Rainy Weekend

We are getting the moisture from a pacific hurricane, which means rain. Yay! It rained a bit on Saturday and Sunday. Then this morning when I woke up, I listened to the thunder and then the rain for a bit before I got out of bed. It finally feels all the way like fall. I even got to wear a long sleeved t-shirt today for the first time this season.

I didn’t do much on Saturday. I did my grocery shopping early and then just read or did a puzzle. I did fall asleep on the couch in the afternoon. It was a nice day for a nap and I hadn’t slept well the night before. But that’s what rainy days are for!

On Sunday, I had to prepare for family dinner. Both starting the roast in the slow cooker and rearranging my house. The roast turned out excellent. And I made au gratin potatoes for the first time and they were delicious. That recipe is a keeper for sure. The family ate the entire pan except for a very small scoop, which I saved for my dinner tonight. It was a good time, even though having that many people in my space gets my anxiety up. I didn’t get impatient with the kids at all though. And when they left I just sat there in silence for a few minutes. Then I got up and cleaned and put everything back the way I like it.

Cramped, but the setup works. I'm glad I got that old card table from my mom.

Single Night Out

I got it in my head that today would be a good day to run to Logan after work. So I went to the office and then after work, headed out through the canyon. I went to The Book Table because I knew they would have what I was looking for. Plus, they have sheet music and I picked up 2 small books of easy organ preludes, which I have been wanting for awhile. And since I was already there, I stopped by Locals, a store that’s a lot like The Quilted Bear. I ended up with a few more of my favorite wax melts in fall scents.

Anyway, I was hungry by that time, so I stopped at a sandwich shop and ate dinner before heading home. I was almost to the canyon when a big sign over the highway said 89/Sardine was closed. It didn’t quite register, but then traffic slowed down and I saw the flashing lights. There was a crash involving a semi at the mouth of the canyon heading southbound. So I turned around. I haven’t been the long way around in many, many years. I had to pull over and pull up Maps to make sure I remembered which road to turn on. It was getting dark fast, so I can’t really tell how built up that area is now, but I suspect quite a bit since the last time I was on that road. There was a lot of traffic. I finally joined up with the freeway just a little north of Brigham and made it home. I had turned up the radio and just sang real loud to all the songs that came on and I had a great time. 

Anyway, I had fun on this night out by myself and this is a reminder that I should do it a little more. I like to stay home, but sometimes it’s fun to get out as well, and I’m perfectly happy doing it by myself. 

Too Much?

My freezer is so full. The soup I made yesterday barely fits and I am making more soup today. I wouldn’t,  except that I have the ingredients and don’t want to waste them. I will dig out the containers I don’t like to store it in and figure out where to put them. I bet I have lunch and dinner for the next 2 weeks for sure. Maybe a bit more. So I just need to worry about breakfast (although I also have frozen muffins) and maybe a salad or something to break up the soup eating? I also have corn bread, pumpkin bread, a few biscuits, and the plan is to make bread sticks today. LOL

It’s ok. I have food for lunch for work so I don’t eat out, and I’d rather eat leftovers than cook every day. This was my weekend to stay home and to cook. I’ve been doing a puzzle as I listened to conference and have a craft out as well. It’s noon and I’m in my pjs. I don’t actually plan on getting dressed at all today. I kind of love it. 

From today’s conference President Oakes talked about those with diminishing faith. I don’t truly consider that I have diminishing faith, but I do think that my blind trust in the church is no longer. And I admit that my attendance is mostly just that. Attendance, and not much else. But his talk reminds me that I haven’t actually given up. There are still parts of my faith that I love and I don’t actually want to leave. So I struggle on and try to not doubt my faith.

I do wish it wasn’t going to be in the 80s today. I’m so happy that the leaves are turning, but I could wish for cooler temperatures. I have my electric candles on timers now and my fall scents are in the candle warmer. I guess on the flip side of that, my yarrow is going to bloom again and my flower garden is still a riot of color. It’s so pretty. So no complaining, just enjoying how beautiful everything is. 

October?

I really can't believe how fast September went. I thought I was doing well living in the moment, but it still went by so fast. I was in North Carolina for work this week and it was still quite warm there. Luckily, not too humid, but I was indoors in meetings all day anyway. 

But! As I looked out my windows this morning, the trees at my house are starting to turn yellow. The one tree always goes first, but it's definitely starting. The other one doesn't truly turn until November. It makes me so happy!

I'm having lunch with the twins today and then I need to do some grocery shopping. It's general conference weekend and except for hitting up my niece's mountain bike race, I plan on staying home. I'm going to make soup and rolls and go all out cozy, no matter the temperature. 

I have some fun stuff planned this month and I think it will be a good one. 

Fall!

I’m a few days late but it’s finally officially fall! We’ve had a few cool nights where I have slept with the window open and it’s been so nice. Tomorrow, I’m getting out the rest of my decorations, the ones that are mostly Halloween. 

