1) Update on an update: We did it. We bought a new car. I might have cried when we drove by the Hyundai for the last time. We bought a Subaru Outback (if you want the details it's a Limited trim with a turbo engine). Is it really an SUV? Yes. Do I feel like I've let myself down? Sort of.
Her name is Lucy and she has heated seats and a heated steering wheel. Since the high topped out IN THE SINGLE DIGITS yesterday, I have made use of these features.
I would show you a photo, but I literally never see her in the daylight. Maybe you'll get a photo in May.
2) Let the season begin: We have finally joined all the festive people. Lights are up and the advent puzzle has been started. The holiday market is tomorrow and I'm hoping to do most of my shopping by the end of the weekend. Cards have been ordered. Tickets for the Rotary Gardens light show have been ordered. Let's GO.
3) Workity work: You know how work has been insane and I said things will slow down? I mean, that hasn't happened yet. The software launch has been a disaster and I'm still the point person for that. We have a new hire which will eventually mean less on my plate, but now means MORE on my plate. Eh. You know what? Who cares? It's fine. Just don't look at my work calendar.
4) Midwesterners must talk about the weather: If you follow other Wisconsin/Illinois bloggers, you might already know that last weekend an entire planet's worth of snow was dumped on us, followed by more snow, and then the temperatures plummeted so that the high yesterday was in the single digits. What does that mean? It means that snow ain't going nowhere and Hannah is by turns delighted by the snow and horrified by it. It also means my time outdoors stat is not doing well right now.
5) It's Spotify Wrapped time: The best of time of year is when I am yet again reminded that white trash stays white trash. YES, Tanya Tucker is one of my most listened to artists of the year. Do yourself a favor and listen to her cover of "The House that Built Me" and follow it up with "Lizzie and the Rainman." If you want deeper Tucker cuts, consider her version of "The Thunder Rolls," the sad story song "What's Your Mama's Name," my karaoke song "Delta Dawn," or the super romantic "Two Sparrows in a Hurricane." I am a basic white bitch and I intend to stay that way.
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Any big updates in your life? Do you want to talk about the weather? Do you have a song recommendation for me? Do you want to brag about any of the top artists on your Spotify Wrapped?
I am reminded of the large selection of Christmas music that I once had but lost when I switched computers. I wish that I still had access to it. It’s not that we can’t access music from multiple sources, but it is not the same.
ReplyDeleteThis is timely because my husband just bought a new computer and spent hours transferring files - mostly music.
DeleteNew car who dis????? Congrats on having that off your to-do list!
ReplyDeleteYour Spotify roundup is the equivalent of my Alfred Hitchcock reviews - a thing that I'm glad makes you happy that does not exist in my own life. I almost never listen to music!
I don't listen to music much, either, but when I do it's long car trips and it really helps.
DeleteOMG I cannot wait to talk about my Spotify Wrapped. It's wild. I will say that it got skewed because of 20 hours in the car to visit my parents, and then 16 hours in the car to visit friends. My husband wanted to listen to our son's "Country Bangers" which happens to be like 75% Zac Brown. Who I like! But I don't normally listen to that much Zac Brown. Tl;dr he is my #3 artist this year. Number one is the same as it always is, Aretha Franklin. But my top five songs are such a weird eclectic mix and I would never have guessed them.
ReplyDeleteI love my Outback so I hope you love yours too!
Your tree looks great.
Holy shit that's a lot of snow! That used to be how it was in Calgary - I mean, it still is, but I don't live there. We have had the lightest bit of snow and that's it. Rain in December feels weird to me and probably always will, but here we are.
Ha! I don't listen to many male artists, so I'd be horrified if Zac Brown appeared on my Wrapped!
DeleteThis is an unusual amount of snow this early in the year and the temperatures are well below normal. I am not enjoying it. I hope it's not a harbinger of weather to come the rest of winter.
You will like the heated features in that car!!! Why didn't we have things like that when I lived up north? Yes, I do actually follow your weather closely because my son is up there. BRRR. He is probably frozen to death- luckily he comes home again next week and it's 85 degrees here today. No, I'm not bragging- I don't want it to be 85 in December. Send some of your polar vortex our way!
ReplyDeleteI love your tree!
You are welcome to all of the below freezing temperatures you would like! I'll take your 85 degrees!
