Busy Days Ahead

I haven't been posting the last couple of days because I have been busy. This was a huge part of why I had to pay the bills on the 6th. Other than Monday, it was the only chance I was going to have until today and if I had initiated the payments today, several of them would have been late.

Wednesday and Thursday were both spent at Schoolhouse Supplies (SHS), the organization I volunteer for on a regular basis. Thursday ended up being a bit of a challenge. I lead a volunteer group the second Thursday of the month at SHS through Hands on Portland. An employee of SHS gives us the details of the project(s); it is up to me to keep the volunteers on task and give them direction if they need it. The SHS front desk volunteer had to leave early so I ended up trying to cover that AND lead my team. It was very hectic, but instead of exhausting me, I felt very energized when I left.

Last night, I hosted bunco. I had been pretty stressed out about it knowing that I was not going to be home Wednesday and Thursday to prepare for it. This group does the snacks potluck style, so that cut down on a lot of the stress, and I calmed down considerably after I had secured the player list. I knew that I was pretty calm when I only had one OCD moment (I get pretty OC when I am stressed out). I had put the prizes in the bags and ended up taking everything out of two of the (three) bags and switching them so the prizes would match the bags better. I am sure I was the only one who would notice, but it was really bugging me and I just couldn't let it go. On the plus side, I did let it slide that the crackers and salami didn't line up on their plates perfectly. I really hate it when my snack presentation is sloppy. When James would help me get snacks ready for bunco, the first thing he would do was ask how I wanted them to be presented-he caught on to that VERY quickly!

I am supposed to be on a hike right now, but I have been fighting a cold (though I still insist it is allergies) and was feeling pretty run down last night so I decided to listen to my body and sleep in today instead. I have a lot of things on the calendar for the rest of the month and I don't want to get sick and have to miss them.

Tomorrow afternoon, I have a photo shoot with my women's photography group. Tomorrow evening, I may go swing dancing with that new group I joined. It will depend on how I feel. The allergy pill I took this morning did make a HUGE difference, but I do still have a bit of a sore throat so being out late on a school night might be a bad idea. Not that that has ever stopped me before...

Tuesday, I am signed up for a cooking demo. I am very excited about this as I have always wanted to take cooking classes.

Wednesday and Thursday are volunteering. At this point, I have nothing going on Friday, which I am sure my dogs will enjoy.

Next Saturday is a volunteer project at SHS, followed by a Halloween party in the evening. I need to go out today and get everything I need for my costume.

The 18th is my monthly dinner with my widowed people group. It's the first time we are having it on a Sunday and I am hoping that will allow some who have not been able to come during the week due to work or babysitter issues to be able to attend.

I have an appointment on the 19th with my therapist, followed by a meeting for meetup organizers in which employees from Meetup's headquarters will be present. I am looking forward to sitting down with them and telling them how much I hate some of their new features.

On the 21st, I have a volunteer shift followed by bunco with my original bunco group. I have played with them for over 10 years now and look forward to my monthly bunco night with my girls.

On the 22nd and 23rd, I will be giving my boys some much needed Mom time. I am sure Sammy will be pretty ticked by then, which he has no problems expressing.

I start off the 24th with a visit to the chiropractor, followed with a volunteer shift at the membership drive for Oregon Public Broadcasting. I have always thought it would be fun to volunteer at a telethon. I am debating if I want to do the "frosting fun" event afterwards. Frosting is an area I could really use help with, but that may be too long of a day for my dogs to be cooped up.

There is a ghost walk I am interested in doing on the 25th, but the event filled up fast and right now I am #4 on the waiting list.

On the 26th, I am going to history night. It is held at one of my favorite places the last Monday of every month. I have lived here since 1996 (except for the time we spent in AZ from 2003-2005), and since I have no plans to leave this area, I think it is about time I learn some of the local history!

The 28th is volunteering. The boys will be happy to see me home on the 29th and 30th-if they still remember me!

The 31st is the monthly art museum walk. And then it is handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters.

So, I may not be blogging much for the rest of the month. Some nights I will still get home early enough and some nights I may just need to get something out even if it means staying up much later than I should. I will just have to see how it all plays out.