Just Memes

I actually think these are super duper gross. I noticed they had them out in Walmart for sale around Halloween time which means, at minimum, they sit packaged for 2 full months on a store shelf before you consume them. 

How I feel talking about army life. Every year is a surprise. 

I remember seeing this in the theater. 

My least favorite social media posts are the influencers posting gift guides with $100 gifts for everyone on your list and then asking "what can I help you shop for next?!", so they can post most $100+ links for items they have never bought themselves. 

Me, trying to explain my relationships to my husband.

All I feel in that June picture is humidity and bugs. So no. I'll take December. 

I cannot stop laughing at this ^^ 

I don't understand people who drink Dr. Pepper. 

Same with Taylor Swift and her never-ending tour. 

I remember I promised a really gross story about peanut oil.

Last Thanksgiving, Scott deep-fried a turkey. It was great. Definitely the preferred method if you're forcing yourself to eat turkey once or twice a year. 

He left the oil in the deep-fryer, covered it up/sealed it, and kept it in the garage, which is attached to the house. At some point, the fryer got kicked or pushed around and came unsealed and he hadn't gotten around to disposing of it. Fast forward to February-ish...someone (Scott) didn't shut the garage door leading to the house the entire way before going to work. 

I came home from work and found a huge pile of dog throw-up in our bathroom/bedroom. I was super confused because there were chicken bones in it. Mav was crated at that time, so I knew it was Scout. 

We figured out that the door to the garage had been open enough for him to sneak in while I was at work and he worked his way into a trash bag that had some wing bones in it. But it did not account for the amount of grease in the throw-up. We were seriously confused for a week and I spent every single day cleaning that carpet. I don't even remember how I eventually got it clean, but it took weeks. 

Anyway, Scout the dog had busted into the old peanut oil and drank it. That was what the evidence showed. 

So. Now I can't see peanut oil or deep-fried turkeys without thinking of this. 

We baked our turkey this year. 

 I took this picture of the peanut oil in Walmart last month to send to Scott to remind him. 

Friday Recommendations, 12/12

 1. We made this cocktail last week. Whiskey sours/amaretto sours/midori sours...always favorites of mine! This is like a holiday version and once you buy the ingredients, I've learned, you can just make it all season long. 

2. Columbia coat. I asked on Instagram last week if anyone had a coat recommendation. We're going back to the east coast for a few weeks and I always forget how cold it is there and we'll be spending some time outdoors. I wanted to find a truly warm coat because my Eddie Bauer down coat isn't as warm as it used to be...you see, my shoulders and ribs expanded with pregnancy and did not go back to where they started, so I can't layer under this coat the way I used to :/ The tricky part is I had gift cards for Bass Pro so I wanted to get something there...we've had these gift cards for awhile. I didn't want to order online because you never know what you're getting until you really try it on. I had seen some I liked through Land's End and REI but I really didn't want to play mail tag, sending back and forth. 

This is what I got at 40% off (in store) because they keep a low stock there. I got black because that was the one they had. I really like the camel color, though, too. It's very heavy and has that reflective insulation. We'll see!

3. Christmas books. I'm noticing such a difference now that I'm paying attention to children's books/picture books (let's call them "living books"). These all have narratives and lessons that stay with you and are perfect for December. 

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree // The Legend of Old Befana // 'Twas the Evening of Christmas // The Legend of St. Nicholas

4. Oxyclean bathroom cleaner. I saw a reel of a mom using this to find hidden grime in her kids' bathroom. While I can get on board with the non-toxic trend to an extent, I was completely out of bathroom cleaner last week. I grabbed this at Walmart and I love it. I can, like, feel the chemicals working and sometimes that's just the kind of mood you're in, you know? I always have a bottle of Oxyclean spray in the laundry room for stains anyway. 

ICYMI:

Books I read in November and December

Memes and Meal Plan (for last week...I can only report on what happened, not my future intentions)

Linking up with Friday Favorites!