DeleteI LOVE, LOVE, LOVE a heated steering wheel and heated seats. This is my first vehicle with a heated steering wheel and I am ruined for life and can never go back.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't gotten a ton of snow (but enough that a snowman has been made!), but it is SO cold out right now. Brrrr.
Most of the top artists in my list were rappers (clean) because I have a tween son and he loves rap. Also, Taylor Swift. We were in the top 2% of listeners in the world of her music, apparently. Ha.
Your tree is gorgeous!
I have to admit that the heated steering wheel doesn't get warm enough for me. It's barely noticeable. But the seats? They are amazing.
DeleteI would not be able to handle a lot of rap, even if were clean. I need a melody!
Oh no! My heated steering wheel gets sooooooooo hot. Like, too hot. But it takes a while. Like 20 minutes of driving and I have to turn it off because it's uncomfortably warm!
DeleteHEATED SEATS FOR THE WIN. I use mine all the time and almost year round. My 95-year old mother was very worried once because her seat was so warm; she thought she had wet her pants. LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm super jealous of your heated steering wheel. We test drove a car with that feature, but the car we bought did not have it. I felt so cheated. My hands are always cold, and gloves suck.
Any snow is far too much for me. We are in the secondary snow belt here in NEO, and we get lake effect snow. Luckily, we did not get as much as you did, but what's here now (a few inches with a foundation of ice) will be here for the foreseeable.
I stream music with YouTube Music, and when I was walking my miles every day, I listened to music that helped me along. According to my recap, my top five were:
1. Genesis
2. The Beatles
3. George Harrison
4. Carly Simon
5. Taylor Swift
for about 6k minutes. I also logged a bit of If Books Could Kill, listening to all those podcasts.
All the dogs in my neighbourhood are loving this snow, especially Sterling, the big Alaskan malamute/husky, who frisks and pounces every morning on his walks. The only exception is my granddog Zydrunas, who barely ventures down the back steps to pee with a pained look on his face and cannot come in fast enough.
The heated steering wheel is not as good as the seats, Nance. I can barely feel it when it's on. It's nice, but not fabulous.
DeleteI LOVE that Taylor Swift is the gift that reaches all generations. LOVE IT.
Congratulations on Lucy! I look forward to seeing her once it's daylight. I'm happy for you that she has the heated features. Down here, I use the cooled seats more often, but sometimes turn on the heat if my back is bothering me. And I have used the heated steering wheel a few times! You know, at least ... maybe three times, in four years?
ReplyDeleteCooling seats? I would NEVER use that. LOL. But I'm glad it's a feature that you find useful!
DeleteI do think that the back being heated is going to be a lifesaver when I'm having back problems. I already love it for that.
Congrats on your new car, Engie! A heated steering wheel! Sounds awesome!
ReplyDeleteHannah and your tree get top marks for photos!
I guess I don't know what Spotify wrapped is? A bunch of people I know are boycotting Spotify for airing ICE ads. We have Apple music, which probably does other billionaire shit, so whatevs.
We're getting a lot of that snow in MI too... It's still new and lovely, but I expect I'll be yearning for Spring soon.
Spotify Wrapped is when Spotify calculates your stats for you and tells you how much of a super user you are and what your top songs/artists/genres are. I probably am selling out my soul with Spotify, but there's only so much space I can give to ethical purchases.
DeleteThis is so much snow so early. I hope that it's not a sign of things to come in the next few months.
Oh wow, you really did get some snow. We haven't had more than a skiff yet. I love heated seats so much! Guess what...I got a recliner that has a heated back and seat! OMG, it's amazing.
ReplyDeleteDoes your recliner vibrate, too? Because that would be the life.
DeleteCongrats on the new car! My children pretty much wrecked my Apple Replay--it's all Kpop Demonhunters and Zombies 4. The advent puzzle sounds fun and the tree looks great!
ReplyDeleteI miss a lot of pop culture by not having children. Ha!
DeleteCongratulations on the new car! With heated seats just in time for the cold weather. I love having heated seats and enjoy the heated steering wheel but agree it’s not as good as the seats. Hopefully you will love the new car and be happy to not be thinking about buying a car any more. We have a lot of snow for early December here in Michigan.
ReplyDeleteSo much snow! We didn't really get snow last year until January or February, but boy do we have it and we're supposed to get 3-5 more inches tomorrow! (Midwesterners always want to talk about the weather, don't we?)
