September in Review

Goodbye September Hello October

Good memories:

Watching football games with Holly
Holly’s solo practices
Finishing cross-stitch projects
Autumnal decorating
Helping Holly make posters for student council elections
Snuggles with Tallulah
Candles and blankets
Air conditioning
Homecoming
Talking with Connor

Bookish stuff:

Total number of books read: 10
Total number of pages: 3,604 and 5 hours 9 minutes on audio
Favorite book(s) read: Patrick Ness’s Release wins for me this month. This story of a high school senior who has his life drastically altered in one day still haunts me.

Favorites:

Crafting:
- I first learned how to cross-stitch back when I was still in single digits. It was something that soothed my OCD soul, and I took to it like peanut butter and chocolate. I have done many projects over the years, but with the arrival of children my projects and my cross-stitching fell by the wayside. After the November election, I found myself drawn to it again as a way to settle my anxiety over what I was seeing unfold daily with our government. Since November, I have finished several projects, most of them designed by my long-time friend, Chrisbookarama. Her Etsy store, CaperChrisCreations, is one of my favorite places to visit on the web, and her designs keep getting better and better. Most of her designs are quick and easy and turn out gorgeously. I highly recommend checking out her shop if you are looking for a new project!
- How gorgeous is this!
Video:
- I watched this a few weeks ago and cannot stop thinking about it. What Brené Brown has to say about dehumanizing versus rehumanizing and about authenticity had me shedding more than a few tears while I was watching it. I want everyone to watch it and hopefully get something out of it like I did.
Make-up
- Somewhere in the past several years, I have decided that I adore make-up and have been playing with different brands and techniques ever since. My most recent find is Beauty Bakerie Cosmetics Brand. It is a cruelty-free vegan brand out of San Diego that I love. Their packaging is just adorable, and their products are ah-mazing. Their lip whips really do stay on forever and their baking flour (setting powder) is wonderful. They recently signed with Forever 21 to start carrying their products, but if you don’t shop at Forever 21 I find they ship quickly. Plus, it doesn’t take much to get to the free shipping threshold. I absolutely love how they cater to women of all color and are careful to show the lip colors on different skin hues. The whole theme is too good to ignore.

How did I persevere?

Meditation/Healthy Habits/Political Activism: Grade IC – Did I say I was going to start fresh in September? Yeah. Well. I DID start meditating again. I’ve taken to going out to my car at lunch and enjoying the solitude and a chance to refresh before the afternoon session. I am still undergoing physical therapy for my ankle; I do think it is showing signs of improvement, but we are still building strength and trying to reduce the inflammation so no exercising still. I have realized I just don’t do diets. I do monitor portion sizes though, and I have made a conscious effort to balance out big meals with smaller meals, heavy ones with lighter one, etc. I have also made greater efforts to stay hydrated. I have also been busy getting annual physicals out of the way. So, I have been more health-focused this month than normal. As for political activism, I still keep the fax lines busy for Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin. The headlines have me more anxious than ever, so it is difficult to stay engaged when things seem to be getting worse. I feel so useless, and that makes the anxiety worse. I still have hope that one of these days we will get some good news out of Washington; it is just that keeping active while waiting is proving more and more difficult the longer that orangutan is in office.

6 Comments

Julie on September 30, 2017 at 1:26 PM

I cross-stitched so much in my teens and early 20s. Haven’t done it in a long time. Glad to see it helps you relax.

Michelle on September 30, 2017 at 7:30 PM

That’s when I was at my most prolific too. I am really surprised by how soothing it is. After all, you would think sitting and making little x’s would not be relaxing at all, but it works for me.
Reply

Brandie on September 30, 2017 at 9:02 AM

I watched an interview this morning on the news with a representative in Puerto Rico – it made me cry. Trump is such a giant piece of shit that I can’t even believe he’s our president.

I’m so happy fall is here. We finally have cooler temps and it actually feels like fall.

How’s Connor doing at college? I hope he’s enjoying it and having fun.

