November: A time to be Thankfully Furious

And now ladies and gentlegeeks, the holidays doth approach.

Yes, I love me some glitter decor and some snappy music, but this time of year can be hard. It can be a strange mix of all the greatness of a year mixed with some of the parts we least look forward to. I thought instead of dwelling on all the stuff we feel we need to do, here is what we HAVE to do to survive all the facets of the trickiest time of the year. We must get furiously happy.

And I know just the person for the job. The Bloggess herself, Jenny Lawson. Get ready to get happy. The Geek Girls Book Club book for November 2015 is:

"Furiously Happy" by Jenny Lawson

The Bloggess website

This is truly a book for everyone of the human experience persuasion. The bonus is, if you or someone you love has anxiety, depression or chronic illness, this will speak right to you my dears.

Some highlights and a little explanation from The Bloggess herself:

• The time I lost both my arms in a sleeping accident
• The neighborhood swans that tried to eat me
• The day Australia refused to let me get Chlamydia even though I was wearing a protective koala costume
• Advice on how to survive the zombie apocalypse, the airport, and the zombie apocalypse at the airport
• Completely inappropriate things I’ve blurted out to fill awkward silences at my psychiatrist’s office.

But in all of these odd stories – the darkly serious and the strangely baffling – I go back to a simple truth I learned from The Breakfast Club. “We’re all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it.” I agree completely. Except go back and scratch out the word “hiding”.

Be bizarre. Be weird. Be proud of the uniquely beautiful way that you are broken.

Be furiously happy.

It is no secret that I adore Jenny and her blog, and her first book was so funny, my loud snort laughter scared the dog on more than one occasion. She is about working with what you've got, making the most of the crappier times in life and remembering to hold on to the good times to look back on when the going is rough. She is the giant metal chicken buying, taxidermy animal loving guru of finding the silver lining. You will love her. I dare you not to.

 She is also probably the reason I did this:

Yes, Jenny is the inspiration behind my giant metal dinosaur I bought this summer. Met Daryl Dixon, Dinosaur Butler. He lives on my deck, and soon will be sporting a santa hat and antlers. I found him this summer, and the need for him was clear. I can't wait to give him a basket at easter.

This is what I want for all of us, happy or sad, hard times or living large... go find your metal dinosaur. Go find what makes you smile, what makes you remember how wonderful and damn valuable you are. Maybe that can be our present to ourselves this year. Remember you are entitled to some furiously happy times.

So go and read my dear Geeks, let no one stop you from your you-ness, because we all need exactly who you are. Desperately. We will start the read on November 1st and discuss the last Saturday of the month. I will see you there, I'll be the one with the giant metal dinosaur in a pilgrim hat.