I think this is going to be the last one of these for the year. Maybe I’ll throw in another one if I’m feeling like it but with only 2 Fridays left (!), it might be time to finish these series off and figure out what to do for 2018. I like the idea of a weekly recap but I really hate the name. I’m open to any suggestions.

I actually don’t even know where this week went. It’s been batshit bananas in the news, Hanukkah started, and it was my daughter’s birthday (and my grandma’s is today and my future brother-in-law’s is tomorrow). The days have just bled into one insane long day that I’ve somehow managed to fill with some things.

Reading. My Absolute Darling. I picked up nothing from the library, requested nothing from NetGalley, and bought nothing. Thanks again to everyone who participated in Show Us Your Books and we have a special year end one on 12/26.

Watching. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. All the hype about this show? WORTH EVERY MINUTE YOU’LL SPEND WATCHING IT. This is probably the best show I’ve watched all year (or tied maybe with Godless, Ozark, and American Vandal) despite the fact that it didn’t make my list. To be fair, I wrote the list before I watched it.

Raging. Where to even start? With the unfit, deranged, sexually harassing piece of shit still occupying the Oval Office? Or the horse riding homophobic racist monster who won’t concede an election he legitimately lost? Or the FCC threatening the first amendment more than the aforementioned unfit deranged piece of shit? Or the fact that 5 years after Sandy Hook and the deaths of thousands more, we still have no decent gun control laws? Or the fact that CHIP still doesn’t have authorized funding? Or the tax bill that still might pass? My head is actually about to explode from frustration because I am flabbergasted that this country is devolving and people are starting to act like the frog in the water. I don’t understand how rational thinking people are okay with this sheer and utter bullshit. We deserve better. Our kids deserve better. Our country deserves better. Which actually leads me to…

Celebrating. Doug Jones’s victory in Alabama. To be fair, it’s bizarre that we were even at the point where an alleged pedophile who believes you can’t be sworn into office with anything other than a Christian bible and that the US hasn’t been good since slavery had a fighting chance but yet here we are. I was nervous as fuck watching the returns and never have I been so vested in an election where I didn’t vote. And Alabama had me nervous for awhile. But good sense and decency and morals prevailed thanks to black women and other common sense voters (but white women, we need to talk). And, just to add about the net neutrality, my representative (our first female black representative, whose election was one bright spot in the 2016 shit show) publicly denounced the vote and my state has joined a bunch of others to legally block the repeal. Delaware isn’t my first choice of places to live but I’m happy with the fact that our elected representatives (in the Senate and the House) are actually representing our best interests.

Loving. Speaking of Delaware, Joe Biden is everything. You saw that video of him consoling Meghan McCain, right? THAT represents everything we should be.

Laughing.

Hope you guys enjoy your weekend. Mine will be full of cheerleading (showcase night AND a practice!) and sitting on my couch avoiding the cold (and people) and NOT seeing Star Wars.

Thanks to everyone who participated in SUYB this month (I promise I’ll finish reading all your posts today) and a HUGE thank you to Tanya for the amazing facelift of this little space of mine! If you need or want yours done, I cannot recommend her enough. Not only is she crazy talented, her patience is unparalleled.

It’s been quite a week with all the news coming out of DC and my anger is starting to boil over. Like, cannot be contained anymore. Between Al Franken and the rollbacks on protections for elephants and more mass shootings and fucking Roy Moore and just the endless steaming pile of shit that just keeps growing like a political landfill replete with stinking turds, it’s hard to focus on anything else anymore.

But like my hero Elizabeth Warren, I persist. So let’s recap this week’s non-shitty events.

Reading. Ghettoside by Jill Leovy. Still. Nothing new from the library and I’m on a NetGalley break.

Watching. Mr. Robot and Damnation. The former is so fucking weird and at least 4 times an episode I get lost and the latter is filling my inexplicable love of Westerns. Even thought it’s less Western and more drama. I don’t know. At least I’m taking a break from Netflix.

Eating. Baked ziti. I haven’t had it in YEARS and I couldn’t stop thinking about it so I made some the other day and now I have enough until I turn 50. Separately, it’s one of those foods I make that I never actually follow a recipe and make differently every single time. See also: stuffed shells and crab cakes.

Listening. New podcast alert (well, new to me): Professional Book Nerds. It’s interview style (at least the ones I’ve listened to) and I really like the hosts. Plus, they’re funny and they followed me back on Twitter so I have to pimp them now.

Welcoming. A new dog! If you follow me on IG, you’ve seen her take over my feed and I’ll go into depth about her next week but the gist is her name is Lizzy (after aforementioned Elizabeth Warren), she’s 5, a puppy mill survivor, and she’s absolutely awesome. Barkley is adjusting as well as a cranky old man can adjust, the cat fucking hates her, and it’s nice to hear 8 feet running around the house again instead of just 4.

Laughing.

That’s all she wrote this week. Can’t remember what all of my weekend plans are but I know some involve doing a mile walk in the cold and the dark at the beach so mixed feelings about that. I’ll see you guys back on Tuesday. Have a great weekend!