Fan X

I had a fun time at Fan X last Friday. I went down to SL on the train with Spencer and Livi and a few of her friends. They were dressed up as Berdly characters. I didn't know who/what that was until they showed me and then I actually saw quite a few of them that I could recognize at the con. 

I only made it to 1 panel and that one was about Snow White and the influence the cartoon has had in 75 years. I wanted to go to others but then my sister came down with the twins and we just hung out and people watched and wandered the vendor floor. It was still fun. 

I've decided next year I may buy a 2 day pass and go to more panels on my own one day and then have fun with friends/family the other day. Or, I talked to one of the volunteers and I might consider volunteering as well. We'll see. 

I didn't spend much money, but I did get some fun chocolate at one of the booths. I ate the Han Solo and it was mint chocolate cookie truffle and very tasty. 

It's cool and feels like Fall this morning. I love it.

September 25

It’s a silly title for a post, but I can’t think of anything else. I actually can’t believe how fast September has gone. I blinked and we are at the end. I need to make sure I really take time to stop or slow down through October and November so I don’t miss my favorite season. 

I paid off the mortgage on my home this week. I went to the bank and wired the money and the next day got an email from them saying it was paid in full and I’ll be getting other papers, etc soon. It feels good. It will feel even better next Wednesday when the money does not come out of my account for the payment. I only get to enjoy it for tomorrow’s paycheck though, because I’ve already upped my 401k amount so the next check I get will actually be smaller. It’s ok. Of course, I can’t predict the future, but I’m on track to be able to retire without too many worries. 

I’ve had a few snags this week with crazy emotions, but am feeling better overall. More leveled out. I hope I can continue like this for a little while. 

Better?

Some of the words of the hymn we sung in sacrament meeting today gave me some hope.

How great, how glorious, how complete

Redemption’s grand design,

Where justice, love, and mercy meet

In harmony divine!

While I can’t sit around and do nothing, God’s plan has been in place since the beginning and He knows how it ends and has already taken care of everything that needed to be done. It helps to remember that.

My yarrow bloomed twice this year. This makes me so happy.

I got out my 4 Fall decorations a day early ha ha. I’m switching my letterboard this afternoon. I will be turning on my electric flickering candles. I changed one lamp to have a Victorian gaslight colored lightbulb. I’ve already had fall scents in the wax warmer. Bring it on, I’m ready for official Autumn.

And I do feel a lot better than I did on Friday. 

Nope

Man, I have hit my wall and I hit it hard. Actually, I hit it yesterday. The week did not get better at work and I’ve been weepy and depressed and exhausted. My well is dry and I have no **** to give, as the saying goes. And we still have a problem so even though I won’t be working a lot, I will be checking in and getting some stuff ready for an early Monday morning meeting. 

I have next Friday off and I think I may take the following Monday as well and give myself a 4 day weekend. I’m getting my permanent crown that day so I can’t go far, but the point is to not be at work. 

I’m not really sure what my problem is. I know there is definitely some perimenopause going on. I get upset and weepy at some stuff I know would not usually bother me. And there’s some stress and sadness for my job, my family, the state of the world in general. 

I’m doing stuff this weekend that I’m looking forward to, so I’m not depressed enough that I’m not leaving my house or whatnot. The cure is always the same: get enough sleep, not too much caffeine, get enough exercise, blah blah blah…. 

For now I’m taking the evening off. I’m out of milk so I’ll remedy that. And I’ll see if I can get some rest recharge this weekend. I’ll be off of social media again until Monday.

Retail Therapy

Hello self! Remember when I said I wouldn’t spend any more money? Ha ha ha ha ha ha 

I had a really nice weekend. I stayed off of all social media for 2 whole days and it felt wonderful. I spent some time with my family and spent some time outside. I even tackled a big project I didn’t know I wanted to do: I cleaned out all my piano music. It felt so good to go through it all and get it organized. I had 2 copies of My Heart Will Go On and nobody even needs 1 copy of that song. I have some to donate because I’m never going to play them and then a bunch of printed off copies of things to shred. I had more duplicates of songs than I care to admit. So things started out well.

Monday, I drove to my office to find that the plant had no water. I made it about 45 minutes then drove home to work. I had brought peaches for breakfast and with no way to wash my hands after I peeled them, it just wasn’t going to work. And then the day got worse and yesterday was even worse. I had a project go live and just had a lot of issues to work through. Finally, after a really long day, I can say that only one of the issues was actually our system. Everything else was people not using all the information we gave them or watching the training that we recorded. So it’s been frustrating and I expect another long, frustrating day today. But today, I feel a little better prepared to deal with it.

