November was much busier than usual! I had way more paid work than I usually do this time of year. I’m happy to have the money (of course), but I worked far more hours than would be typical for November, and I’m pretty worn out now.

Money

I bought three online courses or workshops, a couple of decorative items, and some candles. I bought a few holiday gifts, and because I started shopping early this year, I only have a handful of items left to purchase. I also replaced my failing FitBit and glitchy headphones, both via eBay.

I spent $49.40 on my regular sewing subscription and a batch of A0 sewing pattern copies. If you don’t sew, you may not realize that most modern sewing patterns are PDF files. They usually come in two sizes: One you can print on US letter or A4 paper (you have to tape these together) and one in a larger A0 format, which is similar to the size of a blueprint. I prefer this larger size, so I keep a list of the patterns I want to print and order A0 copies when PDF Plotting has its big Black Friday sale. I also bought some more new hair accessories (still growing out that very bad haircut), two secondhand tops, and some new-with-tags flannel pajamas from eBay. I spent a total of $125.68 on all of that.

I spent $63.46 on books and audiobooks, so I actually succeeded in spending far less than I normally do in that category.

Our grocery spending was much lower than I expected, and I’m not sure why! I guess I’ll just put it down to luck. I’m not missing any receipts, and I don’t have time to analyze this at the moment. I’m just going to appreciate the win.

Writing

I wrote my monthly short story, but didn’t send my newsletter. After last month, I felt like all of us needed a break! Hahaha.

Goals

I listed six goals for November. (Some of my 2025 goals will change from month to month, and some will remain the same.)

Writing
+ Write short story
+ Write something just for the fun of it

I did write my monthly story, but I had so much paid work that I didn’t write much of anything else, fun or otherwise.

Household
+ Holiday gift shopping (at least the majority of it)
+ Try one new recipe

As I mentioned above, I’m almost done with my gift shopping. I only have two or three more items to buy, which I think is an absolute record for me. I’m not the “procrastinate until Christmas Eve” type, but I’m pretty close, LOL. I didn’t try any new recipes this month.

Money
+ Complete YTD work for another occasional client

I caught up all but one of my occasional and semi-regular clients this month, and regained an old client on top of that. It really was a busy work month!

Personal
+ Participate in two workshops and work through one online course

I did all three. One of the writing workshops was a bit of a dud for me, but it would have been really useful for a memoirist. It was labeled for “all writers,” and I wish they had been more honest. But the other classes were really good!

Goals for December

Writing
+ Write short story
+ Participate in one writing workshop

Household
+ Send holiday cards
+ Try one new recipe

Money
+ Take some needed time off

Personal
+ Review 2025 goals and decide on new goals for next year

Everything Else

• In October, Thumper and I started attending a nearby Unitarian Universalist church (which is welcoming to all faiths, including Pagans). I went a step further and joined the choir this month. I haven’t been in a weekly choir in decades, and I’m rapidly regaining my rusty musical sight-reading skills!
• I only read (or listened to) 11 books in October. I’m not quite sure how that happened, as I haven’t been watching much TV. I try not to read more than three books at once (a physical one, an ebook, and an audiobook), but I’ve been breaking my own rule lately. I bet I finish five or six books in short order because I’ve been switching between so many at the same time.
• I finally got around to watching “The Monkey,” and like, wtf is wrong with Oz Perkins?? (Complimentary.) I wish I hadn’t waited so long to watch this. So gory, so funny, so wrong!

And that was November.