DeleteOh, I love your tree and that you're doing an Advent Puzzle. I should have gotten one of those. I remember doing one with my MIL two Christmases ago and it was so fun.
ReplyDeleteIt hasn't snowed here (never does) but it's been foggy and cold for two weeks now. I guess it's that time of year.
Congratulations on the new car. I love that it has heated seats and steering wheel. That's great to have in the winter!
I love doing the advent puzzle every year. I think this is our third year. It's a fun thing to do every night.
DeleteWhether you ever fall in love with Lucy or not, can we take a minute to celebrate the fact that the stupid search is over??? THANK GOD. Car shopping SUCKS HOLE.
ReplyDeleteOur new car Beezus has a heated steering wheel, and both heated and cooling seats. I LOVE IT. I used the heated steering wheel this morning because my hands were a little cold and it was 45 degrees out. I definitely feel it, but maybe when it’s in the single digits, the steering wheel heat can’t keep up? When we bought Beezus in September it was still stupid hot here, so we tested out the cooling feature, which was meh. You don’t sweat as much, that’s all. Still, not nothing.
Poor Hannah, I’m sorry about the snow. I wish we had taken Mulder to see the snow at least once, I feel like he would have loved it. It’s a 5 hour drive though and we are lazy people. We did take him to the ocean a few times, and he loved that for sure.
Your tree is beautiful. I’m sorry work is a lot. Training someone is always short term WORK, because it would definitely be easier to just do things yourself. In the long run, you are right, it will be better.
We have Apple Music, and it’s Ted’s account, so I don’t know anything about Spotify. Your year end wrap up sounds perfect for you though. Delta Dawn? I remember that song from when I was a kid. Have you heard Angie Baby? I feel like they are two songs of a specific time.
Car shopping is the WORST. I'm so glad it's over.
DeleteI cannot imagine ever wanting cooling seats. Ever. Even in the hottest of the months, I do not want a cold butt!
My Spotify stats are a bit messed up because I have a playlist that we use at work during first year orientation and it has a lot of songs I wouldn't necessarily listen to, but fit the vibe of the event. Oh, well. I feel like the stats do tell the true story of who I am as a music listener.
Woot woot! You bought a car!!!!! Heated seats and steering wheel are clutch.
ReplyDeleteI love Two Sparrows in a Hurricane. Such a fantastic song, through and through. I don't do Spotify. I rarely listen to music, unless my child or husband are playing it. So my guess is my "top songs" are things from KPop Demon Hunters and Mannequin Pussy.
I don't listen to music as much as I listen to podcasts, but I DO listen more since I pay for ad free Spotify.
DeleteI'm hesitant to look up Mannequin Pussy. It sounds terrible.
Love The Chicks and Great Big Sea. Updates...we're waiting for a grandbaby to arrive. Fingers crossed all goes well.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely thing to be able to celebrate over the holiday!
DeleteCongratulations on your new car. I love our heated seats, but have never had a heated steering wheel, which is probably a function of our weather hardly ever getting below 0C. I don't listen to heaps of music, but I have been using it a lot in the second half of the year to learn songs for church so my list would tell me which songs I had the most trouble learning.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing about having the new car must be not having to keep shopping for a new car. I don't use my heated seat often, but it's good when it's really cold and my back hurts. My steering wheel doesn't get really hot either, but without it the steering wheel is REALLY cold, so I'm still grateful for it.
ReplyDeleteThose two Taylor Swift songs are two of my favourites too. Also love Great Big Sea. I love that Delta Dawn is your karaoke song - we had it on an 8-track in our car when I was little.
Hooray for the new car purchase and she already has a name. Awesome. I didn't even know heated steering wheel was a thing. I so cherish my heated seats in my minivan. New life updates here? Um, we managed to drive downtown, take Tank to dinner on his Dec 5th bday, and then head back to his house where my typical tailgate/party fare was set out and a handful of his friends were hiding to surprise him. The weather - eek, we have so much snow. Weird - I feel like the last few years we've not had any serious snow until after Christmas. Coach is shoveling right now. The first dumping happened when college kids were home and I've not had to shovel one single time (yet). Pretty pleased with that. Not to worry, I'm team cook all the meals, do all the laundry, and deliver all the Christmas merriment (cards, gifts, parties, outfits, etc.).
ReplyDeleteI promise not to look at your work calendar if you promise not to peek at my house and the serious state of disarray it is in rn.