After several weekends of holiday "stuff" we didn't have anything planned for this weekend. We figured it would be the calm before the storm. In fact, the first round of family arrives for Christmas in just a few hours. Kiddo is going to be all smiles when the grandparents knock on our door. Right now, however, she's just happy to have tablet time in her pajamas. We've been so go go go lately that these few hours at home have been wonderful.
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Next Sunday, you’ll get the annual list of this year’s most popular links. We’ll be back to regular posting in 2025. I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season and joyous new year.

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About 100 pages into House of Flame and Shadow. I find myself most interested in the crossover storyline. The stuff having back in the "original" world is fine, but I really want to spend time with our heroine. That said, the full cast of characters is really rounding out. Some of them are less flat than they used to be. I like seeing the added depth.

*Books shared here are affiliate links for Bookshop.org

• We might be done with posting online. [Culture Study]

• File this under things I did not know. [The Takeout]

• It seems like "the algorithm" is basically ruining everything. [The Atlantic - gift link]

• Coca-Cola invented the modern Santa. [The Takeout]

• Universal pre-k is beneficial for parents by enabling career continuity. [ParentData - may be paywalled]

• Yup. This. [The Atlantic - gift link]

• The meaning of E.T. to one boy. [Very Special Episodes]

• AI is so power hungry it's bringing back a nuclear plant. [Short Wave]

• LOLing at highway signs. [99% Invisible]

• Our online lives reveal a lot about us. [Hidden Brain]

• *chortles in millennial* [@overthemoonfaraway]

• I didn't realize that Red One would be on streaming so quickly. Honestly, it's a bit of a mess, but if you don't think about it too hard it's an enjoyable ride. This one does have a great cast even if I found Kiernan Shipka to be an odd villain choice. Basically, this flick asks, "What if Santa was a super hero with tech?" That's the entire plot. Also, it sides with the Santa wraps his presents debate. [Amazon Prime]

• Back to our regular Hallmark watching. The Santa Class was utterly charming but only during the parts with the "real" Santa. He was just the sweetest and brought his character to life. The romance was so-so. It didn't really do much for the story. Also, the Santa training scenes were a lot of fun. You could tell the production team laughed putting all of that together. [Hallmark]

• With all the cooking and baking in our lives right now, we went the simple route for dinners this week. Black bean fajita skillet is four ingredients (five if you add tortillas) and comes together in 15-minutes. Also, I used cotija cheese to help use up some leftovers. That was a great alternative to cheddar. [Eating Well]

• The kiddo has a thing for mini ravioli. I grabbed a bag of the frozen cheese variety and made baked ravioli and chicken sausage. It's delicious for dinner and makes for decent reheated lunch leftovers. [Real Simple via My Evernote]

This is a house in our neighborhood and I love that they go full gingerbread every year. Sadly, the teddy bears were taken down because of rain. I want to run back and grab a picture when they’re up.

Need a diversion for the holidays? Try Color Our Collections. You get to print coloring pages from art museums and put your own spin on things.

I’m feeling festive but, also, looking forward to loafing.