It’s been a challenging week. More heartache and frustration over the state of our country, the Borderline shooting hitting everyone far and wide, more brush fires and entire towns being wiped out north of us. How do you remain hopeful?

Well, it starts and ends with kindness. Be good to yourself and be good to others. Do a little something extra for someone and that dark cloud will dissipate. It’s nearly impossible to stay upset when you are making someone else feel good.

Right Now:

Last Thursday was full of bad news so we attended church that night. It was a nice, quiet service. Exactly what we needed. That means I am free this morning to do whatever I want.

This Week:

My campus is closed on Monday for the holiday so I am going to plan our Thanksgiving menu and figure out what I need to buy. I can’t believe how fast it’s coming up. Later that night, we are working Outreach and I may have to work one of the plays at the end of the week but other than that, it’s just work and rehearsals taking up my time this week.

Reading:

STILL reading Murakami.

Watching:

The Walking Dead is heading into a six-year time jump for tonight’s episode. I think it’s a really lazy way for the writers to get these characters into a more interesting story line. The characters are going nowhere. Something has to happen.

On a happier note, American Horror Story is holding up nicely this year. One more episode on Wednesday and this season is done.

I’ve been thinking about Christmas movies and feeling the need to pop one in.

New Things I’ve Tried:

I’ve been listening to podcasts on my way to work and I stumbled across The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey. It’s faith-based but in my opinion, loosely so. Jamie invites a female friend to come talk for an hour. They talk about kids, books, marriage, work, etc. But it’s like you are listening to two friends at lunch. I. LOVE. IT. My book list has grown with all of the recommendations she has, plus I can relate to nearly every topic that comes up.

If you check it out, let me know what you think because it’s really good and I want every woman to listen to it.

Grateful for:

I’m going back to the basics here… I am grateful for the roof over my head, the friends I have, the opportunities I’ve been given and the food on my table. We are heading (quickly) into the “gimme” season and I am so over it.

My question to you this week, what special holiday activity are you looking forward to this year? For whatever reason, the holiday events are really numerous and wonderful this year and it’s forcing me to pick and choose what we do. Here are just a handful we are considering:

Holiday Lights at the Reagan Library (new this year)
Enchanted Forest of Light (we attended last year and loved it)
LA Zoo Lights
Festival of Lights
Santa Barbara Christmas Night Market 

I have more to list but you see my dilemma. So much fun and we have a Disneyland trip to work in there too. There are only so many days between now and Christmas and I want to do it all.

When I work all week, the days drag, but then I get to these Sunday posts and I am like, here we are again.

I am still spending time with one book (Killing Commendatore) so reviews have been non-existent. I’m okay with it and we are headed the holidays so things are slowing down anyway.

Speaking of the holidays… this sounds absolutely dreamy.

Right Now:

We turned our clocks back so I got a little extra sleep. I really use Sunday mornings to decompress from the week. It’s like crawling out of a cave sometimes. Slow-going. For sure.

This Week:

Unfortunately, a trip to the dentist is on the schedule for the week. Not a visit for myself, but it will require me to go to work late and fight students for parking when I return. Parking on campus reminds me of the Hunger Games.

Reading:

I’ve talked plenty about what I am currently reading but this is what I hope to get to soon:

Watching:

I watched the return of Roseanne minus Roseanne, The Conners and it’s just not good. It has nothing to do with her departure from the show because I had the same issues with the reboot in general but the acting is forced, the writing isn’t at all clever and again, they are trying to hit every hot button topic out there. Just. No.

One more episode with Rick Grimes tonight on The Walking Dead and then he is no more. For those who do not watch, he’s the main character. I don’t think the show can survive without him.

American Horror Story continues to be really, really good. SO good.

New Things I’ve Tried:

Have you tried the skin care brand Skinfood? My local ULTA carries a few of their products and one that caught my eye was their Black Sugar Mask. Let me tell you, it’s pretty awesome. Men and woman can use it. It’s not too girly in scent. Smells lemony and fresh but it excels in exfoliating the skin. I use it about every two weeks. It’s only $10 and lasts for so long. I use it on my hands too. I get nothing for this mention but it’s too good not to share.

Grateful for:

People who SEE me. I sometimes feel invisible. I don’t really know why and I am not overly sensitive about it but when I am appreciated or recognized in some way, I am grateful for it.

My question for you this week. Be honest. If I were to go to your house right now, would it be in pretty good shape? Both my husband and I work full-time. At the end of the week my house is, well, needing attention. My big thing is clutter. Volleyball  equipment dropped into the middle of the room, backpacks and gym bags, sweaters and jackets tossed casually on the couch. PAPERS seemingly everywhere. I declutter all the time but I feel like I need a day each week just to handle the basics.

Is this you or does your home always look like a model home? If the latter, how do you manage it?