September Goal Post, Year 75% Complete!

With a busy work month, I am pretty proud of what I did get done. I have had my goal planner for a year and last month I figured out a trick that worked for me. 

There's a page that is designed to check off every day you accomplish your daily goal. I saw the directions as "Get a sticker every day of the month". So, when I would not get a sticker (usually in the first week) I would get discouraged and stop keeping track altogether.

Last month I made one of my goals to get stickers for 18 days. That was a game changer. I could miss a day, but I was still motivated to reach 18, and it worked. So this month, I made my sticker goal 20 days, and I ended up with 24! Moral of the story is progress is the most important thing and having success keeps you motivated. 

Read 30 Books: 22/30 73% done 

I finished two books this month! I am 80 pages short of three and I really thought I get it done but alas I did not. 

The first book was the beginning of a series that I am now pretty obsessed with. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman is a sci fi fiction where the main character Carl is trying to complete the dungeon levels to win his freedom back. All of humanity (that survived) has been put into the Dungeon and they are getting picked off fast. Did I mention this is also a reality show for the rest of the galaxy?! Yay it's a pretty unique story and I love it! It's a 10 out of 10. I'm reading them from the library but I might have to buy them for the shelf because if it keeps going like it is, I will want them forever. 

Soooo my second book was the second in the series Carl's Doomsday Scenario. I started it the same day I finished the first book so I'm a little fuzzy where book one stopped and the second book started. Still great and now a dinosaur, what will book three bring? I don't know! But I will find out in October! 

Run 620 Miles: 500/620 80% done

I ran 66 miles in September! Yay for a running plan. I have actually ran four miles before work once a week! I'm not fast so that is pretty good for me. Usually 3 miles is as far as I will go in the morning. I've also logged some decent weekend long runs. 

Grow My Savings by 60% (Done August!) 

Finished this goal for the year! Am starting on my 2027 goal, no time like the present! 

UFOs (Unfinished Objects) to Be Completed, in No Particular Order 12% done? 

All I have completed is two photo books. At this point I'm going to change the list I only have three months left, so what can I really do? I think the list below is challenging but doable! 

• Alpaca Quilt
• placemats 
• 2 photo books for Daryl and Alex (1 book done for each) 
• 1 stitched project from stash

Things that happened in September I didn't blog, we saw the Violent Femmes in KC. They started a half hour late, they didn't win me over after that. LOL 

We painted the dining room yellow!

Daryl ready for the football game

It's nice when the high schooler comes over to say Hi to Grandma!

My adult sticker chart, it still works! 

HOCO 2026

It has been a busy week and I'm pulling the underclassman play into Homecoming activities. LOL! 

Last Friday and Saturday, Aaron had his Topeka High debut in 10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse. He played Zombie number two and it was a funny and great play. I hope this is the first of many roles I get to watch him in. 

We rolled into spirit week for Homecoming and the kids participated in some days and ignored others as we prepped for the big game on Friday! Unfortunately due to rain, the homecoming parade was cancelled, but my friend Emily sent me a great video of the "running of the halls" and Daryl got to carry a sign for two of the HOCO candidates. So both Alex and Daryl were in the "parade"! 

Fortunately, the rain held off for the game and the band got to perform both pre game and with Alumni during halftime. Their show just keeps getting better and better. I accidently left my phone at home, so I didn't get any of Daryl's game outfit that turned out to be body paint instead of a shirt, as he gets the student crowd pumped up even in the face of a game defeat. :-(

On Saturday, Daryl, Alex and Aaron all attended the dance. But Aaron had Drivers Ed all day Saturday, so he got ready after Daryl and Alex. So with three kids going to the same place, they all had different timelines. Yay for Jeff and I, eyeroll. 

Alex met friends at the capitol for pictures and then had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, a brave choice for dress clothes! The dance was over at 11, so Jeff drew the short straw to pick them all up. It was a busy week but a fun one! So glad these kids are taking full advantage of their high school years. 

Looking sharp guys! 

Ready for their first high school dance!

The reason I love these kids, they did this on their own. 

Looking sharp even after spending all day prepping and taking his drivers ed test!

Aaron, crushing it in his first High School production!

3 Year Anniversary!

Three years ago, on Sept. 15th, I showed up at Brew Bank to meet IRL with a guy who I had chatted with on Bumble. (Not an Ad!) I wasn't so sure we were going to be compatible. He was newly single, and I had been divorced for seven years at that point. 

I discovered he was charming, kind, and funny all at that first date. So, we went on many more dates, and last year we moved into a house we bought together. When Jeff and I met, I wasn't sure if I would share a home with a partner again. I had gotten kind of used to not having to share my closet or fridge. Turns out, he is my perfect puzzle piece, and I haven't given up a thing by sharing my life with him, I've only gained so much! He is my Chief problem solver and my stability when my world is getting shaky. 

