October 2019 | Recap

October is, as a rule, my favorite month of the year! The crisp leaves, the cooler weather, all the festivities and spookiness… and of course my birthday! After a very eventful past few weeks, this October didn’t disappoint!

Before we get going with the monthly recap, I want your input on something! I love writing these monthly recaps and I plan to continue to do so. However I have used the exact same template for 3+ years now and wonder if it’s getting a bit stale. I’d love if you could comment below and help me out:

  • Would you like to continue seeing monthly recaps?
  • Would you prefer seasonal recaps?
  • Would you prefer a different template/style (if so, what should I include more of?)… Some styles I’ve loved lately are this one from Ellie, or this one from Jessi.
GLUTEN FREE VEGAN AND OH SO FESTIVE!! Currently tapping away from my favorite bakery/coffee shop in Michigan. Happy Halloween y’all!

Where was I in October?

Michigan (Lansing and Grand Rapids), England (London, Dorset, Cheddar Gorge, Bath!)

Most popular Instagram in October…

Hahah wow it’s been about four or five months of this instagram hiatus! I promise I’m comin’ back soon… maybe today?!

(Recently I facetimed with my friend who said that due to my instagram absence she is not getting enough puppy updates hahaha… so here are your pupdates! Maggie is doing v well although still having epileptic seizures 🙁 but she comes right out of them and is as happy and ultra-cuddly as ever! Marshy is also doing very well although he is currently traumatized because my parents are getting the house re-roofed and the strain of guarding his property is getting to him.)

October on the blog…

Lots of blog posts this month and plenty more to come! Finishing my board exams meant I finally had some time to devote to the blog!!

October adventured like…

  • Well I won’t leave you in suspense too long. I passed my board exams! If you’ve been reading my monthly recaps for a while, then you know I’ve been working toward this for 2 (!!) years… yes that’s the joy of having a healthcare degree from a foreign country lol. Super proud of myself and this massive journey… if you want the full story read this blog post! And if anyone wants to read about how and why I did my healthcare degree in the UK (and if I’d do it again)… let me know if the comments below and maybe I can whip something up!
  • After taking my boards on October 7, I hopped across the pond. I spent a really lovely two weeks in England with Dan. Other than visiting Cheddar Gorge, we also had a spa day in Bath, and did plenty of walks in his home county Dorset. I also got to spend time with his family which is always lovely!
  • I did manage to get one day in London during this trip! Man I love this city so much!! I don’t know if I could ever live in London as I crave the sea and outdoors so much, but I’ve really got my favorite London haunts down. I spent a happy few hours exploring Borough Market which never gets old no matter how often I visit!
  • It’s been one week since my board exam results and I have mostly been laying low and getting back into the swing of things. I celebrated my birthday with my family in Michigan, had a nice big family brunch, rejoined the gym…. normal stuff!
  • I did go to sushi with an old friend and we caught up for four hours which was sooo lovely as I was really antisocial the past few months when I was studying!
  • I’m looking forward to next steps with my career but feeling overwhelmed with all the options! I suppose that’s normal. I still need to apply for my license before I can work which unfortunately I’ve found out will take about 2 months to process… wahhh! Usually it only takes 1 month but there is a long wait currently. Just going to try to enjoy that time while I can, though!
No better way to distract myself while I waited 2 weeks for my exam results than spending those 2 weeks with Dan in England!

 

Dan is also in the midst of taking professional exams (his final one is next week!) so it was a nice break for both of us!
I snapped this photo right before I boarded the plane ride home from England. If you read my ‘birthday thoughts & life update’ blog post then you know this was an AWFUL flight!!
Loved having some family baby time at our family brunch last weekend <3 Can you believe my cousin’s babe is only 7 months old!? He looks like a proper toddler (& has the motor milestones to match… says my inner occupational therapy nerd!)
I was afraid I’d get back to Michigan and all the fall colors would be gone… I was oh so wrong!
On a long walk last weekend… post birthday and post exam results, soaking it all in! (Also testing out the selfie feature on my new phone lololol).

October in health…

  • Literally an hour before I flew to England, I got a message from my gastroenterologist that I’ve been diagnosed with SIBO (small intenstine bacterial overgrowth). This was one of a slew of diagnostic tests my doctor gave me that we were both expecting to all come back negative. Unfortunately that was not the case! So I stewed about this over in England for two weeks, and now that I’m home I’ve got to start treatment. That means antibiotics for a few weeks, which is fine, and the low FODMAP diet, which I’ve had to do once before and hated… so wish me luck! 
  • It hasn’t happened yet but I have wrist surgery coming up in a few weeks! Eek! I’ve had a wrist injury for four years now, and all the conservative treatments failed. After my hydrocortisone shot wore off in July, my orthopedic doctor encouraged me to go ahead with surgery. I’m a bit scared and I hate anesthesia but I’m trying to be positive!  A successful surgery could mean getting back into yoga and teaching yoga which would be huge for me!
The benefit of getting my SIBO diagnosis the day before flying to England was I said “f it” and ate whatever I wanted lol… this is one of the best GF pizzas I’ve ever had – from Dough in Bath, England!

October mantras…

Wow, what a life changing month!! I hope your Octobers were equally full of good news, or at the very least, that hard hard work that will someday lead to good news.

What’s everyone up to in November? I’m off to Quebec City for a press trip, and have that lovely wrist surgery waiting for me. Plus TONS of work on the blog and applying for my therapist license! 

Oh – and don’t forget to let me know your thoughts on the monthly recap template and frequency!

Sarah xx

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