photo credit: @gaellemarcel via Unsplash
Today is October 1. How in the world did that happen? How are we entering the last quarter of this year? It’s also officially fall, although we’re still dealing with very summery temperatures here in the Central Valley. And this post is not about fall or pumpkins, for that matter. Not really. Sorry to disappoint you.
When Elisabeth mentioned in one of her last posts that she had a back-to-school coffee date with her friend Joy to catch up, it made me smile because I wanted that for her. And I want that for me. But because I don’t have a “Joy” to have coffee with right now, I thought we – you and me – could grab a hot beverage for a quick Tuesday morning change of the seasons’ check-in. What do you say?
It might still feel like summer here, but it’s noticeably staying dark longer. I am thinking about how to shift my workout routine to accommodate my early morning training runs. I refuse to run in the dark, so they have to happen later. I love my work-from-home schedule because it allows me so much flexibility. I can start work earlier and then take a break to go for a run mid-morning if I don’t have any meetings. I think that is what will have to happen more often than not this fall.
This leads me to share some other news because – hooray! – I will also have access to a treadmill soon. No, I am (sadly) not getting a Peloton Tread – I wish! Maybe someday! – but I’ll have access to a gym and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
I hadn’t officially shared it on the blog yet but I think I hinted at the fact that I’ve been thinking about moving for quite some time. There was no rush, but we’ve been keeping our eyes open for a new place for a while now. We realized that sooner than later, I really needed an office if I wanted to continue working from home (and I would very much like that). I have mentioned before that our place is pretty small and that I work out of the corner of our living room. My Peloton is also in the living room. And since Jon is home most of the time, quarters started to feel really tight. Everything happens in our living room.
We made it work through the pandemic and then for a few more years, but the situation wasn’t ideal and we felt it was not really sustainable for much longer. I need a place where I can close the door when I work and where I can take work calls, and Jon needs a space where he can be during the day without feeling he’s interfering with my work day.
So we looked at and toured houses, and applied to a few places that we didn’t get. The housing market here is pretty tough. There are usually quite a few applications for each available rental. It’s been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster of anticipation and disappointments that I didn’t want to relive on the internet.
I had also made peace with the fact that we might be looking for quite a while longer. But then, after 6 months of searching, we finally found a new home a few weeks ago. And as you might know, when things start moving, they move fast. We will be moving in two weeks.
This all comes amidst my marathon training, upheaval at my workplace with my supervisor leaving in a few weeks, and one – possibly two – work trip(s) coming up as well. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I am feeling a bit fatigued these days. One morning last week, when it was still dark outside when my alarm went off, I decided to start my day with a meditation, and then promptly fell back asleep. Ha! Are you familiar with that feeling when you nod off, only to be startled awake 30 minutes later? Yup, that was me on Monday.
Oh, and I might have forgotten to mention that we also bought a new car recently. After the key incident, we didn’t want to test our luck and made up our minds that finally upgrading our car would probably be a good thing. As Jon so eloquently noted: sometimes life happens all at once. NO KIDDING!
How’s all this for a change of seasons (figuratively and literally)?
Tanja Jordan
October 1, 2024 at 11:48 amYeah to moving soon and all the exciting things happening for you!
It will be great to have access to a tread now that it’s getting dark earlier and stays dark longer . Can’t wait to see the new place in person.
San
October 2, 2024 at 6:52 pmThanks my friend. I am so excited and can’t wait for you to visit.
J
October 1, 2024 at 8:43 pmGoodness, that IS life happening all at once! I love the darker evenings, because I don’t feel like the sun is beating on my bedroom window quite so late when it gets hot. And I sleep better in the morning, which has led to sleeping in a couple of times so far. I need to pay attention so I can keep my morning routine.
I haven’t rented a place in so long, we bought in 1998. It was a very different process back then I guess, nothing online. But difficult to find a place, even then. I’m excited that you are going to have an office! That sounds like heaven to me, my desk is in our bedroom (our living room is too small). Congratulations!
San
October 2, 2024 at 6:53 pmThank you, Julie. I am excited. Oh, I remember you said you were also working out of your bedroom. I was contemplating this for a while but our place is so old and the outlets in our bedroom are not grounded, so I couldn’t plug in my monitors/computers up there. Besides, the bedroom is small too. LOL
Zoé
October 2, 2024 at 6:17 amI love moving, not the moving itself but the new home and settling in there… I wish you that everything goes smoothly! Hopefully you will share some pics? :)
San
October 2, 2024 at 6:53 pmHiii Zoe! Haha, I am excited about the moving in, not the moving out LOL (and yes, I am sure I’ll share some pics!).
Ernie
October 2, 2024 at 7:48 amWow. This is a busy time for you for sure. I’m so glad you found a new home. I hope you’ll be very happy there. Good luck with the busy moving process. Plus a new car – life is like that right. Never dull.
