The Good
September is a favorite month of mine for many reasons, not the least of which is that it’s the start of football season! I am a diehard fan and spend all day Sunday at my mom’s house, watching the games with her, my brother, and my older nephew. These Sundays are my favorite and mean so much to me. I love all the family time, snuggling with dogs, and reading my book while a football game blares in the background.
September is also a month of so many birthdays! There’s my brother, my older nephew, my stepdad, Bri, and so many other family members. It’s an expensive month! But I love celebrating other people so it’s a fun month for me.
I decorated my apartment for fall, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how festive it looks now. All of the pumpkins and fall-themed signs does my heart good.
This month’s book club experience was making pottery! I have always wanted to try my hand at clay throwing using a pottery wheel, so I was both excited and nervous to give it a try. Thankfully, we had a private lesson with an instructor and she was excellent. She really made sure we left with well-made pieces. We made two pieces and she went through each step very slowly (she showed us how to do it and then had us give it a try and would correct any mistakes she saw us making). I made a bowl and then a vase. Afterward, we painted our pottery! (And this is when we chatted about the book we read in September, for those wondering.) I painted my bowl a teal-ish color and then I did splatter-paint for the vase! I first painted it white and then I took it over to this open box that had a lazy Susan. I placed my vase on the lazy Susan and used a big paintbrush to “splatter” paint droplets all around the vase. It came out great, and I can’t wait to see what it looks like when it’s been glazed.
I finally got my third tattoo! Here’s the story of how it happened: I texted Bri the day after her birthday to find out what she wanted to do for the birthday lady date we had planned the following day. She was all, “This might sound crazy but… tattoos?!” We had previously talked about getting tattoos, and I was READY. So I said yes! But the tattooist we wanted to go to wasn’t available that day, so we made the appointment for the following week. I am so happy with my tattoo. It’s everything I envisioned. It hurt a lot, but it wasn’t unbearable. Plus, it’s not a continuous pain, as the needle stops every 30ish seconds to readjust. And now it’s in the healing/itchy phase, which is the hardest phase to get through.
The Bad
The bad was really, really bad this month, as we learned that my uncle’s cancer has returned and metastasized to his brain. He was eligible for radiation, so he had 10 straight days of that. It’s the only treatment available to him, so now all we can do it make sure he’s comfortable and not in pain. The future is very bleak. It’s so hard to watch someone you love be dealt such a wretched diagnosis. What can I say? There are no words to make this better.
Bookish Stuff
- # of books/pages read: 8 books (3,115 pages)
- Favorite book of the month: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
- Favorite romance of the month: Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan
- Least favorite book of the month: Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant
- Quickest read: Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger (5 days)
- Longest read: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (65 days)
- Books I abandoned: Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler and The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel
- Format breakdown: print books (5) and audiobooks (3)
- Genre breakdown: Thrillers (3), historical fiction (2), romance (1), nonfiction (1), and fiction (1)
- Average star rating: 3.5 (<– yikes)
Stuff I Recommend
- Duolingo – I am currently on Day 62 of Duolingo! I’m learning Spanish because, even though I took 4 years of it between middle school, high school, and college, there is very little I retained. I’m enjoying it and hope I can get to those four-digit streaks like some of you.
- The End of the World with Josh Clark – Josh Clark hosts one of my all-time favorite podcasts, Stuff You Should Know, and I kept hearing about this short-run podcast series he did. I finally downloaded it and listened to all of the episodes recently, and it was excellent. The essential premise of this podcast is discussing the future of humanity, what it means if we really are the only intelligent life in the universe, and what dangers await us. It feels very heavy and anxiety-inducing, I know, but I find myself fascinated by these discussions. And, thankfully, Josh doesn’t use fear-mongering or scare tactics to discuss these theories. It’s very factual and I appreciate that.
- CBS reality TV shows – My whole TV-watching life has been taken up by watching CBS reality TV shows right now. Big Brother, Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Challenge USA… I love it all. I’ve had to put all of my other shows on the back burner because these CBS shows are all I have time to watch!
Goal Stuff
Since I didn’t recap my monthly goals yet, I’m doing that here!
- Schedule my LASIK appointment – Yup! I am getting my eyeballs lasered on October 20th.
- Go through my “deal with it later” basket – Nope. The problem with a “deal with it later” basket is “later” never seems to have a deadline.
- Visit my PCP for a physical – Nope. I need to schedule this appointment in October!
- Stop using my phone when I’m in bed at night – I got a little better at this in September, but I could have tried harder.
- Get back to my workout routine – Nope. My new workout goal is to go for a walk every day, but I struggled with that. I have just felt so unmotivated with working out, even though I know it helps my mental health so much.
