Photo by Boris Pavlikovsky from Pexels
November went by in a blur and now in just a couple of days, it’s going to be December. Full blown Christmas season. In fact, it’s already the 1st Sunday of Advent. Am I feeling Christmas-y? Not really feeling it as much as I did in the previous years. I think my Mom isn’t feeling it so much as well since she’s decided not to put up the Christmas tree this year. It is gonna be a strange Christmas. It’s a strange year overall.
Anyway, here are six things I want to tell you about how my month went by:
1. Tried Starbucks Baked Apple Latte
When Starbucks releases their annual Red Cups, it’s usually one of the first things I do to get in the Christmas feeling. So as per my usual tradition, I tried the new holiday drink, Baked Apple Latte. I have to say though, it was an underwhelming flavor of drink. Still Toffee Nut and Peppermint Mocha for me.
2. Got the highest pageviews number on my blog this month and adsense earnings too
The highest pageview I got ever was about 13,000 for this blog. It was driven by a blog post that has to be my least favorite blogpost ever because it was about a tragic news about someone I knew. That was years ago and now, that number has been surpassed.
I also got the biggest jump on my adsense earnings this month. I find both these developments awesome. So thank you dear readers for helping me get those numbers.
3. Getting more and more into gardening
My red nerve fittonia had grown so lush that I decided it was just time to propagate it and I was finally able to use the small pots that were just stocked up in our house. I enjoyed that so much I went and bought more pots online and propagated and repotted a few more plants that are now happily displayed inside our house.
Just a couple of my newly propagated plants
My vegetable plants are also still nicely growing in our backyard. It was able to withstand the recent strong typhoon that hit Metro Manila.
And I still found those not enough and found myself two more indoor plants to take care of. Meet my pink polka dot plant with its matching pink pot and my green nerve fittonia.
My pink polka dot plant is sitting pretty on my window sill and it is a lovely sight to see in the morning when I open my eyes
I’m a little sad about this green fittonia baby though. It started so lush but now there’s only 1 stem full of leaves still standing. I’m hoping it will survive. |
4. Found another series to binge watch on
Netflix series and movies have really been getting me through this whole pandemic. I’m adding Dawson’s Creek to that ever growing list of series that’s getting me through. I used to love this series when I was a teenager. I shipped Joey and Pacey as a couple before and re-watching this show now as an adult only reinforced that shipping. Pacey is a really good teen boyfriend.
5. My 2020 GoodReads Reading Challenge achieved and surpassed
I haven’t been able to reach my reading goal for the past few years now. So many other things I’ve let get in the way before. But considering I’m still continuously sheltering in place, I’ve been able to take all this free weekend time to do some reading. Amazingly, I’ve felt more motivated to read. If you find yourself in a reading slump, maybe these tips can help you out.
6. Cooked my first carbonara
My mother’s a greak cook. But me? Well, I’ve never been able to cook anything more than instant foods like noodles and hotdog in my life! I’ve always wanted to try my hand in the kitchen. But also every time that I want to try, I’d find that my mom was also too busy to teach.
Now we have nothing but time. And I have successfully cooked my first carbonara! Had my cousin and uncle try it too and got good feedback. Definitely want to try to practice my cooking skills more so I can really get the hang of this because it feels amazing to be able to cook more than just the instant ones.
7. Bought a comic book
Since the lockdown began, I have been penny pinching. No buying non-essential stuff! But this month, I made a little exception to that and I allowed myself to buy a new Archie comics. I love Archie comics. Archie and the gang are soooo funny.
8. Tried a home service foot spa
I also made this other exception to my no spending on non essentials rule – I tried a home service foot spa and pedicure. Well I kind of needed this. My big toe’s infection healed a couple of months ago already but my nail was still dark and thought it was dead already. I just couldn’t take seeing that dark part of my big toe anymore. Luckily, I discovered VIP Nails Manila which offers home service.
I booked an appointment via Facebook and I was happy with the overall service – from the community manager that constantly got me updated from the moment I booked the service to the nail technician who went to my house to do my nails. I didn’t even have to prepare anything except for the electrical outlet. Will definitely be trying their service again.
So that’s my November. How did November go for you? And are you feeling Christmas season already?
Riyah Speaks
How to trailer foot spa and I ironically really loved it. Happy Holidays!
Michelle Brown
This is so refreshing! Love these wrap ups from you! We might have to try Dawson's Creek.
Liz
Thanks Michelle! If you do give Dawson's Creek a try, let me know what you think of it! Hope you enjoy it!
Vinn
Congratulations on your blog views and gardening 😉 By the way, I missed that Archie comics too. As for my November, I started planting flower seedlings for the season. They are still growing I'm not sure if they will be ready this Christmas. I also started decorating last month and preparing the fruitcake. Soaking fruits in brandy. Happy Holidays! 😉
Liz
Vinn it would be so amazing to see our plants grow! Happy holidays!
Charley
Baked Apple Latte sure sounds interesting! I wonder if we get it in the UK – maybe I'll have to venture to Starbucks and see! Congratulations on your blog post views and earning, that's so good!! Keep up the great work!
Eddie
Great round up of November. Not seen Dawson creek since I was a teen. The apple latte sounds delicious.
The Omniscrolls
This is very interesting article. love the plants too.
The Omniscrolls
This is great, very interesting article. Also, your plants look great.