Finally managed some outdoor time during my week off from work. I found a nice secluded spot near the river (that was still somehow invaded by someone collecting rocks with her dog) and sat in the shade with a nice cool breeze and the water lapping against the shore. It was so peaceful and so needed.
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October 22
I had a pretty productive day, and got this sweet owl ready for Christmas. It’s not looking likely that I’ll finish in time for this year, but I think definitely by next year. Making these ornaments has been fun. Some of them are better than others, but I’ve enjoyed making them all. I can’t wait to see this all finished and in action. The surprise of seeing which ornament you’ve pulled out of the pocket is more fun than I realized it would be. I’m always surprised when one of my ideas actually works out.
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October 21
Had lunch with Myrna today, which is always a good time. I wish I’d had a little more time for myself today, but even on a day off, I can’t seem to make it happen. It is really starting to frustrate me.
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October 20
It was a pretty quiet day today. I had hoped to go for a hike, but couldn’t string together enough consecutive time to make it happen, and then it started drizzling. We did make it around the block after dinner with the dogs. I need to start taking more walks with Pinot on my own to try to teach him to be cool around other people on the street. His barking and lunging is really becoming embarrassing.
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October 19
Robin and I had a great afternoon shopping at Sweet Pete’s while Christina was there for a birthday party. We went for a walk around downtown, which frankly was a little sad. It is so desolate. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the downtown area of a city like Jacksonville should be bustling with people. We didn’t even see traffic on the roads. I have heard people talk about how sad it is, but now I know.
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October 18
It was another stressful day at work, but the good news is I have a week off coming up. Started it off with dinner out as a family for the first time in what feels like forever. Life keeps lifing and getting in the way of living. Hoping we can strike a better balance this week.
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October 17
It’s not even 10pm and I am exhausted. Today was so stressful. One stupid mistake after another at work (none of them mine, but all of them mine to fix), Christina nearly got suspended for bringing the empty shell casing she pulled out of the river in South Carolina to school, some guy drove alongside me with his window rolled down screaming at me because I got in his way when he tried to make a right turn into the leftmost lane of a three-lane road, and it took nearly 30 minutes to make the 15-minute drive home from dance because there was a nasty accident directly in front of the parking lot exit that had the road blocked off with nowhere to go. Oh yeah, and Clay Holmes did his thing and blew game 3 in the bottom of the 10th, giving up a two-out walk-off home run. This is not the photo I wanted to represent my day, but this is what we get today. Halloween costume preview.
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October 16
I so wanted to stop and get a proper shot of this beautiful moonrise, but there was nowhere to pull over. I had to settle for this red-light photo instead. It was really beautiful. Dang the endless driving – although I’ll admit that without it, I’d have missed this view altogether. I guess sometimes you take what you can get. And I’m grateful for it.
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October 15
Two of my favorite things: Outside by the fire and the Yankees are winning (even though it feels like they’re losing). The fire pit was a good buy.
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October 14
The Yankees took game one of the ALCS tonight, which makes me happy.
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October 13
We celebrated Robin’s birthday with Colleen & Co. today. It involved Uno Attack, pizza, and eye-rolling over the Jaguars. I also went to the gym and worked out with the girls, which makes it so much more fun. And we finally got the fire pit out again after having the trees taken care of, so I’m enjoying that tonight, too. Somehow, though, the weekends never quite seem enough.
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October 12
And just like that, we officially have a teenager. She was incredibly grouchy through the fetuccini alfredo I made for her from scratch, the walk around the block with the dogs, and blowing out the candles on the Oreo cake I made for her, also from scratch. She refused to smile for a photo and only perked up when I told her we’d wait to give her her present until she was feeling better. She bought a bunch of inappropriate clothes with the money we gave her and went to bed happy. I personally had a great day of baking and cooking. Happy birthday, little big one.
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October 11
Coming home from dance class, I pumped the Debbie Gibson from my open windows and completely and unabashedly owned it. Christina is a good sport.
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October 10
Hurricane Milton left us with temperatures under 80 degrees for the first time in months. We’ve been enjoying after dinner walks with the dogs almost every night and I’m loving it. Billy and Christina were super impressive today and set up the Keurig, put up a bike tent, and fixed the fence in the corner so we don’t have to take Pinot out on a leash anymore. And now I’m enjoying a Brooklyn Brewery IPA that we found at European Street. Special treat.
Year in Photos 