I used to cross stitch as a kid…I never considered getting back into it, but it does sound like a good stress reliever!

Michelle on September 30, 2017 at 10:08 AM

What he is doing to and saying about Puerto Rico is unconscionable. He makes me physically sick. I can’t even look at a picture of him without becoming nauseated.

I have my fuzzy robe on this morning and am loving it. These temperatures are glorious!

Connor is doing really well. He has had to adjust his attitude about certain classes and readjust his understanding of his abilities and knowledge in various subjects, but he has adapted to college really well. He loves marching band, even though game days leave him too tired to function the next day. It will be interesting to see how he does when the season is over and he suddenly has more free time.

I never thought I would get back to cross-stitching let along finish eight projects in a year. It has gotten to the point where when I don’t pull out and work on my current project, I feel lost and can feel my anxiety creep up a bit. I have always been one of those people who cannot just sit in front of the TV, which was fine when I could concentrate on reading. Since November, I can’t do that in long stretches anymore. This gives me an outlet for my hands while I numb my mind with TV.
Reply

Sarah's Book Shelves on September 30, 2017 at 6:53 AM

Haha – “physical therapy, building strength, reducing inflammation” is kind of the story of my life right now! Haha! Except I’m supposed to moderately exercise to stay loose.

Hopefully next week will be my final week of PT 🙂

Michelle on September 30, 2017 at 10:03 AM

My physical therapist is trying to get me two more sessions, but we are waiting to hear from the insurance company as to whether they will cover it. I got permission to start walking on it as another method of building up strength, but she told me it is going to be a long time before I can walk without pain again. I don’t like that.
Reply

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Julie on September 30, 2017 at 1:26 PM

I cross-stitched so much in my teens and early 20s. Haven’t done it in a long time. Glad to see it helps you relax.
- Michelle on September 30, 2017 at 7:30 PM
  
  That’s when I was at my most prolific too. I am really surprised by how soothing it is. After all, you would think sitting and making little x’s would not be relaxing at all, but it works for me.
Brandie on September 30, 2017 at 9:02 AM

I watched an interview this morning on the news with a representative in Puerto Rico – it made me cry. Trump is such a giant piece of shit that I can’t even believe he’s our president.

I’m so happy fall is here. We finally have cooler temps and it actually feels like fall.

How’s Connor doing at college? I hope he’s enjoying it and having fun.

I used to cross stitch as a kid…I never considered getting back into it, but it does sound like a good stress reliever!
- Michelle on September 30, 2017 at 10:08 AM
  
  What he is doing to and saying about Puerto Rico is unconscionable. He makes me physically sick. I can’t even look at a picture of him without becoming nauseated.
  
  I have my fuzzy robe on this morning and am loving it. These temperatures are glorious!
  
  Connor is doing really well. He has had to adjust his attitude about certain classes and readjust his understanding of his abilities and knowledge in various subjects, but he has adapted to college really well. He loves marching band, even though game days leave him too tired to function the next day. It will be interesting to see how he does when the season is over and he suddenly has more free time.
  
  I never thought I would get back to cross-stitching let along finish eight projects in a year. It has gotten to the point where when I don’t pull out and work on my current project, I feel lost and can feel my anxiety creep up a bit. I have always been one of those people who cannot just sit in front of the TV, which was fine when I could concentrate on reading. Since November, I can’t do that in long stretches anymore. This gives me an outlet for my hands while I numb my mind with TV.
Sarah's Book Shelves on September 30, 2017 at 6:53 AM

Haha – “physical therapy, building strength, reducing inflammation” is kind of the story of my life right now! Haha! Except I’m supposed to moderately exercise to stay loose.

Hopefully next week will be my final week of PT 🙂
- Michelle on September 30, 2017 at 10:03 AM
  
  My physical therapist is trying to get me two more sessions, but we are waiting to hear from the insurance company as to whether they will cover it. I got permission to start walking on it as another method of building up strength, but she told me it is going to be a long time before I can walk without pain again. I don’t like that.