Finally got my roundup done. I've had a hard time getting these done the past few months but it always feels so good when I do it. I can't tell you how many times I end up referring to past roundup posts to look up when something happened or to get ideas and inspiration for scrapbooking. It really is a valuable tool for me.
October 2008
What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
I read a lot of stuff to my kids and with my kids for homeschool so I have to admit that I wasn’t much in the mood for reading when I had some free time. I tried to read a John Grisham book called “Playing for Pizza” on my vacation but it was just so boring. I used to love Grisham but this book seemed more like an excuse for him to take a trip to Italy and write a lot about what he ate there. I did re-read both of Cathy Zielske’s Clean and Simple Scrapbooking books since I am currently taking her design class. She really is a great inspiration.
What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
I always enjoy reruns of Friends. I started the series again this summer and now I’m up to the end of season 7. I also watched some Mythbusters and How It’s Made with my kids. We went to High School Musical 3 in the theater on opening day. Maybe I’ve been hanging out with my kids to much but I actually enjoyed. Still sort of corny but I liked the dancing and I think Troy Bolton is cute. LOL!
What special days did I celebrate and how?
My son had his 15th birthday so we went out for pasta to celebrate since that is his very favorite thing to eat.
We had a really fun Halloween. We actually stayed home for the first time ever - we have always gone to my in-law's house (and my parent's house when they lived in town) on Halloween - so it was kind of nice to not have to go anywhere. It was just the 4 of us and my daughter even decided to stay home from trick or treating because we were just having fun hanging out. We answered the door and gave out candy. We watched Hocus Pocus and Young Frankenstein. We had soup and bread shaped like a pumpkin and root beer with dry ice so we were very festive.
I also had my 3 year anniversary of blogging.
What gifts did I give and/or receive?
We gave our son some video games and lego bionicles for his birthday. We also gave a wedding gift to a friend.
What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
I was surprisingly healthy and happy during the month of October. I had very little pain for the first time in months. I only had about 2 days where I got sick. I think I have figured out that I cannot eat any type of lettuce and I have to be careful to not have too much dairy. I also have a hard time eating big portions. Oh, and I can't eat oatmeal or anything too high in fiber and I have to take Prilosec everyday. It seems like when I stick to these rules that I feel much better. Sort of weird but I guess it works. I got the results back from some of my blood tests and they still show that nothing is wrong with me so I guess that is a good thing.
My kids were healthy all month so that was a good thing. I did take my daughter to a physical therapist for some back problems that she's been having. The therapist gave her some stretches and exercises to do to increase her flexibility so I've been doing those with her.
I did make a trip to the dermatologist to get another cyst removed from my head. I grow these things for some reason and I have to get them removed before they get too big or I end up looking like “Headwound Harry” (if you remember him for Saturday Night Live). This was a little one about the size of a pea, totally benign and I didn’t even need stitches. However, it really hurt!
What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
We went to Disneyworld! We had so much fun at Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios. It was the vacation of a lifetime for us! We went non-stop for the whole 6 days we were there. We did all 4 parks and even went to Epcot twice (it was our favorite). We saw the fireworks shows at Epcot, Hollywood Studios (fantasmic) and Magic Kingdom. We stayed in the Polynesian Resort. We also went to the Cirque de Soleil show of La Nouba which was amazing!
We went to a neighborhood Halloween party and we also had a dinner party at a friend's house.
What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Because of our trip to Disneyworld we tried a lot of new foods. We just loved Epcot because of the unique dining experiences we had there. We ate at the restaurant in Morocco and had couscous and the most delicious dessert of almonds and a very thin pastry crust with a crème sauce. The French restaurant was delicious also and we enjoyed crème brulee for dessert. Our favorite dining experience of the whole trip was eating at Boma in the Animal Kingdom lodge. It was amazing! We liked it so much that we bought an African cookbook so we could learn more about how to prepare African food.
What special or unusual purchases did I make?
We have spent a lot of time and money on our house this year. After years of getting out of debt and finally building up a savings account we have finally been able to invest in some furniture and home décor. We bought a brand new dining room table and even a piece of artwork.
We bought souvenirs on our vacation and I started a Disney Pin collection of Pirate themed pins.
And I bought a lot of cookies - LOL!
What were this month's disappointments?
It was a great month for our family in general. We were sad to see the stock market and the economy take such a dive though.
What were my accomplishments this month?
I found new inspiration and joy in designing and I had my most prolific designing month in a long time. I also did really good on the photo 365 project and regained my motivation there (see photos in above collage). I only scrapped a few pages but I am happy with how they turned out.
I actually flew to Florida and back and made it without freaking out – We even had a very smooth flight home that really helped ease the anxiety that both my daughter and I go through on planes. Just thinking of how long it would’ve taken to drive to Florida really helped me focus on the positive aspect of flying. Oh, and my new ipod touch was a big help too.
I went walking with my kids almost every weekday and the weather was nice for most of the month so we could enjoy some outdoor exercise. I even lost some weight which brings my total weight loss to 16 pounds since June which is nothing short of a miracle for me. I lose weight VERY slowly.
And I got my kids to their midterms in homeschool which is a big accomplishment for all of us!
