Best of October 2016

It wasn’t until I was looking at my photos today for October that I realized I was a bad photo-taker this month.  We did a lot of things with friends and have no photos of those events.  I just didn’t take very many photos.  Hopefully I can remind myself to take more photos next month!

I went to visit my good friend Sally and her 4.5 years old twins.  I can’t believe they are 4.5 years old already!

I brought my Fuji Instax printer and some washi tapes, and we took photos and printed them out.  Then I taught Nina how to scrapbook!

Todd went to Denver to visit his “little brother” Aaron.  (Todd was in Big Brother Big Sisters for five years and was Aaron’s Big Brother from age 9 to 14.  Aaron is now 30!)

I worked a LOT this month because I had to put the 2017 budgets together at work, on top of my normal job responsibilities.  It kind of sucked.

We made Cast Iron Loaded Beef Nachos for the Buckeyes vs Indiana football game.  It was yummy!

We also made all these other yummy dishes that were new.

Pressure cooker chicken lentil soup.

Todd made this Pasta with Cauliflower, Bacon, and Bread Crumbs from America's Test Kitchen on National Pasta Day. So yum!

I casually sent a link of this recipe for brownie cookies from Smitten Kitchen to Todd. A couple of days later, they suddenly appeared from the oven. Granted, they were not all for me. But my husband is magical, there's no denying that.

We went running at the beach for the first time in a long while, and it was a perfect day for it!  I actually like going to be beach in the fall the best.  It’s not cold, but all the tourists are gone and it’s not crowded and there’s plenty of parking.

We had dinner with our friends Pete & Cass and their family at Fresco’s.  Unfortunately I forgot to take any photos.

I signed up for Stitch Fix (a personal styling company for clothing) and got my first box of five items.  I tried them all on and while they all fit, I didn’t like four of the items enough to keep them. I only kept this pencil skirt.

We watched a ton of Cleveland Indians playoff games.  Hoping they will seal the deal tomorrow night in Cleveland.

I had lunch with the girls at work at Macaroni Grill to celebrate October birthdays.  It was really fun and I shared Todd’s brownie cookies with everyone.  I forgot to take photos.

I also took my friend Erecca out to lunch for her birthday.  And forgot to take any photos.

We went to our friends Anne & Gilbert’s house for chili dinner and to watch the VA Tech vs Miami football game.  And I forgot to take photos.  Ugh!

We flew to Ohio for a four day trip to hang out with Todd’s family.  We watched Buckeyes lose to Penn State (sniff).  We ate Donatos Pizza and Penn Station sandwiches.  We bought Cleveland Indians World Series shirts.  We went to Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland to see Manhattan Transfer and Take 6 in concert.

We took a walk in the woods and enjoyed the fall scenery, which is quite different than San Diego.

On the way home from Cleveland, we flew through Chicago and were subjected to the “Go Cubs Go!” song on our flight.

Todd helped me sold my 17.5 year old Honda Prelude on Craigslist!  He sold it for $2,250 MORE than Carmax was willing to give us.  I bought him (yes, it's a him. His name was Rico) in June 1999 in Dayton, Ohio. He was shipped to San Diego in December 1999 when we moved. He never had to experience a harsh winter. In 17.5 years and 105k miles, he never let us down. I loved Rico. But now it was time to let him go to someone else who will enjoy driving him. Rico lives on!  (But I miss him already.)

Todd had to work a lot this month too, due to a software deployment at work.  He’s worked nights and weekends.  Probably more than me, and I worked a lot too!  Just a month of working hard.

I had my annual physical at my doctor.  He checked this new mole I have on the back of my hand.  It was OK, but he said if it gets bigger or changes, we’ll biopsy it.  Just a reminder to get your annual physicals and see the doctor if anything out of the ordinary happens with your body.  You know your body best!

Noodle gained some weight while we weren’t paying attention.  He needs to go on a diet again to lose a pound.  But he’s still cute, obviously.

Found a sunny spot!

Noodle guilted me into posting a photo of him by telling me it was National Cat Day and all the other catmoms already posted photos of their kitties. Even cats are susceptible to Internet comparison.

I’ll be excited when I recap November and the election is over.  I’m so over it.  I vote by mail ballot and I just voted yesterday and put it in the mailbox.  Lots of state and local issues, not just the big national presidential election.  I think what this election has made me feel is: unsettled. I'm saddened to see how some Americans have acted (on both sides). And personally it's unsettling to see people I like on the far other side from me. I have to reconcile all that in my mind. Obviously I don't just discard friends who are voting differently. And it's good to have different friends and not surround oneself with people like oneself. It's still unsettling. I'm sad this race is so divisive.  I’ll be glad when it’s over.