What About September?
September is:
The birth month of ME
I mean, let’s just put the most important thing right up here at the top, shall we? I miss the days when Katie was in jr high and high school and by the time I would get home from work, she and her best friend Jessie would have decorated the whole house with streamers and posters and would have baked me a crazy cake. Birthdays are a little sad when you live alone. I’m trying to buy myself a nice piece of jewelry for my birthday but I just can’t decide on what!
The first month of fall
Because Labor Day is not actually the end of summer. Blrrgh.
Shorter and shorter days
By the end of the month sunset will be an hour earlier than it is now. Which is both a positive and a negative. Positive cuz it means you can go watch a sunset and the after-sky (which is the best part) and be home before bedtime! Negative cuz there’s only 2½ hours of daylight after I get home from work, and now that the weather will be getting better (see below) I might actually want to spend time outside!
Cooler days
September and October are two of the nicest months to do outdoor things. The average temps (here) will be about 20 degrees less than they are now.
September Feels Like:
A fresh start
I know most of us aren’t actually starting a new school year, but those early years of the public school calendar really stay with you all through life and it just feels like you get a fresh start in September!
Time to do something different
And with that Fresh Start comes the perfect opportunity to try something new. I have been thinking about this for awhile, I may have already mentioned it on here some time ago…but I’m going to do a two-week sugar-free (torture) session. After my birthday. After the weekend after my birthday. It’s not a weight-loss thing. I just hear SO many people say they feel SO much better going off sugar, I want to know for myself if this is really true. People tend to evangelize the challenging things they do, so excuse my cynicism. I just want to see. Right now I’m letting the sugar and sugary things dwindle down in my kitchen. I’m currently without homemade iced tea because I didn’t want to buy a new 5-lb bag of sugar when I ran out last week. I’ll let you know when I start, how I’m doing, how it feels. If anyone wants to join me (it’s just two weeks!), let me know and we can go through sugar-withdrawal together. Misery loves company.
The start of the holiday season
I know that Halloween, Thanksgiving and even Christmas things have been in the stores for a month or more already, but now it will really start to feel holidayish. Once there’s a chill and crispness to the air, and you smell fireplace smoke in the evenings, it’ll be easy to start getting in the holiday mindset (do you know what you’re going to be for Halloween yet??)
the time to wear the rich colors of autumn
Finally! I’ve been seeing them on retail sites and fashion bloggers who jumped the gun by wearing their chunky chestnut cardigans while it was still 90 degrees in August. But it’s finally time to start dipping our toes in the autumn palette pool, and I found the perfect way to do that with this cute deep mustardy gold tee shirt! It’s the color of fall without all the sweating! If it’s a chilly day or evening, just throw a denim jacket over top and you’re good to go. Swap the slip-ons for booties for a little extra warmth.
What fall items are you most looking forward to wearing?
what i’m wearing
-
- Old Navy EveryWear Printed Slub-Knit Plus-Size Tee in Tobacco Leaf, size 3x
- High-Waisted Rockstar Super Skinny Plus-Size Jeans in Black, size 24 short
- Denim jacket, size 3x. Old. Comparable here
- Superga slip-on sneakers
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Deborah Stinedurf
The “ber” months have always been my favorite. The weather, the colors, the holidays…all of it. However, I do not in any way like the shorter days. I wouldn’t mind the seemingly 9 months of winter so much if it was actually still light outside by the time I get home from work. I actually did a post last year or maybe the year before about how for me the beginning of the school year actually feels more like the New Year than January 1st. Since I’m a teacher and am still required to do the whole back to school thing, I think it’s even more prevalent. xo
Debbie
http://www.fashionfairydust.com
bettyewp
I actually do like the REALLY short days after Christmas, it’s so cold out and I’m very happy to get home by 4:20 and be in my nightgown on the sofa by 4:30. I like a month/6 weeks of hibernation time 🙂
Michelle
Happy Birthday Month!!
I love fall. Getting out my fall clothes feels like Christmas morning. The colors – the textures – the BOOTS. 🙂 Plus fall just feels and looks and smells amazing.
