Uncustomary November: A Rundown of My Month

My November: a rundown of events attended, films watched, books read, meals cooked, and blogs posted, with an important update on my mental health. People ask for my opinions and updates very often. So, I’m putting everything from November in one convenient place: right here. Enjoy!

Events I Attended:

A Dog’s Way Home: Book Tour
My husband took me to a novel signing so I could meet W. Bruce Cameron; author of A Dog’s Purpose, A Dog’s Way Home, and many other awesome books. I’ve loved W. Bruce Cameron’s books for quite some time now, so it was a honor to meet him. I was also able to have a quality conversation with him, which was absolutely delightful. It was a great afternoon, and meeting W. Bruce Cameron was totally awesome.

Notable Stuff:

Eight New Puppies
Last month I found a pregnant and homeless beagle while walking my two dogs around our farm. Two weeks ago she delivered eight healthy and absolutely adorable puppies. Hopefully I will be able to find suitable and happy homes for them when the time comes. Visit my blog post; Barks and Recreation, to see photos and information for each puppy.

American Thanksgiving Dinner 
For the past several years my husband and I have hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our home; my side of the family and his side of the family gather for food, fun, and family time. As always, it was delightful.

Back to Gaming
I used to love video games; they allowed me to feel adrenaline while also relieving my stress… but somehow I drifted away from them. This month I bought a NintendoSwitch and Let’s Go, Pikachu! I named my Pikachu Reynolds; after Ryan Reynolds, the voice of Detective Pikachu. My husband also got me the Diablo Eternal Collection for PS4. I’m super excited to venture back into gaming…

Books I Read:

Stranger Than Fanfiction, by Chris Colfer 
This was a re-read. I was having a really low day earlier this month, and I wanted to revisit a book that made me happy… this was the one I turned to. This book is about a young world-famous actor, Cash Carter. Four fans jokingly invite Cash on a cross-country road trip, and he says “yes”. It seems like a dream come true, but each individual has a secret, and the secrets come out as the book unfolds. This book teaches empathy, tolerance, and is really fun. You may know the book’s author; he played Kurt Hummel on Glee.

Stuff I Watched:

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
I sincerely love Newton Scamander (the lead character in the Fantastic Beasts films). I identify with Newt more than anyone else in the Wizarding World. I love Newt’s appreciation and understanding for creatures. In this film, I loved watching Newt’s kindness, and consideration… I wish more people were like him. Additionally, Ezra Miller was in this film. Ezra played Barry Allen (The Flash) in the Justice League Film, which makes me a life-long Ezra Miller Fan. I even wore The Flash gear and Scarlet Speedster shoes to the cinema, in support of Ezra Miller. I thought Ezra was absolutely phenomenal in this film… and I’m super excited to see Ezra’s character develop within the franchise.

Blogs I Posted in November:

Thankfulness Journal: Overcoming Depression: I started a Thankfulness Journal on my blog. My intention was to overcome depression with daily entries about thankfulness. With each passing day I’ve looked around at my life, picked something I’m sincerely thankful for, and added it to this list. This is still an ongoing project…

Guest Post on The Frozen Mind’s Power in the Story: I wrote my first ever guest blog post this month. Jen at The Frozen Mind Blog was kind enough to publish my post on her blog’s Power in the Story series. In the post, I talk about the process of rebuilding yourself after you’ve fallen.

Not Alone Series: The Light in His Soul:  As part of my Not Alone Series I conducted an interview with Rebecca Schaper; author, filmmaker, philanthropist, and mental health advocate. Rebecca and I discussed her recent memoir; The Light in His Soul: Lessons from My Brother’s Schizophrenia, which is the story Rebecca’s journey to help her brother come back from the depths of homelessness and paranoid schizophrenia.

Knowing That Ryan Reynolds Has Anxiety Changed My Life – The Mighty: I recently wrote a blog post about the darker parts of my mental health, and how Ryan Reynolds helped pull me through it. Shortly after publishing the post to my blog, it was published on The Mighty Site. You can read the full and original post on my blog by visiting; What Ryan Reynolds Means to Me: Maximum Anxiety Effort. You can also view my publication on The Mighty Site, by visiting; Knowing That Ryan Reynolds Has Anxiety Changed My Life.

Recipe – Steak and Vegetable Stir-Fry: I returned to the world of food blogging with a step-by-step post for and absolutely scrumptious and super easy meal.

Pick Me Up Playlist: Music is the most effective item in my mental health tool belt, and I mean that literally. In this post I share 10 songs from my “Pick Me Up” Playlist.

Barks and Recreation: Meet the Puppies: Two weeks ago my rescue dog delivered eight healthy and absolutely adorable puppies. In this post, I share photos and information for each puppy. Hopefully I will be able to find suitable and happy homes for them when the time comes.

Dream Dinner Party, Who Would You Invite and Why?: If you could throw a Dream Dinner Party, and invite any 15 guests, who would you invite? In this post I answer that question.

My Depression During The Flash: I post about the symptoms of depression often, but in this post I give a real-life example. I explain my depression, and what it was like during a new episode of The Flash.

I also wrote several blog posts for award nominations this month. First, in my Blogger Recognition Award post, I discussed how the Uncustomary Housewife started, and I give some valuable advice to new blogger. Then, in my Versatile Blogger Award post I shared 7 fun and versatile things about myself.

My Mental Health in November – An Honest Update:

My mental health update is at the end of this post for a very important reason: I want you to see all the awesome things I did, and blogs I posted, before you read about my mental health. As you can see, this month was fun. So, you might be shocked to learn the status of my mental health: Depressed.

This month has been an uphill battle, and I’ve backslid a lot. During 2018 I worked really hard to lose 60 pounds, but this month I gained back 10 pounds. My diet this month has been absolutely horrible, and I hardly ever get off the couch. Right now, my house is devoid of food, because I can’t bring myself to go grocery shopping. My sleep patterns have also been awful, and very unhealthy; I seldom fall asleep before 3:00am, and I normally stay in bed until 2:00pm. Daily, my lack of motivation kept me from enjoying things that I would normally enjoy, which made me feel continually trapped in my depression. I’ve also skipped Sunday and Wednesday church, all month; I haven’t had the energy to get dressed and sit up straight during services… Skipping church makes me feel absolutely horrible. I sincerely miss church, but I can’t bring myself to go.

Overall, I’ve fought to get through this month… I feel really bad about backsliding, my lack of routine, and gaining weight back, but I’m hopeful that December will be better. I’m ending this month with fun stories to tell, and many blogs that I posted, but overall I feel bad about myself and my emotional-state. And, please, don’t feel bad for me… I’m sharing this for mental health awareness. Remember, someone may look happy in photos, but that doesn’t negate the fact that they may be depressed and fighting a serious battle inside.

I’ll see you in December. 

Sincerely, Uncustomary Housewife

If you like, you can also read my October Month In Review.

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