What was a good moment of September for you?
That pottery class looks really fun! I have never tried that, although I did a corks and canvas thing when I was in New Orleans, where you drink wine and paint and I still have the painting hanging on my wall! It was a lot of fun, and your photos make me realize I should do more of those kinds of things.
A tattoo! How fun. I want another one but I looked into it and the good artists here (1) are expensive! and (2) have a long wait! I mean like weeks to months to NEVER! Also the thing I want is kind of big and it could literally cost thousands, which is ridiculous. So I will wait on that for now!
Oh yes, I did one of those painting nights! I’ve wanted to do it again but they can be expensive! Plus, I always get so upset with myself for not painting my canvas as beautifully as the instructors, which I know is VERY silly.
A tattoo like that is definitely an investment, but if it’s something you really want, I hope you can make it happen someday!
Oh goodness, I’m so very sorry to hear about your uncle’s cancer coming back. That is horrible news, and so heartbreaking.
Aside from that, your September sounds like it was great! I’ve never tried pottery, but this sounds like a really fun way to do it.
I enjoyed our trip to Paso Robles, I guess that was a good September moment for me. 🙂
Thank you, J. It’s been a really hard time for our family. <3
Your trip sounds great! I'm glad you were able to take it. Yay!
Hugs to you and your family. I know how all-encompassing a loved one’s illness can be and I hope you remember to be kind to yourself.
Hmmm…a good moment in September? When my nephew sent a letter to my husband. It was so cute!
Thank you, friend! We’re trying to do what we can to help out my cousin who has become his full-time caretaker for the time being. It’s so hard.
That letter WAS very cute! Isn’t it fun when these little people start growing up and doing things like WRITING LETTERS?! So cool.
First of all, I’m so sorry about your uncle. That’s terrible news, and this will be tough on all of you. Especially tough for him.
I’m glad you had a lot of good things this month. What in the world happened to our Dolphins last week??? Sheesh, that was depressing. But we’ll win tomorrow. Your football Sundays sound so, so fun.
I’m looking forward to seeing the finished pottery, and I can’t wait to see your tattoo!!!
Thank you, friend. He’s really struggling, which makes sense, of course. I’ve never been this close to someone who knows he’s dying and it’s really hard. <3
The pottery class sounds so fun!! I can’t wait to see the finished product – and your tattoo!
September was a full month for me! Highs were having my new hire start and meeting Daria during my trip to NJ!
I’m so glad you could fit in dinner with Daria during your work trip! How fun!
Pottery class sounds so fun!! We have a “clayground” in our town where you can paint pottery (it’s already made) which is a lot of fun.
September was a good month; the highlight was DEFINITELY my “solo” retreat to my parents. My first real time away BY MYSELF since getting married and having kids. For those counting, that means my first real stretch away independently in FOURTEEN YEARS.
I’m so, so sorry about your uncle. This is so true: “What can I say? There are no words to make this better.”
There are no words to make it better. I pray the radiation leads to lasting and positive results, but this is such sad news and I’m sorry for all those who love him. Cancer sucks.
We have a local “clayground,” too! I think I prefer doing it that way because at least I know the pieces will be well-made, haha. It was fun to learn how to use a pottery wheel, though.
I am so, so glad you were able to take this solo retreat! What a great gift to yourself. <3
Oh, I’d love to do a pottery class. I should look into this. I used to do pottery with my mom when I was a child but haven’t done it since. It would be so awesome to try again.
I am also so happy you love your Football Sundays with your fam. Although I am not a football fan and never watch it, I like the idea of getting together and enjoying each others company on a regular basis (I feel like that is the equivalent to my Sunday FaceTime Calls with my family LOL)
I am so very sorry about your uncle’s cancer relapse and poor outlook now. It’s devastating and I can only hope that he’ll be surrounded by love and support for the time he has left.
September was a bit of a mixed month for us: it was my FIL’s funeral, my MIL was diagnosed with cancer, but there were also some good moments.
There are probably lots of Groupon offers for pottery classes, so you should look into that!
You had a tough September, friend. <3 I hope your MIL's prognosis is positive.
I’m so very sorry about your uncle.
I love Duolingo as well and have been learning Spanish. I’m in the diamond league now and it’s very motivating to stay in the diamond league.
Your September “goods” are so very good!
I am so impressed by your Duolingo streak! I get so nervous every day that I’m going to forget to use it and end up breaking my streak, but so far, so good.
I cannot wait to see your pottery and love love love that that is what you and Bri did to celebrate her birthday!
I’m so sorry about your uncle. I hope he finds some comfort and knows how loved he is by you all.