Last night after work, I got some exercise and finished a puzzle. Then I took myself off to the bookstore. Mary Roach has a new book out and I decided to buy it rather than borrow from the library - still not borrowing paper books from them since my fine. ;) I ended up with 3 books. Oops! Then I got some chocolates and a 1 liter bottle of Dr. Pepper. Retail therapy!

Anyway, I did feel better and got some sleep last night. I may be doing a few breaks to take tiny walks today. I’ll do what I need to do to deal with the stress. It won’t be this way forever. 

 

Money, Money, Money

Ug. I am my own worst enemy. Ha ha, I recently went on an online shopping spree and bought absolutely nothing that I needed. Shirts, sheets, a book, perfume samples, and a few other things. I’ve decided that I need to net zero a little bit here so I’m going to try and clean out my bookshelves and my closet for a D.I. run. It’s almost the weekend and that’s a good activity. 

I’ve put myself on a spending freeze until my savings account gets back up. It’s the lowest it has been in a long time because I just paid for my Europe trip later this year. It’s only 1 account; I have more savings (this is the one I can spend from) but I do hate to see it getting so low. And honestly, this one account probably still has more money in it than most Americans have saved, if you can believe the news.

So I have made up a budget for Christmas spending and giving. And I have so many things already at home that I can do instead of sitting on the couch bored and spending money. Puzzles, books, cross stitching, blanket making, rag wreath craft, adult coloring books, playing the piano, walking, yoga, strength training, cleaning, sorting, cooking…I think I’m going to stick this list in my calendar notebook so I can refer back to it. LOL I don’t really like to sit and watch tv, but I should absolutely not be bored. Plus, over half this list can be done while listening to books, tv, podcasts, and music. 

I’m a spender. I know it. It’s my natural inclination. I also have to be the one to save because nobody is going to do it for me. I’m still not in debt. I still have a nice savings account. I’m still going to do some fun things by myself and with friends and family. But I’m also going to try and curb the impulsiveness for the rest of the year. I can have impulsive fun next year for my birthday.

Peach Days 2025

It's been a nice weekend, and Brigham City's annual Peach Days. I met up with my family on Friday night and we all had dinner at Peach City since my niece works there. She wanted to wait on us ha ha. It was fun. Then we walked a couple blocks downtown to the carnival and other stuff set up in the street. The temperature was in the 80s so not as bad as some years. By the time we were walking back to the car, it was dark and very pleasant. 

Saturday I slept in and couldn't decide if I wanted to go back to the big parade. Then my sister told me she had bought a dozen donuts and got one for me. I couldn't pass that up ha ha. I stopped by their house and got a ride with my oldest nephew and we were late to the parade, so we didn't get to see my niece with the high school but that's ok. Also, seeing only part of the parade is not a bad thing, in my opinion. Then my sister and I went to the quilt show at the USU extension. It was fun to see all the different quilts. Not a talent I have, or truly want to have. I'll stick with embroidery. 

So yeah, it was fun. When I got home I did laundry. I also switched out my bedding for the fall bedspread and sheets. Peach days is kind of the last summer thing we do and now I'm most definitely ready for cooler temps and darker evenings. My brother gave me some more fresh peaches and now I need to freeze them so they don't go bad. That will be my evening activity, maybe tomorrow night. I'll eat a few more fresh ones and then freeze the rest. 

And Now, September

Yay! It's finally September and my favorite 4 months of the year are upon us. I know it's still hot but most of this week should be in the 80s and barely hit 90. Finger's crossed yucky heat is gone. 

My plans for Labor Day fell apart and I'm ok with that. I'm doing some things around the house, taking care of my plants, little things. I might go to a movie with the twins this afternoon. It will just be a relaxing day. 

I'll be getting out my fall bedspread and switching to fall scents in my wax warmer and then waiting until the official autumn equinox before I try and get cozy and in hibernation mode. Some of the leaves are already changing because we haven't had enough water, so I don't feel bad getting into fall mode starting today.  

We went to the farmer's market on Saturday and I've been eating fresh watermelon, berries and have a bunch more peaches in the fridge. And a neighbor gave me a little jar of fresh salsa and I've been eating that on taco salad. While I don't want to grow a garden myself, it's really nice to live in a place where I can easily get fresh fruit and vegetables.