September was divided into two very distinct sections. There were the first three weeks, filled with a whole lot of malaise and depression, and the last week, which began Jason’s and my nine-day road-trip vacation. I’m keeping the vacation portion of the month as its own separate set of posts, so what’s below won’t count vacation highlights and such.

Reading and Watching
It hasn’t been as fun of a month in books as I wanted. I culled/abandoned far more than expected, including some that I’d really wanted to read. A bit disappointing. In the end, I only finished two books and only enjoyed one of them (Ghost of the Tsunami). It was a much better month for TV, with a bunch of new seasons of shows starting (GBBO, NCIS, NCIS Hawaii, SVU). Plus I watched Truth Be Told, which I quite enjoyed, and J and I have started watching through the second season of Victoria (several years after watching the first season!). Right before vacation, I devoured the first two seasons of Manifest. So yeah, it was a TV-heavy month!

Goals
Not much on this front, but Jason and I did pay off one of our two credit cards this month, so that’s a thing. Woohoo!

I’ve also switched my thinking a little this month. I’ve spent a very long time making goals that center around weight-related health issues (whether that be weight loss, improving body image regardless of size, etc). There’s one thing I haven’t done, though, and that’s to address longterm goals that have remained in my head as “when I’m thinner” goals. For example, I’ve wanted to get breast reduction surgery for most of my life. When I’m thinner, my chest is easier to manage because I can “sister-size” up without too much pain, which allows me to find bras that kinda fit. But even when I was super thin, I was in a G+ cup. It puts a lot of strain on my back at every size, causes difficulty with clothing, makes self-exams and mammograms difficult (I’ve been told that I have some of the densest tissue they’ve ever seen on multiple occasions), and generally causes a (literal and metaphorical) headache. I’ve always been told that you can only get a reduction if you’re thin, to prove your breasts won’t shrink when you lose weight. Well, I have picture proof that even at 110-125 lbs, I was in a G+ cup. And if I have to pay for this sh!t out of pocket, which is 99% likely, I’d like to just get it done NOW. Why am I waiting to lose weight again, especially as I’ve been unable to do so for seven years??

Health
I got back into more exercise this month for the first time since April. When I decided to take some time off for injury in May, I never expected to be bombarded with problem after problem going forward! It’s difficult to move back into a fitness space after essentially four months of rest. At times I overdid it, and had to take longer breaks. Depression also contributed to breaks. But I also enjoyed getting back out there again.

Favorite photos
The following will be photos from September excluding vacation photos, as those will be many and I didn’t want them to overwhelm the daily-life photos that I keep here. Vacation photos will come in a separate post, of course! As always, these photos are taken by me and aren’t always the best photography, just the photos I personally like most for one reason or another!

Top left: autumn bouquet; Bottom left: spider hanging on a leaf which seems to dangle in midair; Right, top to bottom: bonded pair; snail; post-surgical Angus

Highlights of September
Weirdly, I had a lot of highlights this month that later got taken off the highlight reel because they got canceled out. Like, for instance, we found an adopter for Angus and Ghost so that they could stay together, but then the adopter moved into a new place that had a no-pets policy so that fell through. Here is what remained:

• snagging a Spellbound set from Lucky Sew & Sew (Eeeee!)
• the Gherkinoodle –>
• mini cranberry-orange scones
• my first ever wine tour/tasting (with friends!)
• the first cool(ish) fronts of the season
• my kittens getting high on catnip toys
• Nathan Pyle’s comic on finding your ghost name (I’m Atmatnoodat, ha! The best is Laurence’s, though: Latureeeeboonooceboo)
• that time that the NFL referee yelled “Unsportsmanlike conduct!” and I genuinely misheard him say, “I was forced to buy a condom!” Ha!
• being able to sleep with the windows open twice this month!
• fun acquisitions this month: Archer & Olive blackout journal and pens; a complete vintage set of Old Maid cards identical to the ones I had as a child (they’re from the 60s but I had them in the 80s); new fall-themed mugs; a new Ouija pin for my hiking bag with a moving planchette; my first Cat Lady subscription box; some awesome Lucky Sew & Sew bras

Coming up in October
The first little bits of fall, I hope. We usually get those at the end of the month. Plus, spooky season! We love spooky season!