End of September

Here we are, somehow 1 day away from the end of September! I read all the time management things and I think about this topic a lot, yet I still can’t seem to figure out how to get time to slow down. (Though in other ways, September actually has simultaneously felt moderately long? I don’t know. Time is weird!)

Current Stuff:

Getting ready for Nashville!

I leave tomorrow morning for Nashville. I know some of my readers travel a lot for work (LISAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!), but, I do not. So this is actually quite exciting!

I’ll be in Nashville from Monday to Friday for a 4 day conference. There are just 4 people from my department attending, and two of them are my boss and another leader. I know the conference is hosting a “welcome reception/happy hour” one evening, and my boss made dinner reservations for all of us for another night. I’ll basically have 3 “free nights” to go out on my own (with my one same level coworker).

I have only been to Nashville once, for a night, on our way home from Florida. But the boys were little, so we really couldn’t go into any honky tonks! So I feel like this doesn’t really count.

My last trip to Nashville, in August 2015:

We walked around in the Opryland hotel and then wandered up and down the main drag and had dinner at an outside place that allowed kids. Ethan had just turned 7, Asher was 5!

I got mostly all packed yesterday. I am not packing efficiently, and I do not care. lol! I’m checking a bag, mostly because I can for free. Ha. It sounds like others are going to check bags, too. Some people are bringing more than one pair of full-sized cowboy boots along! (I do not own any.)

Anyway, I think we have established in previous packing posts that I do not generally abide by “minimalist packing rules”. 😆 I will have tons of extra space, which feels luxurious and rare, since lately on our trips I’ve been doing carry on only for 2 week+ trips!

I laid out 4 “business” outfits for Tuesday- Friday, plus basically 4 “evening outfits” for going out at night, and a couple extra “just in case” things. Nashville doesn’t really feel like a place where professional dress transitions well into “night out at a honky tonk”, so double outfits seem warranted here.

I also took the liberty of packing practically different shoes for every outfit. LOL. Again, because I can!!!! Little flats are so easy to pack, anyway. Also bringing one pair of brown ankle boots for evenings, and since I had extra space, I tossed in gym shoes too. Will I work out??? Probably not. The conference breakfasts are pretty early! But maybe!!

I tried to lean hard into “fall vibes” for my color scheme and I’m excited about the stuff I have packed. (Even though it hasn’t felt like fall, and it’s going to be like 80 degrees in Nashville.)

I have a very “autumnal” skirt + black top combo for one day, a black button down shirt dress which I LOVE (going to pair with those leopard print shoes! It’s so cute- see below), a black pants/orange tank/ blazer combo, and then those rust colored pants w/ a navy blue tank + tan cardigan if cold.

On the right (of bottom pic above) are 3 casual “country” dresses I’m bringing, plus jeans + a couple tops (top pic, upper left corner). Will decide if I’m feeling jeans vs dresses once I’m there. Either way, everything gives me total fall vibes!!

I am sure people who dress up for work all the time could care less, but seeing as I usually WFH in black leggings and tees, I actually had fun putting together some cute fall outfits for a change. I’ll try to share pics later!

Ethan- HOCO

Ethan had his sophomore year Homecoming last night.

It kind of bummed me out that he seemed rather “meh” about it all. I mean, he went, but I think he would have basically been equally happy to not go. It’s sad to me, because I have such great memories of all the school dances!!

I have zero regrets about my high school days and they’re some of my best ever memories, but I DO have some rather big regrets about how I approached my college days. I feel like I just didn’t really get out there and fully experience all there was to experience…not even close. If I could go back, I would totally do those years differently. So, I think I worry sometimes that he is going to “miss out” on really leaning into his high school experience, and eventually end up regretting it. 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, he went with his 2 best buddies. We snapped some group shots at his friend’s house (they were all ridiculously unenthused about the photos… come on, guys!! This is part of Homecoming!!) and then they went out for dinner at Texas Roadhouse before the dance (they picked it/ planned it). Sounds like they all had a nice enough time, though I don’t believe they did any dancing or anything.

Light fixture shopping

We spent a long while yesterday out shopping for a light fixture for our new bathroom. (Yes, the never-ending remodel.) It’s almost done- but we need a light fixture!

The usual places like Menards and Home Depot didn’t seem to have any great options, so we ended up at a local lighting store…. where we then ended up with too many options almost!!

