I’ve been MIA on the blog front due to the oncoming storm of holidays. Every single year I think I’ll manage my end-of-year goals, and eeeveeeryy siiiiingle yeaaaar I fall flat on my face in November. The blog goes haywire, my writing staggers to a crawl, and if I’m not already within a stone’s throw of my reading goal then it’s too late to catch up.

This year I have a Bonus! Baby to gum up the works, but it would have happened anyway. There are 20+ people to buy Christmas presents for (in our immediate family!!), so the only way to avoid financial disaster is to start spacing them out in November (if not earlier).

November is also Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving is MY THING. I’ll put up some pics after this year’s extravaganza, but suffice to say: it’s gonna be a good one. Unnecessary themed decorations, costumes, games for the kids, lunch, a dozen dishes for dinner, post-dinner booze and Mario Party battles, and a slumber party for whosoever wishes to stay all night. Every year it gets bigger. This go-around we’ll have 15 butts to seat (plus Bonus! Baby on a rotating selection of laps). It’s gonna be wild!

But it means a couple weeks’ worth of my precious little free time has been devoted to meal planning, shopping, interior design, and origami. (Trust me on the origami!) Wednesday is for cleaning the house, Thursday is for decorating and baking desserts, and then Friday folks start trickling in by 9 a.m. to cook and socialize, so as you can see my week is booked.

And when this week is over? Then I’m going to be spending a lot of my time with my good ol’ friend Photoshop, working on this year’s epic Christmas card and other holiday goodies. The clock is ticking!!

I also go splat in November because I inevitably burn out on my grinding goals (this year has Bonus! Sleep Deprivation), but that’s another sort of blog post entirely…

So a magical, outlandish, samtastic Thanksgiving weekend to you all, and I’ll see you again on the other side!