The 43

There's always this goal: Find more time to write, perhaps by watching less TV. And for the summer, that works well. Then late September comes, the new seasons kick in ... and I find myself in front of the television more than I should. I really like to think I don't watch that much TV. Right now, the only things I have DVR'd are "The Big Bang Theory," "How I Met Your Mother," "The Mentalist," "Modern Family,"The Amazing Race" and "The League." I'm hanging on to "How I Met Your Mother" just to get through this last season, and "The League" is a short season and will end in November. Unfortunately, all six are going at once, and it's a lot of extra hours during a time when I don't really have it. Beyond that, I had taken the first season of "The Wire" out of the library a couple weeks ago. It's really good, and I went to reserve the second season, thinking it would take s...

I'm coaching both Michael and Ben's soccer teams again this year. I was going to back out of Michael's team but was convinced by some of the parents to stay on. And honestly, coaching both teams isn't so bad. Administratively, it has been easier than last year -- we got enough kids on both teams and the parents have been quite supportive, so I'm not scrambling with rosters and emails. And really, it's two consecutive hours one day a week for practice, and two Saturday games I would attend even if I wasn't coaching. Michael's team is 0-1-3 so far, but we are playing far better than last year, and we have a lot of room for improvement. And, thankfully, we have enough players. We could easily be 3-1-0, but we the first game we started slow, the second we pooped out in the last minute and allowed the tying goal, and the fourth we had two defensive meltdowns, one of which included one of defenders trying to kick the ball and whiffing, allowing the other tea...

I have not updated this blog in a month. But I've been writing a lot. September was my busiest month of freelancing yet. Besides ghostwriting a crazy amount of blog posts for other websites, I was editing as well. Add in the fact that my hours at work were increased, and the last 30 days were crazy busy. Unfortunately, this is an excuse for me not to write for myself. September is always a tiring month; this was even more so. My priority was the contract work. I'm approaching October as if it's still a priority, but with a twist: I update this blog and undertake any other non-work writing first, then do the freelance stuff. I won't blow off the contract work, so if I write here first, I'll in theory still get the other writing done. The queue on the website where I get assigned jobs is empty. It's not going to stay that way for long, but for now, I'm happy for the break. Time to get rolling again.

Back to school today, and I co-oped Ben's class in the afternoon. The school was so warm, even with air conditioning; recess was so hot and humid, even with clouds rolling in. I'm not going to mind when temperatures drop back into the 80s. Co-oping went well, which was in contrast to my freelance work, which frustrated me today. I'm feeling better about it tonight, and I'm out on the porch doing a fantasy football mock auction and enjoying the cooler weather. Summer is almost toast.

Labor Day. And you know what, I labored today, freelance writing to give myself a little cushion this week. The weather was hot and humid again today, which got a little annoying at the Salt Lake Bees game this afternoon. We had great seats -- 11 rows behind the plate -- but didn't quite get into the shade until about the eighth inning. We enjoyed the game, even though the Bees lost to the Reno Aces 17-7. We grilled steaks for dinner, and I took Popcorn for a walk. And I earned money by writing. Labor Day.

Six days without blogging. Six days without any non-work writing at all. An eventful six days. I did my first two co-ops of the year Tuesday and Wednesday. Ben is having so much fun at school already and has made a good new friend. Michael is stressed about reading but is happy to be back with his friends. I conducted our first soccer practice Tuesday, combining the two teams into one workout. I tried an unofficial practice like this back in the spring and didn't get many kids. Tuesday, we got 17. That makes me optimistic for the season. I picked up all the uniforms for the season and got practice times on Thursday. Wednesday, we went to the waterpark one last time. We met one of Ben's soccer friends and his family there. The day was so hot, so the waterpark was welcome relief (although the wave pool felt like bath water, but the one pool that is usually freezing wasn't as cold). Barely a crowd, either -- I love the waterpark after school for just this reason. We left about...

Today was cloudy. I wanted to take the boys to the waterpark tonight after school, but we had clouds. Yesterday wasn't as bad, but these two days are just a reminder that summer is winding down. I've turned my attention to fantasy football, with a draft coming up Thursday. I haven't afforded my preparations the usual attention I do every August, so I'm playing catchup. I've also been focusing on the boys' soccer seasons. I'm coaching both teams again and am looking forward to the year. Sunday, I took the dog on a hike and worked. Today, I worked a little bit, walked the dogs twice, bought and installed a new toilet seat, and took the boys to the JCC, where Ben resumed swim workouts and Michael and I played basketball for a while. Yep, the wind-down is in progress. I'm mostly resigned to it. It's OK.