Looking forward to the next three years, and the three years after that!  

Jeff is such a great gift giver, on top of beautiful earrings, he got me the traditional gift of leather! 

Our anniversary is the 15th but we had to wait till the 16th for our date at White Linen. The best place in Topeka to celebrate a special occasion! 

Did I eat too much, yes. Was I miserable the rest of the night because of how full I was, yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely! 

I wrapped his gifts in the only paper I could find. LOL 

From last weekend, me and my best date for a community event! 

Weekend of Birthdays

 It was a holiday weekend and we celebrated two birthdays! On Sunday we went to Hays to celebrate Christopher's first birthday. It was so fun to spend the day with the Stiles family. We took Grandma Rosie with us and we had so much fun just playing games and with toys and being with our family. 

Christopher woke up from his nap all smiles. I can't believe he is already a year old! 

Today we celebrated Joseph's 12th birthday with the dinner of his choice, presents and pickleball. He picked fried rice and shrimp for dinner. He also requested a yellow cake with white frosting. Everyone agreed that he picked a good dinner! 

We waited until seven to go play pickleball, it was still warm but it wasn't blazing hot. It was nice to have a three day weekend and I think we made the most of it! 

First Home Football Game!

I know it was Thursday, but last night was the first home varsity football game for Topeka High! That means Alex had his marching band debut, and Daryl got to lead the student section for the first time. It was such a fun night!

Aaron had us pick up a friend, and the two of them sat in the student section. Joseph even complained very little as we sat through three quarters of the game! We left after the third quarter because it was a school night, and it was already 10 p.m. They had started the game later because of the heat advisory, which was definitely the right move!

The Trojans had the game under control, so we headed home. Thankfully, it wasn't too hard to get everyone up and moving this morning for work and school! And the final score was Trojans 33 HP Scots 6. 

And the band was great! I am so happy that Alex is enjoying it, and the band directors at T-High are just top-notch. After years of not being able to get a good picture of Alex in band, he is finally in the front row of the halftime show. Yay!

I’m definitely looking forward to many more marching band performances. :-)

From the march around the field to the before game show, Alex had to get to the opposite side of the field. But he made it! LOL 

I did a sneak attack to get this picture! I am so glad 
Daryl is having a fun senior year! 

August Goal Post!

 It sure seems hot for the end of August. It was 104 degrees today. Yuck! It was a full month as we sent kids back to school, replaced our fence, took a little trip to Arkansas and celebrated an 18th birthday. I also had a great month for my goals. It leads me to believe that the busier I am, the more I get done! Ready for September, because it needs to cool down. 

Read 30 Books: 20/30

I finished three books this month! 

I started the month with a true crime book recommended to me by my Kindle App If you Tell by Gregg Olsen. The story of how one mentally ill woman ruined her family and a few other families was wild. It was a book that was totally messed up and I couldn't stop reading because it all really happened. I don't think true crime will be my go-to, reality is way more disturbing than fiction! 

The second book was from my pile of books that I have picked up here or there. It was Good Husbands by Cate Ray. My tour into poor human behavior continued but at least this time it was fiction. I'm going to spoil it for you, they were not Good Husbands. Also the ending was a little confusing but thanks to Reddit I figured out what the author was trying to do. LOL This one will be donated. And what did people do with confusing book endings before Reddit? 

The last book of the month was a breath of fresh air after those two. The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston was set in Australia and it was a unique tale of switching identities and how we care for people in our community that have lost all of their family. It was full of a lot of love and care and laughs. I would read another book by this author and I appreciated ending the month on a high note. I don't know if I would keep this book on the shelf, however it was a library book so i don't have to decide. 

Run 620 Miles: 434/620

I ran 59 miles in August. I am officially on a half marathon plan for the Kansas Half in November. So even though it is still blazing hot, I do have a plan I need to follow. That definitely helps get me up in the morning to get the miles. 

Grow My Savings by 60% (Done August!) 

Finished this goal for the year! I will still put money aside but it is nice that this is done ✅

UFOs (Unfinished Objects) to Be Completed, in No Particular Order

While we were in Arkansas I actually finished one photo book for Daryl and one for Alex. So I have that line halfway done! We also finished one of our house projects this month. The new fence is up and I'm ready to get started on the dining room redo! We only have three four months left in the year. 

• Alpaca Quilt
• T-Shirt Quilt
• 2 photo books for Daryl and Alex (1 book done for each) 
• 1 knit project from stash
• 1 stitched project from stash

Jeff and I had a long weekend in Arkansas to celebrate surviving kids home all summer!

We stayed in a treehouse!

Finished a whole book by the lake!

I thought I scared the mom bird away from her eggs with my pictures but she came back and the babies hatched! 

Paint swatch done and I like it! We are going yellow.