Okay, does anyone else feel like this past month has just absolutely flown?! I cannot believe we’re just a week away from Christmas, and then a few more days and it’ll be 2023. It just seems absolutely impossible! But somehow, here we are. I feel like my life has been a lot busier than my camera roll implies… I think it’s just the whirlwind of wrapping up work for the year and the impending holidays.

Here’s what I’ve been up to over the last month!

I finally got my hair cut! It had been about a year and a half since my last cut (I know!!) so it was long overdue. I’ll save you from seeing the pile of my hair on the floor at the salon, but it was a lot. I feel so much lighter – physically and mentally – and glad that I was feeling less exhausted and was able to make and get through the appointment, too.

This was probably the highlight of my month – Chloe Liese, the author of Two Wrongs Make a Right and the Bergman Brothers series did a book signing at a local Barnes and Noble! I found out she’s actually Pittsburgh-based, which was very exciting, and we had a great chat about disability representation in books (like the ones she writes!) and media in general. It just never ceases to amaze me what it’s like to talk to someone who just gets it – it reminds me how powerful and important community is.

The deer are back! Visits from my backyard deer friends are one of my absolute favorite parts of winter. I love seeing how close they’ll come to the house for their snacks, and I love hearing them crunch on the nuts we’ll throw out to them as a little extra treat. I know they’re wild animals so I’d never actually try to pet them… but I really want to, so badly!

I am typically a stickler for getting a real tree for Christmas, but with everything going on this year, it just was too much, so we got an artificial tree from Balsam Hill. I’m really impressed with how lifelike it looks! The tree is also living in my “office” (which is just a shared room) this year, and it’s so fun to look up from my desk to see our tree! I love looking at all the ornaments we’ve collected over the years.

Finally – after writing a post about how the holidays can be a challenging time for me to navigate as a disabled woman, I wanted to make sure to highlight these women in my life who do get it. I’ve been friends with then since 3rd grade – so we have a 20 plus year friendship now – and I’m so grateful to have people who I know understand my needs and are happy to meet me where I’m at. It makes me holidays all the more merry!