BTW I see that you had a marathon day of catching up on my posts. Goodness that was a lot of Ernie for you to experience in one day.
San
October 2, 2024 at 6:54 pmThanks so much, Ernie. I am excited.
And I enjoyed catching up on your posts. You have so much going on, I couldn’t really skip it or I would be completely out of the loop of Ernie’s life ;)
NGS
October 2, 2024 at 9:48 amThat is so many changes!! Hopefully all of them will lead to wonderful new things!
San
October 2, 2024 at 6:54 pmThank you, friend. I am excited… and stressed out LOL
Tierney
October 2, 2024 at 9:58 amOooo, good luck with the move. Maybe all of this is happening so you have plenty of content for NaBloPoMo!! It would be great to see how you set up/decorate your office, for example :)
San
October 2, 2024 at 6:55 pmHaha, yes! Good point. I hope you’re plaining to join again this year? I love that people are already bringing up NaBloPoMo! ;)
Birchie
October 2, 2024 at 6:29 pmWHAT WHAT WHOA YOU’RE MOVING????????? And right as you’re getting ready to run your first marathon…remember that Janae moved right before she ran her first sub 3 marathon???? Everything is going to be crazy for a bit but it’s going to be a good crazy. CONGRATS!
San
October 2, 2024 at 6:56 pmThank you, Birchie! You’re right… it’s going to be a little crazy for a while but the good crazy. And I do remember that Janae moved before her sub-3 marathon LOL which… I don’t think is in the cards for me, but I’ll try my best :)
Elisabeth
October 4, 2024 at 6:03 pmI am so woefully behind. (Feedly is the worst!) Do you have an e-mail subscribe button somewhere on your blog? I don’t remember seeing one and couldn’t find one when I looked now, but I might just be missing it. I did stop using Old Reader because I was having issues with that one…so I must start subscribing to get e-mail alerts.
Anyway…I’m late to the party but am so glad I’m here. I am head-over-heels happy that you will have a new – larger – space. Living in a cramped apartment for years with two kids and working from that space was so, so, so hard. It will be amazing for you. It will be amazing for Jon. Yay! Cannot wait to hear all the details <3
San
October 11, 2024 at 2:44 pmThank you – we’re really excited about the new place! :)
Grateful Kae
October 6, 2024 at 7:00 amExciting about the move! I can’t imagine not having an office. I would HATE having to work right from the middle of my living room! I actually would not be happy, period, if my husband were home all the time while I was working from home. hahaha! (Nothing against him, I just like to have the house quiet and to myself!!) I guess I was thinking you guys owned your home. Are you renting specifically for a reason? Like you don’t want to buy right now? Or is it related to the housing market just being really tough where you are?
San
October 11, 2024 at 2:46 pmThank you, Kae. We’re excited too… it’s going to be nice to have an office where I can close the door.
The housing market in CA is insane and since we don’t really wanna move from our neighborhood (we love it here), buying is not in the cards right now. CA is just so very expensive.
Lisa's Yarns
October 9, 2024 at 9:30 amI’m glad you found a new place! It is nice to have a dedicated office space. I didn’t at the start of the pandemic – I worked at our dining room table which was fine but I was happy to get an allowance from work to set up an at-home office. We set it up during my mat leave. It’s in our basement guest room. I love that it’s totally closed off from the rest of the home. Phil only WFH one/day each week so he now works at the dining room table which isn’t ideal but I rarely see him since I’m down in my basement office all day anyways.
San
October 11, 2024 at 2:46 pmThank you, Lisa. I see you can relate to the wfh situation, as you have worked from the dining room table before as well. I am so glad you have your own space now where you can work.
coco
October 9, 2024 at 2:54 pmoh!!! that’s new change, moving to another house, that’s so exciting! I’d love to see how it looks like once you’ve settled. Moving takes a lot of work, hope all is going well.
San
October 11, 2024 at 2:47 pmThank you, Coco. It is a little crazy right now but I am looking forward to when we’re all moved and settled in :)
Sarah
October 16, 2024 at 4:23 amYay to moving— I saw your IG story with the rainbow mug and boxes and realized I needed to check this blog STAT :)
Tobia | craftaliciousme
October 27, 2024 at 5:15 amOh wow… I am suprised. I had no idea about a move being in the books.
Also, I seem to have missed a ton of posts as they dont show up at all on Feedly anymore. Sigh…
Anyways I am so happy for you. An office must be wonderful. I always wondered how that is working for you.
Hope all is going well… but I guess I could just skip ahead and have a look.
anne
October 27, 2024 at 3:54 pmSo glad you found a place that will work for you but oof, the timing is challenging. I am so far behind but thinking of you and hope it went well. Can’t wait to hear about the new place. :)