It’s official- I FINALLY got my Halloween decorations up- let the spooky season begin!
I’m also reading this book to give me more spooky vibes.
I’m definitely feeling less scattered now that I’m back from my trip. I’m ready to start planning for NaBloPoMo and beyond! Yesterday SHU did a post about her “big rocks” of 2026. She has to plan a lot farther in advance than I do- if I want days off from work I can request them as late as one month in advance- but it’s still fun to think about what’s coming up.
My big adventure will be in March- I’m planning to run 60 miles on my 60th birthday (because that’s how everyone wants to spend a birthday, right???) It’s a timed race on the actual day of my birthday, where you run as much as you can/want to in a certain amount of time (and the time allotted is definitely more than enough for me to complete 60 miles). So I’m excited about that one!
I also have my eye on a 50K in January. BUT, I potentially have some other things going on that month. If my daughter makes all state, I’ll be taking several days off work to go to Tampa. She’s also doing an event later in the month at University of Miami- last year I drove her down to Miami in the morning, went to work, then drove back to Miami, and THEN had to do it again the next day, and I almost lost my mind- driving back and forth to Miami is THE WORST. This time I’d like to request time off work for that event.
I’d also like to go back and visit my son in the summer, and we talked about making the short trip from Evanston to Highland Park, the town where I grew up. I haven’t been back in years and years, and I want to see it again. But that also depends on his summer schedule, and we won’t know that for a while.
So! I’m realizing that, apart for my race in March, I can’t make plans until other people solidify their schedules. That’s okay- it’s still fun to start thinking about it.
Do you have Halloween decorations up?
How far in advance do you plan your trips?
30 Responses
I love your decorations! I adore Halloween and definitely have decorations – including the same (or similar) ghost you have!
Your upcoming travel / time off plans sound great. Especially skipping a two day commute to Miami – yuck.
I am so excited you are reading Ninth House! I hope you end up loving it.
I REALLY like it so far! This is the first thing I’ve read by Leigh Bardugo- I know people really love her books.
There’s a small possibility I got that ghost after I saw it on you blog last year! It’s very cute.
This is all good stuff! I really loved getting to go back to my hometown of Champaign a few years ago, so I’m excited for you to get to go back to HIghland Park. I love the 60 for 60 race [clarification: I love getting to follow along from the comfort of my couch. i do not want to run one mile let alone 60 miles.]
If the Miami trip happens, do you have plans for what you will do between drop off and pick up?
If we’re doing a big family vacation it can be 6-8 months in advance. For my longer trips it’s more like 1-2 months out. I’m not sure what the future is going to look like. I feel like I’ll be more spontaneous for a while, and then get some more long term things planned.
Yes, you will be able to be spontaneous! That’s exciting. And- there’s so many things I could do in Miami. Since I never go down there, I would have lots to choose from. We’ll see!
I have to plan things fairly far out so I can block my work calendar. Otherwise sales people will plan trips. We don’t travel much at this stage of life as it’s not super fun to travel with a 4yo. I am planning to go to DC for part of spring break and will either just take Paul or all 4 of us will go. Phil is taking until the end of the month to decide (pretty sure he will opt to stay back with Will). Another rock is our annual lake trip which is always around Phil’s bday! And then the boys stay for the next week since we have a childcare gap before school starts. That’s kind of it for big blocks/plans!
I love your decorations! We need to get a Halloween countdown. The boys are so excited for the holiday!!
Lisa, I totally agree- we didn’t do much traveling when the kids were little because it’s JUST NOT FUN. And now we have a surly teenager who doesn’t want to travel with us… I see more traveling happening after she goes to college.
Countdowns are fun- I got that witch when the kids were little. I think it helps them see how far away a holiday is, rather than constantly thinking it’s tomorrow.
What about Ft. Lauderdale in Feb as a training run?
I plan a year ahead sometimes. Asheville on March 21!!
Wow. 60 miles. You can do it!!
