The Weekly Ramble – December 5, 2025

Now that Thanksgiving has passed with all its bustle of activity, it feels like we’ve got a lull before things fire back up for Christmas. Or is that just me?

This week has been one of transition:

• We’ve had lovely weather, just enough chill to bundle up, but with blue skies so that it’s not gloomy.
• I finished up physical therapy for my frozen shoulder. It’s not 100%, but I’m on the road to recovery which is good.
• I’m busily trying to work ahead for blogging, but not moving particularly fast. I’ve got just one more week of work before I break for Christmas. Will I get as much done as I hope? We shall see.
• I’m working to find a morning routine that suits for this last month of year. Sitting for a few minutes with my tea by the lit tree has been sweet.

Have you met Carp Boy? He’s the mascot for the Hiroshima Carp baseball team which we saw this summer.

I buy key chains when we travel because they are easier to find and cheaper than Christmas ornaments. I was pleased to find out this one glows in the dark!

He’s a fun little addition to our Christmas tree. I also have the rental car key from the first Christmas Bryan and I were together, spent in France as well as souvenirs from other places we’ve traveled together.

I love looking at them on the tree!

Here’s what I’ve been doing, eating, listening/watching, reading, and/or writing this past week:

What I’ve Been Doing

I’ve not done a ton of Christmas shopping yet, but I am learning more about a new-to-me, rebate site called CapitalOne Shopping. My eldest told me about it when they were here over Thanksgiving.

I hesitate to call it a cash-back portal since they give you rebates in the form of gift cards. Still, when used wisely, it can be a good thing.

I think the trick is to not treat the gift cards like gifts, but like real money. The same old thing like coupons, remembering that they represent cash and to treat it like such.

Some of the rebate percentages have been amazing, like up to 45% back. I recently got 24% back from a Canon order, something Bryan and I had already planned to buy. So, I reduced the cost of it by over $100.

Again, it’s a good savings provided I don’t spend that $107.12 like it’s free money. It’s not.

Anyway, they have a special if you use my referral link, you can get a $40 bonus for trying it out.

What I’ve Been Eating

I took zero good pictures of my food this week, so you’ll have to trust me that I’m eating. On Sunday I made a pretty simple dinner and we lit the Hope candle.

I don’t have an official Advent wreath or anything, just the candles I bought on clearance last summer. Unfortunately they are scented in different scents for each color, so I’m not exactly loving the experience.

But, I also don’t want to spend a lot of money on new candles, so we’ll just go with it for the next month.

I planned all the special dinners of the month so it’s just a question of prepping ahead.

What I’ve Been Listening/Watching

Spotify came out with their Wrapped this week. I was not impressed with their statement that I have the listening age of 75, especially since none of my top songs are actually from the 60s.

Ah, artificial intelligence…

In other news, we got PBS, Britbox, and Acorn on the Black Friday sale, but we are not binging. I figure for the $6/month, we’ve got a Friday night watch set up for us.

What I’ve Been Reading

I finished The House that Cleans Itself on Sunday like I said I would, so I’m pleased to have that behind me. It was a good book, dated, but some solid ideas, especially if you haven’t got all your cleaning systems dialed in.

Most of my reading has been Bible this past week, with both my CBS Psalms study and the Art of Home Podcast Advent guide. The readings in both have really been good and fed off each other.

I love it when God does that.

What I’ve Been Writing

My time at the computer has been interrupted a fair amount lately, so I haven’t been able to focus as much as I would like. And I’ve yet to get back to my fiction works.

Still, I’m plugging along, prepping content ahead for Good Cheap Eats and Life as Mom as far as I can get. Be sure to subscribe to my email list if you want updates on those!

I guess that’s it for me. Tonight I’m going to a Favorite Things Party where I will know exactly two people. I’m excited about the concept, so much better than a white elephant.

Here’s what I’m taking, the price limit was $5 for each thing. Bring five of it and go home with five different things.