I don't know if it seemed to go by so quickly because most of us are just anxious for 2020 to end or because it's my favorite month and it's never long enough. Either way, here we are at the end of another month!
I did a couple of polls on IG – one about holiday movies and another about gift cards. I think the very unscientific results are worth sharing!
First up – Holiday Movies. I listed a bunch I could think of and then added any that were suggested and I ended up with 39 titles. I asked people to vote and give each one a thumbs up if they liked that particular movie (or holiday special) or a thumbs down if they didn't like it. The "winner," with a 90% thumbs up rating, was the original animated special Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and I totally get it! One that I cannot personally stand, but got an 80% thumbs up rating is Charlie Brown Christmas and I was honestly very surprised! It is so depressing! I never liked it as a kid and I think it should be avoided at all costs! On the other hand, my very favorite holiday movie, Muppet Christmas Carol, only got a 56% thumbs up rating! What?!? Honestly, it is fabulous and I cannot understand such a low rating! One thing to come out of this spur-of-the-moment poll was pressure to watch a movie I'd never had any interest in seeing – Christmas Vacation. There had never been a single indication that I would enjoy that movie and so I never bothered watching it. Well, I am ashamed to say that I caved to the pressure and I did watch it, and guess what? I was right. It was terrible. Seriously one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Not funny. Not heartwarming. Awful storyline. Abysmal casting. There is not a single positive thing I can say about it, despite my love of Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Two hours of my life I will never get back!
The second poll – Gift Cards. Since December is that time of year when gift giving is on most people's minds, I asked if people liked receiving gift cards, like giving gift cards, and why or why not for both. 91% of people liked receiving gift cards, but only 65% of people liked giving gift cards to others. Some of the reasons given in favor of receiving them were that people could choose their own gift, could treat themselves when they might not otherwise be able to do so, and could put the funds toward something they'd been saving for. Those not in favor of receiving gift cards mostly said it felt impersonal. In terms of giving gift cards, most of those not in favor were worried it would be perceived as impersonal, while those in favor of giving gift cards listed reasons such as they like giving an experience (in the form of a meal, a shopping excursion, a movie/show/concert, etc.), buying gift cards eliminates the stress and guess work of choosing something for another person, gift cards are always the right size/color/style, you know you're not buying them something they already have, something they won't like, or something that will be perceived as clutter, and they can be easily regifted. I really liked this poll and reading people's responses! I love both receiving and giving gift cards, for many of the reasons listed above. I don't like to make assumptions about what another person likes/wants/needs, no matter how well I know them. I know I've been on a downsizing/decluttering kick and I'm sure others are as well, so I don't want to give them something might not have a use for. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about cute things – I'm just hesitant to push what I think is adorable on another person. The exception here is my family's stockings…they are subjected to all sorts of cute things! LOL!
Something that happened this month that I'm incredibly thankful for is that I was permitted to work from home for the final seven school days (two of which turned out to be snow days!). This meant that I wasn't around all sorts of people at school and therefore I could safely see my mom at Christmas. What an amazing gift this was and will be forever grateful. Not sure I've mentioned it before, but I'm kind of obsessed with my mom!
Of course, the pandemic prevented us (and everyone else!) from having a "normal" Christmas and we definitely missed some of the fun things we typically do together. Thankfully, zoom made it possible to be together virtually, and my sister-in-law asked my brother and I to decorate gingerbread houses with our three-year old niece. I looked online for a kit, but most of the ones with decent reviews were sold out, so I decided I would make one from scratch. If you know me, that was pretty out of character, and as the day approached, I was seriously regretting my decision. I don't have much in the way of baking tools, but I got the ingredients and read the recipe and watched the corresponding youtube video and figured between the two of us, C and I would be able to manage it. We made the dough the night before, let it chill overnight, and cut and baked the pieces the next morning. We were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves until it came time for construction. I'm not going to lie – it was a mess. We used soda cans to prop up the walls, plastic containers to hold up the roof, and put a piece of Styrofoam inside the house to support the overall structure. All of the icing on the seams dried just in the nick of time before the call, and we ended up having so much fun with gingerbread houses in three different states being decorated while we chatted and our niece entertained us with her adorable commentary! I love our completed house and I made a few cookies with the leftover dough, which were absolutely delicious. For non-bakers, I was pretty impressed with our efforts!
I already wrote about going to see the Bull Run Festival of Lights this month, and we also went to D.C. to see the Christmas tree at the White House. I'll be honest. It was a letdown. After seeing all of the huge, gorgeous trees decorated year after year at WDW, there was just nothing to be excited about with the D.C. tree. On the upside, it was a chilly, clear night and we had a great time carrying Ginny around in her tote. We also visited the Canadian Embassy and the decorations there were beautiful!
We ended up at the emergency vet with Ginny on December 23. We've noticed that her abdomen gets very bloated after eating and she's been having some labored breathing at times (at other times, she is absolutely fine). Well, she had a really rough time overnight, so when we got up, we called four different vet offices to see if any of them had an available appointment that day. Unfortunately, they were all booked, so we decided to take her to the emergency vet so she could be seen. This turned into an all-day event and we didn't get home until after 8 pm, but at least they were able to rule out any lung issues. We have an appointment with internal medicine next week because there is a strong suspicion that she has developed Cushing's disease, but we'll know more after that appointment and we'll do whatever Ginny needs!
That's about it for now! Even though this one was unconventional, December remains my favorite month!
As 2020 finally comes to an end, there is no tweet that sums up Ginny's experience more accurately than this one:
Happy Tails to you!
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