Wake Me Up.. When September Ends

Today was a crazy day! I started with some much over-due fall cleaning. I didn't get too far.. but at least I started. Because as you know, it' soccer season. And unless you are in the 1st or 2nd time slots, your game starts late. And so our 10:30 game didn't get over until 12:00. After soccer we went apple picking and then did errands and grocery shopping and by the time we got home it was dinner time. One. Busy. Day. The boy made dinner, because he rocks and while he cooked I re-made the beds. Saturday is wash the bedding day, and well.. there was no time this morning to get them done. It was 40 degrees out last night, and the house was 6 degrees cooler today than last night when I went to bed. So I hauled out the winter blankets and put them on everyone's bed. We need to have the comforters washed at the laundry so probably we won't have comforters until next week. We won't have heat either.

t. G. i. f.

Eye Candy Friday... here you go. The view up on top of my fridge. I got those bitty pumpkins at the market and they are so darn cute up there with the plant I got from my mom.

Thank. GAWD. It's. Friday. I love Friday. Friday is my new favorite day of the week. Although Saturday is a day off and you don't have to go to work the next day.. but Friday brings promise. The promise of two days off... I love Friday.

This has been a rotten week. I am so thankful it's over I could cry. I think instead I'll drink beer. Abby, who rocks, sent me an envelope of paperclips to string.. one for each day of the year that is left. IMO, it's way to many days. Next week we start state testing. I hate state testing. This year though, I don't have to do testing. (offers up a silent prayer.) Although, would testing stop me from going back to where I've been until this year.. hell freaking no.

In Which We Find... A Fracture

Don't you just love fall?? I love walking outside and smelling the fresh "leaf" smell that permeates the air. I love the way the mornings are cool, yet when I walk home the warm sunshine soothes my face. I love to listen to the crunch of the leaves under my feet, and see my breath in the air. But mostly.. I love the colors of fall. I love to wear the colors of fall.. and I love how the light changes and everything looks different.

This is one of our old maple trees in my yard next to the driveway. When all is said and done it will be a glorious red color. I love how it changes from green to yellow to red. And check out those leaves that have already fallen. Our house is surrounded on all sides by maples. It's amazing how many leaves accumulate on our property. This year I am buying new rakes. Yes. Rakes. Raking is going to be a family chore. (shhh.. don't tell but I love raking. I find it soothing, like mowing the lawn.)

Delicious Autumn!

I know.. the photo stinks... but I was out doing errands this morning, and the sky was dark and foggy.. and the fog was just hovering in a misty shroud amongst the hills.. and I took a photo with my phone. If I were smarter.. I'd put my lil Sony dig. camera in my purse.. but I never think of it until I am out somewhere and want to snap a photo.

I give you... the first Saturday Sky of the fall season. Fall came in with wind, rain and a chilly start. Soccer was cancelled.. branches snapped off trees, and warm comfort food was served for dinner. The storm windows are all down, the flannel jammies are all out, and slowly but surely we are preparing for winter. I put the fall decorations out today. I don't like Halloween, so I don't decorate for it.. but I do a fall type theme instead. Pumpkins, rustic colored leaves, etc. etc. I love fall.

Next weekend I hope to go apple picking. I wanted to make a dent in my cleaning this weekend, but today I was just exhausted... and tomorrow we are going to visit the in-laws. So pretty much this weekend was a wash. In more ways than one.

In Which We Find.. The Fair

In honor of Eye Candy Friday.. I offer you some photos of the fair.

The Eastern States Exposition is an amazing experience. It's held in Springfield MA, and the fairground is different than anything else I've ever seen. It's like a small village. Part of the fairgrounds is a road, and on one side of the road is the Avenue of States (MA, NH, CT, VT, ME and RI each have a building) and on the other side, is a lil green way, a beer garden and all these old historical houses that now are gift shops and museums and what not.

Time Waits for No Man...

It's Time For.....

A New TV Season: Hurrah for new TV! I am most excited that Grey's is back on. I love Grey's. It is my new all time favorite show. I won't even piss and whine about how my sattelite decided to randomly reset itself for the first time EVER during the first 15 minutes and I missed like 3-4 mins. of the show. It's ok. I'm over it. I taped CSI, my other all time favorite show, and will watch that tommorow night or Saturday. I'm giving ER another chance. It's hard to give up a show you've watched since the first episode.. every week.. year after year. But last year, I was done. I was going to let it go... and then they roped me in with what happens to Abby. I had to find out if she was going to be ok. If she dies, or the baby.. I'm so done with ER. Although, next weeks episode looks good too. Damn them!

Talk Like a What?!

Your Pirate Name Is...

Lieutenant-Colonel Neck Snapper Nellie

What's Your Pirate Name?

Ahoy Me Hearties! It be Talk Like a Pirate Day! Bein holed up all day in the shanty with the wee lad, I figgured ta share the treasures I've scoured off a the Internets. Arrrrrrrr.

1. Dread Pirate Sam.. although me thinks he looks a bit like Cap'n Jack Sparrow.

2. Is it arrr or arrggg... click here an' learn how t' speak like a Pirate.

3. Git yer booty bag... The Webwench mustered up this swashbuclking bag..

4. Wee Lad's Pirate Hat.. a bit o treasure from the Harlot.. (but she didn' werk it up ..)

5. So ya wanna be a Pirate?.... click here fer swashbuckling fun.

In Which We Find... A Day Off!!!

