Ing: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Yesterday was the first day of fall, or, as my friend Sarah says, “The Farthest Away Summer Can Be.” Sarah and I are kindred weather spirits. Fall feels like a fresh start for me; it’s consistently the time of year when I am most inspired, most motivated, and most energetic (emotionally, physically, mentally). I’ve got big plans, folks, so here’s a peek at some of what is happening with me.

Blogging again. I have set myself some goals for this blog, for Needs More Butter, for Pictychy, and even for our Flickr photo stream. The video card in my laptop died, so I have had limited time on the computer. I’ve had to use Jason’s desktop, which is inconvenient in many ways, but I want to figure out how to make it work; I’ve been missing the creative outlet. (I haven’t, however, been missing having hours and hours sucked away by Facebook and Pinterest.)

Budgeting, and looking for ways to save money. I have never been terribly good at knowing what’s going on with finances—it has always seemed rather over my head and scary. But we’ve got a good plan in place right now, and I’m actually rather energized by the challenge of where we can overall live more simply and purposefully.

Walking every weekday morning at 6 am with Joie. This new habit has untold numbers of benefits, and so far the only downside that I see is that I’m half asleep by 9:30 every night.
Cooking and eating whole foods as much as I possibly can. I am excited to start the Whole Food Kitchen online workshop by Heather of Beauty That Moves. I signed up with my friend Shelli, who has taken the workshop once before and had such a good experience that she’s giving it another go. I will say that I enjoy the benefits of whole foods—I feel good about eating this way, and it is the way that I want to feed my family. But, oh! the work! It’s a ton of work, and sometimes I just want to go eat French fries for lunch.

Reading The Artist’s Way (again and still), My Life in France (still), and The Praying Life (first time).

Displaying some photographs at Redeemer. I’m not sure what it will all look like exactly, but a couple of people at church had the idea to exhibit work by the church’s many artists, and it will be an ever-changing gallery-ish idea. Anyway, this month, I will have a few photos up, alongside work by Rebecca Tredway, Jen Hinrichs, and Matt Cranford. Fun, right?

Planning some Halloween costumes for the kiddos. I want to be ahead of the game this year. So far my planning has involved a trip to Once Upon a Child to scout out footie pajamas and to the dollar store to price sponges. Start guessing!

Catching up with photos and hopefully some words to remember our recent stay/vacation (not really a staycation proper, but we didn’t go far; it was kind of a hybrid). Again, my computer being down for the count has stifled my on-top-of-it-ness.

Enjoying what a difference a year has made in Simon’s willingness to go to preschool (pre-Kindergarten, actually) and to other various not-with-me places, whether Children’s Church or Awana or the nursery for my weekly morning Bible study. He is just such a big kid about it. Most pre-K mornings he says something like, “I don’t really want to go to school today. But I will.” We’ve had no drop-off tears at all, and it’s such a relief. Clara on the other hand . . . ay yi yi with the separation anxiety and the stranger anxiety!

Toying with the idea of homeschooling—almost definitely not officially, at least not when they are all so little. But I am reading a ton about it and really wanting to be more deliberate about the time I spend at home with my kids. Just thinking through what school will look like for our family.

Drinking in this gorgeous weather, but most likely skipping the Pumpkin Spice Lattes this year (see above “budgeting” and “eating whole foods”). No worries, I am finding plenty of ways to savor the season.