, determination, confidence and drive. (Well, me too, so I mean this in no way derogatorily.)

Abby update
Basketball season has also started for Abby, which means if I had a social life, it would be over between the two girls' schedules. Good thing I don't, then. She's on varsity, is a tower, and has enough determination for the entire squad.

Minimalism and zero waste update
Minimalism is easy. It's easy to discard and it's easy not to buy anything when you're forced to think about A) What you just got rid of and 2) How you're going to eventually have to get rid of this.

I don't know if the kids always appreciate this mindset (Johanna wants a huge stuffed monkey for Christmas, but what in the world do you do with something like that?), but I like to think eventually they'll thank me for it.

Or at least have something to talk about in therapy when they're adults.

Zero waste is harder. I really, really need to start planning our meals and such around what is available to us without packaging -- I think that would take away a lot of my frustration and my tendency to fail. A nobel goal. I will try harder.

I also don't know if Eric always appreciates this, either, since I don't care what anyone says, most of the time package-less items cost more than their prepackaged counterparts, and he's all about the bottom line...