Months do not figure all that prominently in my time schemes. I set annual goals and create annual projects. I think in terms of seasons for my various seasonal fun lists and longer term planning. My weekly planning session is the workhorse of my work/life management and then I create a daily to-do list prior to each day.
But months? I just don’t really consider them all that much!
It’s an interesting question why not. While various financial things are on a month-long cycle, I tend to live my life in weeks and seasons.
In any case, though, it is a new month. October has a lot of good things going on — a kid birthday celebration (yep, another one), two trips to points north where leaves will likely be seen, hopefully some pretty walks/runs/bike rides. I will be playing a supportive role for my eldest, who is deep into college applications, though we got some good news there. One of our big state universities has rolling admissions, so he got his application in early and we just heard back that he had been accepted. The upside of this is that it makes the whole process feel much less stressful. We know he can go somewhere good.
I have definitely been enjoying fall-themed magazines. Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, and Southern Living all showed up recently, with their Halloween/fall content, and I am here for it. I’m probably not going to make it through any Halloween-themed books, so this is the next best thing…
In other news: In a recent Before Breakfast episode, I talked about a saying I’d heard from Kristen, The Frugal Girl, about work: “I’m here to make money, not to spend it.” The idea is to avoid letting work becoming an unintentional cost center in your life (apparently Kristen was quoting the Non-Consumer Advocate). Kristen heard the podcast and did a whole post on how to spend less on getting to/being at work. Please check it out! There’s an interesting dichotomy in the comments (which I note some in the episode too) — some folks note how silly it is to pay $$ for terrible vending machine food and the like. Others point out that going out and getting a hot meal or a really good coffee from a coffee shop makes a stressful/boring job feel a little less terrible. Both are valid. I think the key is not spending money mindlessly. When you know you’re treating yourself, it’s all good.
This is the perfect season to sit down with a magazine during my lunch break. I’ve also been enjoying Real Simple and Southern Living and the NYT Book Review. I flip through them while I eat and leave the phone out of site. Much more relaxing.
@Mary Ellen – magazine on a lunch break is the best. I’ve been trying to leave a magazine on the kitchen table so I take a few minutes to read it when I take a break.
Congrats to your son on his college admission! I am sure it’s a bit of a relief to be accepted to one great place! Although he seems like he will have an incredibly strong application so will likely get into a lot of different places. Does he feel any pressure to go to either of your alma maters? I’m guessing not but was curious!
Months are kind of irrelevant to me for the most part, too, as I’m more focused on weeks. But I try to limit my travel to twice/month so it does impact my planning… although the end of one month is adjacent to the beginning of the next one, so that’s how I ended up traveling 5 weeks in a row in March/April… So now I have a pretty firm limit on not traveling the first week of the month which is my husband’s busiest time at work and then it prevents me from traveling way too many weeks in a row which is hard on everyone. But the boys are very aware that it’s October because they are VERY excited about Halloween. We are hitting the peak years for holiday excitement which makes the holidays extra fun!
@Lisa- Halloween with kids like yours is just awesome – they are so excited! We are leaving those years and there is definitely less discussing costumes than in the past…
Yeah, the beginning of the month does come right after the end of the last one…And twice a month can pretty easily get you multiple weeks in a row without further specifications…
Thanks for the congratulations – he is applying to my alma mater but it’s a total crapshoot. Kind of like winning the lottery (it used to be less selective, which explains me…). He is not applying to my husband’s alma mater, but since it’s a state school in another state and isn’t known for the programs he’s interested in, it wasn’t ever really on his list. I do hope there will be more acceptances but we’re thrilled with this one because it’s a good school, has some top notch programs, and he has friends there who graduated last year.
The leaves are changing here and I love it. I stayed overnight on campus this week and it’s a wee bit further north and set in the hills and the trees were gorgeous. We are celebrating our 10th anniversary this month and my dad’s flying in so we can spent a few days in the Lake District. We’ve left it til later in the month, so hoping the trees are at peak leaf.
T is doing a big cycle challenge – we’ve had so much fun but I’m looking forward to not having to cycle to school. Sometimes we just like a walk and talk.
@Coree- the colors truly are great this time of year. I hope you enjoy them!