Life by the Sea

November

Of all twelve months, this one is my least favourite.

The beautiful leaves are being shed, the light is edging itself closer and closer to the winter solstice, the sombreness of Remembrance Day hovers.

It is the “between” month – stuck between the autumn beauty of Canadian Thanksgiving and Halloween and the upcoming festiveness of Christmas. It sometimes feels like a holding spot of nothingness.

This year I’ve decided to make something out of this void and plan a month of good things to look forward to.

Writing

The biggest project on my radar for this month is NaBloPoMo. Nablo-what? National Blog Posting Month. In the month of November I’m endeavoring to write one blog post per day for the entire month. It is a sister project to NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month. I don’t have the time to devote to writing my novel just yet but I can write a post per day. Something is always better than nothing. Hopefully you’ll read along throughout the month. To help keep my momentum up I’m attending BlogJam on Sunday.

Photography

I still haven’t edited my photos from my August trip to Newfoundland. I know there are lots of gorgeous images to reminisce over and I’m hoping I’ll be able to turn them into some blog posts about my favourite places to visit in Newfoundland.

I also want to go through my photography archive and pick out some of my favourite images to enlarge and put on our walls. Can you believe this is my tenth year as a professional photographer and I don’t have any images of my own on my walls? Not one. I’m hoping to make a gallery wall to showcase a mix of scenic shots and some family photos I’ve taken.

Cooking and Baking

I’d like to sit down and really work on meal planning as a family. I’d like to utilize our crockpot a bit more and make meal time easier for us when we get home after a long day at work and school. I’d also like to do some baking and stock our under utilized freezer to have some healthy options on hand for lunches or to have with a cup of tea. Plus, who doesn’t love walking into a house filled with the smells of a delicious dinner cooking or something hot out of the oven?

Reading

November is also a great time of year for reading. Nothing is better than a warm blanket and a cup of tea (with a cat curled up on your lap) while you whisk yourself away to another place mentally. First up on my list is Ami McKay’s newly released “The Witches of New York” and then Donna Morrissey’s “The Deception of Livvy Higgs“. I’ve read all of Donna’s novels except for this one so I’m looking forward to it. I also have some non-fiction items to read about blogging, SEO, etc.

Self-Care

Always important no matter what time of year but I have a massage booked for this week and then in two weeks I’ll book a float (more on floating in another post). Also in this category goes a commitment to getting adequate sleep. A rested version of myself is a far happier version.

Holiday Preparations

I’m a procrastinator when it comes to the holidays. So, I’m going to aim to get the majority (if not all) of my holiday shopping accomplished before December. I’m planning to do as much of it as possible online and am hoping this will give me more time in December to enjoy fun activities with my family. Also in this category would be prepping my holiday music play lists and making a list of holiday movies to watch with the boys. We’ll also plan to attend our community’s annual tree lighting ceremony and the Holiday Parade of Lights and no doubt I’ll find myself at some local holiday craft markets in an attempt to give as many locally crafted gifts as possible.

Birthday Celebrations

Our youngest son, Kyle, will turn six years old on Saturday. He’ll celebrate by having a Paw Patrol themed birthday party at the local community centre with his friends. He’s looking forward to the Lego-themed activities planned with the “Lego Lady” who we’ve hired again for his party. I’ll be baking cupcakes or “pupcakes” to go with the theme. I’ll also likely need a drink because I’m in denial that I no longer have any babies in our house.

Six? Gulp.

Making It Count

They say if you fail to plan then you plan to fail, right?

These are just some of the ways I am determined to make the month count. 🙂