We’ve booked our next vacation: Disney World! We went 5 years ago in 2018 with the kids, and Cam and I went for our honeymoon in 2011. So this will be our first time with Charlie.

We used a Disney vacation planner, which is FREE. And I do not understand how. Our lady was Monica, and she and I emailed back and forth probably 20 times, trying to figure out dates, lodging, number of park days, etc. Originally we were going to do Universal as well, but since our kids are still on the young side, we figured we can save that for the next trip when they’ll be able to ride more of the rides!

In addition to the planning, she offered to plan the park day itineraries as well. We just need to let her know what rides and attractions we want to do, and she’d put it all together, with meals and everything. And somehow, it’s a free service to use. I don’t get it! I mean, I understand that she gets paid by Disney the same way I get paid by Amazon as an affiliate there. But it was really mind-blowing to use a vacation planner this time. Highly recommend doing that if you ever decide to go to Disney!

The Holiday Season

Since we’ll be gone for about 1.5 weeks right before Christmas, I knew I needed to get any shopping done beforehand. So for the first time EVER, I’ve got all my shopping done. That feels pretty remarkable, honestly - I may do this every year from now on! And now I can just enjoy the holiday music and outings and Christmas sweaters and get-togethers.

Growing up, until I was about 8 years old, we lived in Germany, so I don’t really remember what the holidays were like. I do remember walking through the deep snow to find and cut down our tree. Funny thing is, my dad tells me that story at least once a year, so it’s possible that my memory is just based off of his story and not an actual memory of my own.

Once we moved back to the USA, we were 2 and 4 hours driving from my two grandparents’ houses. So for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we’d visit one of them, stay the night, then visit the other one for a night or two.

As far as tradition, here are a few I remember:

• chicken noodle casserole at my Mimi’s

• either me or one of my brothers getting to put the star on our tree

• Santa visiting my Grammy’s house and packing our stockings

• my dad always reading the Christmas story on Christmas Eve

• my mama getting us kids a new ornament each year

Do you have any holiday traditions, either Thanksgiving or Christmas? 

Pumpkin Pie

When it comes to Thanksgiving, we stopped visiting my grandmothers many years ago (they’ve both since passed). My mama didn’t want to do all the cooking, so we didn’t do Thanksgiving at her house. Cam and I have hosted family twice here in Louisiana, but usually we don’t do much.

I do love the cooking that goes along with this time of year. Sure, you can have cranberry sauce, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, and all that, whenever you want. No one is stopping me. But it just…goes with the holidays. And I love all of it (minus traditional stuffing… I make this ciabatta version that’s fantastic!).

I’ve only ever made pumpkin pie once or twice, and it’s FINE. It’s good. But it’s not amaaazing (like pecan pie bars, RECIPE BELOW).

Then I came across this TikTok video that has convinced me to try out a new pumpkin pie recipe this year. It’s the Milk Bar Pumpkin Caramel Pie. It’s got a LOT of steps. It’s going to take me a while, but I’m no stranger to long, drawn-out recipes. I’m excited to try it!

I’ve learned SO much from you guys

Okay before I forget, here is the PECAN PIE BARS recipe. It was sent to me from a OG follower, from my Snapchat days! She gave me permission to share it on my blog, and I’m sharing it from there.🥰

But I think about it a lot - there are SO many things I’ve learned from you guys, my Instagram followers.

1. Always sleep with your doors closed! I did a poll one day, asking people if they slept with doors open or closed. And I was overloaded with messages saying you should ALWAYS close the doors when you’re sleeping because of fire safety. I’d never learned that!

2. Hold part of the knife blade while you chop. I have improved my knife skills a TON over the years, and one big reason is because I occasionally show myself chopping on camera. And nearly every time, I get a suggestion to improve my grip! (I’m grateful for it!)

3. Disney travel planners. Honestly if it weren’t for the MANY followers who told me about their positive experiences with this, I would never have tried it out!

4. Latte art! I’m still very mediocre at this. But I’ve gotten so many tips from baristas messaging me, or people sending me links to videos and IG accounts that could help. And they’ve really helped!

5. Cut grapes lengthwise for babies and little kids. When I first started posting to Instagram, I showed meals I was giving Alexander. And I’d given him whole grapes one time😳 Someone commented that I should be cutting them because they’re a choking hazard. So the next time I showed grapes, I’d cut them the wrong way. And I got another comment letting me know how to cut them the right way, plus why.

I could go on and on, but I just want to say thanks. A lot of times I’ll get the same suggestion a bunch of times, but I’d rather get it many times than none at all! It’s literally changed my life in a lot of ways. I am who I am now because of many reasons, and one of those reasons is YOU.

Good thoughts in

There’s a little something going on personally (I’ll tell you guys eventually!). I’ve been pretty stressed about it. I can feel myself clenching my jaw more than usual. Anyway, I had this … epiphany, I guess. It’s not a big thing, but I KNOW it will make a big difference for me (because it’s made a big difference before!).

Good thoughts in….

I’m into scary movies and true crime. But for the next several weeks, I’m going to be very intentional about watching and listening to uplifting movies, podcasts, and music.

Honestly I’ll probably just omit podcasts altogether - I’ve tried listening to non-true-crime podcasts, and I just zone out.

I already have a lot of Christian music downloaded that is encouraging and uplifting.

But I need suggestions for some uplifting documentaries or happy movies!

TikTok roundup

Anyone who watches TikTok probably has very different FYPs, so a lot of the popular videos I come across might never come across yours. Soo here are 5 videos I liked recently!

1. This girl invented a new type of clothes hanger. It’s so smart!

2. Cherry pie cupcake decorations. Cute!

3. Amazing hula hoop trick!

4. Warning: SPIDERS. This guy’s page is filled with all sorts of bugs!

5. “Guess the Movie”. It gives you one sort of obscure frame from a movie, then a slightly more obvious one, and the goal is to figure out the film by the end of the 5 frames. I’m terrible at it, but it’s fun to try!

Currently…

I’m still reading Jason Pargin’s John Dies at the End. Did I mention that? I started it weeks ago and still workin’ on it.

Now that I’ve finished vacation planning, my next project is to wrap presents as they come in!

I’m into BAKING TREATS. I just want to make sweet treats. Or just eat them. Or drink them. Anything sweet, gimme gimme.

Thankful for TWO weeks off from our homeschool co-op. It was nice having a slightly slower week last week!

That’s it til next time

If you’re here in the USA, I hope you and yours have a safe holiday next week. To the rest of you, I hope you’re doing alright. Please let me know if you need anything from me: prayers or suggestions or encouragement or anything.

If you’d like to support me and my content, then here are two ways:

• My Amazon wish list!

• Buy Me a Coffee - it’s basically a virtual tip jar!

And finally, if there’s anything you’d like to see in a future email, please respond to this. I read (and usually reply to) all of them!

Much love,
Bethany