The Relentless Weekly Wrap-Up 11/30/14

Reading:
I finished Stiff by Mary Roach and have started Lives in Ruins by Marilyn Johnson. Nonfiction is where it's at. I feel inspired to extend Nonfiction to November to Nonfiction THE REST OF 2014! Perhaps Nonfiction 2015? I don't know, I'm just really nerding out on the nonfic right now and it's incredible.

Cooking:
America just celebrated the national holiday of cooking: Thanksgiving! I cooked at home for my immediate family. There was one wee disaster involving a melted thermometer but everything was golden after that.

We had a very traditional turkey dinner, including a spicy corn casserole that is my all-time favorite side dish. I hope all of my American friends had a great holiday and that my non-American friends enjoyed the millions of food pictures on Instagram.

Loving:
The photos that I had taken of my kiddos turned out wonderfully. I can't wait to frame, wrap, and give them as gifts to assorted family members. (Let's hope they aren't peeking here!) Here's one of my favorite shots:

Not Loving: 
We had to have our furnace worked on. Isn't it just the best when you have to drop a big chunk of change on a home repair right before Christmas? I recommend it, har har.

Celebrating: 
We finally named our newest family member. Meet Myrtle! (As in Moaning Myrtle...Meowing Myrtle?)

Shopping:
I didn't head out on Black Friday and I sure as hell didn't shop on Thursday. I think the only way to stop the consumerism madness is for more of us to stay home. I'm doing my part. It's not even the proverbial drop in the bucket, I know that. But I feel better about myself when I don't participate in the crazy. There's nothing wrong with wanting that great deal. There is something wrong about minimum wage workers being forced to work on a day we are supposed to be filled with gratitude for the things we already have. Gross.

Sharing:
I talked about my Christmas baking traditions and shared a recipe for cutout cookies in a guest post on I'm Lost in Books. Thanks so much for asking me to participate in your Holiday Extravaganza, Becca!

Anticipating:

Christmas decorating and baking and music and wheeeee! It's almost that time for me. I can feel the spirit coming. It's not quite here, but it's close.

Are any of you attempting a bookish tree this year? If I can figure out where to put one I might just give it a whirl myself. New kittens and trees don't mix. Come to think of it, new kittens and piles of books don't mix either. Hmmm.