Thanks Darlene! I believe I can do it, as long as I don’t get injured while training. And, you sent me an email about the Ft. Lauderdale half and I never responded. Maybe? It would be at a good time, and it was fun last year. Are you thinking of coming down? We’ll talk!
60 miles on your 60th birthday is very Jenny Coded!
My husband is our trip planner and he plans way ahead, usually over a year when he starts doing the thinking and the research etc. Like, right now we have two trips booked next year, and he’s looking at a third. For things like driving to my parents’ place, though, I don’t plan that far in advance. I usually have an idea in mind based on the weather/ road conditions (don’t want to drive through the mountains in certain seasons) and then I kind of go for it.
Happy Spooky Season!
I can see how you would want to have BIG trips, like Morocco, planned far in advance. None of my trips are out of the country (which is lucky since I still haven’t renewed that passport) so I can be more casual in my planning.
I’m so excited for you for your 60 miles for 60 years! And hopefully you can make the 50K in January work — I definitely felt more confident heading into my 100K earlier this year after doing a 50K 6 weeks before.
I’m signed up for a 60K in January (same race as the 100K but a shorter distance) but my next big race is the 125 miler in May. I had to start planning that as soon as I signed up, so basically a year in advance, because accommodations near the start would fill fast. But I’m still working out the logistics of my crew/pacers, etc. I’d like to do a “training camp” weekend up in Sedona sometime next spring so I can train on the course, but I have to plan it around long weekends that I already have off work because otherwise I’m gonna run out of PTO days before they renew in July. So that kinda limits my options!
I think it’s cool that you want to plan a trip back to your hometown, and it’s great that it’s fairly close to where your son is now! I haven’t been back to my hometown since 2016, because my parents moved to AZ in 2017 so I had no reason to visit but I’ve learned there are several ultras in the area and I think it would be fun to do one someday, but it would require flying since it’s a 12 hour drive and I have yet to fly anywhere for a race!
WOW. A 125 mile race is a serious endeavor!!! I feel like 60 miles isn’t that much farther than I’ve gone in the past, so I can pretty much train the same way. But 125 is a big adventure! A training camp weekend would be great, and I’m guessing this is a beautiful race course. I’m jealous! Mine will be 14 mile loops on a trail that’s… not as beautiful as Sedona, let’s just say.
If you want to come run the Sedona Canyons 125 with me, the waitlist is open! And you have 75 hours to complete it, so plenty of time! Haha but yes, it does look like a beautiful course and I’m excited and also super nervous because it’s gonna be more than double my longest distance so far.
Cute decorations! I’ll admit I don’t have one decoration up.
I like your 60 for 60 plan!
We’re planing a trip to Europe for next Spring but I need to wait for my son’s schedule to firm up before I can start planning.
Oh, your situation sounds a little like mine- my son’s schedule needs to firm up a lot before I can make any plans!
I have so much to say about this post! We just put up our Halloween stuff last weekend, so we’re not much further ahead than you. It is making me happy to see our house all decorated, though.
I’d be interested in what you think of that Bardugo book. It was too dark for me. Turns out dark academia is not my jam, but I know a lot of people like that book a lot.
I’m super lucky, I guess, because I can basically take days off whenever I want and have control over my schedule. I mean, if I have a lot of meetings that need to be rescheduled, I have to do the rescheduling, but that’s on me. I can’t even imagine having to plan out months in advance! I am not a forward thinker.
The thing about my job is, they would like us to give them as much notice as possible. But I could take a day or two off with very little notice if I had to- but I don’t like to do that, as it involves rescheduling clients and it’s a hassle.
I’ll report back on the book! I don’t mind dark.
Your decorations are so cute. I also love your 60 miles for 60 years old. I like the idea of doing something physically challenging for milestone birthdays. I did a backpacking trip for my 40th.
Right now as the weather turns colder here in Michigan I’m debating if a trip to your part of Florida will be possible in February. It’s nice to have somewhere warm to look forward to during the winter. This needs to be planned in the next month or so but I will probably figure out other big rocks in January or so since a lot of them will be early summer to late fall.
