1 – Helping my mom with her car-buying process. She bought a 2023 Kia Sportage!
2 – Family day. My favorite! And the weather was so beautiful with temps in the 70s. Ahh.
3 – Lila comforting me when I was crying. She was so sweet! She jumped on the couch, put her paw on my back, and meowed at me. Then she snuggled next to me and let me pet her.
4 – Chauffeuring Mom around! (Her car won’t be delivered until late October.) She needed to go back to the Ford dealership to transfer her tag/title and finish the selling process (she sold her car back to the dealership). Then, in the evening, I took her to a hair appointment she had scheduled.
5 – A mid-day nap that felt so refreshing!
6 – Coworking with Bri so I could help her with certain tasks she can’t do right now, as she is largely immobile with her broken ankle (aka, getting her food, keeping her water cup filled, etc.)
7 – A fun birthday party for my cousin’s daughter where I got to see a lot of family members.
8 – A reading date with Amber and a relaxing pedicure by myself.
9 – A relaxing day at my mom’s, watching football with the fam. I love these days so much!
10 – Sleeping in and being able to slowly ease into my workday. The benefits of having a flexible work life! Yes, it meant I was working a little bit into the evening but it was well worth it to have a calm morning.
11 – Turkey chili for dinner! This is my go-to recipe. I omit the chilies and add cheese and sour cream.
12 – Ellie sitting in an empty Chewy box throughout the day. I love how much she loves an empty box!
13 – Leftovers for lunch AND dinner. Saving money and not having to cook – works for me!
14 – Coworking again with Bri. It means a lot that she reached out to me to help her, as I know it’s not in her nature.
15 – Recording episodes of The Friendship Paradox with Bri. Afterward, Bri’s husband ordered pizza and we watched college football together.
16 – Waking up on the early side for a Sunday so I was able to get some blog work done, run the Roomba, and read for a bit before heading over to my mom’s for the day.
17 – A Sausage Egg McMuffin for breakfast. My favorite breakfast of all time, and I’m not ashamed to say it.
18 – A therapy appointment when I needed it most. I am so, so glad I found this therapist.
19 – A day off work! I got to sleep in, get some stuff done, and just enjoy turning off my email and Slack messages for a day.
20 – Rescuing Mom from an event she wasn’t having fun at (#introvertprobz). She invited me into her house to watch last night’s episode of The Amazing Race and found out Robert was making tacos, so I got to have a delicious meal made for me, too! Wins all around.
21 – An easy workday followed by a wonderful afternoon nap.
22 – Sleeping in and then going on a Target mini-shopping spree (bought earrings, pajamas, and some Christmassy pillows).
23 – Tua is back on the field! And the Dolphins broke their losing streak. I was a bit emotional seeing him back on the field, considering the way he left the game three-and-a-half weeks ago (a truly horrifying concussion response). We didn’t know if he had any brain function or feeling in his limbs when he left the field on a stretcher, which was so scary. (This is when my love for football is so complicated. I love the game so much, but hate how violent it can be.) It was good to see him out there and to see him having fun. If he wants to be out on the field and his family is okay with him being on the field, then that’s all that matters.
24 – A lovely dinner out with Mom. We got to chit-chat a bit about our upcoming cruise, which got me so excited!
25 – Going for a walk outside in the evening. It was glorious outside and felt good to be outside and move my body after a busy workday.
26 – Book club! We went to a fave Mexican place, Eleni was handed around the table, and we had a good chat about our pick this month, which was Lessons in Chemistry.
27 – Ordering in pizza and starting the new season of Nailed It. (Why is it only 4 episodes, though?!)
28 – Talking to Bri about an anxiety spiral I was having (on this day, I was loaning my car to my mom for an event she had to go to for work, so of course, I was convinced she was going to get into an accident and die). She gave me a wonderful pep talk and just talking through the spiral with someone helped SO MUCH. I never want to burden other people with my anxiety spirals and moody episodes because I don’t want to bring them down, but friends have told me time and time again that they WANT me to reach out when I’m feeling like this because they want to be able to help me. This was such a good example of why I need to do that: I felt so much more relaxed after talking to Bri and the anxiety spiral was so minimal afterward that it was basically non-existent.
29 – My mom finally getting her new car! It was supposed to arrive a week ago, but there were all these transportation issues. It is so high-tech and beautiful!
30 – Making Halloween treat bags with Mom to pass out to trick-or-treaters tomorrow. We filled up bags with candy, fun erasers, pencils, notepads, bubbles, and stickers.
31 – Halloween! I went over to my mom’s to pass out our treat bags, although we got barely any kiddos (less than 20, I think). But it was still fun to dress up as a cat, spend time with my mom, and see some really cute kids all dressed up.
Tell me a bright moment of October for you!
Yay for a new vehicle arriving early for your Mom, but I bet she loved having you chauffer her!
And gold star for dressing up for Halloween; so fun. I wonder what the deal is with the decline in kids out this year? EVERYONE has been talking about how numbers were down and I was shocked. We had more kids in our neighbourhood during the “COVID” Halloween’s than we did this year when things were much more relaxed. I’m confused?! Don’t kids want free candy anymore.
