Loving… the sweet package I received from Kim this weekend! She gave me the best cat-themed package with a cozy blanket, a rock she painted, an ornament, and a tote bag. Kim is such an excellent gift-giver and the package made my day. (Funny moment, the gift arrived in an Amazon package and when I got home on Saturday, I was like, “Wait, what did I order from Amazon?” and was racking my brain trying to remember… and then I saw the package slip!)
Loathing… cancer. While I saw my grandma go through cancer treatments for 8 years (she had colon cancer), there has been something different about seeing the way lung cancer has leveled my uncle. He is not the person he was even a few months ago, and I know it’s been so hard on my cousin and her family. Cancer is so brutal and unfair.
Reading… three books. On audio, I’m finishing up The Displacements by Bruce Holsinger, which has been quite the adventure. (A category 6 hurricane blows through Florida and wipes Miami completely off the map, eeeks.) In print, I’m reading Recursion by Blake Crouch and The Stand-In by Lily Chu.
Watching… Quarterback on Netflix. It’s a documentary following three quarterbacks during the 2022 season: Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, and Marcus Mariota. I love it! I am a football fan, so I find the whole documentary to be fascinating, from how the players prepare each week to being in the huddle with them throughout each game. And it’s fun to get a glimpse into their home lives. I’ll admit that I never thought I would relate to an NFL quarterback but Marcus Mariota talking about how Sausage McMuffins are his favorite breakfast—kindred spirit.
Listening to… Christmas music. Is anyone surprised? I started listening to it sometime this month here and there, but now that we’re past Thanksgiving, it will be all Christmas music all the time!
Anticipating… the holiday season. My December has filled up with so many fun plans! There’s our annual book club Christmas party, a gingerbread house decorating event, Christmas cookie decorating with the fam, going to look at holiday lights with my mom, and even a casual Christmas hangout with work (our first since 2019!). Bri also gifted me a day at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas for my birthday, and I cannot wait for that! And I won’t even hit the after-Christmas lull because my mom, stepdad, the dogs, and I leave for Tennessee the day after Christmas!
Thinking about… my 2024 goals. I already have a few goals in mind to tackle next year and I’m not sure how I’ll organize them. Maybe 24 goals in ’24? That feels like a lot of goals, but I think I can sneak some fun one-off goals into this list. Right now, I have 4 goals for next year: Read 6 novels by Agatha Christie, go on a solo vacation, watch 5 movies that Knox and Jamie (of The Popcast) have green-lit, and launch a new blog theme with reorganized categories/tags. More to come, of course!
Buying… Christmas gifts! I am nearly done Christmas shopping, but still have a few more gifts to buy. And I have to go shopping for my Secret SANta Swap partner! I am excited to buy an assortment of fun gifts for my person. Yay!
Grateful… for a really fun birthday week ahead. I have a day date with my mom today and then dinner with Bri tonight, a full Day of Stephany planned tomorrow with dinner with my whole family in the evening, and book club on Thursday! It will be a great week filled with lots of love.
What are you currently watching and anticipating?
I loved The Stand-In! I hope you like it as much as I did.
I am very tempted by the Quarterback show. I never thought I’d be a golf person, but I watched Full Swing and suddenly Had Opinions about gold. Of all things! Maybe Quarterback could reignite my interest in the NFL (which took a sudden nosedive a few years back with CTE, national anthem, displays of militaristic intensity, etc.).
Hmm… I guess I need to add Full Swing to my list, too! Quarterback is amazing!
I am so glad you liked your gifts! Happy early birthday! I have to remember to send you a photo of the shop cat lying on your tote bag. And I have to remember to NOT reuse Amazon boxes LOL!
I am so sorry your uncle has been so rapidly affected by his cancer and isn’t even himself anymore. Brutal and unfair is exactly what it is.
Ooo, The Displacements sounds good. And Recursion and The Stand-In are two of my fave books!
Have a wonderful birthday week!!!
Currently watching Invasion, but not caring for it. Anticipating travel for a funeral next week.
Keep re-using Amazon boxes! It is a funny story for me to think about now, haha. I really appreciate the gifts!
Surprise packages are the best. How fun.
I am jealous you have almost all your Christmas shopping done. I haven’t even started.
I have some loose goal ideas for 2024 but nothing I. could put on paper yet.
With the Christmas shopping, it helps that I don’t have a long list of people to shop for. And in my family, we put together wishlists so it makes it a LOT easier to shop!
