November Goals

My favorite month of the year has arrived! I love the crisp mornings, sunny afternoons, crackling fires, and the anticipation of all the holiday things to come.

On the Calendar this Month:

1. Brooke and Cam's birthdays. 

A family dinner party for Brooke and a sleepover with friends for Cam!

2. Our anniversary, a friends' wedding, and a dinner party. 

We celebrated 13 years! Already had the dinner party and happy to report that The Newlywed Game was a success!

3. Thanksgiving with family

I think this is the first year where we haven't hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our home.  While it's a bit sad to break tradition, it will be fun to try something new.

4. UT football game!

After a childhood of hearing about Tennessee football, I'm excited to experience my first game!

What I read in October:

1. Big Dumb Eyes by Nate Bargatze. An easy, light read of life stories from one of my favorite comedians. It wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny as his standup, but it was still delightful.

2. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. This was an Oprah Book Club pick way back in 2018 that I've had saved on my Amazon list for years. It's good, although probably not one that stands out compared to the really good books I've read over the past few years (recent standouts for me are Demon Copperhead, The Covenant of Water, God of the Woods, and Remarkably Bright Creatures). 

What I'm Loving Lately:

1. Hot chocolate topped with marshmallows has been a hit in our household lately . A perfect treat after dinner. In addition to the normal Swiss Miss Marshmallow one, I've bought the White Chocolate, Double Chocolate, and Pumpkin Spice flavors recently and all have gotten good reviews.

2. Coloring. It occupies bored children and it's fun for me too. Brooke has been very into coloring lately, so I pulled out some of Cam's nice art supplies and adult coloring books, along with cheap crayons and paper for Brooke. With the coloring books and crayons within sight in the dining room, this has been a popular activity lately. Cam was out of school last Tuesday and when I asked him what he planned to do all day, he responded "I'm just gonna color and listen to K-Pop Demon Hunters all day." LOL!

Goals for November:

1. Plan most of my Christmas gifts and holiday activities for next month.

2. Celebrate and enjoy all of the birthdays, anniversaries, and Thanksgiving. :)

3. Design and purchase Christmas cards.