Well, it should be BEAUTIFUL here in February! January-March is when I’m happy I live in Florida.
i also like the idea of a big physical endeavor for a milestone birthday. Well… I guess that’s pretty obvious : )
60 miles? I can’t imagine that. This is to celebrate a birthday? Wow, you really know how to have fun, 😉
We own Halloween decorations – they’re pretty cute. I haven’t gotten them out yet. Not sure what happened to October, well I sort of know, but it isn’t like one big thing. Um, I guess tailgating at ND three weekends in a row was sort of a time suck. Anyway, I don’t have the decorations up yet and I’m not sure I’ll put them up.
We aren’t great at planning trips in advance exception was back in the day when we did a national park every other year. We planned those as soon as the reservations were open. We planned Yellowstone 5 years in a row and got reservations and then never went. A few times it was our plans changes/Irish dancing competitions interfered and the other times – Covid, Covid, and a fire or a flood or something – took out our lodging. I finally threw my hands up and decided we’d dodged a bear attack or something. We were there when curly was 2.5, but we do want to go back.
Ha, well you just made a good case AGAINST planning! Anyway… yes, if I traveled to a tailgate every weekend this month I probably wouldn’t have Halloween decorations up either! And I know- at this point it hardly seems worth it, because THEN you just have to tak ethem down again. Sigh!
Oh yes, we are fully decorated! We just won’t be home because it’s senior night, so not going to get to really appreciate any of it. Boo.
Oh I would hate that drive to Miami and back. My anxiety is spiking just thinking about it.
60 on 60 will be an amazing adventure, except I can’t believe you’re going to be 60! So cool, and I love the goals you set for yourself. Fingers crossed that you can make January happen, too!
Thanks Jenn! I also CANNOT BELIEVE I’m going to be 60- I feel like I’m 40, until I look in the mirror, ha ha.
Driving down to Miami is my least favorite thing and I try to avoid it if at all possible.
I have not been able to make travel plans very far in advance in a long time. I know lots of people make travel plans a year in advance and book their flights and all that, but I haven’t done this in forever. I love making plans though because the anticipation is half the fun! And it sounds like there’s a lot to look forward to in 2026 for you. A 60-mile run on your birthday! That sounds definitely like something YOU would plan 🙂
The only Halloween decoration I have up is a pumpkin by the front door 🙂
I know- I love the anticipation part of planning. I guess that’s why I “play” these things without making any definite flight or hotel reservations. I don’t know for sure if/when I’m going, but I still like to think about it.
I have very few decorations up, but it still feels slightly festive. I am a minimalist to begin with AND I don’t really like Halloween. So I mostly lean into fall themes: I have a little wooden leaf swag on my mantle (from the Dollar Store!), and a few thrifted items. Maybe 8 things up total??
I am excited for Christmas decor, though. And OH MY GOODNESS THIS TIME NEXT MONTH THAT WILL ALL BE UP. Which feels…crazy!!!!
That is an epic race and I love the distance and the date. It’s perfect for you, Jenny. And I cannot wait to cheer you on from afar.
Thank you Elisabeth! And, I’ll bet your house looks really nice- festive minimalism is a good look!
We don’t do decor for almost anything living in tropical places. Nor do I see others decorating. Maybe I see more during Christmas.
I have all my trips planned until end of Christmas. Then I’ll start thinking about next year, probably 6 months in advance for big trips and shorter trips just few weeks out. I’m contemplating the idea of hiking Dolomites next summer. Would you join me? 🙂
Oh yes I’ll be there!!! At least- in my dreams, ha. Not sure I could actually make it happen.
I’ll be interested to hear if people decorate for Christmas where you are? You’ll have to let us know!
Your Halloween decorations are so cute!
It depends on the trip for me. International trips, usually 6-8 months in advance. Cruises I can do within 1-2 months. Domestic travel can be 2-3 months. I don’t like doing anything too spur of the moment, I like having at least 2-3 months to plan. Plus, I want to be able to give work enough of a heads up!