There is something so lovely about an unexpected day off. I didn't plan to have today off. After all, I am taking a personal day on Friday to go drum at The Big E... but yet here I am. My son is home with a sore throat/fever/headache thing, and while he looks much better than yesterday, his fever was still high this morning so I kept him home. It's nice to take a sick day when you aren't the one sick! Don't get me wrong. I love my job. I love leaving every day and being a productive member of society. (and all you SAHM's.. don't read that wrong.. I loved that too!) But the weekends are so hectic and crazy right now, that there isn't a lot of relaxing going on. And today, while I've been busy this morning, and my chores are 2/3 done.. I'll be finished by lunch. And this afternoon will be spent relaxing. Maybe some knitting. Maybe some gardening. Maybe a walk. Maybe I'll have some birds visit the yard and spend some time just watching them. This lovely woodpecker came yesterday while I was mowing. The best part, was that I was able to get so close to get the photo, and he didn't budge. He is a frequent visitor. I've noticed a lot of geese flying south lately.. fall is on it's way.

Just Another Random Wed...Thursday.....

Buon Natale! How've you all been? I'm go glad to hear it. It's been a little... er... hectic on my end. School is.. well.. school is what it is this year. I won't blog too much about it. I'll try to blog more.. just nothing to say lately. You can only blog about how tired you are so many different ways.

TV starts again next week. I can't wait to see some of my favorite shows again. I never used to be a big TV fan but it's such a mindless activity that I find some nights it's all I have the energy for.

So.Damn.Tired

You Scored 50% Correct

You are a solid child of the 80s You'd never confuse Tiffany from Debbie And while you may not know Prince's first #1 hit You know every word to Little Red Corvette

How Much Do You Know About 80s Music?

We Shall Never Forget

(*photo from this website*)

"Today our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature, and we responded with the best of America, with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could....None of us will ever forget this day, yet we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.
Thank you. Good night and God Bless America." G.W. Bush 9/11/2001

As we move forward, and try to rebuild and regroup and recover... let us not forget those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Today, keep a quiet prayer in your heart. For the spouses, and the children, and the parents, friends and co-workers. For those who lived in the surrounding areas. For those who ran in while everyone else was running out. For those who's lives have been touched in any way. For all of us. For America.

Ode to A Pair of Socks...

I was so upset when I realized that my first pair of socks wasn't going to work out the way I had hoped. The first sock, the one I was so proud of, seemed a bit loose on my leg and foot. I started the second, and got down to the foot, and realized that they were not going to match. One was smaller than the other. My first sock, was also my first dpn experience. And my hands were still figuring out what to do. I put those socks away, disgusted that after all that time, when I finished my second sock I was either going to a. have to socks that didn't fit the same, or b. have to re-knit the first sock.

In Which We Find a Few More Letters...

Dear son,
I know that puberty is a tricky point in life. Hormones rage. Tempers flare. All these things are going on in your brain and your body and you can't quite figure out how to deal with it all. I get it. I've been there. What I don't get is how you continue to do such dumb things to get yourself in trouble. You are so effing smart.. yet you seem to have the common sense of a rock. The last thing I want to do before I walk out the door on a Friday afternoon after one of the suckiest work weeks ever is have to go into the principals office to discuss you. More precisely, why I think you continue to do dumb things like throw Unifix Cubes in class. OK, so I might have chuckled for one half second when I heard that your intended target ducked and you nailed your teacher instead. I might have laughed out loud when he came to talk to me about it after school. But it's not funny! You could've hurt someone badly. You know better than to throw things at school. You hear me holler about throwing things at home enough. Use those smarts for something other than good grades... THINK before you do things. Always.
Love, Mom

Some Random Things

I really despise that they start showing previews of my fave shows.. a month before the show actually comes back. Don't tease me like that. I know I have to wait. How about 2 weeks... or even 3. It's way to much to have so suffer through 5-6 weeks. Give me a break already! And c'mon.. why are we doing the show shuffle? You can't slate two of my favorite shows against each other in the same time slot. What's up with that? Grey's and CSI on at the same time? I don't have for catch up TV watching. I'm already getting ready to give up my 10:00 shows.. or figure out how I can watch them week to week.. or something. ARGGGHHH. Too much to think about. Or maybe I should give up TV. No.. nope. Not going to happen.

We Laboured....

Found through a Google search:

"Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country."

In the spirit of the working man, we spent a part of our day working. This photo to the left, is the fence at the back end of our property (on the left side of the house/barn) that separates this part of the yard from the neighbor behind us. We live on a corner, and the front of our house faces a different direction than our neighbor, hence they are behind us. We call this our back yard. Technically it's not. Moot point. Anyhow, that fence continues around in an upside down L shape, but this part right here that is in the photo has been about to fall down since we moved in. 5 years ago.

A Tropical What??

I looked up at the sky today, and realized that the last month or so of sky shots have been the same. Dark. Cloudy. Threatening. Tropical whatever Ernesto is to the south of us, and a high pressure system is keeping him there. Or should I say that it isn't keeping the winds and the clouds from lurking above... just the keeping the rain away. My thoughts go out to all of you affected by the flooding. Our county suffered some major flooding last October, and some parts are still recovering. Be safe out there.

Ode to the Long Weekend...

Thank. Effing. Gawd.

Ya'll.. I didn't think today would EVER.GET.HERE. What a long week it has been.

I don't want to talk about school. There isn't a whole lot I could say (confidentiality and all that) specifically.. and in a nut shell... it was a long stressful 3 days. When you have to stay 5 steps ahead of someone at all times, and find yourself 3 behind.. it's very exhausting, emotionally and physically. And then we have the stupid ankle. It was much better Monday morning than it is right now. A week of having to go up and down from the third floor all day long (and then also to the basement for lunch).. really does a number on a sprain.