My 2023 Christmas Wishlist

I can't believe it's the holiday season again! The year went by so fast. I love the holidays, and being able to celebrate with friends and family.

I had been working on my wishlist for a few months, deciding on what I wanted for Christmas, adding and removing items along the way.

I finally decided on what I have listed here, and am looking forward to seeing what I get this year. I do not expect to get every single thing on this list; I will be very happy with whatever I get.

In no particular order, here is my Christmas list for 2023:

• The Art of Getting It Wrong: Finding the Good in the Misadventures of Life by Stephen Miller
• Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life by Nick Vujicic
• Living With Hope by Michael Panther
• Voyager by Diana Gabaldon  
• Call the Midwife season 2 on DVD
• Hawaii 5-0 season 1 on DVD
• Outlander season 2 on DVD
• Lost season 4 on DVD
• Bonanza Season 6 on DVD
• Hogwarts Legacy PlayStation 4 game
• Sewing supplies
• Storage bins
• 3-tier rolling utility cart
• The Beginner Violinist: Easy Violin Sheet Music for Beginner Adults & Kids book
• Essential Elements for Strings--Violin Book 1 by Michael Allen and Robert Gillespie
• Essential Elements for Strings--Violin Book 2 by Robert Gillespie and Pamela Tellejohn Hayes

• The Violinists Hymnal: Easy Arrangements of Over Seventy Classic, Christian Hymns: Amazing Grace, It is Well with My Soul, Be Thou My Vision, and Others by Michael G. Kellermeyer

• First 50 Songs You Should Play on Ukulele book
• 5-in-1 sheet music stand
• Violin stand with bow holder
• Cowboy hat (for the Joni and Friends family retreat)
• Loop experience ear plugs
• Bicycle tire pump
• Bible cover/case
• Fidget Pop It balls
• Earrings
• Painting palette knives
• Rainy night walk 1,000 piece puzzle
• Himalayan salt lamp
• 3-tier baking cooling rack
• Case/cover for Microsoft Surface Go
• Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza card game
• We're Not Really Strangers Friendship Edition card game
• Actually Curious: The Original Curiosity Edition! Team Building Conversation Game for Adults and Family
• See-through Thinking Putty
• Purple and Blue Tangle Fidget Toys
• Yarn bowl
• Portable phone charger
• Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle 3D Puzzle

I know this is a lot, but I do not expect to get everything on this list. This is just what I would like to get. 

I am very much looking forward to the holidays and celebrating with friends and family.

If you celebrate Christmas, what are you asking for this year? If you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a wonderful season anyway!

I Am Thankful For...

I can't believe it's the holiday season again! To those who celebrate, happy Thanksgiving!!

I love making lists, and I figured I would share a list of things I am thankful for this year. I have so much to be thankful for, but since there are 30 days in November, I will list 30 things.

The holidays are bittersweet now that my mom is no longer with us (the first year or 2 of holidays after she passed were hard), but I do enjoy them again and I am looking forward to this Thanksgiving. I get to be with the family that is still here, and I get to enjoy a special meal with them.

So, in no particular order, here is what I am thankful for this year:

1. My family
2. My friends
3. My cats
4. My home
5. My favorite music
6. Clean, running water
7. Books
8. My favorite movies
9. Joni and Friends retreats
10. Knitting
11. Crochet
12. Having clothes to wear
13. Having food to eat
14. My faith
15. My local library
16. Baking
17. Central air
18. Video games (I don't play a lot, but I do enjoy them)
19. Text messages from friends and family
20. My library's home delivery service
21. Noise cancelling headphones
22. Fidget toys
23. Painting supplies
24. Live-streaming mass services
25. Junk journaling
26. My tablet
27. My local library's new Library of Things
28. Libby app (where you can read and listen to books)
29. Photography
30. Jigsaw puzzles  

What are you thankful for this year? If you celebrate, Happy Thanksgiving!! If you don't, I hope you have a wonderful day!!

My November 2023 Goals/Bucket List

I know we're already a week into November, but it took me a while to decide on what I wanted to accomplish this month.

Hopefully these last couple of months of 2023 will be more productive than the rest of the year was. I have been dealing with anxiety, a cold, and a couple other health issues this year, which wiped me out, and I am hoping that I can stay healthy for as long as possible now, so I can actually get some stuff done.

So, here are my goals and bucket list for November:

• Apply for 2-3 jobs
• Clean up bedroom 10-15 minutes each day
• Cook Thanksgiving dinner
• Reach out to one friend each day
• Write 1-2 poems
• Watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
• Pray every day/write in prayer journal every day
• Practice playing the violin 15 minutes a day
• Knit a blanket
• Read 1-2 books
• Bake a pumpkin pie
• Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
• Go thrift shopping
• Make a vision board for 2024
• Binge watch season 2 of Outlander
• Binge watch season 2 of The Crown
• Purchase and make out Christmas cards
• Print photos of tattoo idea
• Find last couple of shirts for t-shirt quilt project
• Declutter clothes I don't want anymore  
• Purchase a 2024 planner  

What do you want to do this month?