Five for Friday (v. 75)

1) BOOSTED

I got my Covid booster last Friday, and I’m happy to report that I didn’t have any side effects, aside from a sore arm. Woohoo! While I didn’t experience any symptoms after my first Covid shot, I seemed to get every single side effect from the second shot. I was really nervous the same thing was going to happen with the booster, which is why I got it right before a weekend when I didn’t have any plans. Throughout the day on Saturday, I kept thinking, “I’m so glad I feel good!” I was truly expecting I would spend the entire weekend feeling crummy. I started taking Tylenol right after getting the shot, and who knows if that was the magic sauce to feeling good, but at the very least, it didn’t hurt!

2) A Fun Holiday Weekend

Most of my weekend plans were tentative (see above), so I was so grateful to be feeling good and able to have a big holiday weekend with my mom! We hit up Bath & Body Works since it was $10 candle day (woop!) and then went to a Christmas tree lot to pick out a real tree for my mom’s home. We found a beautiful one pretty easily! My stepdad handled getting the tree situated in the stand (the worst part!) and my mom and I handled stringing the lights. The dogs were really excited about the tree (Lucy mainly liked eating the pine needles that kept falling, haha.)

On Sunday, my mom and I had a shopping extravaganza! We hit up Petsmart, Homegoods, TJ Maxx, and Target for presents and holiday decor. And now… I think I’m finished with all of my Christmas shopping??? Maybe?! It feels crazy to be finished so early in December, but I’m glad I can stop stressing about holiday gift-giving and just enjoy the magic of the Christmas season.

3) December Happenings

I have so many exciting holiday events coming up this month! This time of year just makes me so, so happy. Here’s what’s going down:

• Saturday, December 11th: Photos with Santa with the dogs! I would bring the cats, but Lila would hate me forever. I think Chip and Lucy will be much less traumatized, hehe. Later on, I’m meeting up with a few coworkers for a small holiday get-together. We’re going to decorate gingerbread houses!
• Monday, December 13th: Last year, my brother told us about a neighborhood that basically exists for its Christmas light display. Every home in this neighborhood is decked out, Griswold-style. We had to go! So we did and we were just completely stunned and enamored by it. On Monday, we’re going to grab dinner together and then drive through this fantastic display. I can’t wait!
• Thursday, December 17th: My work holiday party! We’re shutting down at 3 pm so we can all get together on Zoom to celebrate together. There is a rumor that our company may be sending us food and booze to celebrate in style.
• Sunday, December 19th: A holiday get-together with book club! Briana, the cutest human to ever exist, is organizing this, which she is calling “Holiday Brunch with Books.” We’ve been instructed to bring a wrapped book that we can exchange, blind-date style! I cannot wait for this!
• Tuesday, December 21st: Our annual cookie decorating extravaganza! Every year, my mom hosts me, my brother, my sister-in-law, and my nephews to make and decorate sugar cookies. We always make way too many cookies and have the best time (mostly laughing at our terrible decorating skillz). It’s one of my favorite holiday traditions.
• December 24th: My stepdad, my mom, and I started this tradition of going to a fancy steakhouse for dinner every Christmas Eve. This year, my stepdad stayed up late to get us reservations at Bern’s, a Tampa landmark that has won a slew of awards, as soon as they opened up Christmas Eve reservations. I am so excited! I’ve only been to Bern’s once before (reservations are notoriously difficult!) and I cannot wait to repeat the experience. (That dessert room, tho.)
• December 25th: Christmas Day! I will be going over to my mom’s house sometime in the late morning/early afternoon. My brother and his family usually come in the afternoon and we open presents, eat a big dinner, and hang out. We don’t really do a big family gathering on Christmas Day, which is something I’m really grateful for. I like that we have a low-key Christmas!

Look at all that fun coming up for me! What a full, blessed life I have. I do not take any of this for granted. <3

4) Best of 2021

My favorite thing to do every December is to look back on the year with a series of “Best of…” posts. It seems like I just keep adding more posts to this series, so much so that I decided to start this series earlier in December than usual! (I usually wait until after Christmas.) Here are the posts you can expect from Best of 2021:

• My favorite podcasts of the year
• My 2021 blogging stats/favorite posts
• An end-of-year survey (here’s a link to my 2020 survey, if you want to fill it out yourself!)
• A month-by-month recap of the year
• A review of my 2021 goals
• My favorite reads of the year (in superlative form!)
• My 2021 reading stats

5) Daily Activity December

On a whim, I decided to challenge myself to do 30 minutes of activity every day in December. One of the reasons I started this challenge is to better enjoy this beautiful time of year in Florida. It’s hot, of course, but much more manageable than the summertime temps. (80 degrees vs 110 degrees with 50% humidity…) Plus, sunshine and activity help me sleep better at night. My plan is to go for a 30-minute walk every day and do a 20-minute Peloton spin workout every few days. I have my own personal issues with daily exercise/workout challenges, which is why I’m using the term “daily activity.” (I’m not doing this to “earn my holiday treats!” or “keep off the holiday pounds!” No. If you use this verbiage, please stop. It’s fatphobic and honestly, pure nonsense.) I just want to move my body in a way that feels good to me (walking is my favorite form of exercise) and try to build a habit of getting outside and enjoying the beautiful weather once a day, even on my busiest days.

What’s a fun holiday event you’re looking forward to?