1) Settling back in
I am slowly but surely settling back into normal life after my long vacation and two weeks away from work. This was the longest vacation I’ve ever had! We were gone for 9 full days, and I think that’s about my limit when it comes to being away from my girls. I missed them! (Although I loved my cat sitter and will definitely book with her again. She even got pictures of Lila!) Eloise has been very snuggly and even more Velcro-y than usual, and I don’t mind it a single bit.
Coming back to work after such a long break was difficult, but I also felt really refreshed. And good thing because there are some big-time changes happening within my department. They will give me lots of opportunities to try some new responsibilities and grow my skills, and I’m ready for it!
2) NaBloPoMo
It’s almost NaBloPoMo time! Every year, I think about sitting it out because it’s a lot of work and I feel guilty for clogging up everyone’s blog readers. (It’s the Enneagram 9 in me.) But I can’t help myself, and I will be participating this year. I totally understand why NaBloPoMo is not everyone’s jam, but I am very much looking forward to it. And, this year, I’m going to take a page out of Julie’s book and do an A-Z challenge! I’ve been collecting ideas for each letter, and I’m challenging myself to write 500 words or less on each subject. It’ll be mostly personal anecdotes, some of it about my childhood and some of it just about me as a person, and I think it will be a great creative challenge for me!
3) Falling for falling back?
I have a long-standing feud with Daylight Saving Time. I hate falling back and love springing forward. When it gets dark so early, I lose any sort of motivation for evening plans. However… I might be coming around to this falling back stuff. I’m already noticing how the days are getting shorter, and I’m kinda digging it? Here’s why: When I moved to my new apartment last fall, I implemented a cozy “wind down” routine once I logged off work for the day. I close my laptop lid and tidy up my desk, close all of the blinds around my apartment, and light a candle. The cats would get dinner, and I would get in my jammies early and start making my own dinner. Then, once DST started in the spring, that wind-down routine sort of fell apart. After all, I’m not closing my blinds at 6 pm when there are still hours of daylight ahead! I’m starting to see the benefits of earlier sunsets, and I can’t say I’m dreading falling back like I usually do.
(I’m also saying this as someone who lives in Florida and our time change isn’t as severe! It would be another thing if it was getting dark at 4PM.)
4) Chip and Lucy
After all of the drama of trying to find the perfect caretaker for Chip and Lucy (my mom’s dogs), I think we found a winner with the boarding place! Chip and Lucy did well, and we got to see cute videos of them twice a day via a secret Facebook group.
Chip seemed to struggle a lot more socially than Lucy did (when we thought it would be the opposite). In every video, he stood at the door to the big open area where all the dogs were playing, like he was guarding it or wanted to leave. He also came back noticeably thinner, so we’re thinking he didn’t eat much. Poor buddy. He also nipped the workers a few times, which we warned them would happen. But he didn’t get kicked out, and they said they would be happy to have him back! (Phew.)
Lucy was a little social butterfly! In every video, she was running around with the other dogs. (I saw this video once that said dachshunds walk like they’re late for work, and that’s all I think about when I see Lucy walking around, ha.)
5) Weekend plans
This is going to be a quiet weekend for the most part. I have a writing date with Mikaela tomorrow morning, book club on Sunday morning, and football with the fam for the rest of Sunday. I may try to catch some of the World Series since our very own Tampa Bay Rays are in it! I’m not a baseball fan and find it very boring to watch a game, but having it on in the background while I do other things could be a cozy way to spend the evenings. We’ll see!
Are you doing NaBloPoMo? What are your weekend plans?
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