As the holiday season is fast approaching, most people are headed out for merry meetings with no shortage of libations. I, on the other hand, am being forced into hibernation and it’s giving me FOMO.
With adult obligations like bills (I’m sure you’re familiar with the stupid term, too), plus a wedding and honeymoon less than a year away, my fiancé© and I thought it best to spend as little money as humanly possible (there are some other reasons, but I’ll spare you the boring grownup details). While we’re learning to be less wasteful, cook with pantry items we already have (both of Italian descent, we have A LOT of pasta and sauce to go through) and occupy ourselves with at-home activities (which, really isn’t so bad when you use your imagination), I miss being a part of that hey why don’t we grab a drink after work world.
The tricky part is when you’re trying to be financially responsible but your Instagram feed is full of friends out drinking/eating/shopping and that at this time of year, everyone wants to go out for pre-holiday get-togethers and wants to exchange just a little something as a holiday treat. What I want to say is, I can’t right now, you guys! I love you and want to spend time with you, but why can’t you just come over and eat the amazing pasta dish I created with nothing but Pinterest to help me (because it’s free), but gifts just aren’t in the budget, right now. I get it. I totally understand why people want to enjoy the air before it starts hurting our skin the way it does in January and February, but can’t we, please, just stay in and watch movies on the pre-paid Netflix account?
Being the responsible grownup that I am (not), I spent my day doing some work (because, grownup) and baking and thought to myself, wouldn’t it be lovely to post this on Instagram to show people that free activities can be fun too, because mind over matter and all that jazz? Do you know what happened after my perfectly filtered picture? Well, when I paired my delicious gourmet hot chocolate (kidding, I just mixed the sugary packet with a homemade latte and added approximately 30 marshmallows) with my freshly baked gingerbread, I got a tummy ache. You know why? Because apparently when you’re a grownup, you lose the ability to process refined sugar. So now, not only do I have FOMO over a friend’s birthday dinner I had to RSVP no to, my tummy hurts.
Naturally, being the high-strung person that I am, this whole ordeal just perpetuated the already present stress that has caused a weird form of writer’s block where I forget how to spell and I write these long-winded articles that my dear friend not-so-affectionately called a brain dump. Wouldn’t it just be easier to spend the $20 and go to the movies? Does being responsible automatically become synonymous with being a cabin fever-driven basket case that forgets to spell the most basic words? Apparently.
Now, excuse me while I go pay some bills, sip some refined sugar-free tepid lemon water and avoid my Instagram feed for the rest of the weekend.
THIS IS MY FAVOURITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!