October and November Books

I think I gave up on the year about a month ago for all intents and purposes. Especially concerning reading. Here's my last book post from September. Honest to goodness, I feel like I could finish the year strong if some of my library holds would come in!

October and November were not stellar reading months. I DNF'd probably a dozen books. I had pictures but I don't know where they are so here's what I did finish:

The Wife Upstairs  It had some serious Verity vibes (it was written after Verity) but was very twisty in its own way. It looked like I had downloaded it on Kindle Unlimited years ago and never read it? I paid $3 for it this time since my subscription isn't active. Anyway, it was fine. Not her best but it passed the time. 

Intensity. A few months ago, I came across a reel on Instagram with a guy recommending several "older" thrillers he's read and he praised the quality of them compared to what's out there today (*cough* The Intruder). His hook was hey, I bet there's not even a wait for them at the library! Joke was on me: I waited months for this ebook. 

Anyway, I tried 3 of the books on the list and this is the only one I finished and actually enjoyed. It was a crazy story and I wrote about it in a recommendations post a few weeks ago. I will say, it's exactly like watching a movie: once you start reading it, you can't actually put it down. It's almost like it wouldn't make sense to stop halfway. 

The Intruder. Meh. Not her best. It took me a month to finish this because I didn't care? Yes, there's twists and there's a formula but I didn't find any of the characters super sympathetic? 

I was reminded that The Housemaid is coming out as a movie this month and I'm super excited about that. 

Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed. This is a fascinating book. I cannot recommend it enough. I like Maureen Callahan a lot and she is a TRUE investigative journalist (*cough* Candace Owens). She wrote American Predator, one of the best true crime books I've come across. And the way MC goes at the Kennedy family in this book...it's impeccably researched and all the untold stories that the modern romanticizer of that era just doesn't know. So, so good. A perfect book to read over a winter break! 

Here's where I stand:

And here's a funny reading adjacent story: I loosely follow this influencer-type person on Instagram and she's all about saving money. Same, right? So she posted "did you know you can download ebooks from your library straight to your kindle from Amazon and then you don't have to buy them?!"....

I thought it was a joke. But no. That was brand new information to her. 

Some of us have been doing that since, in my case, 2015. 

It just drives home the point of don't believe everything you see on the internet and social media is just the highlight reel. 

It would follow that everyone trying to sell you advice isn't as smart as you think they are. Next thing we know, some influencer will be telling us about "this thing called Netgalley". 

Memes and Menu Plan

Here's what my menu plan from last week looked like.  

Here is the recipe for Greek Chicken Bowls. I marinated boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the Primal Kitchen marinade and then we grilled them, instead of using a crockpot. And I made a pan of couscous, cooked in bone broth because I always need a carb/grain. I have made this recipe before and 3 of 4 will eat it happily. 

I wanted to try this sausage tortellini bake but I loathe tortellini. I cannot stand it. It's a texture thing I think. So I substituted gnocchi. It was okay. I think I would like an Italian chicken sausage better? And maybe more veggies than just the broccoli? 

And then I wanted to make this orzo soup because I've made it in the past and I have a ton of orzo for some reason right now stashed in the cupboard. But I already did sausage, so I use boneless skinless chicken thighs to make chicken orzo soup. It was really good, so I'll have to make it again and document. It's hard to take pictures of dinner this time of year. 

And then, I made a batch of my sugar cookies to practice some decorating. These are a great cookie because they are firm and don't break. The nutmeg adds a festive flavor too. I've been making them since 2010, and have never felt the need to try another recipe. 

This is how I feel about 2026, for real. 

I come from one of those families where shopping is an activity, especially this time of year. I can hear, smell, and feel this scene. 

Like, I see the tutorials. I just can't make it happen. 

I would take a 2015! 

Wells asked the other day when Stranger Things came out (yeah, he watched it with us, and I'll take comment cards with judgement later) and I was like "2016. We lived in Colorado. Dad was at war (Wells doesn't understand the word deployment so he always calls it war). I was watching ST." Man, what a different time. 

See: "Man what a different time" above.