It’s that time of the year. The time for slumps. I’m not in one at the moment but I feel the need to finish this chunkster before reading anything else so I’m a tad behind schedule. SO many good books out right now too but I simply cannot get to all of them at once.

I noticed that a lot of you are in a slump right now. I hope that perfect book lands in your lap. One that will pull you out of your slump!

Right Now:

Today is glorious for a few reasons. One, I slept in. Two, I have time today to spend with the family. Three, The Walking Dead starts up again tonight. After spending last weekend in thrift shops trying to find costume pieces for The Music Man, I am happy to have this day free from errands.

Of course, every time I go to a thrift shop I hear this song in my head. [clean version].

This Week:

This week is pretty much the same but it ends with a theatre competition and an end of the season volleyball tournament. The Girl’s project for the theatre competition never happened for whatever reason (team project) so she WILL be playing in the volleyball tournament after all. We thought she would miss it.

Ironically… my son is taking another school to the theatre competition because their teacher had a family emergency. He was assisting with their scene and now will be assisting in a bigger way by attending the event with them so he will not be at his sister’s tournament.

Reading:

Sleeping Beauties. Still.  I have two more weeks to finish it but I need to get it read so I can get to my review copies!

Watching:

American Horror Story was kind of smart this past week but also one of the worst episodes, in my opinion. I know, how can it be both? Somehow, it managed to be both entertaining and horrible.

Making:

I made some mac and cheese for my life group. I made breakfast for dinner one night (pancakes and turkey sausage), pasta with marinara and some baked chicken.  I am officially out of food again. I just can’t keep it in the house and you know how I feel about shopping.

Grateful for:

Thoughtful conversations. My brain is always running  so I really appreciate a good, thoughtful discussion and I’ve had some good ones lately.

This week I am trying to turn away from negative thoughts/behavior by immediately replacing them with pleasant thoughts. If you could do away with one negative thought or behavior, what would it be?

I am trying to lose resentment.

We are halfway through October and only a few houses have Halloween decorations up. Normally ours are up, but my son usually has a hand in it and this year he is busy with Fright Fest on the weekends so he hasn’t been able to put them up. For three days a week he dons this make-up and scares people all night long. Fun, huh?

Right Now:

Not a lot going on at the moment. I tried to sleep in a little but coffee was calling.

This Week:

Volleyball games, rehearsal, etc. You guys know the drill. I am seeing my physical medicine doc for my three-month check and every time the appointment comes up I think I am okay and don’t need to go anymore but then the other day, while trying to fix the ceiling after the AC leaked, my severe neck/jaw pain came back so I will welcome the cortisone shot this Friday, for sure.

Reading:

I am at the halfway point with Sleeping Beauties and it’s really getting good although I felt like it took many chapters to get there.

I’m about to begin my book club pick for next month, Lab Girl.

Watching:

American Horror Story is very good this season. Although some parts of the story are very predictable, other parts surprise me. I’ve got a lot of friends watching it too so it’s fun to talk about the show afterward.

The season finale of Fear the Walking Dead is this weekend. The producers of The Walking Dead announced that there will be a crossover between the two shows. I expected as much but the characters and story line are all over the place in Fear so I wonder how it will work.

As for movies, I had a day off so I watched:

• Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (love Doris Day!)
• Rope (love Hitchcock!)

If you are a fan of Charlie Brown, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown airs on 10/19 on ABC. Record it!

Making:

I hit Trader Joe’s last weekend and bought all kinds of things for us to eat so the family has had Gyoza dumplings, Orange Chicken and I had some Chicken in Coconut sauce with rice. I also bought some risotto and pasta fixings.

I like to cook from scratch but the kids are old enough and their schedules are all over the place so Trader Joe’s works for me (at the moment). In a few minutes they can put something together and not have to resort to cereal.

Grateful for:

Days off. It seems obvious but this past week I took a day off and it was glorious. I cleaned and cooked and read and watched movies and was still able to catch The Girl’s volleyball game. I love to have a clean house and unfortunately, with both of us working full-time my house is never as clean as I want it to be.

It’s still warm here in Southern California but what have you done to celebrate fall so far?