I feel like I should begin this post with an apology for the lack of posts recently, but that would be like apologizing for my life, and despite being incredibly busy, it's been good lately. So instead of jumping head first back into regular posting, I thought it would be a good idea to get you caught up on what's been happening outside of the blog.

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, then you'll already know that after a nearly twenty year break, I have re-entered the world of show pigs with my daughter. She expressed an interest in trying it out, so my dad made it happen. We've had Oink (mostly white) and Moo (mostly black) for a little over a month now, and it has been an adventure. They are Hampshire pigs, both barrows (male), and full of personality.

Shortly after getting Oink and Moo, we went on Fall Break. The first part of the week we took a quick trip to Port St. Joe. It was lovely as always.

We ended the week with a trip to the Georgia National Fair. This trip served a dual purpose. It allowed Alexis to see her first-ever hog show and us to get an idea of what's changed in the show world, plus we got to have fun at the actual fair. We ate lots of fair food and rode most of the rides. Alexis even tried some rides she's previously been afraid of.

We can't forget Halloween and trick-or-treating. We actually celebrated a couple of weekends early because of a school trip. This was our second year attending this event at our local state park, and it was just as fun.

This past week, Alexis traveled to Jekyll Island for her annual gifted class trip. Unfortunately, I was unable to go due to a pre-planned event at my own school (that I planned). Fortunately, my dad was able to take off work and go, for which I'm grateful. This year, the kids dissected sharks and got to go seining.

In other life news, I'm almost finished with part one of my gifted certification course. I've got one assignment left for this section, which is what I'll be working on this week. There are two more sections to go, unfortunately. This has been a tedious undertaking, and I cannot wait for it to be finished.

At school we finished up our first grammar unit with a fun food-themed project, practiced descriptive writing by making haunted houses, and dipped our toes into the world of research with a monster Halloween project. Up next, a research paper. Wish me luck teaching MLA format.

I got a sinus infection, which is a big reason why I haven't felt up to posting recently. It's also part of the reason why I haven't been reading much new lately, which led to me getting off-schedule with my book club. I'm about two months behind at the moment, but I think I can probably get caught up and back on track this month.

I do have some posts in the works, including a two-for-one reading roundup, an overdue outfit post, a product review, and at least one holiday gift guide.

And I think that's got you all caught up! Enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a wonderful first week of November.