Hello, November

This year, October and Halloween looked different for us. Still my favorite month and holiday. I had to sit on the sidelines a lot. And I didn't really feel like decorating either. Instead, I just soaked up the vibes. I feel like October is always a "refreshing" month for me, and while I didn't get to do my normal Fall cleaning/decluttering this year I still felt like it was a transitional month.

📷: Credit

Personally, November is looking to be the month of prepping and rest. Soaking up the last few weeks before our lives really change. I'm trying to not stress so much about the little things, and enjoy my time with my family. So far, November has brought several days of rain —which I love— and another stray dog (which is not ideal). The time change also happened over the weekend, and well, our household is not a fan. But the silver lining is that we had some cool weather move in and I am here for it! If we could get some even colder weather by the time we get to the end of the month, that would be great

Professionally, November is serving as a time to “wrap things up.” Create TEAMS folders and upload documents. Train the person taking on some of my tasks while I’m out. Update instruction sheets, and assign delegates for internal approval routes. Refresh any recurring meetings with updated information. And making sure that catering is taken care of while I’m out. It’s basically a whole month of checklists. And while I am all for checklists, to-do lists, and color coding - my brain has been on the fritz lately. This is why it's taking me longer to finish things.

All of that said, I'm ready for this change in season. Emery's about to start working on her permit, and she's closing in on the end of year 14 - can you believe it? I'm both sad and excited about it. I'm ready to meet our little guy. Ready to not have so much physical discomfort. To start healing and feeling more like myself. And I'm just doing my best to take things one day at a time. Savoring all of the little moments when I can. So, here's to November! And to a wonderful start to the fall season. 🍂

October, You're Here

This is one of my favorite months. The leaves start to change color and fall to the ground. We get that last sprinkle of rainstorms before the season ends. We begin to see the dew sparkling in the fields as we leave the driveway in the morning. Sweaters start to come out, and it’s back to wearing jeans full-time. Mmmm.

Photo by Lukasz Szmigiel on Unsplash

There’s also something so cleansing and renewing at the start of the fall season. I believe I’ve even joked about it being my own private New Year. It’s like wiping the slate clean and getting rid of the noise. It’s also the time of year that I do my best to purge negativity in my life, from social media to closet items. I reassess my goals and flesh out the last three months of the year. I tend to do one final deep clean of our home before winter keeps us mostly indoors. And I get this burst of energy that carries me through to my vacation time at the end of December. It’s just a nice little refresh “button” before the end of the year. So, this is me officially saying "Hello" to October. 

I’m happy that you’re finally here. 🎃

Ready for November

October has come and gone. It feels like it didn’t last very long this year, y’all. As soon as the 31st passed it’s like all remnants of October were wiped away, and Christmas replaced it all. Fall is basically skipped which is sooo weird to me. To top it all off, Halloween this year was a bit of a bust for us. It rained basically all day, and even though we did get a few dry hours in the evening we weren’t able to bring the doggies with us. It was so muddy, and cold enough that Emery had to wear a jacket over her costume. Then there was a delay at the car rental office which caused us to miss getting to the nursing homes on time so we were disappointed about that too. Still, we made the best of it! Lemons into lemonade, and all that. We made our way through several neighborhoods, and by the end of the night Emery had a bucket full of candy and I had Starbucks in my hand. Win, win. 

And now it’s November! Last week, I forgot to schedule this post, which is why you’re getting it today. With a few edits. You see, on Thursday we had to wake up at 2 AM in order to go with my parents into the city for my dad’s surgery. What was supposed to be a two hour (max) procedure turned into almost four and a half. And I spent three days having to drive back and forth (5 hours round trip) before they finally released him. By the time we got back home on Saturday afternoon we were exhausted, and I barely had time to get on here. Sorry, guys! Anyway, my dad is now at home; resting. This passed weekend we had to do a few of his errands, and I was reminded of just how much we depend on him for things. So, I told him he’s not allowed to get sick or have surgery ever again. He’s just gunna have to suck it up. Ha! I'm kidding. Kind of. All of that aside, I’m glad that he’s feeling better, and the issue was fixed. They told him to take it easy for the next two weeks, but with his stubbornness it won’t be too long before he’s back at the gym with me. Even if it's just to boss me around. The man does not know how to stay at home and do nothing. But he wouldn't be the bad ass that he is if he didn't have that trait. 

