No.702: October in Review & Goals for November 2022

First things first: thank you so, so much for all of your kind words on my last post.  I appreciate you more than you know. xo

FIVE THINGS I LOVED

1. multi-colored leaves everywhere you look
2. cozy fires in the fireplace
3. baby steps closer on our financial goals
4. a basement setup that better suits our growing kids
5. magnesium supplementation

FIVE LESSONS I LEARNED

1. It feels good to stretch my creative muscles! // I tried a handful of new creative pursuits this month, including drawing, coding and interior design.  I’m not very good at any of them, but the challenge is exciting and I want to learn more.
2. Molting chickens are the saddest things I’ve ever seen. // So scrawny and pathetic!  Thankfully, the new feathers seem to come in pretty quickly.
3. “The Lord heard her cry.” // I am still going strong with the Bible in a Year podcast.  We have been reading the book of Daniel and one part in Chapter 13 really spoke to me.  (Don’t you love when that happens?)  The story of Susanna is not similar to my own in any way, but the words in verse 44 were so powerful to me: “The Lord heard her cry.”  He hears us, He cares.  Such a comforting reminder.
4. Catfishing still flabbergasts me. // I recently listened to Sweet Bobby, a podcast about catfishing.  These stories fascinate me because I find it hard to understand both sides of the story: the victim who blindly trusts someone who consistently refuses to Skype/meet in person and the criminal who weaves the entire fabrication.  Mindblowing.
5. Dresses are working for me right now. // With all of the things going on, I’ve…ahem…put on a few pounds.  I don’t stress out about it much (no time for that!) but it does change how clothes fit, especially pants.  So dresses have become my go-to daily outfit and I don’t hate it!

FIVE GOALS FOR OCTOBER REVIEWED

1. ✔ Start Christmas shopping.  A solid start!  The goal is to be completely finished by mid-November.
2. ✔ Stock the winter medicine cabinet.  I bought our go-to vitamins, supplements and teas (we were already okay with meds) and hopefully they’ll keep us all healthy this winter.
3. ✔ Take our own family pictures.  After a few years off, I decided to try to take our family pictures for Christmas cards.  It was a little crazy, but bigger kids make for less stress and more efficient photography.  We were done in ten minutes.
4. ✔ Learn how to water glass eggs.  Super easy!  And now we have eggs saved for a rainy day.
5. ✔ Review my intentions for blogging.  I’m not sure if I’m adding to the noise or speaking into the wind, but I think I’m supposed to keep showing up.

FIVE GOALS FOR NOVEMBER

1. Pray novena prayers for the holy souls in Purgatory all month.
2. Plan a simple Thanksgiving dinner.
3. Finally finish the laundry room walls!
4. Plant garlic.
5. Finish Christmas shopping.