I cannot believe that it's almost November already! In just a little over three weeks the first 1/3 of the school year will be over. And two months from this past Friday is Christmas!!! (My students have been counting down the days till Christmas since the 100 day mark, but still, now that we're only 59 days away I can't believe it's almost here! Not only that, but this year is supposed to be our last Thanksmas at Granny and Papa's, and while I always anxiously await the chance to spend an entire day with all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins, I'm secretly hoping that it won't really be the last one.
So, what have we been up to? Honestly, it's been mostly work, sleep, and driving. Lots and lots of driving. When we first decided to both keep our current jobs and live in the middle it seemed like a great idea. We figured that an extra couple of hours wouldn't be too big of a deal and we'd make up for the time apart with fun-filled weekends. Turns out, the drive wears you down. So much so that ordering pizza has become a once a week occurrence. (And a couple of weeks ago, it happened twice in one week. *Yikes!*) And our weeks have been fun for the most part, but they seem to be constantly packed with plans pre-made or things to do. There isn't really a lot of down time. Don't believe me? You should see my house. (Seriously, I don't think more than one or two rooms have been completely clean since school started.)
In September, we had fun putting together a "Kung Fu Kit" for Katie (my college roommate). Long story short, pain meds can sometimes make things confusing, and sometimes you read things wrong. (Like "First Aid Kit") Do you see where I'm going with this? Okay. So, we couldn't resist. Here's a few snapshots of what we put together.
Anyway, the other things we've been up to lately include reading, sewing, and general crafting.
Dylan has been reading The Dark Tower
series by Stephen King.
(He's on book four of seven.)
I have read several books as well. Currently I'm reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio.
Over the summer and into the fall I slowly worked putting together my first quilt. It wasn't a huge quilt, just a baby quilt. I was so excited when I found the fabric since my cousin and his wife were having a jungle theme in their new baby room. Here's the finished blanket for baby Cooper.
I also had a little fun with Dylan a couple of weeks ago. He doesn't like to be decisive when it comes to things like what movie we're going to watch or what we're going to eat for dinner. "Food" is just not a satisfying answer. I kept trying to think of what gross mix of food would teach him a lesson (while not making me sick at the same time) and all I could think of was the movie Elf. So, here's what he ended up with one night.
We're also getting ready for the month of November, because we've decided that this year we're both going to participate in NaNoWriMo. (Or we're at least both going to start. We'll see where the month takes us.) If you've never heard of this crazy program, you're missing out. (Especially if writing a book is on your bucket list!) Basically, crazy people like ourselves make a pledge to write a novel in the month of November. From November 1st to November 30th writers all over the world set to work trying to write a story at least 50,000 words long. (That comes out to about 200 pages worth of writing.) Granted, it doesn't have to be good writing, you just have to get the words down on paper. The editing comes later. There's also a Young Writers section of the program, which my students are participating in this year for the second year in a row. Last year I wrote along with them (which doesn't mean much except a much smaller word count), but this year I'm joining Dylan for the long haul. We'll see how it goes!
Anyway, that's about all of the news I have time for. Happy (early) Halloween! And hope you're all doing well!
