Hello, it’s been a while. I have had so much going on and no energy. So what have I been up to in the past three months – well… in the words of Rhianna, work, work, work, work, work, work. But here are five non-work things (told in pictures).

— Thing One —

I spent most of my Thursday – Sunday nights watching all of the forty new Hallmark movies (and quit playing my Xmas bingo cards halfway through). Here are my top 5 of the season. I really appreciated that Hallmark broke the template on many of these to the point where I could have done with a few more minutes of the stories.
While this started off as irony, it morphed into something to remember my mom by, and it was a welcomed reprieve from the busy days when putting something on and shutting down was necessary.

— Thing Two —

I set up a Christmas tree — it’s a tiny one, but I did it. I’m a little proud of the tree, even though it’s a bit sparse (ha), but it makes my office look adorable and works as a great background. I did play with the idea of getting a real tree but ultimately decided against it – selecting, transporting, and taking care of one was not something I wanted to do. This tree is also not sponsored by the Target birds.

— Thing Three —

I had a plan to handcraft my Christmas presents, and this was a mock-up of one of the things I was planning. However, it didn’t come to fruition (see early comment about shutting down), so if you were one of six to receive one of these, think of it as a limited edition. I have a bunch of yarn and my goal is to make gifts for next year instead.

— Thing Four —

I finally made it out to the Bryant Park Christmas shops again. They expanded the shops (not sure if they had that last year) so there were a lot more things to see. I suggest spending two nights at the shops to get a really good look at all the things – I might have gotten more things if I had more time to browse.

I will add here, in case it seems like I only worked and watched movies, but I did manage to find some time to hang with friends. I counted at least 10 events between October and now that were just friend hangouts so, yay for friends and fun to keep me sane through this busy time.

— Thing Five —

Spotify Wrapped happened, and it was not surprising at all. But, I’ve started using the DJ more, and have picked up a few new songs that I won’t have normally listened to, so maybe next year will be different. Here are my top artists/songs and podcasts for this year — I absolutely recommend all of them!

~*~

Bah! Hambug! Now that’s too strong, ’cause it is my favorite holiday. But all this year’s been a busy blur, don’t think I have the energy to add to my already mad rush just ’cause it’s ’tis the season…

The Waitresses; Christmas Wrapping