November Pointless Lists

I took an inadvertent break from blogging this week. Not planned, but it was kind of restful. I love writing, but sometimes I love it kind of less. Also, my public (hi Mom!) doesn't have internet this week due to a provider switchover, and hence, no one has been bugging me about my lack of posts.

Well, whatever, I guess. I have lots to write about now, except I can't remember what those things are. Sometimes being 41 is exciting like that.

Oh, here's something, though: Johanna and I were walking around a store (probably Walmart, the bastards, because she wanted yarn for a weaving project similar to this), and she was holding my hand and telling me all the things she was thankful for: Existence, her family, having arms and legs, and eyes and ears, and being able to ride a bike. I was like, that is the best list EVER.

Also: Today is Eric's 43rd birthday. And I would just like to say that I really love that man.

Pointless list time!

Books read:
So I meant to reread Allegiant this month, but... Tris! I just couldn't. But I thought about it a lot. What I did read was a lot of old Outlander because I love Jamie and Claire (and I tend to skip to the parts that are just about them, I'm rereading, who cares?, I'm on the last book now and I'll do what I want).

THEN. On November 22, I just happened to be on Facebook (that's been less and less these days, it's kind of driving me nuts over there) and saw Amazon had Stephen King's 11/22/63 for $2.99 on Kindle for that day only. This is a book on my list, so I jumped on it. (I've learned that if a book is not on your list, you should not buy it, no matter how cheap it is.) I'm only 40-percent through (it's like 800+ pages, thank God I don't have to lug it around, have I mentioned how much I love my Kindle?), but am enjoying it immensely. Well written, interesting storyline, likable characters. I've been trying to take my time and not barnstorm through the thing, as is my usual habit when reading. Reading slowly is hard for some reason...

Thanksgiving update:
We had two Thanksgiving dinners this year, which was kind of exciting. Since we knew we were eating twice we tried not to overdo it at any one stop, but still sort of failed on all accounts. I mean, I was so full I didn't get a piece of pie.

But it was a great day. We spent time with Eric's side in the early afternoon, then went to my parents' house later that evening. My brother Tim came to town this year, which was awesome--he works quite antisocial hours, so we don't get to see him very much. Maybe that's why, when we do see him, it feels like a party. Anyway, it's always fun to spend a day with your favorite people, and we saw all kinds of our favorite people that day. Plus I got to tell the story of when I was watching a then three-year-old Cody (he's a sophomore in college now) and learned that boys love peeing outside. He seemed kind of proud.

Project 333 update:
I struggled hard in October with my picks, but this month went very smoothly. Looks like my black cardigan, black long-sleeve t-shirt, black/white button-down, denim skirt, black pants, jeans, scarves and coat were the big winners this month (yes, I keep a graph so I can tell at a glance. I told you I'm anal). That's a lot of black. I just dig it, I guess. Out of my 33 items, there were 7 that I didn't wear at all. I'm trying to decide if I want to make a new list for December, switching out items that I didn't wear for things that maybe I will, or if I want to just keep on keeping on with what's in the closet. This first Project 333 block is a learning one for me, so I'm okay with either option. It's amazing to me that with a closet so small there could be things I didn't even wear... but it makes getting rid of things I thought I couldn't live without that much easier. Because clearly, I already AM living without them.

P.S. Still no one has noticed.

Pointless thought:
Shopping on Thanksgiving Day is a thing now, and it is apparently called "Brown Thursday." Does this make anyone else besides me think of poopie underwear? Because that's the image I get: People walking around with filled pants. I don't know, maybe I just have problems.

Um, and no. No, we did not partake in any of that madness. In fact, I gave a mental high-five to all the businesses who remained closed--some even on Black Friday. I can respect that kind of a stand.

Things I've learned:
Looking through Brown Thursday / Black Friday ads with my mother, safe and warm at her kitchen table, is extremely entertaining. Skilly is NOT interested in sitting in empty boxes. (I did an experiment. My cat is an anomaly.) Johanna has a lot to be thankful for. Abby may not be fast, but when your strengths lie vertically, you still make the basketball team. Visiting with family and friends is THE BEST.

Saturday "Art," right after I took this photo it went down to 18* edition

I'm a little cold... but that's just my personality. (Ha.)

Positively... a post

So I just wrote a long post about a lady who came into our office on Monday, but now I'm wondering if maybe it's not the most charitable thing ever and that I shouldn't publish it after all. Ah, well. It was only an hour of my life. The thing is that I'm getting kind of tired with the snarky comments and stories I see all over the internet--because why can't we just be nice, people?--and here I am, making fun of someone just because she had the misfortune to annoy me on a particularly busy workday. Not cool, Trisha. Not cool.

So let me tell you some positive mini-stories instead:

Faux artistic moon in the trees shot from this morning.
(I promise the moon is there...)

We spent this weekend in the Land of My Birth, and we got to see so many people whom we dearly love and who (yay us!) love us back: Ann and John, Seth and Ashley, my grandparents, Jan and Doug, Bethie, Clara and the super adorbs Maggie Mae. And my parents, who were visiting too. And then my brother Tim called as we were driving home and I talked to him for like two hours. All awesome. All positive!

Cranky Steve (who has a bad head cold and is now Melancholy Steve) announced yesterday that cats and raccoons aren't supposed to get along, but his cats AND his raccoons are now sleeping under his front porch together in perfect harmony. That is... okay, that is alarming, but he was so happy. Positive!

Skilly just jumped up on my lap and is showing how much he loves me by scratching the crap out of my legs and biting my arm!

Also: Coffee! I've been making myself a fancy drink for the office that consists of my regular coffee and milk, but with a dash of hot chocolate and a splash of my homemade vanilla syrup. That is quite delightful. Positive!

It is colder than heck outside, but the sun is shining and it's a beautiful day. I'm wearing a turtleneck sweater and feeling pretty warm and snug and grateful that I can look at the view without having to actually go out and freeze. Positive!

Now I'm thinking of the homeless and/or disenfranchised who don't have anywhere warm to be. Not positive. I do have a coat in the closet that Johanna has outgrown... I'm sure I can donate it to the school for someone who needs one. That makes me feel better. It's not the war, but it's a battle. Positive!

I have some tomato soup in the refrigerator that is destined to be my lunch. I love a nice warm lunch on a cold day. I'm a big fan of lunch. Yay lunch!

I really love my job and my coworkers. Going to work really just feels like some cool place I get to hang out for a few hours every day. Positive!

Now Skilly is attacking my throw rug and showing it who's boss, and the good news is that he's attacking the rug and not my feet. Oh, wait, he got sidetracked and now he's cleaning himself. You know what? If that's not a positive note to end on, then I don't know what is.

Happy Wednesday, internet friends!