I took today off work and my sister and I took the kids down to Fan X. It’s early out for school so we caught the 1:07 train down to Salt Lake and went to pick up our wristbands. The kids are still free, which is nice. At that time of day, there is no line to get inside. I don’t know why I like going. I mean, I can totally get behind getting excited about things you like. I don’t recognize most of the costumes, but they are always so fun to see. The kids got a picture with some K-pop demon hunter girls and also saw a bunch of some blue haired girl that they love. 

I guess I think it’s just fun to be part of the geekery and fans. I still can’t justify getting a celebrity picture but I don’t judge those that love to do that. I still really want to get to some of the panels one year. I say that every year and I mark them on the app, and then just don’t go. This year we got there too late for the ones I was actually interested in. We did hit up a K-pop dance party, but I left quickly. There were way too many people in the room and I wasn’t dancing. The kids wanted to try it though. We got to some vendors and artists and I bought a trilogy of books from a UT author that I have been meaning to try. She was really nice to talk to so I was happy to support her and buy her books. ha ha Now I have to actually read them. 

Then we walked over to the mall food court and got dinner and we were able to catch the 6:25 train back home. I get peopled out pretty quickly in those crowds. I think what I would like to try for next year is getting a 2 day pass and going down in the morning one day just to explore exactly what I want to. And then I could go back for a half day with the kids and be happy to do what they want. I’m absolutely fine with what we did today. There’s just so much more going on that we didn’t even get to experience. But more than 4 hours at a time is kind of a lot for me. I guess we need to figure out how to rest up and get out of the crowds and then maybe go back in?  Anyhow, I’ve already blocked off 2 days at work next September. While I don’t want to travel to a bigger con, I love having one in my backyard that I can get to pretty easily. 

Water Aerobics

We’re now almost to the last quarter of the year and I have been going to water aerobics since the end of January. I have missed some weeks. Work travel, vacation, theater….and then there have been a few times where I just really didn’t feel like going. But on the whole, I have consistently gone for about 8 months now. I’m starting to see small changes in my arms. My forearms are definitely getting smaller and more defined. I remember one time looking at them in the shower and wondering how they had gotten so big with no muscle. They are changing for sure, but so are my upper arms. I still have flab and they aren’t super defined, but I can see muscle there now. And I already know my lower body is getting stronger because of the way I can get up off the floor so much easier now. 

I still have a long way to go, but this is the point where I’m starting to see a little bit of results and it makes me want to keep going. Honestly, the membership is worth the pool alone and its one of the best things I could have done for myself this year. I’m making friends there (even though it’s not the type I hang out with outside of the pool) and between the exercise and the community, it’s just helped me so much, both mentally and physically. 

I’m wondering this winter if I want to add another day. Some of the ladies really like the aqua jump class where they have mini trampolines in the pool. They say the water keeps it from being hard on the knees. So I might try that, but also, there are other classes and a whole gym, plus the walking track. 

I’m still struggling with sugar, but my eating is slowly improving as well. I’ll get there. It actually feels like I might really get there this time, making slow changes that I can actually live with. 

A Different Sort of Peach Days

It’s that time of year again: Peach Days. Friday night I met up with my family and we went to the Peach Days carnival. The kids still like going and it’s fun to hang out with the family, even if there are a bunch of other people. I think people are figuring out that Friday night is less crowded than Saturday. There were a lot of people. I hate to think what it looks like today. And then for the first time in quite a few years, I didn’t go up to Brigham at all for the Saturday part. My sister doesn’t have any kids in the parade this year and I just can’t see going up for any other reason. They did go up because my niece had to work at Peach City. I won’t say I’ll never go again, but the big parade doesn’t hold a lot of interest for me as an adult. I was only going to cheer on my nieces and nephew and be with family. I probably could have gone to the quilt show and a few other things and just missed the parade, but there is always next year. 

I slept in and did a little cleaning, then I drove to SL to hit up an indie bookstore I’ve been meaning to go to for a while. Lovebound Library is a romance bookstore, although they do have a little bit of general fiction. It’s a cute store and they do have a nice selection of books, though they are mostly contemporary and romantasy. I picked up 3 new books and spent some time rearranging some of my bookshelves to fit them in where I wanted them. 

It has been fun visiting indie bookstores this year. I still have more to go to than months left in the year but that’s ok. Most of those that are left are going to take some planning to get to. I’ve bought a lot of books I wouldn’t have bought if I weren’t trying to support them. And I’ve got some favorites to go back to. The biggest problem is that none of my favorites are really that close to me and it’s still easier to get my books from bookshop.org or Barnes and Noble. 

I have a little bit of cleaning left to do and I’ll be making a new soup for dinner tonight. But I’m in for the day and am planning on reading. LOL I’m having a bit of book anxiety again with all the shiny new books waiting for me to get to them, plus I keep adding to my KU list. I’ve just got to let it go. I have more books than I’ll ever possibly read and new ones come along constantly. This is just the way life is.

Anyway, it’s been a nice weekend so far. I’ll be seeing family again tomorrow for family dinner. The weekends are always too short.