Grilling Impossible burgers in the shade, and finding fall at Trader Joe's

As I drove home from Orange Theory two Saturdays ago, Chris and Maeve were sitting in our front yard. When I rolled down the window, Maeve shouted to me, "We saw the first geese!" Later that weekend a V of geese flew over us at the park, all dark wings and determination. And so, the first geese of fall 2023 have been noted. Last year our first sighting didn't happen until September 13, when Dash ran in, breathless, to tell me he had seen the first geese. I love to hear the first reports of fall, told to me by my children.

And then later the same week, when I walked outside in the early morning I noticed that the air was...not hot. That's how it happens around here. Not a coolness but a lack of hotness. The not hot air, the light shifting ever so slightly towards golden, and the appearance of short trips to the park; little changes of the season to come that I am so happy to notice.

Big things happening in September:

+ Chris turns 46! To celebrate we had a truncated Friday day date (since Dash was home sick), went to see a play and have dinner with family (minus kids), and had a small Team Wharton celebration with pizza and cheesecake bars.

+ Fall content recording for The Girl Next Door. Anyone who follows my GND podcast will know that fall is the season when we shine. Our fall episodes, especially our annual Fall Extravaganza, are so fun to create but take some extra effort. We're also working to record ahead before fall break. So this month we have lots of recordings on the calendar, which also means I'll have a lot to edit. It's work I love but just more of it this month.

September goals:

+ Lift heavier weights and track my nutrition. After being in a great fitness groove for a long time, I've been wanting to level up and my main goal is to build more muscle. I'm working with a nutrition and fitness coach this month who is giving me great information about healthy nutrition and exercising to achieve my goals. At the gym I'm challenging myself to pick up the heavier weight. I'm often finding that I'm stronger than I think, which is great, but also means I'm ready for a challenge. Last year I wrote about how much I love exercise and fitness so this is a fun way (for me) to lean into that hobby. 

+ Cost-contain our Miscellaneous spending. I recently wrote about our Miscellaneous spending category. In September we are trying very hard to stick to our allotted budget because we've gone significantly over the past few months. A few things we're doing to spend less include: skipping a month of house cleaning, being mindful of our grocery spending budget, changing up Chris's gym membership to Orange Theory (yay!), and cancelling our car wifi, which is really helpful since we have very cheap and low data phone plans but we'll see how it goes.

+ Organize the cabinets in one bathroom. Both bathroom cabinets could use some attention. I'd like to tackle one of them this month.

And then two habit goals for myself...

+ Close the fridge door! I don't know when I started leaving the fridge door open while I do a quick task, like pouring cream into my coffee, but I've noticed myself doing it more often and would like to stop because it wastes energy. Just shut the dang door!

+ Don't shout across the house. I hate when the kids shout from another room to tell or ask me something so why should I do it back to them? Our house is not large so it takes seconds to walk from the kitchen (where I usually am) back to their rooms. I have already been trying to change this habit and I really want to focus on it this month.

Wishing you a happy September, friends!

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