Happy Halloween!If you know me, you know Halloween in the traditional sense is not my jam. I am not a fan of fear, which I feel so strongly that I find it overwhelming. I hated haunted houses and scary movies and to be honest, I still find them terrible. I am now at a point in my life where I can confidently refuse to go, which has made my life much better. I love the mysticism that surrounds the history of Halloween, I have always enjoyed stories of witches. I enjoy carving pumpkins and continue to do so each year. Although if I am being truly honest a couple years ago I got quite involved in carving my pumpkin and never made it past the eyes, so we tipped it on it's side and made the top cut into a mouth. I love the possibility of Halloween, of dressing up and being someone new, the promise of candy (something I love) and the feeling of kindness shared by those who are willing to answer the door and give away candy to children all night long. As with all things, Halloween is not simply bad or good, but lies somewhere in the middle.
Since moving to Iowa, Halloween feels different, mostly because the trick-or-treating of my youth does not happen on Halloween. Beggar's night, what I traditionally knew as mischief night, is when kids trick-or-treat here. As of today, that has already happened. The best part of that here is that kids usually have prepared a joke to tell in order to "earn" their candy so to speak. I love the "popsicle" humor and find it to be a fun way to celebrate. As you start your Halloween, I want to say it will be what you make it, scary, fun, exhausting, the choice is yours. I hope you choose to enjoy it.
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This month has run the gamut in terms of temperature. We went from days where it was in the mid to high eighties to snow yesterday. I do love that as it cools down that I feel more at home snuggling under a blanket with a good book.
The first book I enjoyed this month was The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I started it a few months ago, but as with any book that is a book about changing habits or "doing" something I read it slowly and implemented it bit by bit. I have heard that this book is a modern retake on How to Win Friends and Influence People, but as I have not read that book I do not know if this is accurate. I found this book to be quite helpful because Covey puts into words concepts and ideas that influence our daily lives but are often not given language. I appreciated how he looks at "effectiveness" as also centered around how we as individuals are living lives in line with who we are and who we want to be. I also felt like this book gave practical suggestions to make sure you are living with intention. Parts of this book felt very similar to the e-course Like Your Life by Tsh Oxenrider. Book Rating: 4/5
I also continued reading the Mitford series this month. I really enjoyed A Light in the Window. I feel like this series will be perfect for when the cooler weather really takes hold. I love the comforting story line and how the characters are quirky and themselves. In this book, Father Tim is struggling with how to have a relationship and take care of Dooley. Book Rating: 4/5
*One caveat, I did find the third book to be politically incorrect, which is why although I read it this month I am not featuring it as a standalone.
As I stated in a prior post, I am participating in Rachel Hollis' Last 90 Days challenge. One of the books she suggested to read had been on my want to read list for quite some time. I decided to pick up The Power of Habit. I enjoyed how this book broke down science in concrete ways. This book explores how habits are created, how they can be developed in companies, how they lead to social movements and what our habits can say about us. I did find it to be biased at times, which upon reading the footnotes made me wonder if Duhigg simplified the examples in his book to provide clarity for his concept. I ultimately found many of the ideas so fascinating I wanted to share them with my husband. Book Rating: 4/5
What have you been reading lately? Any suggestions based on my recent reads? Share them in the comments below. Happy October and Happy Fall!
I have been cooking up fall foods and I plan on posting soon about fall desserts. As I continue on this happiness project, I have been reflecting on me a year ago. I can honestly say I am already happier on a daily basis. I am learning to find what works for me. To pick myself up when I start again. This month my focus is simple and so are my goals. I plan on listening to my intuition. I want to spend this month focusing on trusting myself. I am going to work on this by doing things I enjoy, not pushing myself in all directions to do things I dislike, something I am good at, but instead accepting what I like and making that the focus instead. I also plan on checking in with myself before adding commitments or agreements to my schedule. I also will work on this by listening to my body when it comes to food, exercise, movement and life choices. As we start a new month I also wanted to share that I am participating the in the Last 90 Days challenge, which is a plan to end the year the way I would like to start it by making small changes to be the person I would like to be. If you would like more information on this challenge to participate with me, check here. |
About MeI'm Sarah; a wife, traveler, foodie, and adventurer. Archives
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