Rocktober kick off!

No joke...I awoke to a brilliant rainbow one day. The very next morning, I woke up to this double rainbow. I was fully expecting a triple rainbow the next day, but no such luck. Still, pretty darn cool seeing this beauty off your balcony!

September passed by in a blur, and I am thrilled that it's October. October always marks the start of the holiday season for me. There's so much that goes on this month- fall break from school for Ryan (thank goodness I have my free 'manny' aka 'Cousin Keni' to help watch Ry), we celebrate both my mom and our dear friend Rosie's birthdays, Ry has a few Halloween festivities, Ironman is in town (Zoot sale!), Ryan & his cousins have their final tournament prep for the annual karate tournament, the weather starts to get a teensy tiny bit cooler (if we're lucky), and this year- we are adding hosting an exchange student to the mix. Oh, and Rich will be out of town for a week. ;-) It's a lot to look forward to that will help break up the monotony of our usual work/school/karate practice hum-drum routine.

Father son bonding time at Ryan's favorite gourmet restaurant in town (Le Denny's), and then watching a movie that in hindsight, was a very bad idea for our horror-movie adverse child.

Because I'm starting month #4 of full work weeks, as a fun distraction, I went onto Airbnb in search of a mini-adventure for our anniversary next year. It's seven months away, but did that stop me from spending money so that I could vicariously escape reality and go on an online adventure checking out tiny house rentals all over the island? No, no it did not. 

And my efforts did not go unwasted, I found a charming little tiny house on the other side of the island that has its own zipline. I really hope that zipline is still operational when we get there, or I'm gonna have an awfully morose little 11-year old for a few days...

I also impulsively signed up for a half marathon next March (the dangers of boredom + credit card + internet access). It'll be like the last full marathon I did last December- a fast downhill course (perfect for chunky, lazy, slow types such as myself to pretend we still got it going on). Really, it will be an opportunity for me to try and get another PR. In this case, I'll need to best a 2:06 (9:38 min miles) I ran in Santa Barbara back in 2006. It'd be nice to get a PR thirteen years later without needing steroids. It will feel a little bit like cheating- but when you lack ambition and natural talent and you also love to eat crap food- well, I have to take these kinds of opportunities. I think you understand. (And if you don't, go suck it, Mr. Perfect.)

It's a few more weeks of hunkering down at work until things get festive around here, so I can't wait. Tutu Jolene is getting older, and although I lack the stamina of a young whipper snapper, I still get bored without something to look forward to (yes, just like a spoiled toddler).