Publish all outstanding Tag posts where I’ve been tagged. — Did not accomplish.
Make at least one thrift store run. — Accomplished!
Write at least two Book Reviews. — Accomplished!
Clear more clutter. — Accomplished!
Work in my office for an hour each weekend. — Did not accomplish.
Clean out the cabinet above the oven. — Did not accomplish.
Sponsor Christmas gifts for two local children. — Accomplished!
Start my spreadsheet for cataloging all my American Girl items to sell. — Did not accomplish.
Celebrate Phineas and Ferb’s Gotcha Day! — Accomplished!
Enjoy Al’s company holiday party. — Accomplished!
Participate in my P.E.O. chapter’s gift wrapping fundraiser. — Accomplished!
Enjoy Christmas! — Accomplished!
Enjoy New Year’s! — Accomplished!
December was far busier and a bit more stressful than I would have liked. I didn’t write here on the blog very much, but I’m grateful for what I did accomplish. I had several meltdowns, but it was all because of my need to control and acting like I could handle everything. The truth is – I can only handle so much. Thankfully, Al was off work for most of the month, and I eased a lot of my anxiety (after the meltdowns happened) by asking him to help with the dishes and laundry when I was at work. In turn, I was less stressed going into Christmas.
Not to say that Christmas wasn’t stressful! We found ourselves at the emergency vet with Ferb on Christmas Eve. Thankfully, he’s okay. He gave us a good scare. He got overly nervous and stressed with all the activity and home improvement project noise in the house for the several days leading up to Christmas Eve. We had some medication left over when Phineas experienced similar symptoms last May, and one dose helped get things back to normal. Our vet is also wonderful – He called us the day after Christmas, after the office closed, and offered to get us the medication to the pharmacy closest to our house if we truly needed it. That one bottle cost us $13.50 on December 27th, and it’s like gold to us. We will always keep some on hand!
We hosted Christmas breakfast and opened gifts. We went to my parents for Christmas dinner, and had a wonderful time with family and friends. I was grateful to have a few days off during Christmas week, and then a day and a half off this week for New Year’s.
I read and reviewed three books this month: Janesville: An American Story, The Stolen Sapphire: A Samantha Mystery, and Paper Girls Volume 1.
I also started reviewing the first draft of my novel in PDF form – I’m almost done. I’m looking forward to printing it out this weekend, and starting to edit by hand. I also received incredible feedback from my friend and fellow writer, Mike H., and can’t wait to dive into his comments.
Participate in the P.E.O. Reciprocity Rally in Richmond. — Accomplished!
Celebrate four years of marriage with Al! — Accomplished!
Participate in NaNoWriMo 2019. — Accomplished!
Publish all outstanding Tag posts where I’ve been tagged. — Did not accomplish.
Make at least one thrift store run. — Did not accomplish.
Explore The Great Exchange. — Accomplished!
Celebrate multiple birthdays! — Accomplished!
Enjoy Thanksgiving! — Accomplished!
See A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. — Accomplished!
Write at least two Book Reviews. — Did not accomplish.
Clear more clutter. — Did not accomplish.
Work in my office for an hour each weekend. — Did not accomplish.
Clean out the cabinet above the oven. — Did not accomplish.
November was a really busy month! Look for a blog post next week about my NaNoWriMo 2019 experience.
The first weekend of November was Lane’s epic 30th birthday celebration! On Friday night, we did an awesome escape room called “The Kidnapping” at Breakout Games in Virginia Beach.
Then, we went to the Airbnb she’d found, it was close to the Chesapeake Bay. It was an adorable house. We had a blast. Everyone brought food, and we all got to know each other better. There was also a small Spice Girls sing-along.
On Saturday morning, the fabulous make-up artist, Sydney, arrived. Several of us had our hair and makeup done. We left the Airbnb and headed to Windsor Castle Park in Smithfield. We couldn’t have asked for a prettier day!
Image Credit: Nick BorisImage Credit: Nick BorisImage Credit: Nick Boris
The following weekend was the Reciprocity Rally, held at the Henrico County Public Library – Varina, outside of Richmond. There were 75 women in the conference / meeting room, along with delicious fall goodies. After the rally, where we learned about leadership styles and ideas for membership, members of the 2022 Convention Committee gathered. It will be held at the Renaissance Hotel in Portsmouth! I’m so excited that it’s so close to my house! We had a great carpool group, too.
Our wedding anniversary was November 14th. We went to work, and then celebrated at Decoys Seafood. This is the “hat trick” of restaurants that are owned by the same people. We went to River Stone Chophouse in 2017, and Vintage Tavern in 2018. We had a wonderful meal. I also recognized our server, Alexander, who was in youth group with me years ago. He went out of his way to make our night special – He gave us a moscato toast, and vanilla bean ice cream for dessert. We had enough food left over to have dinner taken care of on Friday! We both blame the crab dip – Excellent, but it also filled us up.
