The Weekly Ramble – October 3, 2025

Hello. How did the change of the calendar page go for you?

You know I love a new month, but here we are on the precipice — the final quarter of the year. The holidays are just around the corner. This is where things start to get real.

Last year I added quarterly review pages to the Print & Go Planner, to dovetail with the idea of 90-day planning. I’ve found these really helpful to go over what’s gone well so I can move forward on a positive note.

To be honest, I was a little jolted when I realized that the next 90 days contains the following:

• two kids’ birthdays
• three game nights
• thirteen Sunday dinners
• Thanksgiving – we’re hosting at least 13 people this year
• finals for three kids in college/high school
• Christmas – we’re going to Sacramento to celebrate with our married kids
• plus, getting all the Club resources and posts from now until January written so that I can take a real Christmas break

So, jolted, I’m now getting plans in action so that by the time the last final is turned in, we are in Christmas-mode. Have you started planning Christmas yet? Be sure to grab the end of the year Print & Go Planner (Oct – Dec) for just $5.

Here’s what else I’ve been doing, eating, listening/watching, and reading this past week:

What I’ve Been Doing

As you know, the last two months, I’ve been working to invest billable hours in my business. I’ve been averaging 15/week, so this month, I’m going to try to increase it to 20. You wouldn’t think that would be so hard, but somehow it is.

Looking at my screen time from last week I saw that I used the Maps app for almost 3 hours last week which means I spent a fair amount of time in traffic and/or driving to new-to-me places. Miss17 and I drive three towns over for her to take a college class twice a week plus we drive a few towns south to go to Bible Study.

Do you know how much time you spend in the car? Thankfully, I’ve got a companion and it gives us time to chat.

I’ve not made much progress on the burning tongue thing, but I read up on the 100 symptoms of menopause. I don’t think I knew that autoimmune disease was on that list. That would have been helpful when I got my first hyperthyroidism diagnosis. I spent a lot of time beating myself up over not taking better care of myself.

After last week’s specialist wanting to shoot me full of steroids or take me off my HRT, I’m realizing that few doctors really know what they’re talking about when it comes to perimenopause. I think ours is going to be the generation of guinea pigs so that our daughters have a chance at a better transition into later life.

For months, I’ve wondered if we trade the curse of Eve (ie periods) for another kind of curse. But now I’m wondering if we just haven’t figured out how God designed our older bodies to function. I’m conflicted, to say the least.

What I’ve Been Eating

Cooking at home is my jam. With this our second Sunday in fall, I made a fall-like dinner with roasted carrots, fall-shaped pasta, roasted chicken, and roasted plum scones. That’s a whole lot of roasting!

I love fall dinners and am looking forward to putting a little extra fun into our Sunday dinners. Chuck roasts are on “sale” this week. $5.99/lb is not amazing, but decent and I’d like to make another beef pot pie like I did last fall.

As for the rest of our meals this week, I’ve been focusing on protein with lots of veg. Each week, I’ve got chicken, pork tenderloin, and fish on rotation.

With a Sunday roast and pizza night, that leaves just two other nights to plan. I’m thinking our other fall meal plan themes will be breakfast for dinner and burger night.

But, I’ve also been contemplating getting more creative with the weeknight meals, so again, I’m conflicted.

What I’ve Been Listening/Watching

I’ve completed five seasons of Castle and am slowing down now. The internet tells me that seasons 7 and 8 aren’t very good, so I will likely stop at the end of season 6. Time for my TV binging to end anyway.

This week I had some waiting time before the college library opened so I spent it walking around campus, first praying for students and employees and then for my family.

It was really interesting to spend that much time in prayer. Usually I write my prayers down so it’s a different experience to just talk to God.

At the end of 30 minutes, God brought some things to mind that I was convicted of. Intellectually, I know prayer is a conversation, but that was the first time I felt it so strikingly.

I went on to listen to this podcast from the Art of Home and it really reinforced that idea.

I haven’t started it yet, but my friend Allison invited me to her book club. They’re reading Phantom of the Opera. I’ve never seen the play, so I’ll be going in blind which is probably a good thing.

I’ve been in a reading slump. Part of that is because I’m investing the time in my blog writing; part because I’m alarmed by the addictive nature of fluffy fiction.

This article on the dangers of cozy fiction put some of my concerns so well. The author is talking about children’s books, but I think the same holds true for books moms read.

I’m reminded of what one of the food engineers says in Salt Sugar Fat. He feels remorse over engineering foods that aren’t good for people, and says, “But they weren’t supposed to eat it every day.”

They were sometimes foods. Not everyday foods.

I think the same can be said for what we read.

I think this is also why I’ve held off on my fiction writing. Up until now, all my writing has clearly solved a problem: how to fold a fitted sheet, how to plan your day, the best way to cut a grapefruit.

My fear is that my writing, if not meaningful and pointed toward Christ, will contribute to problems instead of solve them. Again, I’m conflicted.

That seems to be a theme. lol. I don’t have a lot of answers, but I’ve got no shortage of questions.

Bryan and I are taking a vacation day tomorrow so this post is going up a few hours earlier than normal. Thanks so much for sharing Life as Mom with your friends and family.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your support. If you have time to read around here or on Good Cheap Eats, know that that helps my business grow. Any time you buy something I’ve created or even something I share, we benefit from that. So thank you!

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