System Status: October 2014

We managed to make it through the entire month of October without turning on the furnace. Hooray us! It was a little tough these last few days, but with our down comforters and a few well-placed space heaters, we survived. I think this is the first year I’ve ever been thankful that Colorado has such a mild climate. Usually I’m aching for snow this time of year.

Aside from that, the month was fairly uneventful. We went to an apple orchard and visited our raw milk dairy in the first week, then we had our family pictures done….our first as a family of four. That’s still kind of surreal….that we = 4 now. I think back on the days when I really wanted to get a Smart car and wonder what in the world I was thinking.

And life rolls on. 

In the end of October I’m into….

Books.

I finished What Alice Forgot and loved it! The ending made me happy. I need to read more books with happy endings. Books with sad endings, while usually a lot more profound and thought-provoking, generally just make me feel drained when I finish them.

My book club is reading Revolutionary Road this month and I started it as it’s been on my to-read list for a while. But then I read the synopsis (because I’m sometimes in the habit of ruining book endings for myself) and decided that it was definitely not for me. It’s gotten such rave reviews and sounds like it’s a very deep book, but I knew it was better if I didn’t take it in.

I finished The Illuminator and enjoyed that one too, though it was a lot less about illuminated manuscripts than I thought it would be which was what first drew me to it. I think I might also have an unhealthy addiction to historical fiction.

I started The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen and I’m finding that I don’t care for the audiobook narrator already….that’s hard to get past. Also, I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to successfully imitate Jane Austen’s voice, especially in modern times. I actually have a hard time listening to her books because the prose is so complex (for my little brain, anyway), but this book hasn’t given me any problems at all in that department. My book club is starting The Invention of Wings next month but I don’t have it yet, so I’ll stick with this one until that comes in.

You can also follow along with my reading addiction through my Goodreads account.

TV.

I picked up Call the Midwife Season 3 at the library and, of course, love it (even the overly Photoshopped cover). My favorite quote from Sister Monica Joan so far has been, “I have put Plato here, next to Mr. Freud, so they can be companions in their ignorance.” ♥

Music.

Irish Coffee on Spotify. Perfectly mellow and Irish.

Movies.

We didn’t watch any movies this month and are actually really behind on our Hulu queue too. E has been working on getting his Six Sigma green belt (which he achieved on Wednesday!), so there have been a lot of work nights for us. It’s also just difficult to sit down and watch TV at night when we aren’t finished with bedtime routines until 8:30 or 9 and then B likes to call us into his room approximately 8.5 billion times for water/hugs/fix his blankets/etc.

Food.

Rooibos masala chai. Nomnomnom.

Also, pumpkin everything.

The coconut bars recipe from Nourishing Traditions.

B got his first taste of pizza this month! He didn’t like it, so I’ll be experimenting with different sauces. I’ve had such an overwhelming craving for it lately that I don’t think the experimenting will be too hard on me.

Projects.

B and I made a Thanksgiving placemat based on ideas from this “batik” tutorial and the placemat instructions in The Handmade Home. I forgot to take pictures before B decorated it with food from various meals, but I think we’re making another one so I can put up a little tutorial. Maybe. 🙂

I got around to organizing all of my craft supplies, fabric, yarn, paints, etc. so I’m going to start on our Christmas stockings soon. My goal is to have them done by Christmas of B’s senior year of high school. I may just make it…

Miscellany.

Magnesium lotion. This stuff is awesome and SO easy to make.

Twice. Still. They’re having a 40% off sale today! I got a referral credit earlier this month, plus another $10 credit for installing the app on my phone. These paired with the sale saved me about $70. I was glad for this as all of my cold weather clothes are either of the maternity kind or haven’t been in style since 2006. Not too shabby!

And there you have the state of the Reb. 🙂

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