There were multiple birthdays as well. Lane, Bruce, Kristian, Grandpa Stricker, and Nick!
I took my mom to see A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood on Tuesday, November 26th. She had seen it once before, but knew she’d missed stuff. It’s definitely one of my favorite movies of the year. Tom Hanks did an excellent job. And the story was really good. I’m looking forward to seeing it again.
Bruce, Al, and I also went to see Midway the Friday before Thanksgiving. It was also well-done. Al’s grandpa served on the USS Yorktown during the battle.
Now that November is over, I plan to dedicate the month of December to de-cluttering and organizing. I’m tired of the state of my office, and I’m on a deadline to get it clean now. I have until February to get it ship-shape, since my P.E.O. chapter is coming to my house to learn about American Girl!
Happy Anniversary, Al! Four years have truly flown by.
We love our house. It was an expensive year in 2018 – We bit the bullet and replaced our entire HVAC system. But, we’re almost done paying it off. Yay!
We adopted Pablo, a greyhound, in September. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. The poor baby had such severe separation anxiety that we couldn’t keep him or felt it was safe for him. Thankfully, he went to a good home.
In December 2018, we adopted Phineas and Ferb from Saver of Souls Rescue, and it’s been an amazing experience. As I write this, they are snuggled under the giant sherpa blanket by my feet.
The biggest life change was me changing jobs. I’ve been with Sentara since early September, and I’m so glad I took the plunge. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Riverside – I was there for nearly seven years. But, making the switch has done wonders for me in many ways.
It’s almost time for the holidays! We’re excited to celebrate Thanksgiving with Al’s family, and then Christmas will be a bigger affair with both sets of parents and more.
Continue my fun Writing Prompt series, publishing one every Friday in October. — Accomplished!
Celebrate multiple birthdays! — Accomplished!
Volunteer at the blood drive. — Accomplished!
Publish all outstanding Tag posts where I’ve been tagged. — Did not accomplish.
Participate in decorating duffel bags for local children in foster care. — Accomplished!
Celebrate my church’s 50th Anniversary. — Accomplished!
Make at least one thrift store run. — Did not accomplish.
Prep for NaNoWriMo 2019. — Accomplished!
Celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Ghostbusters. — Accomplished!
Send cards to several friends. — Did not accomplish.
Research area rugs for the living room. — Did not accomplish.
Try some new recipes. — Accomplished!
Test-bake the cookies for the upcoming Cookie Exchange with my P.E.O. chapter. — Did not accomplish.
Read every night before bed. — Semi-Achieved.
Enjoy Halloween! — Accomplished!
October was a jam-packed month! I was able to volunteer at the blood drive, and I was also able to give a pint! Turns out that my Power Red donation in August was only counted as one unit because of some complications I experienced. So, I was eligible to donate in October, rather than having to wait until December to give again. I learned this week that my pint of blood went to the University of Virginia (UVA) Medical Center in Charlottesville.
I’m very excited to kick off NaNoWriMo 2019! I’m writing something new, and it’s something out of my comfort zone. Stay tuned!
We celebrated my mom’s birthday during the first weekend of October. Then, Nick and Savy’s anniversary and Mia’s birthday in the middle of the month! We also went to a fun Spooky Brunch during the weekend of the 12th, where we ate amazing food, watched The Nightmare Before Christmas and Beetlejuice, and enjoyed each other’s company.
The church’s 50th Anniversary was incredible. More than two years of work by many people came together in a wonderful weekend. The combined service on Sunday was packed – It was easily 500 people. We had several former pastors attend. All the musical groups performed together – Children’s choir, chancel choir, handbell choir. The catered lunch afterwards was delicious as well.
The significant new recipe I tried was Greek Chicken Bowls. Delicious! And it fed us for lunch for a week!
I decided a few months ago to switch back to LUSH products, and Bath & Body Works. I finally decided I wasn’t happy with the cost of the Rodan + Fields products, among other things. More to come on that with a different blog post, very soon.
Ocean Salt (face and body scrub)
Angels on Bare Skin (face and body cleanser)
Magic Crystals (shower scrub)
Eucalyptus Spearmint (body wash and foam bath)
Eau Roma Water (toner)
Imperialis (moisturizer)
D’Fluff (shaving soap)
Hair
I Love Juicy (shampoo)
American Cream (conditioner)
Makeup
I threw out all my old products, including everything from Mary Kay and Savvy Minerals by Young Living.
I’m happy with my LUSH and drugstore products at this point. At the moment, I only use liquid eyeliner and mascara. However, I plan to use a Target gift card on some new blush and a few eyeshadow palettes soon.
What about you?
Do you have a certain skin routine? What about makeup?
Have you tried any homemade recipes related to skin or makeup?
Check back in a few months – I’ll likely have another update post to share!
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