Gosh what a month! We squeezed in 6 soccer games, 2 swim meets, apple picking, visiting a pumpkin patch and friends in Wisconsin, seeing dinosaurs, and moving furniture. I could go for a nap now…. Here is what we have been up to and our life lately for October.
Books I’ve Read
- The Man Burned by Winter by Pete Zacharias– Investigative journalist Rooker Lindström is the son of one of the most notorious serial killers in the state. Detective Tess Harlow needs something from Rooker only he can provide: a window into the mind of a murderer. A copycat is on the prowl and needs to be stopped. I thought this was a well-written suspense/mystery. I wanted to root for Rooker and Tess in spite of their flaws. I look forward to reading more of the series. 4/5
- The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Hamel- Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, when she sees a photograph of a book in the newspaper that she hasn’t seen in more than 60 years – The Book of Lost Names. The book is an 18th-century religious text that contains some sort of code that only Eve knows. This books was riveting and I loved the resilience of the characters. 5/5
Products I’ve Tried
- Relevant skincare– This skincare line is clean, vegan, and cruelty free and made to be used on all skin types. I have been using the entire skincare line for a couple of weeks. It’s nice that the products are designed to target a wide range of common issues. I was impressed by the products effectiveness. The packaging had fun bright colors, too. If I had one improvement it would be the scent. I prefer products that have a nice scent.
- Death at a Dive Bar– This was SO fun! If you like mysteries or escape rooms, this would be great for you! It’s a box with a storyline of a murder with clues and suspects. There were secret messages to decode and a locked bag with more evidence we needed to figure out the code to. I really enjoyed this game and hope to do another one that is harder next time. It’s also really affordable and would make a great gift.
Recipes I’ve Made
- Air Fryer Crab Ragoon– This was the only new recipe I tried this month. I was too busy making a bushel and a half of apples into applesauce! Matt was actually the one who made these, too. They were so good. Claire really liked them.
Family Update 
- Avie– Avie has been playing soccer or going to skills practices since she was about 2. If you have kids that ever played sports I’m sure you can recall that time when you see it all click with them. That’s been happening with Avie this season. She scored quite a few goals this season and knew what to do and where to go when she had the ball. I’m not saying she didn’t chase after her shadow at times or do silly things on the field, but it’s clear she now understands the concept.
- Claire- Well now that we are coming to the end of doing soccer, swimming, chorus, Girl Scouts, and advanced reading and math all at the same time I think we have agreed that we shouldn’t do that again! Ha! She has made so many gains in all the areas though and it’s been fun to see the growth. I’m looking forward to her focusing more on swimming this winter because I’m already seeing a lot of improvement with her club swimming compared to the fun summer swim team she did.
- Me– I have a race this Saturday. I’ve done it twice before and I have to say I’m nervous. The last time I raced was April and I injured my knee and ankle and it took months to heal. I’m also pretty competitive with myself so we will see how well I do. I’d love to be able to squeeze in a half marathon before it gets too cold. The past few weeks I’ve enjoyed getting some long runs in on the weekends. It’s the best time of year for running! I am also happy to have jury duty behind me. I only had to go in 1 afternoon then got dismissed literally as soon as I got there. Whew!
- Matt- It’s been a lot of changes for Matt as his parents sold their Illinois house and now only have a home in Arizona. He’s also had a very busy month traveling 3 weeks out of the month for work.
October Goals Recap
- Take in boots for repair– I wasn’t able to get this done.
- List clothing on poshmark–Done! I was able to list 12 items this month.
- Email brands– There are a few brands I’d like to try contacting, but it keeps getting put on the back burner.
- Rearrange furniture-Done. Avie has a new queen size bed and we have some much nicer bookshelves downstairs.
November Goals
- Order Christmas cards- We had family photos taken in September so I’d like to use those for our Christmas cards this year.
- Take in boots for repair- Maybe I’ll have time this month?
- Plan a date night– Soccer season is over so it would be nice to have a child-free Saturday night!
- Sight words flashcards for Avie– I’d like to write out sight word flashcards for Avie and do some each week to help her with her reading skills.
- Make an appointment for a haircut- I don’t even want to know how long it’s been.
LINKING UP WHAT’S UP WEDNESDAY
