Random Thoughts

1. I didn’t realize how much I liked fall until this year. It’s not hot enough to need the A/C, and it’s not cool enough to need the heat. In the words of Goldilocks, it’s just right.

2. My job is keeping me busy. I alternate between thinking, “Hey! I can handle this!” to “I have no idea what I’m doing! Help!” For the most part, I’m liking it.

3. I’ve already decided that I’m going to start listening to Christmas music in my car. I have no good reason for wanting to do so, but Bing Crosby isn’t objecting and neither am I.

4. Husband made me breakfast this morning, and I think there’s nothing better than waking up to the smell of a breakfast that you didn’t have to make.

5. Did I mention that I’m liking fall?

What a Treat

1) We spent the weekend celebrating a holiday where it’s actually encouraged to eat large quantities of candy.

2) We got an extra hour to sleep in.

I think I just found my ideal weekend.

Trick or Treat

The trick’s on us with Halloween candy.

First, we didn’t expect it to be so pricey. I wouldn’t mind paying over $5 a bag for candy, if maybe there were more than 3 pieces of candy inside. Husband didn’t believe me, until he saw the prices with his own thrifty eyes. (“Five bucks?? For a dinky bag of candy? That’s robbery!”)

Second, we (and by “we,” I mean “I”) decided that it would be better to buy candy that wasn’t our absolute favorite. Otherwise, we (again, meaning “I”) would eat all the candy before Halloween. One type of candy we selected was a humble bag of Starburst gummies. I made the mistake of sampling one, and all I can say is that one bag is almost entirely gone. And it’s not looking good for the second bag either.

Do you think the kids will notice when we pass out empty wrappers on Halloween?

Identity Change

I spent the majority of my childhood living up North, but I’ve lived most of my adult life in the South.

Since then, I’ve been quickly won over by sweet tea (which is entirely different than unsweetened tea that you sweeten at the table yourself).

I’ve happily gotten rid of my huge winter parkas, thermals, and other bulky gear.

And once I realized that the young Southern man that was offering to help me with my groceries wasn’t going to rob me, I’ve grown to love the kind hospitality.

Yesterday I realized that I’ve become an official, card-carrying member (or more accurately, a magazine-carrying member) of the South, when I saw this in my mailbox:

My Northern side can rationalize that I subscribed because I saw a deal on Amazon for a year’s subscription for just $5 (that’s sadly no longer available).

Or maybe I’m just becoming a Southerner, y’all.

Christmas in October

Did I oversleep and miss the last two weeks of October? And all of November?

Today I saw Christmas décor already stocked on a store’s shelves.

(Secretly, this sight made me just a little bit giddy inside. It’s only a matter of time before I break out my Charlie Brown Christmas CD.)

I guess the good news is that if you’re stuck for a Halloween costume, you can just pick up a Christmas hat and call yourself Santa Claus.

Dorothy was right

There’s no place like home.

After being gone off and on for the past few weeks, I’m done with all my work trips, and I’m home for a while.

I figured I had been gone for too long when the hotel staff that saw me every morning at breakfast for two weeks gave me goodbye hugs on my last day there.

And now I’ve grown to appreciate the little things about being back: being able to cook real meals, sleeping in my own bed, curling up on our comfy couch, etc.

Of course, there’s one big thing I appreciate most about being home. (I’ll give you a hint: he’s 6 feet tall.)

Redneck Car Repair

I have to hand it to Husband. He’s pretty knowledgeable in the car repair category.

Though, he wouldn’t have to know much at all to surpass my limited understanding. The most I can say about car repair involves caveman-like sentences, like “Car broken!”

So, I wasn’t surprised when he said fixed the problem he had with his car window, which had been stuck briefly in the “down” position.

What did surprise me, however, is that the car looked like it was fixed by someone named Bubba or Billy Bob.

Notice how the car door "guts" - for lack of a better word – are clearly visible. If you look closely, you’ll see some scrap wood that is helping to prop up the window, plus some green tape that’s holding up a dangling door handle.

Note that the tape used is not duct tape, which may exempt us from redneck status, but only by a technicality.

I’ll just make sure that Husband doesn’t start parking the car on the front lawn, or I might as well give up and put on my bathrobe and curlers.