Happy Wednesday! I can’t believe this is the last Wednesday of the year!! I feel like I need to reintroduce myself after the last week and a half. I wasn’t sure about posting regularly last week like I said last Monday, but things got even busier than I thought. The boys both got the stomach bug (negative tests all around) and all our plans were immediately put on pause. Luckily, they were better for our Christmas Eve plans. I have a bunch to share so let’s get to it!

WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK…

Anything in the fridge! I hosted dinner on Tuesday and Friday and hosted all day on Christmas. As usual, I made way to much food! So we are working through the leftovers and getting creative with combinations.
Our freezer has approached “open at your own risk” status. So needless to say, our meals for the next few weeks will come from the freezer. There are tons of veggies, protein, fruit, and pasta options in there. I like having a full freezer for meal planning, but it’s getting a little too full.

WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT…

Every Christmas Eve we take pictures in front of our Christmas tree and I love looking back at them. The kids always look so cute in their Christmas outfits! They’ve grown so much in the nine years we’ve lived in our house.

Here’s this year’s picture. The kids love their new pjs and changed into them quickly!

I’ve also been reminiscing about January 1st, 2016. That is the day I started my 1,200 day run streak. I have said it before but I think I may actually start running a little more regularly.

WHAT I’M LOVING…

Christmas break has been so good! I cannot believe how much I have been sleeping! I usually wake up on my own around 6 and I have been sleeping until 730 or later! I’ve been making to do lists, just like my normal self, but I haven’t been accomplishing everything. And that is ok! My kids are playing with friends and playing so many games together.

I am loving our addition! It gave us the perfect amount of room to host our family! It has also been the perfect amount of space to make me want to keep our Christmas tree up a little longer. It brings me so much joy!

WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO…

Celebrating!!
We celebrated my niece’s first birthday with a great gingerbread party!

We made cookies together!

We celebrated Jolabokaflod, the Icelandic tradition of giving books on Christmas Eve.

We celebrated Christmas with my parents, Jeff’s parents, my sister, her husband, and daughter, Annie’s brother-in-law, and Jeff’s grandmother.

Maggie was already asleep for that picture but how sweet is she here?

We celebrated our two musicians at their concerts.

We did some matching! Almost every time my sister and I get together, we match something. This time it was shoes on Monday and pants on Friday.

WHAT I’M DREADING…

To be honest, I’m not really dreading anything. We have some fun things to look forward to in the next few months.

WHAT I’M WORKING ON…

I really need to get started on that class I signed up for. I can do it at my own pace which is so great, but I need to actually do it.

WHAT I’M WATCHING/READING…

Well, it’s December so I’ve been watching Hallmark and that’s about it! I did just start And Just Like That. I’ve watched the first three episodes and whoa! I purposely avoided all spoilers so I was not prepared for that. I love Sex and the City and I’ve watched the entire show at least twice so I was excited to see what’s happening with the girls.

I’ve been reading a bunch. I updated my Books 2021 page so you can see everything I’ve read this year. I am hoping to finish at least two more books before the year ends. Just like in November, I have been reading a bunch of Christmas books.

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO…

I have been listening to some podcasts lately. I’m listening to The Mom Hour, What Should I Read Next, and The Lazy Genius. I also spent a good portion of December listening to Christmas music. My sister made me a CD in 2002 called Annie’s Ultimate Christmas Album. We added a few more songs and brought it into 2021 as a Spotify playlist. Enjoy!

I’m also listening to The Lazy Genius Way. I am really enjoying listening to it, but I think this is a book I want to own so I can revisit the Lazy Genius principles and write in it.

WHAT I’M WEARING…

I have been wearing a bunch of festive and comfy clothes. That is what I love most about December.

I’ve been wearing a bunch of Cora’s Den earrings and necklaces. They are having a great sale right now. To find those deals, pick Cora’s Deals in the menu. I spotted this fabulous Christmas necklace online and added a few more necklaces. How fabulous are these!?!

WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND…

I’ll probably put the Christmas trees away. I’m not sure what we are doing to ring in the new year. Who knows, maybe I’ll work on that class. 😂

WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH…

I am looking forward to routines at home and at work. The past six weeks at school have been so much fun with book fair, early dismissal days, holiday excitement, and not too much routine. I love a new year because it can be such a fresh start! We get to keep the parts that are going well and its a good time to change things that are going well.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW…

I am getting back to my monthly goal setting. It helps keep me on track to accomplish everything I want to do.

After 75 posts, I am also rethinking my Tuesday Book Release Day posts. I love sharing the new books that come out each week, but I think I am going to shift it to an every other week post. I’ll share two weeks of new releases with you each time.

It feels good to be back! I’ve missed my blog writing and reading this week. I’ll be back tomorrow with monthly musings and my favorite reads of the year. On Friday I am sharing some favorites and a 2021 blog recap. Have a great day full of sunshine and books!