Life: It Goes On - December 2

Happy December! Hope this finds you all...oh heck, I hope this finds you all. I've been so lax on my blogging lately that I'll be really surprised if there are any of you still out there reading.

I am hunkered down for the day. We got a few inches of heavy snow last night, after a whole day of rain, sleet, and slush and I have no reason to venture out into it other than to have been out to scoop the driveway. Besides, I was hardly at home yesterday so this girl needs some quiet home time.

Also, it's time for me to finally finish the Christmas decorating. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know I've spent a ridiculous amount of time thinking about, playing with, and re-doing just the mantle. I'm working on a less busy look this year and I have several new pieces to work into that so it means rethinking everything I've done before. Maybe next year it will actually be easier to put up?

November came to an end, as did my attempts to write my first novel during National Novel Writing Month. The goal was 50,000 words. My final total? About 15,000. It's a fail in every way other than that I did do some writing; I have a start and can move forward from there if I so chose.

The end of November also meant the end of Nonfiction November. I always look forward to this month and it's always another thing I just can't seem to do right. I did read a lot of nonfiction last month and got up quite a few reviews. But I didn't manage to do any of the posts associated with the event. Ah well, we can't do everything, right?

Last Week I:

Listened To: As much of The Woman's Hour as I could get listened to before my loan was up with my library. I've got it back on hold and hope that next time it doesn't become available when I still have ten hours left of another book! On Friday I started Chloe Benjamin's The Immortalists, and I must say, I'm quite enjoying listening to fiction after several nonfiction books in a row.

Watched: Last night we went to see Widows with friends. I think I liked it better than the rest of our crew. I appreciated the fact that director Steve McQueen was able to make an action film that isn't gratuitously violent and the way he turned an action film into a film about people.

Read: Like I said, not much. I'm having a hard time focusing on books right now. I do have several books I need to get read in the next month so I need to find my reading mojo again soon.

Made: Homemade mac 'n' cheese, chicken noodle casserole, beef stew. It's been cold and it's time for comfort food!

Enjoyed: A couple of parties yesterday.

This Week I’m: 

Planning: On finishing up most of my Christmas shopping this week. I'm mostly finished but need to get Mini-me's and Ms. S's gifts off in the mail to them; the first year they weren't here I waited too long and it cost me $95 to get their gifts to them on time! Never again.

Thinking About: Christmas cards. I need to get them ordered today so that they can go out in the mail by the end of the week.

Feeling: Lazy. Not a good thing with so much to get done today.

Looking forward to: I don't think we have anything on the calendar this week. Which means I'm probably forgetting something!

Question of the week: How do you decorate for the holidays? What is the one thing that you absolutely have to put out to make things feel festive?