Groupthink

Happy New's Eve, groupthink. It's a holiday & that calls for an evening thread. I hope you're content & wishing each & every one of you a healthy & happy 2024. :) I'm so grateful for this space.  We picked up an enormous amount of sushi instead of charcuterie & are enjoying it with a nice bottle of wine. We're planning on a cheesy action movie, having some drinks, & hopefully making it to midnight. Maybe.  In case I miss it, Happy 2024, friends! 💙

  Good morning, GT. Happy Sunday! Today is the last day of the year and I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by. It has been a year of ups and downs and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that next year will have a few more ups and fewer downs.  Anyway, today I'll be heading over to my aunts house for a small get together. She's making menudo and I'm bringing the Chocoflan so we will be eating some yummy food. Afterwards I'm coming home to loaf and cuddle with Cosmo.  How about y'all? How are you closing out this year?  

  Good evening, groupthink! I just woke up from a little cat nap after a relaxing day. We're hanging out & watching a little football after finishing season 3 of Slow Horses. Highly recommend it, btw. Earlier, I was looking for something new to watch & ran across an upcoming project of Diablo Cody's; a horror comedy called Lisa Frankenstein. 😂 Brilliant. It's never too early to plan your costume.  Anywho, what are you up to on this final weekend of 2023? 

  Hey, folks, happy weekend and happy end of 2023! It's cliche but it really is shocking to me that it's the end of the year. Our last weekend of 2023!  What are you up to this weekend? Are you celebrating NYE?  My mom had her last day of work yesterday and is officially a retiree now! We're going out for dinner to celebrate that tonight. Tomorrow will be low key--we might have BIL and his family over for dinner and board games. Or, we might not. Either way is fine with me, as long as I don't have to dress up and deal with crowds. :) How about you?

 Hello and Happy Friday!  Have you survived the week thus far? My first fuck it is for the grocery store. I have nearly nothing in my cupboards. I generally like grocery shopping but today, I do not want to do it.   And fuck over-socializing.  Why do we jam all of the winter gatherings into a set few days?  It is too much.  February/March are long and boring.  Why not push out one or two into those winter blahs days?   Last but not least, fuck republicans- every last one of them. OK, take it away!

  Good morning, GT--how are you today? I woke up at 5:00 and have spent my morning, so far, loving up on Buster. Very similar to the above, only he's much smaller 😁.  What are you all up to today? I was planning on going to a cafe and doing some writing but a nap might be more necessary... esp. as Homey has asked for help doing some furniture rearrangement and deep cleaning. Anyway, I figured we could have an end-of-year rec thread here! Is there anything (recipe, book, show, movie, podcast, music, product, etc., etc.) that you've esp. loved this year? Or, are you looking for a great recipe, etc., etc.? Maybe you have some anti-recommendations (looking at you, A Murder at the End of the World 😑). Let us know! A book I really loved this year was Lisa Taddeo's Animal ; it is stark and dark and weird and I couldn't put it down. And another weird, dark book I loved this year is Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica. How about you?

  Morning, y'all! I didn't see a OT up so I figured I would throw one up real quick.  How is everybody doing today? Did having Christmas on a Monday throw anybody else way off? I keep forgetting what day it is and just can't get in the mindset of having to work.  What's going on in your world? 

  Whoops! Forgot to post this! I hope everyone had a great Christmas, for those who celebrate, and a nice quiet day for those who don't.

 Happy Monday and Merry Christmas y'all.  Our celebration was Sunday so I'm hoping for a low key day today.  What's going on with you?

  Good morning, GT. Happy Sunday and happy Christmas Eve!  I can’t believe it’s already Christmas Eve and I’m shocked out how quickly this month has flown by. I’ll be heading out early this morning to take flowers to my grandpa and then I have to come back home to get ready to go to my aunts house. We are doing things early today so I fully plan to spend my Christmas Eve cuddled up with Cosmo next to the fireplace.  How are you all doing today? How will you be spending your day?

  Happy Saturday night, groupthink! Also, Happy Festivus, lol. I'm snuggling with Ruby & waiting for Pal to wake up from his nap so we can finish A Murder At the End of the World. Also, there's cheesecake. Can't wait! What's up with you tonight? 

  Mornin', GT, and happy Sat. The countdown to Christmas continues! If you are celebrating, what are your plans? If you're not celebrating, what are your plans? :)  I have a massage today and it's my dream to come home from that, eat some lunch, read, and then NAP. We'll see! 🤞🤞  Tomorrow, we have brunch with my side of the family, which I'm excited about. Mon., we'll host my bestie for breakfast, then probably hang out in PJs and drink coffee-flavored tequila in cocoa.  How about you?

  I don't see a Friday OT scheduled, so here's a quick one. Over to you guys!

  Good morning, GT! Happy Th. and happy solstice! What are you doing on the shortest day of the year? I have a doctor's appt. (just a shot) this morning, then I'm grabbing coffee and cocoa, and heading over to watch The Grinch with SIL and the baby niblings. We have a contractor coming over this afternoon to give us some estimates about replacing our shower stall (I'm worried!). Then, tonight, one of my besties and I are going to a group solstice meditation. I'm really looking forward to that! How about you ?  

