Hopper, Homecoming, and Holy-crap-that's-a-lot-of-baking [November Learning]

How in November did I stop accepting crap? I made plans.

I stopped holding myself back thinking "What if we move, what if I have a new job, what if something else changes" and I made plans. I made plans for the weekend of my 5th wedding anniversary. I made plans to go visit my parents in Florida. I started looking at concerts coming to the area (The Lumineers. March. Dying to go.). Is it possible that next week I could be offered a full time job in Lexington, Kentucky and I would start planning to move? Yes, it's possible that I could be offered a position permanently at Hyland, it's possible that nothing at all will change for another six months or more. But instead of letting the unknown hold me back, I've made the conscious decision to keep living and planning my life.

And the overall learning for November lies below:

1.) Aerial Yoga has a weight limit.

And I currently exceed it. That was a wakeup call for me, so I know I've got to do something with my weight. I think I might have to make this a reward for myself, once I lose the weight, I get to sign up for a class.

2.) Homecoming makes more and more sense the longer you're away.

Homecoming weekend seemed a little silly when I was living in Berea after graduation. It was fun to see fellow alumni at church on Sunday, and to catch up and have lunch with former classmates. But otherwise, I didn't do much with it. But this year, going back to campus, attending the Black Music Ensemble concert, heading to the block party, and just spending some time at my alma mater made me feel inspired.

3.) How to make the world a better place.

If you know me well (or at all) you won't be surprised to learn that I did not vote for Donald Trump. And waking up the day after the election to find that he won, to see the fear of my friends who are Muslim, my friends who are afraid there isn't a place for them in the America Trump described on the campaign trail, ignited my need to act. So I focused on some things that I can do. I can respond to people with kindness, I filled out volunteer applications, and I can be informed. I can pay attention to what's going on, and act when something that isn't right happens.

4.) How to make DIY Boot Polish

My poor winter boots have been through a lot with me. All of them are at least one year old, some a little older, and I wanted to make them pretty again without having to go out and buy shoe polish. Thanks to Pinterest, I found that a little Olive Oil with a touch of lemon juice really cleans up and shines up my winter footwear!

5.) Making a pumpkin roll is actually easy.

Every year, mom made pumpkin rolls for Thanksgiving. I've never done it, and in my mind, I always thought it was difficult. This year I volunteered to do the baking, which meant making my first ever pumpkin pie and pumpkin roll, and I was super impressed with myself. The pumpkin roll was delicious, simple, and now I'm looking for some twists to make for Christmas (Red Velvet Roll is looking promising).

6.) Hopper

This app might be my new best friend. Thanks to it, I was able to get round trip tickets to go see my parents in Florida for all three of us for $270 total. 

What did you learn in the month of November?