Random Thursday Ramblings

• It's been kind of a rough week.  I feel like I got all rattled on Monday with that electrical situation going down at my house, and even though it was fixed quickly, it kind of started my whole week off on the wrong foot.  Each evening, I find myself scrambling around, and plans just haven't gone as I expected.  Nothing is really WRONG, I just don't feel RIGHT, if you know what I mean?
• One thing that has been very apparent to me is that my mother is my super-hero.  She has swooped in to save me several times this week, and when she does, I just take a deep breath of relief.  Don't know what I'd do without her.
• Part of my feeling of discontent this week is that the month of December is looming, and I feel like it is TOO FULL.  I know.  This happens every year.  Christmas season is busy, yo.  And there's the side of me that relishes it - the parties and the fun activities, the hustle and the bustle.  But there's also the side of me that just wants to hunker down, watch Christmas movies by the glow of the tree, sit in silence by myself.  As the days and weeks fill up, I'm panicking that there will be no time to hunker.  I need time to hunker.
• Another part of my fretting was that, up until last night, I had not baked ONE Christmas cookie yet.  I'm ahead of the game in decorating and shopping, but wayyyy behind in the baking.  My mom keeps telling me to relax, there's lots of time, but is there?  IS THERE??  It doesn't feel like it.  In any case, I whipped up a batch of Grinch cookies last night (just my regular chocolate chip cookies with green food colouring, and red & green M&M's instead of the chips), and it soothed my soul a bit.
• It's at times like these that I really feel bewildered as to how women who have other people to care for - husbands and children - handle all of this.  I mean, I'm in a fluster, and it's just me!  How do you guys survive the holidays?!  Blows my mind.
• I keep pausing and reminding myself that this is my favourite time of year.  Soak it up and enjoy it.  Don't let the stressful parts overshadow the joyful parts.  I have most of the day Saturday to bake, and I will take advantage. Once I get a few kinds in the freezer, I'll feel a million times better.  
• So... moving on from that little Christmas vent session.  Last night I finally finished listening to season 1 of the podcast "Someone Knows Something".  I'm a little disappointed that, it seems, no one really does know anything.  I was really hoping that the digging into the past that they did would result in something concrete, to give that family some peace. Still, I found it very interesting and intriguing, and I'm so glad it was my first podcast experience.  I'm excited to try out more.  It's been great to listen to while I crochet.
• You want to know something weird that's stressing me out?  It's so dumb.  But I saw a list of what's coming and going from Netflix Canada in the month of December, and one of the shows "going" is New Girl.  The show I'm currently watching.  I usually take a break from "normal tv" this time of year to ensure I get all of my Christmas movies and specials in, but now I have no choice but to rush to finish New Girl by December 20th.  I'm just starting Season 6, so there are 20+ episodes to go.  I don't like that pressure that Netflix has put on me!  Not fair!!
• So, recently a friend of mine gave me a coupon to try out a meal delivery service called Goodfood.  I live alone and usually come up with meals on the fly, just depending on what I feel like that day, not a lot of planning or thought put into it.  Honestly, I turned down the coupon at first, then thought, "why not?  It's $78 in free food.  Might as well give it a whirl!"  I have heard great things about this company, and while I don't expect I'll become a regular customer, it doesn't hurt to try something new, and eat some healthy food for a change. (Vegetables... they are my enemies...)  I don't like to judge too harshly, but so far, my experience has been less than stellar.  A) The email I received said the box would be delivered on Tuesday by 8 pm.  Mine didn't arrive until 6 pm on Wednesday.  The box is refrigerated and kept cold with big ice packs, and the meat was all packed on the bottom, so still good and cold, but the bagged items on top of produce, spices, etc. were no longer cool.  Still very edible, so again, not a huge deal, but the delay in delivery was disappointing.  I received an email asking me to rate my Goodfood experience before the box of food even arrived.  B) Because the box arrived late, I scrambled to make my first meal last night. They recommend using the fish first and the salmon dish was my least favourite out of the ones I chose, so I made it first to get it out of the way.  BLEH.  I'm not a huge fish fan to begin with, so that's not really their fault, but nothing about the meal wowed me.  I took all the leftovers to my mom, and told her I won't be sad if she chucks it.  Just not my cup of tea.
• What I DID like about the Goodfood box: the packaging and the portions, and the fact that they provide you with literally EVERYTHING other than oil, salt & pepper.  One of my dishes has a cream sauce, and there's a whole pint of cream included in the bag for that dish.  Each bag is well-labelled, filled with exactly the food items needed to make that dish, and there is a nice, colourful, clear recipe card for each dish with step-by-step instructions.  Also, I had been warned that the portions were on the small side, but I was pleasantly surprised.  The pieces of salmon last night were big and I wouldn't have eaten a whole piece, even if I did like it.  The salad was huge.  The potato-pea mash was also huge.  It would have fed 2 people easily, with leftovers.  So I have pro's and con's.  Tonight I'm trying a pasta dish that should be more up my alley.  So far, I'm pretty sure I won't be ordering again, but I wouldn't discourage someone else from trying it. 
• I'm looking ahead to the weekend and thinking it should be a nice mix of busy and quiet.  Tonight we curl late, which kind of sucks, but I'll just come home right after the game so I  can hopefully get to bed in decent time.  Tomorrow is the MVT Christmas luncheon, and while I plan on having fun, I'm also planning to semi-behave.  I don't want to feel crappy on Saturday, so I need to take it easy and get home in good time.  Saturday, as I said, shall be a baking day, and I also want to go to Shawville to a tea with my mom, and pick up a few little things I need at the store and pharmacy.  Hoping for a quiet couch & Christmas movie night.  Sunday is going to be a little helter-skelter - church, choir practice, a meeting, getting things ready for the house tour, and I told my mom I'd help start her decorating that day if she wanted me to.  Oh, and a dinner that night at the Legion.  Eeep.  Sunday is a little scary.  And then Monday is the House Tour!  Fingers crossed that all goes off without a hitch!!

How are you handling the pre-holiday hub-bub?  Are you feeling as stressed out as I am?  Maybe more so? I hope we can all take a collective deep breath and get a handle on things!  I know I need to!!