Oh November, how did *you* get here already? Since you came in with 70 degree temperatures, I’ll be welcoming, but I have my eye on you.
We all know that November means a month of highlighting what we’re thankful for. Which is good because, lord knows, I need to do this. For some reason I’ve been more on the whiny side of the street than the thankful side these past few months which is no good for anyone. But let’s be real, posting each and every day just isn’t going to happen- my life just isn’t that organized. But I do promise to post 30 things I’m thankful for before the end of the month. So without further ado, here we go:
Day 1: Traditions
I don’t like Halloween. I never really have- I just am not creative enough (nor do I care enough) to come up with elaborate costumes for myself. But having the kids has forced me to embrace the holiday because itty-bitty kids are ADORABLE when you dress them up.
Sadly, at 9 and 7, my kids are too old to want me to pick out ADORABLE costumes for them any more and now insist on being independent and wearing pop-culture related costumes (*grump*). Thankfully, the Halloween tradition we have with friends means that Halloween hasn’t gone back to being my least favorite holiday. Friends of ours who live in our city take in all us country bumpkins and invite us over to their house. We eat, drink and play like mad before we get all 12 kids changed and ready to take on the neighborhood.
You guys- it’s the best. Potluck dinner, lots of fun and kids that are still young enough to be so very excited! We walk through this most gorgeous neighborhood, bumping into friends and talking about how lucky we are- it’s straight out of Mayberry, y’all. Because of these fantastic friends and their amazing kids, Halloween ranks up there as one of my favorite nights of the year- and the fact that it was on a Saturday this year was icing on the cake.
Day 2: Audiobooks
On the days I go to the office (as opposed to working from home), I’m in the car for over 1.5 hours a day. When I started this job, I thought I was going to lose my mind because there are only so many radio stations to flip through and 85% of them play the same songs over and over. I had listened to a truly terrible audiobook years ago and never had the desire to pick up another one after, but at a coworker’s urging, I gave Audible a whirl.
It. Was. Life. Changing.
Ok, that may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but my commutes (or really any time I’m solo in the car) are so much more enjoyable. I’ve listened to everything from YA to historical non-fiction and a bunch in between and while I have had some stinkers, most of the books have been fantastic.
Some favorites include:
- Anything narrated by Edward Herrman, but Unbroken and The Boys in the Boat are two of my all time favorites
- Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, read by Caroline Lee. Amazing narrator, compelling chick lit with a twist.
- Mindy Kaling’s books Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and Why Not Me? Smart, funny and wickedly hard working- what’s not to love?
- The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Adore the books, love the series, really enjoyed listening to the books- the series may be an obsession. Don’t judge.
- American Sniper by Chris Kyle, narrated by . John just got the drawl and brought such life to Kyle, it was impossible not to get sucked into the story.
- An Ember in the Ashes by
Wickedly Crazy Awesome Life 