Mapping My Month: October 2015

It's the end of the month! Time to look back at the past month's travels and announce the next month's adventures. So this October we'll be going....

Nowhere.

And I am more than fine with that!

Last month we took a last-minute trip back to Europe, piggybacking off Danny's business trip to London. While poor Danny was working 12-20 hour days at the office, I wandered around Londontown revisiting my favorite spots like Parliament, the British Museum, and the Tower. I crossed off a bucket list item of attending an Evensong service at Westminster Abbey and got lost multiple times in Harrods (that wasn't quite on the bucket list, but it made for an interesting experience nonetheless!). I had two and a half glorious days in London - more time than my initial visit last February - before Danny and I caught an early flight to Frankfurt, swapping our fish 'n' chips for brats 'n' beer and a visit with our Bavarian family! It had only been three months since our last visit, making this trip the fastest turnaround time yet. Our three and a half days in Germany flew by like the wind, and after missing our initial flight back to London, we finally made it home two weeks ago, tired but so incredibly blessed and thankful for having had such an unexpected trip.

Since our return, I've been playing catch-up. And so far I've been losing! My responsibilities at work have increased due to some exciting opportunities in marketing, which have left me little time or energy to devote to the blog. Baby Gypsy's arrival in less than three months has also kicked some of our home prep-work into high gear as we finally assembled the crib and changing table my parents bought us two months ago.

Oh, and a stray dog showed up at our house last month. We took her to the no-kill shelter this morning, but based on my husband's look of dejection, we may end up picking her back up next week if she hasn't been adopted by then... It would be a sizable financial investment, though, so I really just hope someone wants her!

ATTN #Goochland and central #Virginia! This dog showed up at our house a month ago, and we simply cannot keep her as her owners have not come forward. She is very sweet, craves attention, and submissive, but is too wild (as in untrained) and strong to be a house pet. She's a hound, howls like one, and roughly 2-5 years old. She's been bathed and treated for ticks. If no one adopts her by Friday, I'll have to call animal control or a shelter. We don't want her, can't afford her with a baby on the way, and do not have the facilities to continue caring for her. So if you or someone you know needs another hunting dog, please contact me. #lostdog #founddog #dog #adopt #adoptadog #huntingdog #goochlandcounty #fluvanna #fluvannacounty #henrico #henricocounty #VA #hunt #hunting #adoptme #helpme #animallover #animal #rescue #foxhound#huntclub

A photo posted by Thrifty Gypsy's Travels (@thriftygypsy87) on Sep 23, 2015 at 3:14pm PDT

Life is good, though! I just wish there were more hours in the day to accomplish everything, especially as I have so many untold stories from our trip to Europe this past May and from last year, let alone the one we took last month.

As I stated, though, October will be a quiet affair travel-wise. We'd like to make an autumn visit to Kilmarnock and go up into the Blue Ridge for apple picking, apple cider, and apfelstrudel-making supplies, but that will be weather and schedule dependent. Additionally, our sisters are hosting a travel-themed baby shower in mid-October (they know us so well!), and we're contemplating when to throw our annual pumpkin carving party in preparation for one of Danny's favorite holidays, Halloween! We didn't end up decking ourselves out in costumes last year, so we'll see if we can drum up the motivation this year. So although we may not have any travel plans on the calendar for this month (or realistically, for the rest of the year), that doesn't mean we'll be any less busy!

What're you getting into this October?