One day last week was officially my favorite day of the year. It came early this year. Okay, let’s go back a step. I’m not a summer person. There are few things that make me happier than a cool, crisp autumn day. You know the type. You step outside, feel the nip in the air, and think to yourself, “I should put on another layer, maybe swap the shorts for pants.” That day, whenever it happens, is my favorite day of the year. This spooky neighbor helped decorate our back porch for the season. St. JudeI launched my campaign to support St. Jude super late this year. I’ve already put in my reminders for next year to get started on setting it up early in August. That said, I’m giving away a bunch of fun stickers, including a new one! I would love to send you one or more stickers in exchange for a donation. All of your donation goes to St. Jude, where they will use it to treat children with cancer, whether that’s researching new treatment methods, paying for surgery or chemo, or helping families travel to and stay on premises for as long as needed. St. Jude is a truly worthy charity and every little bit helps their mission. Donate to St. Jude WorkNext month will mark six months at my new job. Honestly, I’m loving it. I’m working at a state department, helping to design, develop, and support multiple websites and applications. This is the work I feel most rewarded by. I get to make things better for people. I design, I develop, I solve lots of interesting problems, I write sometimes, and there’s lots of different hats to wear on any given day. Plus, the people are genuinely nice and care about the work they’re doing. It’s refreshing after over a decade in corporate and startup jobs …HealthI had pretty good checkups at both my primary care physician and dentist. I do have a few appointments soon to address some of the things you just have to do as you get older. For one, I’m meeting with a doctor in a week to talk about getting cataract surgery. I have them in both eyes, though my right eye feels significantly worse. (I still see pretty well overall, but bright lights overwhelm my vision.) And I’ve met with the butt doc about getting my first colonoscopy in the near future. So I have those things to look forward to, and I’ll be happy when they’re in the rear view mirror.I’ve enjoyed walking outside much more in the past week. Walking in this weather is more invigorating than in the sweltering heat. We also joined a gym this summer, and we’ve been almost every day for the past two (almost three) months. It’s been a good alternative for getting walks in during that gross summer heat, but it’s mainly about getting some regular weight training as well.TravelWe have a couple trips scheduled for the fall: a long weekend trip later this week and a full week trip over Thanksgiving. Both of them to Disney World. You see, we splurged on something unusual in the spring: an annual pass to Disney World.We’d been planning to take the week-long trip there in November for awhile, but decided on a whim over spring break to make an impromptu trip to Disney World. I was between jobs (but had already accepted one) and the kiddo was off school so it was a good time to go somewhere. The math worked out that using an annual pass for both trips would actually be cheaper than buying the tickets separately. That also means that tickets for any other trips between then and next spring break would be covered as well. Soooo yeah, we’re spoiling ourselves a little bit this year and going a few other times.I recognize that this is the height of privilege (for us at least). It is very much a one-year event, as we can’t afford to do this every year. But with everything that we’ve been through over the past decade, and eyeing a very near future where our child is no longer a kid, we decided this was a good time to treat ourselves and indulge in lots of fun family time.