september obsessions

It seems as if I'm the only person on the planet who is depressed that it is October. I love summer. I live for summer. Fall makes me sad. I have to wear layers and the temperature gets into the 60s and it gets dark at like 5:00 pm. And you know what? I've never had a pumpkin spice latte! There, I said it!! 

Sigh. Anyways. 

September was an absolutely crazy month, which means there was a lot to be obsessed with! Ready, set, go! 

1. Local Travel. After taking trips to Sonoma Valley and Vegas in June for our one year wedding anniversary, I was already dying to do some more traveling. July and August were dry months for us in terms of travel, but we made up for it in September. The first three weekends of the month were spent out of town: first Santa Barbara, then Zion National Park in Utah, then Catalina Island! By the end of our Catalina trip, we were pretty exhausted from all of our adventures and I think I've got the travel bug out of my system...for now.

2. Walk to End Alzheimer's.  For the past three years, I've lead a team in the Walk to End Alzheimer's in honor of my grandmother who passed away from the disease in 2008. It has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences of my adult life to not only set aside a special time each year to remember such a beautiful woman but also to raise critical funds to put a stop to this terrible disease. The first year we walked we raised $300. Last year, my team surpassed our fundraising goal and raised $1,000 and this year we raised another $1,000! This means I'm almost half-way to reaching my goal of raising $5,000 in the fight against Alzheimer's by the time I turn 30. A big THANK YOU to my little team for walking around Angel's Stadium in Anaheim in solidarity with those who have lost loved ones to Alzheimer's! And a huge THANK YOU to all of our generous friends and family who donated this year. 

3. Breaking Bad. I'm always really late to jump on bandwagons, but I'm glad I jumped on this one.  I LOVE THIS SHOW. And I didn't think that I would. I don't really watch a lot of dramas on TV, but after hearing everyone (and I mean everyone) rave about how good this show was, I just had to check it out on Netflix with the hubby. We were hooked. Instantly. And our lives have never been the same. Literally. To say the show is intense is an understatement. It is really not for the faint of heart. But it is just so worth it. The writing and acting are leaps and bounds beyond most other shows. It's brilliant and challenging, because things are not presented to the audience in a nice, neat little bow. Terrible things happen on this show and they don't sugarcoat how the decisions of these characters affect everyone around them. I wrestle with these characters so much and most episodes I don't even know who I'm supposed to be rooting for. The show makes you think and that's what I really like. Seriously, if you haven't started watching it and you don't get emotionally distressed very easily, then please do yourself a favor and start watching. We are at the end of Season 3 so no one better post any spoilers!!

Source

4. Things I Retweet. When I wrote about my August obsessions, I included a list of links that I had retweeted throughout the month. I know that not all of my blog readers follow me on Twitter, so I wanted to make sure that people were reading some of the wonderful blog posts and articles I had stumbled across online. It was a big success last month, so I've decided to include "Things I Retweet" in every Obsessions edition from now on! Hooray! Maybe your post will be on my list next month! 

On Gender

The Myth of Male Decline by Stephanie Coontz

On Love

These are the Eyes of the Awake by Saskia Wishart

Let Love by Annie Barnett

On Being a Parent

Welcome to Motherhood (series) by Joy Bennett

The Wake Up Call by Liz Myrick

Leave It Behind by M.J. at Pars Caeli

On Society

Let's do the really hard work by Kristin Tennant

On Being a Writer

5 Ways to Handle Disappointment Gracefully by From Two To One

On Privilege

My Disturbing Power by Andrew Evans

Not By My Bootstraps by Rachel Strietz

Privilege: Invisible Advantages, Privilege: Checking the Blind Spot and No is a Complete Sentence (mini-series on privilege) by Dianna Anderson

On Singleness

For All the Janelles by Enuma Okoro 

On Race

If It Walks Like a Duck and Talks Like a Duck: Racism, Bigotry and the Death of Respectable Conservatism by Tim Wise

How Important is Diversity In a School? by Musing Momma

On Faith

and the Lord was with Joseph, with us still by Antonia Terrazas

On Social Media

Don't Tell Me How to Use Facebook by Laura Tremaine aka Hollywood Housewife

First be a follower by Hannah Brencher

On Friends

Everything I Need to Know, I learned from Ross and Rachel by Jessica Tholmer

On Celebrities

Dear Beyonce, Thank You for Inviting Me to Dinner by Madeleine Davies

Is Channing Tatum the Anti-Christ? by Knox McCoy

I read so many amazing pieces of writing every single day, so this is just scratching the surface of some of the wonderful content that is being put out there by some truly talented individuals. I encourage you to click on as many of these links as possible and let me know what you think!

As for me, I'm going to plan a beach trip soon and pretend it's still summer.