What a great month and I love that even in those tougher moments – when anxiety reared its head – you had such great friends and support systems in place. It takes a lot of work and effort to establish those supports AND even more work (and courage) to reach out and share what’s on your heart in life’s tougher moments. I’m so proud of you <3
It was really confusing on why we had so few kids this year. I’m wondering if it had to do with Halloween falling on a Monday this year… maybe more parents went to trunk-or-treat events and stayed home on Halloween night? I’m not exactly sure!
Reaching out is so hard for me because I haaaate feeling like I’m a burden to people, but also, I need to let people support me when I need that support. I do the same for them, so why do I not deserve it, too?
Yes, it’s great to have Tua back! I’m with you- I love football but the violence is disturbing. Especially now that we’re starting to know the long-term issues with concussions. But that aside, I love watching football on the weekends (Baylor Bears on Saturdays and Dophins on Sundays!)
What is it about cats and boxes- mine LOVE boxes as well. We haven’t had a big one in a while- hmm, maybe that’s what I’ll get them for Christmas- a big box (yes, my cats definitely get Christmas presents!)
Oh yes, Christmas presents for our babies is a given! Last year, I got the cats an advent calendar from Chewy that was so fun! I hope they have something similar this year.
Goooooo Dolphins!
Aww Lila! What a sweetie to comfort you. And you’re so sweet to take care of Bri. I hope she is healing well and I am glad she is asking for help.
I love that I can sleep later and work later when I need to too. Sometimes you just need more sleep!
Ellie is so sweet sitting in her box!
I am so glad you found that therapist too! And that you have friends to help you through spirals – I agree with them – we want to help!
LOL we need more deets on #20. That made me LOL.
October was such a great month for us! My bright moment was the trip with my snister and her daughter to CA.
Lila comforting me was just the sweetest moment ever. It’s like she knew exactly what I needed right when I needed it. <3
Ah, for #20, my mom was just feeling a bit out of place at this work event. She was car-less at the time, so she had taken a Lyft to the event but asked me if I could pick her up when she was feeling uncomfortable. I've BEEN THERE, so I'm glad I was able to help!
I love your practice of finding everyday moments of joy. Maybe next year I’ll make it a goal.
I saw my best friend for the first time in years in October and that was definitely the highlight for me.
Oh, I hope you do! It’s a really fun way of looking back on the month. <3
Your cats are the best!
And I can’t remember if I commented at the time, but I love your bathroom refresh! Looks so lovely.
I am quite partial to my girls. They make life so much sweeter! <3
So weird to hear that you – and others – experienced a decline in kids out for Halloween, because I read on the local news that in our neighborhood had a record number of visitors this year!
I love that you’re meeting up with a friend just to “read” together in a coffee shop. I need a local reading/writing buddy.
I love these posts, Stephany – great way to keep track of one thing each day during October. BTW, I can’t believe how big your nephew has gotten. Kids grow up so fast!!
A bright of October for me was my Halloween run/walk through our neighborhood. It was a beautiful sunny fall day and I loved every minute.
I am very curious about the decline! I think it might just be neighborhood specific. My brother said that the place they trick-or-treated was FILLED with kids, which is how I remember trick-or-treating as a kid. We had such a sad trickle of people.
It’s so nice to have Amber to be my reading buddy. We love these coffee dates!
I have so much to say!
– Your QB’s concussion was so scary. It stayed with me and had me worried until the next day. And beyond. I hope he is ok long term! But when it happened, Phil and I truly thought he was paralyzed.
– Cats are so smart and know when their owners need to be comforted!
– That is one of our 2 go-to chili recipes although we keep the chilies in it!
– Bri is a 2 right? That is very cool that she asked you for help. That is hard for 2s, I think. And it felt good to be asked to help, right? which is a reminder to us to ASK FOR HELP MORE!!
I hope he is okay, too! That injury was really scary. I was so worried when it happened, and so relieved that he was okay.
I need to know your other go-to chili recipe!
Yes, Bri is a 2 and being laid up with her injury has been really hard for her because she’s used to being the helper, and now she has to be the helpee! I like being able to be there for her, but I know she just wants her independence back. <3
The best thing in October was that my sister-in-law and her family were visiting. They have a two year old and he is a blast.
Two-year-olds can be so fun! I love that you got to have some good family time in October. <3
I love how you break your moments down by day. It feels so full and happy. What a great friend to help you through that anxiety spiral. Its not easy to ask for help but as you mentioned earlier Bri asked you too and that is not in her nature. I guess she had the same feeling when helping you…
Best thing in October for me? Tough I had a few but I think my Spa weekend is high up on the list.
A spa weekend has to be a bright spot of your October! I’m glad you were able to do that. <3
Love love love these posts.
And I am SO with you on football. It’s like this existential thing for me. I love it, but I also kind of hate how violent it is and how much damage it does to their bodies and brains. (Insert that grimacing emoji here…) Same with the NBA – I hate to think that I’m giving brain space to the disaster of a “human being” that is Kyrie Irving. Seriously. He’s a waste of space. And yet I pay attention to the news on him. Sigh.
I love how connected you were this month – to your mom, your family (As always), Bri, the girls…. <3