My October as started off with an extreme case of the crazies. This week got the best of me by Monday night and it’s only gotten more chaotic. Today began with realizing our basement freezer was unplugged and the hundreds of dollars worth of meat I had down there (including my entire Butcher Box order I was so excited about!) was past the point of being safe to save. The basement was also flooded because we’ve had an insane amount of rain the last few days with more to come tonight. Fortunately, Greg is pretty flexible, and ended up working from home so he could go downstairs every hour and fill up the shop vac again and again. Fun times!
October is my favorite month of the year. It’s my birthday month (if you haven’t already figured that out from my last few posts lol), so that’s always special. But I love the crisp cool weather, the colorful leaves, the abundance of all things apple and pumpkin. I’m feeling a little bit stressed about how jam packed our calendar looks, however, when we’re only on the second day of the month. So many appointments and school things and Halloween activities. The doctor and vet appointments will most definitely not be fun, but the rest should be exciting! It just feels a little overwhelming after an already super chaotic September. When will life slow down again?! I’m guessing not until January.
Anyway, I really struggled to come up with my goals for the month. Normally I have so many ideas it’s hard to narrow them down. This month I’m tired. I want to keep my life simple. So this is what I’ve come up with.
1 – Curate and read from a seasonal book stack
I started dabbling with seasonal reading a year or so ago. Actually, I’ve always loved to primarily read mushy feel good Christmas books in December, but I’ve discovered the joys of moving beyond that. Typically I read the most thrillers and mysteries in October and the most romances in February. This month I’d like to go a bit more on the spooky/gothic/fantasy side. I already have a small pile I’ve been working on for awhile now, but I’d like to get it fully set so it’s super easy to choose my next book. Of course as soon as I try to prioritize certain books I rebel against myself and want nothing to do with them. So we’ll see what happens! But I would at least like to read SOME seasonal books this month!
2 – Continue exercise as #1 priority every day
Last week when I started this mission it was really easy and I was so proud of myself. This week has been MUCH harder. Constant rain and very busy mornings. It wasn’t my top priority of the morning, but I still did what I set out to do each day (so far). I know it’ll be so much easier better if I can be consistent with using the morning to take long walks or do yoga or another online exercise video. Life won’t always allow it, but I’m going to keep trying.
3 – Go to the theater!
Movie theater, that is. I’m not fancy lol. I have been DESPERATELY wanting to see a movie in the theater these last few months. But nothing good has been out! This goal is basically already checked off because Greg bought tickets this morning to see Downton Abbey on Sunday. But I’d like to go to a daytime movie by myself sometime too. It’s one of my favorite things to do.
4 – Establish a daily writing routine
I took an online writing class Monday night which has gotten me thinking about what I want or need to do to improve this part of my life. I’m going to a writing conference next month and I’d like to have something more to say than “I like to write about my life on weekends” when the question will inevitably come up again and again. I don’t have any grand plans yet, I just want writing to be part of my everyday life, no matter what. Hopefully that means more blog posts – on more varied and interesting topics. Or at the very least, journal entries for myself. I think I could use more of that type of cathartic release. It seems like writing every day would become more routine if it happened at the same time every day. But I hesitate to assign that time frame. Ideally, it would be in the morning. But my wake up times are sometimes really varied. And when I wake up at 4am (way too often), it usually seems like WORKING is my best option because I know I’m going to be too tired to do it by afternoon. Plus, I’ve got exercise in the morning too. And parenting duties. And errands. And sewing. So…for now, I will not assign myself a time of day to do it, I just want to make it happen. Every single day.
And that’s it! Happy October, everyone!
