Mostly keep doing what I’m doing!
I sat down to write out October goals yesterday (yep – I don’t always complete my monthly reviews RIGHT at the start of a new month, and that’s okay!).
And I . . . didn’t really have a lot of ideas, which initially felt kind of odd! On reflecting further I think it is because Nov/Dec are going to contain an explosion of BIG THINGS (trips! marathon! BLP Live! BLP home! holidays! etc!) and so October is going to be largely a month of preparation to help the next couple of months be as smooth as possible.
Knowing what is currently in the works + upcoming, I realized that October not the time to start anything new – it’s more like a time to remain strong in the middle portion of things going on. This realization actually made me feel more calm. I have time to prepare and that is good!
Things I Will Continue:
- Marathon training: I suspect my Peak Week (I guess this is a thing?) will be in November, but by the time October ends, the race will be less than 6 weeks away!
- Work focus: Finishing the planning process for BLP Live (mostly just need to order food, get workbooks printed — design looks awesome so far, and some other finishing touches). I do have a lovely coordinator helping me with some of the logistics (and she’ll also be on-site at the conference!) and I’m REALLY glad I made that choice!
- Another work focus: Generally staying on top/ahead regarding recording etc by planning my weeks + months out in advance
- Focus on home rhythms: HW time + bedtime. Also Sunday routines. Things have been decent but I continue to want to work with the HW piece (mostly the planning ahead part!!)
Few Things I am Adding:
- Reach out to podcasts that may be planning ahead to see if anyone wants a planning/planner aficionado. I am generally a more desired guest in January or September (compared to March or June!).
- Travel planning: I purposefully neglected this for a bit because I wanted to ensure some budget recovery after our Alaska trip! We are keeping winter break low key, but I do need to catch up on booking flights for an upcoming college friends trip (yay!), our marathon (!), AND start thinking about summer 2024. ALSO need to figure out when to visit to visit my parents/sister/niece.
That’s mostly it! Keeping it simple this month. As usual I will be reading / trying to ward off excessive screen use / doing my usual daily habits.
Also, fun stuff!
The month was looking a little bleak — we do have one weekend in the Keys planned (work conference for Josh) but other than that, it looked kind of like . . . a lot of call. Upon noting this, I took the only free Saturday night and got us tickets to Into the Woods playing locally – I was in that show as a college student (actually the baker was played by this now-famous actor; sadly the 1999 production did not make his wikipedia bio!) and have major nostalgia.
(I played Rapunzel, cast more for my voice than any acting skills because I’m not a very good actress)
ANYWAY, I booked that and I love having this little bright spot in the month to look forward to!
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Sebastian is actually currently playing the baker on Broadway in Into the Woods! Full circle!
It would be so cool to see him in that role again!!!!!
We have a lot of fun things to look forward to this month like a pumpkin event at the zoo, a pumpkin carving party with friends, and a Halloween party. And then I am traveling twice so I feel like I don’t need to plan anything else for the month. I know November will fill up, too. So I’m looking to kind of ride out the final quarter of the year and will try to enjoy all the holiday-related fun! But one thing I want to do is find a day for a “shouldless” day. I will use PTO for that. And we need to make a decision on where to stay while we are in Destin in FL. I was thrilled to buy tickets for $300/ticket! I mean it is on sun country where they nickel and dime you for every single thing. But they were the only direct option to Destin.
Ooooh a shouldless day! I think I will plan one in for after BLP Live 🙂
Mentioning this here inspired me to schedule a shouldless day for November! And I put some tentative days off in December too. I have not taken much time off this year so decided to tag some days now so they actually happen. As a non-medical person, because I don’t have to plan PTO far in advance can sometimes result in me not planning it… and then my calendar fills and I can’t take time off. I need to work on this.
I love when I have fun things already planned (and paid for) in advance. I find it really helps me power through the mundane responsibilities with more enthusiasm when I know “X fun thing” is waiting for me in the coming days/weeks. I really do feel like I get almost as most enjoyment out of planning and then reminiscing about vacations/special events than I do while I’m actually on them!
So did you and Josh decide to go ahead with Big Sur? I bet it will be totally beautiful! I can’t believe how soon Chicago is. I’m leaving on Friday and the weather looks perfect, but I admit I’m getting nervous about how much the end of the race will hurt. I’m really hoping I can run a good enough time to go back to Boston in 2025…
Noppppppe! I think possibly Traverse City instead! He was not excited about Big Sur and I’m okay tabling it … for now …
Traverse City is suppsoed to be a great race!
AHHH!! Michigan! Are you planning on doing any vacation time after the marathon? There are so many beautiful places to visit around there!
I haven’t planned anything concrete yet but anticipate yes we’d try to make it a couples trip – it’s our anniversary too 🙂
and if you have specific recs, let me know!!!!
There are numerous places to eat, and people rave about the foodie scene in TC. I can’t say I’ve partaken much in it because the last time we went was in 2021 and many places were closed. There are also a ton of wineries which are very popular. Sleeping Bear Dunes is a must see and Glen Arbor is nearby. We also enjoyed Harbor Springs. This past summer we went to Mackinac Island which was an experience and super fun. We stayed at the Iroquois Hotel, which had a nice restaurant, went biking around the island, rode horses, and did a bunch of walking. If I had to go back I’d go to The Woods restaurant and the butterfly house also. People I work with love Torch Lake because of its crystal clear water, but I haven’t been.
that is awesome. I guess I probably should get on the hotel sooner rather than later b/c i bet race weekend gets crazy.
I panic-booked a room, hahahaha. Fully refundable though until mid-May 🙂
the weather is supposed to be good. will have to use throw away cloth to wait in the starting line. EXCITING!!!
Yep! I’m ready for some cool weather. Good luck to you!
Same wise!
NO goals being written for me so far this month besides “survive puppy”, hahaha! Plenty of stuff happening without any formal goals, though I’m ticked my workouts took a big backseat again this past week. I did buy tickets for the Broadway version of Aladdin playing here in town in a couple weeks. Oh, and I turn 40! And Ethan and I are going up to the U.P. in Michigan for 3 nights tomorrow to a riverside cabin. He has two no school days Thursday/Friday, but A does have school, so we had planned a little 1:1 fall getaway way back in June, just me and E. I’m excited to just relax and do a little hiking and hang with him by the fire etc! Horrendous timing with having a new puppy at home though . 😆😆
My husband and son are going to Aladdin at the end of October and are very excited!
Schools close for a week in October, but annoyingly it doesn’t coincide with autumn break for university so my husband and son will go to London without me, and then I’m off to Paris with a friend the following week. Almost at the halfway point of the teaching term, which I always find useful to feel like I’m in the home stretch.
My main goals for the month are to:
Do a big house declutter while the family is away, so I can take loads to the town zero waste festival.
Finish an article for submission (drop dead deadline is Monday so it can go to print)
Prep teaching through week 9 (of 11) so I’m basically done doing teaching prep by early November and can just go onto autopilot.
So wait- on top of everything else you’re also a singer? Or I guess I should say “were”- I doubt you’re performing these days. But still- that’s cool!
I know, November and December are always crazy months- October is a good prep month. Sounds like you have things well under control!
yeppp music was actually my thing in high school, i graduated as ‘class vocalist’ and sang a cappella in college all 4 years plus a few musicals. Now i mostly only sing at karaoke and in the car . . .