As usual, lots of people at work have been adding holiday decorations to their desks, shelves, doors, etc. I am no exception. However, my new favorite decoration (pictured above) has gotten some interesting reactions. The most common (as the post title implies) is “What is THAT?” Others include:
- “Is that a frog? No, it has wings, and…tentacles?”
- “I feel like it’s looking at me.”
- “I’m not sure if that’s cute or concerning. Or both.”
- “Um, have you considered something a little more…um…normal?”
- “Is that from a movie…or a book…or…?”
- “Seriously, can you put it away until I leave?”
- “Oh, what a cute…whatever it is.”
- “Omg, it’s Cthulhu Claus!”
That last one was from a colleague who’s totally on my wavelength when it comes to being a geek, and therefore correctly identified this super-cute interpretation of the horrific Great Old One from H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu”. We then spent a very unproductive but insanely fun fifteen minutes looking at all the great Cthulhu Claus artwork online.
I might have to keep him around all year.
Do you have/have you seen any offbeat holiday decorations?
The key element of this project is a self adhesive laminating pouch. I used wallet size, and bought them from Amazon in packs of 10 (
All you have to do is create a new document, insert a table, and set the row height and column width to fit inside the pouch. For wallet sized, I set the dimensions at 2.2 x 3.3 inches, which let me fit three on a page. Once that’s done, you can fill the space with whatever images, messages, etc. that you want. Each row in your table will become the front and back of one of your cards. For my nieces, I put a picture of us on the front and a personalized message on the back. For my sisters, there’s a picture and holiday message on one side and a list of favorite memories on the other. You can personalize it as much or as little as you want-there’s nothing wrong with using the same design for multiple people, or for everyone. I made five copies, for five of my friends, of the one pictured here. It has a general holiday message, and lines from 
One of the reasons I don’t post more often is that I have pretty high standards for my posts, so they take a lot of time to write. I have a mental checklist that includes length, applicability, number of subtopics, and lots of other criteria. I think the list really improves my posts’ quality, and I plan to keep it around. However, there is absolutely no way I could write those kinds of posts for 25 straight days, especially since I did absolutely no prep work for this challenge. However, who says I have to do that? A lot of blogs I follow have short posts, and I enjoy reading them. If I’m planning to do six extra posts every week, there’s no reason they can’t be smaller, more focused things that I actually have time to write. I could even repost some of my holiday themed posts from last year if I hit a time crunch. This train of thought reminded me of one of my 
I originally took Blogmas off my to do list when the sky fell in at work a few weeks back. With so many things I have to do right now, I put a lot of things I want to do on the back burner. I’m all about priorities, but a blanket rejection of the fun in favor of the practical isn’t always the best call. I was excited (and a little nervous) about trying Blogmas, and that’s enough of a reason to give it a go. Even if I don’t complete the challenge, every extra post I complete will be a 
One of my major concerns about Blogmas was the challenge of coming up with 25 holiday themed posts. Then I thought, “Wait a minute-do they really have to all be holiday themed? Is that a rule? Are there Blog Police who will come after me if I post about something else?” As far as my research shows, there are no official Blog Police (and isn’t that a relief?), and a lot of bloggers have said that it’s cool to post about other things. Besides, although I feel better that people have “given me permission” to participate through non-holiday content, it would be ok regardless, because it’s totally cool to be flexible when you try something new. My focus on Blogmas is posting for 25 straight days, and so that’s my ultimate goal, regardless of the topics of the posts. Speaking of doing things my own way, one of the things that really tipped me into the “yes” column was an idea for a theme that could tie a lot of my posts together, and help me get past the dreaded writer’s block. More about that coming soon (probably Tuesday).
I don’t like making commitments and not following through, and I was really worried that saying “I’m going to do Blogmas!” and then not getting up all 25 posts would be a terrible tragedy. Then I hit the reality check button. For one thing, it wouldn’t be the first time I had to break a personal blogging promise. Early in my blogging experience, I promised myself that I would post at least once a week, and that I would be consistent with my “month in review” posts. Well, month in review is something I haven’t done in a little while, and back in September I actually missed a weekly post. You know what I discovered? Not only did I sneak past the Blog Police, but I didn’t even feel guilty about it. Overall, I think I’ve done very well with being consistent on the blog, and a few lapses because life got in the way are completely acceptable. On a philosophical level, I can’t get behind the idea that I shouldn’t try just because I might not make it all the way to the finish line. Goodness knows, I’ve tried and failed before…let’s not forget about my experience during 
Amanda Cade 