Time To Play Catch-Up

 

 

"If I've learned one lesson from all that's happened to me, it's that there is no such thing as the biggest mistake of your existence. There's no such thing as ruining your life. Life's a pretty resilient thing, it turns out." (Sophie Kinsella)

Hello, my lovely friends!

 

    It feels like forever since we had a sit down grab a cup of something hot and let’s have a chat. Of course, I have nothing hot because you all know I’m writing this late at night (I’m such a night owl). 

 

     Our Christmas and New Year’s rollout was definitely a departure from the usual script—a "unique" experience that was about 10% holiday magic and 90% high-stakes grocery store survival. Because we decided to source the entire Christmas feast a mere 48 hours before the big day, the stakes were high and my confidence was low. I marched into the store on a mission for Prime Rib, only to find the inventory dwindled down to two lonely roasts and one very indecisive man. He was hovering over the meat case, debating options with his wife on the phone while I stood there doing my best impression of a casual shopper, secretly praying he’d either vanish or opt for the massive five-rib monstrosity. The moment he turned his back, I pulled a total tactical maneuver, snatched the perfect two-rib roast, and beat a hasty retreat before he could change his mind.

 

The rest of the shopping trip was a similar exercise in "making it work." After a fruitless search for a cheesecake, I decided that a frozen pecan pie was a perfectly acceptable, if slightly icy, substitute. Back at home, the festive spirit was leaning heavily toward minimalism since we had hardly any decorations up, but I wasn't about to let the holiday pass without a bit of flair. I went all-in on the kitchen table, breaking out the Christmas tablecloth and the full spread to prove that even if the tree was missing, the spirit (and the stolen Prime Rib) was very much present.

 

     I managed to drag the tree into the TV room, though it’s currently standing in its naked, undecorated glory like it’s waiting for a bus. As for the gifts, let’s just say the wrapping paper stayed on the roll; we’ve officially transitioned to the "three giant gift bags" method of holiday distribution, which is far more efficient and significantly less likely to result in paper cuts.

    The real magic was in our refusal to move. We stayed firmly planted in our festive pajamas all day, curating a private marathon of those TCM holiday classics I’d been hoarding on the DVR. It was a blissfully quiet celebration, exactly the kind of low-key repeat performance. I do think I mentioned all that to you last year. 

          

    New Year’s Eve was a whole different beast. By now, you’re likely well-acquainted with my "dedication" to The Twilight Zone—though if we’re being honest, let’s just call it the full-blown obsession it actually is. With two different channels running 48-hour marathons, I had to make a strategic choice. I tethered myself to the Syfy broadcast, mostly because that’s where my fellow "Zoners" on Twitter congregate. We’ve been digital comrades for at least five years, though some of those friendships go back even further into the dimension of imagination.

 

    The evening’s menu usually follows a strict protocol of Chinese takeout, a tradition my sister initiated years ago. However, my mom wasn’t exactly feeling the vision this time around, probably because we’d already done a Panda Express run during a shopping spree earlier in the week. We pivoted to the next logical pillar of holiday health: Pizza Hut. It wasn’t the usual tradition, but a mountain of pizza and chicken wings is a pretty solid consolation prize while you’re busy questioning the nature of reality.

 

    So, how did everyone actually survive the holiday gauntlet? Whether you spent the last few weeks dodging awkward family questions or successfully achieving a world-record-breaking hibernation, I hope you’ve emerged relatively unscathed. Now that we’ve officially stumbled into 2026, I’m curious if the "new year, new me" energy has actually kicked in or if we’re all just collectively squinting at our calendars in disbelief.

 

    Speaking of fresh starts, have you actually committed to any grand resolutions yet, or are we still in the "thinking about thinking about it" phase? I’d love to hear if you’ve mapped out some ambitious goals to conquer the year or if your primary objective for January is simply remembering to write the correct year on your paperwork. 

  

I’m so grateful you spent a bit of your day here with me. I hope the rest of your morning, afternoon, or evening is filled with little moments of joy and a whole lot of cozy.  Take good care of yourself, and I’ll be looking forward to our next chat!