Monthly event re-cap ...

It's time to finally update my blog! So much has happened in the last month, and I'm excited to share everything with you!

 

1. We went to the Corn Maze in Fennville:

 

Jon & Blake at the start of the maze
 

Making our way through.
 

My sweet cutie-pie!


2. We celebrated Halloween at Uncle Chuck's house:
 

Blake wore his wrestling mask that he got in Cozumel and Chuck dressed up as "Dr. Chuck". Surprisingly, we only had a handful of trick-or-treaters come to the door. Blake was bummed because he loves to hand out candy. It appears that there are less people going door-to-door and more attending the church-sponsored Treats-n-Trunks events. We tried that for a few years, but none of us enjoyed standing out in the freezing cold. Some churches have moved it indoors, but that doesn't really appeal to me as going from table to table to get candy is not "Trick or Treating". So we'll have to figure out what we're going to do for next year.
 

3. We took part in the 2012 Presidential Election. Since our voting place didn't have any "I voted!" stickers, I made my own and wore it all day. Yes, I'm a dork and proud of it! :-)

4. One of our neon tetras died, so there are only two left. He was one of our starter fish, who lived much longer than predicted.

In a semi-related note, in the last few weeks, we've had two Mollie fish births. The first batch produced 4 babies, and the second birth (from a baby born earlier this summer) produced at least 9. There are a lot of little babies in our tank right now, and our Mollie Mommy appears to be expecting again. I am predicting another donation to Petco very soon.
 

5. Blake is doing amazingly well in school. He got all A's on his report card, started working through the 5th grade Math book, and is learning cursive. His cursive is so much nicer than his printing, and I wanted to show you an example of it with the birthday card that he sent to Aunt Kitty.

 



6. And my final (best!) news of all ... I started taking Tae Kwon Do! A month or so ago, I came up with the idea ... Blake & I could do martial arts together! Unfortunately, Blake was not on board with my idea and decided he didn't want to have anything to do with it. I had been looking for a new hobby since playing the piano flopped. The problem I discovered with piano playing is that you have to think outside the box and experiment playing different keys and chords. This frustrated the heck out of me as I am a rule-follower, and I need someone to tell me exactly what to do. After working with two separate piano teachers, I realized that this hobby wasn't for me, as much as I wanted it to be.

The cool thing about martial arts is that I have to tie my belt exactly the way they teach me. I have to kick with my toes pointed an exact way so I don't hurt myself. Everything about this activity is very precise and rule-following, something that I thrive on. Plus, it's a great workout and a wonderful stress-reliever!

To start, I had two mini-sessions to see if I would even like it. I did, then took a physical "test" to see if I could punch & kick like they showed me. I passed, and achieved my white belt (pictured above with my orientation instructor, Mr. Sidney). I'm currently at the end of my three orientation classes, in which I'll advance into my regular twice-a-week classes. I signed a year-long contract, but when February rolls around and I achieve my yellow belt, I can decide whether to continue on or drop out of my contract without any penalties. So that gives me 90 days to see if this will be a good fit for me.

I know this is thinking way ahead, but if I do enjoy this activity, and continue with it twice a week (they recommend no more than this to prevent burning out), then in 5 years I'll be a 1st degree Black Belt. It feels rather lofty to think that I could potentially become one, and I'm sure there are some friends and family who think in their minds "Yeah right", but it sure would be cool to reach that achievement.

For now, I'll just file that in the back of my mind and take it one day at a time.

Life is good. :-)