So, that’s how our month started off. We also learned the fate of our car, which was more bad news. And then I found out that our health insurance “wellness” check-up no longer includes mental health or blood work. Just paps. There's so much wrong with this, but it's what you get when you have less than ideal health insurance. I can't complain though because our boss pays for it. Now, I know I need to get everything checked out, but when I was told the cost would be over $100 up front if I wanted to do the "full wellness" I just couldn't afford it. Can you believe that's how much a doctor's visit cost? So, it looks like I’ll have to hold off on all of this other stuff for now. And since I have no control over any of these things going on right now I'm just trying to roll with the punches. I know that everything happens for a reason so I’m choosing to stay positive about what's going on. Despite all of the setbacks I’m really looking forward to this new month though. I'm ready for the leaves to start turning colors, and for the cold weather that's supposed to start coming in. Hello, 50 degree days! I'm ready for you! I'm also excited for Thanksgiving, and the relatives who plan to come visit this year. Plus, hello, Hallmark Channel Christmas movies have started rolling out! So yea, I'm ready for November. I have a feeling it's going to be a good one. 

Winter, Summer, Fall?

Central Texas has been very finicky this year in respect to it's weather. I keep hearing that we'll be in for a long, cold, hard winter, but all we've seen so far is a bipolar hot and cold effect. Two weeks ago we had our heaters running while enjoying the long awaited sweater weather, and then we went back to air conditioners and shorts. I can honestly say I'm completely over it though. I'm ready for a permanent season cold front. Not because I enjoy it, I don't, but because we keep getting sick with all of this back and forth! 

It's already December first, and just this past week we hit a high of 80° F. Yesterday, we were wearing capri's and short sleeve shirts and today the high is 40° F. The wind knocked down a lot of our Christmas lights, and majority of the trees are now bare. And this happened all over night! I woke up with a sore throat, and Emery with a cough. So yes, I'm ready for steady weather of any kind so long as it's constant until Spring time. 

On the bright side, our Sunday was pretty perfect. We enjoyed an abundance of sunshine, and warm temperatures. We hung up our Christmas lights and outside decorations. I refused to put up the tree until it was actually December so we still have that left to do. We had breakfast at my parents, installed our propane heaters, enjoyed a walk, visited some friends, and finally just relaxed while watching a movie before bed. This four day weekend was really exciting, and had us driving all over. Thanksgiving brought us a lot of wonderful food with a lot of wonderful people. So, having a lazy relaxing day before going back to work and school was exactly what we needed. 

Now it's back to our regular routine. Thankfully, I only have a week left of school before winter break. Oh! And I also get to graduate next spring as long as I pass my classes! This means that I'll get to start on my bachelors degree at the university closer to home! We'll also get to sign up as doggy fosters (that's a post for another time), and maybe...just maybe...consider another baby (another post for another time). Until then, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

Feeling A Little Puny, But Better!

This past weekend was awesome! We all had a three day weekend, and for the first time in what seems like years, the temperature didn’t go above 90°! We had a 64°start on Sunday and Monday. Then, this morning I actually had to bust out the hoodies! Oh, it was so nice. I didn’t even complain about being sick because I was so thankful we were getting some nice weather!

Last week Em came home sick. Runny nose, fever, coughing. Since both of our immunity system’s suck I caught it by Thursday. My symptoms also included body aches, sore throat, and chills. Friday was brutal, and the boss man had me leave early. I spent most of Friday and Saturday doped up on Alka-Seltzer 20 mg because they work so much better than Dayquil and Nyquil. I’m still not 100%, but I’m a lot better than I was on Friday.

Needless to say, we did pretty much NOTHING all weekend. Seriously, the dirty clothes are still in the hamper. I’ll just have to tackle it slowly during the week. Emery still has a runny nose but she’s almost back to her 100%. I can’t wait to have us both better. A sick mommy and an irritable baby make for a really crappy time. Ha! We spent most of yesterday watching The Jersey Shore Marathon. And today I have my first official “full class schedule”. I can already tell I’m going to need a 5 Hour shot to get me through the afternoon. It’s going to be a miserable day. 

Last week I saw an accident (not it actually happening, just right after), and by the way the cops were acting (no one helping the person in the car) I’m guessing he/she didn’t make it. There was blood, I saw the person’s hands, and the car was flattened. This shook me up a little bit. The reality of how far I’m traveling, the road conditions, and just how much higher the odds are of me getting into an accident really got to me. I spent a good extra amount of time this morning hugging Em, telling her I loved her, and smothering her with kisses. Because we just never know. 

We’re still trying to figure out money issues. I’m still freaking out over the fast pace of these courses. But, So far I’ve done pretty well. I scored an 88% on my first psychology quiz, 100% in everything else. Our car hasn’t broken down (knocks on wood)! Last week my husband applied to Full Sail University for recording, and he submitted his financial aid. Now we’re just waiting to see if it’ll cover his tuition. *crossing fingers* Send him some good vibes, will ya? Thanks in advance! And that’s about all we’ve got going on right now. Hope everyone else had a wonderful three day weekend!