I’ve gone on sugar fasts MANY times. In fact, I’m starting another round today. I won’t lie – it is HARD. The first week is the worst – I am so cranky. But yeah, I do feel better when I don’t eat sugar (or bread). I have more energy, I’m less hungry in general, and (the best part for me) I sleep better. Good luck with your sugar fast – I hope it’s a good experience for you!
bettyewp
I hope I’m not double-answering a bunch of posts. I responded earlier to a bunch from my cell phone when I was out of the house and ended up with some sort of error message. And now that I’m back home on my computer I don’t see any of my responses.
ANYWAY. Why are you doing a sugar fast? How long do you usually do them for? I’m so afraid of super cranky withdrawal, have you found anything (besides sugar!) to relieve that?
Michelle
I do it for a multitude of reasons – for better sleep (I have a lot of problems staying asleep and can lie awake in the middle of the night for hours), because I tend to get out of control with sweets and feel the need to reign things in, and also to lose weight. I usually do a month minimum.
Every experience has been different. The first time I was cranky for about a week, and then didn’t miss sugar at all. The second time I was cranky the entire month and never lost my sugar cravings (but I reaped all the other benefits). The third time I was up and down and cheated a couple of times. I started again today and it was the easiest first day ever. I craved sweets for a few minutes after meals (when I would usually have dessert), and then my brain moved on.
The first time I fasted from sugar I was also taking probiotics. I don’t know if that had any effect. Do you read the blog The Sequinist? She took some herbs to help reduce sugar cravings – I have not tried this yet. Here’s the link- she mentions the herbs about 4 or 5 paragraphs down: https://thesequinist.com/things-i-love-right-now-summer-2017-edition/
Hope this is helpful.
bettyewp
THE SEQUINIST! Her article about giving up sugar back in 2017 is what put this in my head in the first place, and yes, it has taken me TWO YEARS to actually do anything about it, but yeah. I told her I hated her in the comments cuz she put this ridiculous notion in my head 🙂 I remember reading about the herbs she recommended, like ashwaranga or something, and reviews that didn’t seem so positive, but…I think everyTHING is different for everyBODY.
Ooh, it’ll help sleep? I’ve had to take antihistamines with diphenhydramine (the stuff in benadryl that makes most people drowsy) for YEARS, every night, just so I fall asleep at night.
I’m imagining I will be cranky THE ENTIRE TIME.
Did you do the Bright Line eating thing? I have that under consideration. I’m not a fan of ALL OR NOTHING things. I just joined a Bright Line Facebook group and yeah, people get very THIS IS THE WAY THE ONLY WAY and that never sits well with me and puts me in the “Oh yeah? I’ll show YOU!” place, which doesn’t help me.
It’s going to be an interesting adventure.
Michelle
That was a great post – wasn’t it? It inspired me to try again.
I don’t like the all-or-nothing approach either, and the “you have to do this forever” line is even worse. So no, no plans to do Bright Line since I already know a lifetime commitment is off the table. I like carbs. I like sugar. Ultimately I’m not trying to eliminate, but moderate. I’ve done different degrees of sugar fasting, though. The first time I was very strict about no sugar in anything – read all labels, made things like salad dressing from scratch, etc. Another time I also stopped eating bread (and that was the fast where I stayed cranky. I’ve gone back to eating bread, but I do eat a whole lot less of it than I did before.) One time I pretty much gave up everything that wasn’t protein or veg (including no milk in my coffee – SO NASTY) for a week and then slowly added things back in again. This time I’m going in the opposite direction – first eliminating sugar, then alcohol, then bread, A gradual fast.
I find I do sleep better when I don’t have sugar, alcohol or refined carbs in my system, (although hormones and stress also play a roll). We seem to have different problems with sleep, though – I can fall asleep quickly enough (although I often pop a melatonin before bed), but I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep. I’m not sure how eliminating sugar will affect falling asleep – hopefully it helps!
