What I am into this month (October)



The leaves are hinting at change.

October! Oh, October. Nominally my favorite month, you were long and grueling and terrible and good all at once this year. My very last full month ever without kids. Weird.

Oh, for those of you who are curious, I did mostly finish packing my bags for the hospital, complete with clothes for me to wear on the trip home. I discovered that I'm too clever by half and had already packed the bag with shampoo and things (I keep my usual overnight bag stocked with essentials to make packing for short trips easier), and so I decided I might as well finish the job. Plus, the DDH informed me that I'm simply not allowed to die, so I guess I won't.

Anyway, here's the monthly roundup:

On My Nightstand: My favorite this month was a long novel split into two long books, Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis. Time-traveling World War II historical fiction. The awesomeness cannot be overstated.

Want to Read: Basically, you could wander over to Sheila's blog The Deliberate Reader, look at the list of books in her 31 Days of Nonfiction series, and count all of those on my want-to-read list. If you don't follow that blog, you should. Unless your to-read list is plenty long enough already, in which case, avoid it like the plague, because her reviews will make you want to read the books--more importantly, they'll tell you whether or not you actually would enjoy the book.

TV Show Worth Watching: Hi, fellow Once Upon a Time fans. Can we agree that this season is already levels better than the first? I think we can. Are you following along with Megan's weekly discussions over at SortaCrunchy? I tend to write novels about the episodes in the comments section, heh.

All the other usual favorites are back. Oh, a rec for fans of British comedy: Spy, starring Darren Boyd. The first episode of Season Two just came out and again, already loads better than the first. Another comedy the DDH and I are enjoying right now is Go On. If you watched any Olympic coverage at all, you remember the millions of annoying commercials for this show. Well, the commercials worked, we decided to check it out, and imagine our astonishment when it turns out to actually be pretty good!

Movies I've Seen (in or out of a theater): No movies this month. Someone told me we should take advantage of our last opportunity to go see a movie together for many months to come, but sitting in those seats is just so darn uncomfortable right now.

In My Ears: Mumford & Sons Babel. I really ought to branch out more, but let's face it, I'm pulling out the Christmas carols in 23 days and that will be that until January 6.

What I'm looking forward to next month: I think this is obvious. Before the month is out, we will have a T-Rex outside the womb. I'm looking forward to meeting the little guy. Also, frankly, to not having to go to this job anymore.

Goal Progress: I posted some goals for the new year, and I figured these monthly wrap-up posts would be a good chance to check my progress throughout 2012.

The Budget: The looking-forward-to-not-working-here anymore thing is great. The not-getting-paid-anymore thing is not so great. We had to re-enroll in the benefits stuff for the DDH's job, and now I'm depressed.

The Garden: While my college roommate was in town for the shower, we weeded half of it.

Food: I am on a fast food/junk food roll, unfortunately. The problem is, by the time I get home from work, I have energy for one task. That task can be whatever thing needs to be done to prepare for T-Rex or clean the house or take care of the critters, or it can be "make dinner." "Make dinner" loses over and over.

The Craft Room: I think every room downstairs except the craft room now looks amazing. The craft room and the master bedroom need help now. Clearly, I will never actually have all the rooms of my house clean and organized at once.

How was your October? What are you looking forward to in November?

Here come the colors!

 

I'll admit I'll miss my pretty office window view. It relly can't be beat.