Oh dear. 8 million options, but then it’s not easily evident which finish options are available in each one, so when you finally identify one you like, it might not actually come in your desired finish….Of course there are even more millions of options online, but I was kind of hoping to just pick a real life one and avoid that whole can of worms.

TBD! We have a few favorites but then Ivan had to leave for soccer and we didn’t really finalize anything. Sigh!

Oral surgery

I worked a half day on Thursday as Asher had an oral surgery scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Long story short, his baby canines never fell out, and his adult canines were impacted up above….but at a weird 45 degree angle. So, if they had simply pulled his baby canines, the adult teeth, on their current trajectory, would never break down and through his gums!

They had to pull the baby teeth, and then basically go up in his roof palate and expose those adult teeth, attach little “hooks” onto them (like little gold rings), which will ultimately be attached to his braces (when he gets them put on in early November). This will then pull the adult teeth down into their correct position, eventually.

😬😳

GROSS! And, POOR ASHER! The whole thing has been highly unpleasant, and he has vacillated wildly between feeling extreme pain and feeling pretty much okay. Once the post op pain subsides, he still has to deal with these weird rings sticking out of the roof of his mouth, sort of indefinitely. Oh, and for now, he has 2 missing teeth, which he is not thrilled about at almost 15 years old.

He has NOT been happy about any of this and is very grumpy, and has declared he is never having any surgery ever again.

I think I found a dress

Last Sunday Ivan and I went out shopping, as I desperately needed to figure out my dress for the upcoming quinceanera in Mexico! With this Nashville trip, I’ll only have one week home in between the trips.

I was NOT excited to go out dress shopping… just not really my thing, and the decent stores are far away, and it just seemed like a Hassle, and these types of things always turn into a big production.

But thankfully, I think I found a good one!!

It’s not super “glam” or “sexy”, but neither am I, and anyway, I remembered that my niece’s dress is more in the pastel color wheel.

Since we’re her godparents, I wanted to be mindful of this, since I didn’t really want to clash up the photos in a bright orange dress or something! Lol! I think the one I got meshes perfectly with hers. (Do I sort of look like one of her bridesmaids?? Maybe. 😂 But that’s ok.)

Side by side:

Pros about my dress:

• can wear a regular bra!
• ruching across the stomach- appreciated when I inevitably will gorge on Mexican food
• long enough!
• a nice color on me, I think

Music coolness/ Something that made me laugh:

Hahaha. Yes. This is why I don’t really listen to music. I like, don’t really get it, anymore. lol!

Actually, another comment on this topic. (This post is already too long, might as well keep going.)

Recently there was a concert at a nearby outdoor venue. Tons of people I know on Facebook were talking about going to this concert, how it was soooo good, so fun, etc etc. The concert was Noah Kahan.

Okay, WHO?!! I have literally never heard of Noah Kahan. But then, based on the number of people talking about him on Facebook, I was like…. ummmm….. should I know who this is?! Why don’t I know who this is?! Do I live under a rock? I kind of think the answer is yes, because almost any time people mention concerts, I rarely know who the person is.

Actually, if I had to name 5 Taylor Swift songs to win a million dollars, I think I would… lose. 😬

(At least I know who Olivia Rodrigo is. When SHU went to see her in Seattle, I mentioned to Ivan in passing that their family went to see Olivia Rodrigo in concert. He was like, Who’s that? 😆😆 At least I’ve heard of her! Just don’t ask me to name any of her songs.)

*I do listen to music- but typically either our local Classic Hits radio station, or my free Pandora channels: 90s country, old country (like Willie Nelson/ Johnny Cash/ John Denver old…I blame my dad for this (or, rephrasing- I’m grateful to my dad for introducing me to this great music because it’s honestly fantastic), other classic hits like Queen/ Beatles/ etc. or occasionally a 90s/2000s pop mix.

I am not cool. 🤷‍♀️ (But I don’t actually care, and I actually really love all the music I just mentioned.)

Alright- off to walk Charlie. And maybe finally put up some fall decorations today!! I’m late!! And watch the Packer game at noon!

Anyone have any good Nashville recs for me??

Hey, maybe I’ll actually have some time to blog this week! (Won’t lie- looking forward to 4 nights in a hotel room + 2 airport trips all alone!)

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for a fun, new-to-me venue for this conference.