  Good morning! Just waking up with Colorado on my mind for some reason, lol. What great news! And surprising. Today is a busy morning for me since I've been loafing for two days. ;) Soon, I'll head out for stocking stuffers & then groceries for our Christmas Eve. We're keeping it simple with charcuterie & shrimp cocktail. I'm grabbing a rotisserie chicken too for chicken pot pie for dinner. I think I'll top it with garlic & herb biscuits instead of pie crust. It's perfect comfort food & I haven't made one in a while. What's happening with you today? I've got to run, but will be back this afternoon!

  Hey, folks, happy Tue.! I have a question for y'all: Homey and I are supposed to bring dessert to his family's holiday celebration. I feel like cookies might(??) be too predictable. But it needs to be something that travels well and that I can make in advance, since we're doing my family's celebration the morning of his family's celebration... so maybe cookies? What do y'all think? And, while we're at it, does anyone else have any holiday recipe recs or requests? And plain, ol' how the heck are ya?

 Good Monday morning gang!  I am home from my grand-pup sitting.  That little (big) guy is hilarious.  The neighbors put up an inflatable Christmas Minion on their front lawn.  Grand pup isn't sure if it's an animal or a human.  One thing he is certain of though is that it is a threat.  Poor fella was at the window as soon as it got dark, watching and occasionally barking.  Thank goodness I had him to keep me safe from the giant holiday decor.   I had the space for introspection during my five days alone.  I found some forgiveness and I think some of my autonomy again.  I'm feeling good about that.  That's enough holiday heaviness!  How's your week shaping up?  

  Morning, GT! It's way too early for me to be posting this but I've been up since 1am with a headache and stuffy nose. I'm going to try to go back to sleep but I have little hopes of that happening.  Anyway, how is everybody doing? Can y'all believe Christmas is only a week away? How the heck did that happen so quickly?  My aunt called me yesterday and she didn't realize Christmas Eve was next Sunday. She is now scrambling to get everything ready for our usual Christmas Eve get together. I suggested we just do it potluck style and she's on board, but she'll have to run it by my other aunt first. Hopefully she will also be on board and we can keep things super simple.  Ok, enough from me. How is everyone? What's on your agenda for the day? 

  Happy Saturday night, groupthink! I scheduled this earlier so I'll either be around to chat or at a holiday gathering. Either way, I hope you're having a nice evening!  What's happening in your neck of the woods?

Good morning, GT, and happy weekend! I am officially on winter break and, my gosh, I am so ready for it. This weekend, I'm fully leaning into the hygge: coffee, music, and knitting this morning. Tonight, one of my besties and I are going out for dinner at a gorgeous winery, then to a candlelit chamber music concert. I can't wait!  Tomorrow, my hope/dream/goal/plan is to stay in my cozy Christmas jammies, make cocoa, and watch Christmas movies. 🤞🤞 that plan pans out! How about you ? What are you up to this fine weekend?

  Good morning & happy Friday! I'm very excited for the weekend. Do you ever wake up still mad at the person you were being annoyed by in your dream? That happened to me this morning big time. I had to stop myself from calling Pal to yell about it. 😂 The crime was dumping a bucket of oatmeal on my head & I really don't see that happening anytime soon so we're good. Any plans for the weekend? We have a party tomorrow, but today is for lazing around. What's grinding your gears?

  Good morning! It's almost Friday & congratulations on nearly making it to the weekend. Yesterday was my first truly busy one since Covid & I got home & napped for over two hours. Today I'll be taking things a tad slower, lol. I did manage to put a nice dent in Christmas shopping & can probably wrap it up today online. Woot!  How's your holiday prep going? Or talk about anything at all!

  Good morning, y'all! Last week seemed to pass so slowly & this one is flying by. I haven't done any holiday shopping yet. 😂 Today is a good day to begin--it's a low-key Christmas for us & it shouldn't take too long. I'm meeting my uncle in a few hours & hope to knock it out before we have lunch. How about you? How's your day looking? I'll be back later today & the floor is yours. :)

  I'm going back (again) to the optician/optometrist to figure out what can be done about the glasses. The only person in the office yesterday was the receptionist, but at least she understood what I was talking about; the "sweet spot" doesn't seem to be in the right place on the lens. So we'll see if it's a fitting/adjustment issue; maybe they need to be curved a bit, or maybe it's a prescription issue, or maybe they need to be replaced. But the optician and the optometrist will both be in, and hopefully a solution can be found.

  Good morning, y'all! Brrr, it's cold outside here & it's really bad timing for everyone still without power. Pal's parents live in Hendersonville, one of the hard hit areas, & just got their's back early today. It's such bad timing for severe storms.  In other news, I'm pretty much well & beginning to smell things again. Oh, how I missed it! Especially you, dear coffee. Today's goals are finishing the cleaning around here & getting some much needed fresh air & exercise.  How about you? Tell us how the day's going!

