October, When Did You Get Here?

I told myself that the next time I posted something on my personal blog it would be pictures from Education Week at BYU.  Ahem...that was 2 months ago.

It isn't that Life has been busier than normal, but I do think Eric's schedule has contributed to my procrastination.  The poor man was on graveyard shifts for nearly 3 weeks straight, with only 1.5 days off before that and 6 days of day shift before that.  See, I'm counting backward.  That's not mornal. I mean normal.

Days for me have been spent going to the gym in the morning while Eric sleeps off his graveyard shift, then I come home and do my morning routine. This involves drinking my breakfast shake in front of the computer while checking email and usually watching an episode of The Good Wife. (Love that show.) Then I go shower in the downstairs bathroom so as not to wake my tired husband and then creep out of the house to run errands.  Or I do laundry, which is the one main household chore I can do while he's sleeping because the laundry room is downstairs.

We have dinner at 3:30, send him off to work at 4:30, and just when I have the freedom to be as loud as I want vacuuming or clinking dishes around, I don't feel like doing those things. Go figure! But I do them in a condensed way so the house doesn't look too neglected. Graveyard shifts are a part of our life, just not so many in a row.

Trust me, I'm not complaining. My husband has a decent job that supports us, and in this economic climate, you'd be crazy not to be grateful.  Still, those graveyard shifts can be challenging on the spouse (me.)

I don't know why I'm writing about that.  That wasn't the plan.

Anyway, his schedule is back to normal, and after 2 more days of day shift he'll be free! We actually have a trip coming up next weekend. We're heading up north to see BJ Thomas in concert. Inexpensive tickets at a little casino in Kingston.  I've never even heard of Kingston.  But hey, a getaway is a getaway.

Following that is Halloween, always a big event in this neighborhood because we get hundreds and hundreds of trick-or-treaters. (We're talking 600-800 kids.)  Our neighbors across the street have a small gathering with appetizers and soup, and then the neighbors in attendance all scatter when the little goblins start appearing. We sit in our dining room distributing candy for the next 3 hours, keeping a tally to compare with the neighbors later.  At 8pm the porch lights all go off.  Halloween is over for another year.

In November I'll be flying to California to see my family.  Aside from my mom, no other relatives have seen me since I lost weight this year.  I'll get to see my cute 96 year old grandma and my cute niece and nephew. There's a Disneyland trip planned with my cousin too. I haven't been in 3 years, which is a long time for me!  And it will be during the holiday season--best time of year at the park. Of course I'll be spending time with my mom, seeing friends, and looking longingly at my CA house that sold last year.

Yes, it is that crazy holiday time of year!  The whirlwind has begun.

(More posts in the works! There are other things to share.)