Autumn Time 2020

i m a g e s + m e m o r i e s 

-Struggled through new work schedule changes & life married to a new teacher with a long commute. Felt lonely, cried, found ways to cope, eventually got better

-Witnessed another dear friend marry the love of her life, enjoyed a short trip in Fargo, splurged on starbucks *and* panera with my husband thanks to gift cards from grateful people at work

-Hosted my grandparents for dinner in our backyard and had some incredible lamb chops made by my grandpa on the grill

-Watched a lot of Parks & Recreation. Also watched the live action Mulan and loved it

-Completed my mission to clean and declutter the whole house, sold a fair amount of unnecessary items. Feel even more at home in our home

-Happily photographed 4 families, a couple, and a senior. Was both surprised and delighted that I got to relive my high-school photography dream and further thrilled to book several more shoots for the winter 

-Embarked in a No Spend October challenge, was fairly successful (my worst sins were buying books and baskets haha), managed to put a very large amount towards student loans

-Spent an afternoon at an apple orchard with Shan, enjoyed excellent conversation, fresh baked apple goods, and an incredible rosé & cider concoction

-learned to caulk windows. Cried because it was hard but learned that I was using the caulking gun wrong. Oops. 

-Spent almost every date-night at our favorite local brewery. Got the same beer every time. 

-Became disparaging when we got hit with a crazy snow storm in the middle of October.But thankfully it melted and we didn’t have any more snow until the end of December which was wild.

-Started a new NFP method (Marquette) and found it a much better fit. Also started hormone therapy and saw good results. Decided to get serious and aggressive about achieving health. 

-Attended a small Padre Pio Feast, complete with rosary & donuts (Pray, Hope, & Donut Worry)

-Surprised my honey with tickets to zipline through the river valley. We enjoyed the 14-line course immensely

-My sister got ENGAGED!!!! We are so happy. 

-Got a new dentist, which is worth mentioning because it's a big step for me and because he evened out my front teeth and made my smile nearly *perfect* 

-Dressed up as people who were Asymptomatic with COVID for Halloween. We thought it was funny. Also got COVID tested at one point

-Served my first 5 course meal for a fancy, candlelit dinner. Had a wonderful time and learned a lot by prepping the whole meal. Would do it all again! 

-Enjoyed a "Fall Date" with coffee from our favorite gas station (high class) and hiked and drove around to enjoy all the changing leaves

-Got away to Wisconsin for a weekend with a couple friends and stayed at the most charming cabin off the lake. It was absolutely much-needed

-I read a lot of books. Like, 6...which is crazy for me! And I burnt a lot of candles. And I started stretching regularly. And my work study once gifted me roses & chocolates and other things because she's precious. And we had an Easter dinner with family in September because that's how this year works. And I got to wear my silly electric blue eyeliner to work one day. Man oh man. Good things abound.

-Overall, a pretty good season. Difficult and stressful for a few reasons (Nick’s new job, election, my health, etc) but it was a lovely autumn season and we had a few really great opportunities to relax and enjoy ourselves and make the most of the little things. I guess I can't complain. :)