Good heavens! Time is flying by and here we are at the end of October! How did that happen??
Here’s some things that happened in my life in October:
1. I went up north for a relaxing (and rainy) weekend with a friend. Missed a rainy weekend at home where I couldn’t paint outside anyway. Carved a pumpkin in a hotel room (a first for me).
2. Had dinner with my Gramps, who I love dearly and don’t see often enough.
3. Went to an Over the Rhine concert with friends and became a huge fan. Thanks to other friends for insisting that I would love them – I do. (And it was my second concert of 2013– something that almost never happens! Look at me living the high life!)
4. Applesauced — once with my family, once with a friend and her baby, once with a couple friends and their little people. Picked apples a couple times to accommodate said saucing. Wired a stove for the saucing. Messied my house repeatedly. Enjoyed the lovely appley smells, sights, sounds, and the people I shared it with.
5. Worked. And worked. And worked. Work is busy. Construction season is winding down. Lots of new work coming in, old work to finish up. It’s busy but good. I’m so blessed to be in a job I love with people I love and to have that important work life balance back under control.
6. Bought some furniture/cabinets off craigslist. Lived to tell about it (remind me to tell you about how my Criminal Minds habit is really not good for my Craigslist habit). And now that it is getting too cold for outside painting, I can begin on my inside painting/furniture painting projects… stay tuned.
7. Thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful fall weather- the gorgeous fall clouds, storms, sunshine, the leaves changing colors. Mmmm fall.
8. Ripped up carpeting in the small upstairs bedroom. Bought laminate flooring to install up there.
9. Hired a friend in need of work to paint the second coat on the house. It is all done except I need to do the second coat on the two up high, awkward, dangerous spots. Hiring Pat to do the second coat was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I had already done all the tough stuff – scraping, caulking, replacing rotting shingles, figuring out the tricks to doing the painting, and the second coat was pretty easy to just hand off. Plus I’m happy to help him out when he is looking for work and happy for me that I didn’t have to spend the 25 hours on that second coat (especially since daylight is getting shorter and shorter).
10. Taught Religious Ed — I’m teaching 6th grade girls this year and have a fabulous class. I still feel like I’m getting into the swing of things and the first year teaching anything is the hardest because you’re wrapping your mind around what you need to cover, how to best cover it with your particular audience, etc. Not to mention life is just crazy busy right now- so adding this into the mix feels like a lot. But I love the girls. I love that we’re studying the Mass. I love serving Jesus in His people. The overwhelm is just a lousy side effect of everything else right now.
11. Played some fabulous mind games with people I love. Really doesn’t get much better than that.
12. Had nieces/nephew for a part of a weekend. Played a lot of dominoes. Enjoyed a lot of silliness.
13. Spent time with my grandparents. Caught up with friends at various times and places. Hosted a game night (nerdy friends game night– still need to schedule the cousins game night). Had one night where I actually scheduled 2 hours to “Do Nothing.” (Remind me to do more of that). Wished I was together enough to have a bonfire, a craft night, a ladies night.
And just like that, it’s over!