I loved Quarterback! I’ve liked all those sorts of Netflix shows, to be honest. Full Swing was good, I’m watching Break Point Now, and I LOVED Drive to Survive. But Quarterback was especially good <3
Adding all of these to my TV queue!
Happy birthday eve to you! You have a lot of fun stuff to look forward to in the weeks ahead! And how nice to have that post-Christmas trip to ward off the post-Christmas blues. It will be such a cozy time to get away!
We also watched Quarterback and really enjoyed it. It made me like Kirk Cousins more than I did previously. We found Mahomes’ wife VERY ANNOYING, though. Phil has definitely turned me into a sports person. I’ve always liked having football on in the background but now I really enjoy following things more closely. And I really love sports documentaries. Those are in the very think venn diagram overlap of tv interests for Phil and me! But right now we are watching “Band of Brothers.” I had watched it many years ago but Phil has never seen it so we are slowly watching it together. It is such a sobering show to watch.
I’m anticipating Taco getting better? He is still sick and this is day 5. This is such a nasty virus. I think it’s RSV. He had it last year and I think he was similarly ill. I just hope he turns the corner soon.
I have this weird love for Brittany Mahomes. I cannot really explain it, lol. I don’t think she’s someone I’d like IRL, but there’s just something about her that appeals to me online. I kept hearing how unlikable she was from Quarterback, but I haven’t seen anything too crazy yet. Maybe that happens in the last few episodes and my opinion of her will be revised!
I like Kirk Cousins, but it’s just so hard for me to understand his decision to not get vaccinated for Covid-19 when he has young children and was around people ALL THE TIME in 2021/2022. It puts a bit of a damper on the way I view him, unfortunately. But his wife is a DELIGHT.
Oh yes, I 100% agree about that aspect. I never understood that. There were a couple of players that did that. Although what bothered me more was Aaron Rodgers making it sound like he was vaccinated when he wasn’t. Ugh. But all of that behavior is deplorable.
OMG, do not even get me STARTED on Aaron Rodgers. He is such a quack. And to think I used to have a massive crush on him! Blah.
I’m so sorry about your uncle. Cancer sucks and that is all.
After a few years of kind of feeling stuck, I’m starting to get “goalish” again. At first I was going to say “nah, no need to have 24 for 2024”, but now that I’m thinking of it, there is a list of really simple things that I want to do. For example, I really want to make butter chicken. So my list could be a few lofty goals and to make butter chicken. Hmmm….food for thought. Anyways, I highly approve of reading 6 Agatha Christie novels and of course the solo travel.
Yes to simple and easy goals! I love having fun goals to shoot for – one of my goals this year was to go river tubing! Not every goal has to be serious. 🙂
I’m so sorry about your uncle!
I didn’t love the Stand-In, but I liked it fine.
Your post is so festive! I love it. My husband had an old friend over yesterday and it turns out his wife is a singer, and her most-downloaded song is It’s A Marshmallow World. I immediately downloaded it of course, and wow, is it ever a great version! It’s all Christmas music all the time around here too!
Oh, how fun! It’s a Marshmallow World is such a fun Christmas song. <3
Happy birthday, Stephany!!! Wonderful week, filled with amazing plans. What am I anticipating? L’s birthday party on Saturday and a lunch date with T on Sunday afternoon (finally found a sitter). Apart from that I need to get good grips in life in general, things feel unsteady.
I’m sorry things are feeling really hard right now. I hope things start looking up for you!
Ooh, I’ll be interested to hear what you think about Recursion. I’m thinking about books to get my son for Christmas and that one is a possibility.
i definitely need to watch Quarterback! I think I would love it.
I also have to shop for my Secret Santa person! I love all your Christmas-y plans this month, and i’m also hoping to fight off my post-Christmas depression with the upcoming trip to Tampa. WHICH, by the way is January 11-14. I would absolutely love to get together this time, even if it’s just for a quick cup of coffee. We’ll talk when it gets closer- I hope it works out!
You would definitely love Quarterback, Jenny! I recommend it.
YES – I don’t have anything going on Jan 11-14, so we are going to make this happen!
Oh, surprise packages from friends are the best 🙂
And I am with you on LOATHING cancer. So many people are affected and it’s a brutal disease.
I am excited that you have so many fun things planned in December. This will be a fun holiday season.
I have a button that says “Cancer Sucks”. That is all. It really, really does, and I am so sorry your family is navigating another cancer diagnosis. 🙁
I cannot wait to hear about the trip after Christmas. I hope there are recaps! 🙂