  Good morning, GT. Happy Sunday!  I woke up thinking it was Monday and was really not looking forward to having to work. I was very happy when I looked at my phone and I realized that it’s actually Sunday. Woohoo!  Anyway, today I’ll be having lunch with my mom and grandma and we are going to one of our favorite spots. I’m looking forward to digging into some yummy food while having a nice chat. Afterwards I need to come home and do a bit of laundry, wrap some gifts, and clean up the kitchen. I made guava jam and did not clean up after myself so the kitchen is looking like a disaster.   How are y'all doing today? What will you be getting up to on this lovely Sunday? 

  Good evening, groupthink! Pal picked up the grocery order & we have food again, plus I kind of cleaned this afternoon. Things are looking up, though I could still use one of these handy curtains, lol. Idk what we'll have for dinner, but hopefully Pal's in charge because I still can't taste or smell anything. Very annoying! Anyway, we just plan on watching more Slow Horses tonight while it storms. How about you? 

  Good morning, GT, happy Sat.! What are you up to this weekend?  I need to do some grading this weekend so next week isn't too much. Also, I went to buy milk yesterday and it had an expiration date of 12/3/23. I was about to grab it because, hey, that'd give us a week and half to use it up. Thank god Homey was with me and said, No, it's already expired! I've been so busy, I didn't realize we're already a week+ into Dec., so I'm way behind on my Christmas stuff. Eek! Tomorrow, I'm supposed to meet with some friends to do some guided journaling. We're going to reflect on 2023 and write about our hopes/goals for 2024. I'm really looking forward to that.  How about you? How's your weekend looking?

 Greetings and Happy Friday!  This week is whizzing by for me. My big fuck it this week is to my insurance company.  I've been dealing with one submission since August without any luck or explanation of why it's being rejected.  Tomorrow I am submitting one particular document for the fourth time that they swear they haven't received.  GRRRR And as always, fuck those republicans as they try to push us ever closer to Gilead. Whatcha got gang?

  Good morning, friends! It's almost the weekend, finally. Time is dragging being stuck at home. I already spend a lot of time here, but it’s the not being able to leave, you know? Soon! Anyway, still sick but with mainly cold like symptoms now & Pal is on the mend, too. Last night was actually pretty pleasant, & the hot & sour soup he brought home was a kindness.  How about you? Any fun plans coming up? Take it away!

  Good morning, groupthink! I'm still stuck at home & feeling better today. I might even do a little laundry while I catch up on television. Very exciting, lol. Pal's bursitis is still painful so he has an appointment later. Fingers crossed they fix him up. It's been a long week with him having Covid plus the shoulder pain. A little secret of mine is he's driving me crazy with all the (valid) complaints. 🤦‍♀️ That's all I've got. Life from the sofa isn't very exciting, lol. Oh, we did begin watching Slow Horses last night & it's really good so far.  How's your Wednesday looking?

  I got nuttin' today!

 Happy Monday!  It was a lazy weekend for me so I am as ready as I can be for the week ahead.   I suppose I'll have to knuckle down and get to some holiday shopping soon. I think we'll mostly be buying for the little ones and our kids.  I'll do something homemade/edible family gifts for everyone else.  How's your holiday prep going?  And what's up for today?

  Good morning, GT. Happy Sunday!  I just woke up so I’m still in a bit of brain fog. Amazon delivered a package quite early and Cosmo went bonkers barking at them. Being startled awake is no fun. It got my adrenaline pumping lol. Anyway, how is everybody doing today? I’m headed to a 1st birthday party this afternoon which I'm looking forward to, but part of me also just wants to loaf at home all day and not talk to anybody. My social calendar is pretty full this season which is not normal for me and feels like A LOT for my introverted self. I'm having to pencil in some me time so I don't get burned out.  Ok, enough about me. What are y'all up to today? Any fun plans for the day? Will it be a day of chilling and relaxing, or will you be out and about? 

  Happy Saturday night, groupthink! It's been a bit of stressful one here, & I'm thankful for a dreary day to stay inside & snuggly. Later, Pal & I are making popcorn & catching up on television. Is anyone watching the new season of Fargo? It's very good! John Hamm's character has pierced nipples?! That's not relevant to the story, but it is very funny to me. What's good in your world? And what's happening tonight? :)

  Good morning, GT--happy weekend! What are you up to today?  This week was a big work load and a bunch of drama (yesterday was the last day to drop, so y'all can imagine). I am thanking earlier-in-the-week me for scheduling a massage for this morning. Thank Jeeeeeeeebus. 💆 How about you? What are you up to this winter weekend?

 Happy Friday you guys! My fuck it today is for my grinchy family that isn't really into Christmas.  Some day I would like to have a tree, some lights and Christmas presents again.  In the mean time, I'm pushing hard for a holiday card this year.  I'd like to do a photo of Mr, Finn and me.    And of course, the customary fuck the republicans.  It will be interesting to see what happens in the House today.  What's on your fuck-it list?