I've been falling for a lot of Instagram ads lately.

I hope everyone had a marvelous Thanksgiving. This is going to be a pretty short Wrap. Since it was a holiday week and we were with family the entire time, I was "touching grass" more than I was online. So let's get straight to the links.

One surprising thing about parenting is how many interesting people we've met. I expected to make new “parent friends” after our daughter was born, but I didn’t realize just how much the kiddo would expand our social circle.

She’s the kind of kid who befriends anyone willing to play with her. She bounces from friend to friend, which means we end up talking with all kinds of adults we’d never have met otherwise. Plus, in a very “only in DC” twist, she somehow keeps befriending the kids of diplomats. We've now met folks from Scandinavia, Germany, Spain, Catalonia, Brazil, and Afghanistan.

We just spent a Friendsgiving with a remarkable group of people from all different backgrounds. This is a fringe benefit of parenting I didn't expect but will continue to love.

Right now, there are three open suitcases in our bedroom. We leave super early tomorrow morning for some Thanksgiving travel. I doubt the kiddo will sleep because she's so excited.

Here's what made me smile this week:

• Upgrading myself to First for less than $100
• Family couch rot day
• Met some fun new people at a Friendsgiving
• Finally found myself an advent calendar
• Pub trivia night with friends
• Skipping a pointless meeting
• Cucumber sandwich for lunch
• Kiddo looking like a teenager in her new flare pants
• Cowl necked sweaters

The Man Who Made Lists: Love, Death, Madness, and the Creation of Roget's Thesaurus
Joshua Kendall 

I've been forced to take a break from my romantasy binge while I wait for the next book in a series to come in at the library. In the  meantime, I've wandered back to this book. It's fine. But, there's so much biographical set up that I'm beginning to wonder when I'm going to learn about the Thesaurus. There are glimmers hinting at how it came about, but I'm ready to get to the linguistics of it all.

*Bookshop.org affiliate link

I need a reading vacation. One where I find a cozy spot and motor through a pile of books while ignoring the world.

It's that point of the year where I can't decide if I want to be a loaf who does nothing or someone who fills our calendar with all of the holiday fun.

So far, the holiday fun is winning. Having a kid who enjoys doing stuff tips the scale. I took a look at our calendar and, aside from the last weekend of the year, we have at least one event or party already filling each weekend. There's some holiday travel, two parties, and two dance performances. Somewhere in there, we'll need to get a tree and decorate. And kiddo is ending the year going to a week of gymnastics camp.

We are in the mad dash to 2026. I'm not sure if I'm ready for the another new year. 

I'm currently chilling in my hotel room, listening to podcasts, and sipping coffee. In a few hours, I will catch my flight home. I spent the past few days at a conference full of amazing library marketers. Even with *everything* libraries have hanging over them, this was a joyous conference. I can't wait to come back next year.

Here's what else made me happy:

• My hotel room came with an unexpected view of the Gateway Arch
• I worked ahead before I left so I'm not coming home to a scary to-do list
• Having an impromptu outdoor brunch with my family
• Kiddo saying "I have an idea!" a lot during her playdate
• PJs all day
• The Husband scrolled my website and was impressed with my CV
• FAA restrictions didn't hit my flights
• Attendees stayed for my entire presentation despite it being the last one of the day and the room becoming super hot...
• ... and they asked lots of good questions!
• Taking walks around the Arch to stretch my legs during breaks
• Kiddo "feeding" real acorns to a squirrel statue

I read a lot of books with my kiddo. Kid Reads is a biweekly look at what we've enjoyed recently. ​