Pamela Gray
This outfit looks GORGEOUS on you! I just started a sugar fast yesterday. I did it once before for two weeks and I did feel better. (So why did I stop? I ask myself now) I didn’t realize how insidious sugary foods are- someone brings cupcakes to work, or passes around life savers at a meeting and without even thinking I’d pop one in my mouth!
bettyewp
Ooh, why are *you* doing a sugar fast? For how long are you doing it?
jodie filogomo
Happy birthday month. I’ve done that no sugar thing, and to me, what was even more amazing was how it didn’t taste as good afterwards. Although is two weeks enough?? I can’t remember how long we did it. Granted we now buy most things without sugar in them. It’s hard, but reading the ingredients is mind blowing.
Heck, I remember when I couldn’t drink tea without sweetener in it. Yet now it’s how I drink it. Good luck. It’s not always easy. At least for me it wasn’t because I definitely had a sugar addiction. And I thought I’d never be able to get off of it.
I’m with you about the daylight. I just love the longer days, but they aren’t as long here in AZ since we are more south. But I’m going to love the warmer fall days!!
XOXO
Jodie
bettyewp
I have gone REDUCED sugar in the past and noticed then how insanely sweet things tasted, that I used to think were just BARELY sweet!
Yeah, you’re gonna have a nice winter in AZ after your many snowy days in CO!
Iris
Cute outfit – love the top color.
Do without sugar! I have cut down drastically on my sugar intake. However, I don’t use ANYTHING with the artificial sweetners. I think they’re much worse for you than sugar. I “can” drink my coffee without sugar – but I don’t want to. Good luck with your 2 weeks.
Grace & Peace,Iris
http://www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com
bettyewp
I’m gonna need all the luck I can get!
Tina von Tinaspinkfriday
Happy Birthday Bettye! I wish you the best ❤️
bettyewp
Thank you, Tina!
Pamela M Gray
My attempt will be for this month- I’m trying to be more conscious of ‘energy in and energy out’ which I find more helpful than counting calories. I envy people who can cut back because once I have one cookie or sweet, I’m a goner for the rest of the day! I made it 2 days now! I’m looking forward to see how you make out.
bettyewp
Ooh, energy in energy out, that’s interesting. I can kinda do “one cookie,” I’m a weird eater.
Good for you for two days!
Val
Happy Birthday Bettye
Love the stronger colours on you – the mustard tee and red velvet jacket both look fab.
Good luck with cutting out the sugar. Even if you only lose your taste for sweetened drinks it’ll save a load of calories every day.
bettyewp
I don’t know how much good that does me, several months ago gosh maybe a year ago I went one month without drinking my beloved McDonald’s sweet tea. One month and I saw no difference, felt no difference. I didn’t replace the tea with like bags full of cookies or anything. I think to really cut calories, in addition to cutting out sugar, I’d need to significantly decrease portion sizes. Which, really, I’ve been doing for a little while now, just watching portion sizes and being mindful of how many carbs I eat. But we’ll see what happens. And thanks for the good luck, I’m going to need it!
Cheryl Tucker
Happy Birthday month!! I love this look! The color of your top is one of my favorites and reminds me of the cool fall air arriving soon! The denim jacket is soooo perfect! I think I could do without sugar, I am one of those people who loves fats more than sugars. The minute I try to cut out salty fats I want them all the more. Give me all the chips and dips! What does something so wrong feel so right?
Peace!
Cheryl
Cheryl Tucker
why not what. 🙂
bettyewp
Why not what what?
bettyewp
Definitely when push comes to shove, I prefer “salty crunchy” to sweet. But no one’s shovin’! Food is so HARD!!!
Daenel T.
I’ve wanted to go sugar free but, like you said, misery loves company and my family is awful and won’t suffer with me. So, I’ll join you. This’ll make my doctor happy, since I was supposed to go caffeine free and, well, caffeine and I go way back, but sugar less coffee is just why even bother… So, count me in. I need a date.
bettyewp
Oh, yay! I was going to post The Big Explanation next week, I could do that Tuesday…would you rather start on a Monday or a Friday? Monday just SEEMS better, but I don’t know if I’m quite ready for THIS Monday cuz I may still be birthday-ing 🙂 Thoughts?