Pumpkin Candy... or is that Jack-O'-Candy?

In the spirit of Eye Candy Friday... I give you the Keene Pumpkin Festival. We started going to Pumpkin Fest when Mr. Man was almost 2 years old. He was a bat for Halloween that year, and wore a costume my mom had made for one of my little brothers. It was kind of a blue/grey get up, and he was so damn cute. My SIL A was in college at Keene State that year, and we were all invited over to visit her Sorority House and the Pumpkin Festival. It was an enjoyable ride and we had a good time.By then it was on it's 6th year and had broken a few world records. I had never seen so many pumpkins in my life.

Seriously?!

So The Boy and I have been talking about doing something we haven't ever done this year at the holidays. Like go see The Boston Pops holiday show, or the Transiberian Orchestra's holiday show.. or did you know that How The Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical is playing in Boston this December? So I got online tonight to do a little searching, check tickets prices and show dates... and I think I need to go have a lie down. Did you know that "ok-ish" seats to see the Pops in Boston start at $92 a piece?

Fall Photo Shoot

So, last year I got fed up with paying out the nose for crappy school quality photos and did them myself. They came out so well, that I decided from now on I'll just do them on my own. I am perfectly qualified as a mom, a photography lover and I used to work in a portrait studio. So I did Mr. Man's photos on Saturday afternoon, at his insistence when I wasn't keen on the light, but he rarely is in the mood for anything.. did Ms. Thang's Sunday mid-day, and then made him put on his shirt from the day before and did them both together. I love this photo of them together. Don't get me wrong, he's a pain and I took about 20 before I got a few that I was happy with, and this one was the best. I love that his eyes are open (he squints a lot) and they both have natural smiles on their faces.

Columbus had a Compass

One of the things I love best about working with young children is the funny things they say in the most sincere way. Things that you know they honestly believe, and you have to fight back the laughter as to not upset them. Today was one of *those* kinds of days. The kind of day that you normally have off from school. The kind of day that reminds you of this fact every chance it gets. The kind of day that when it's over, you want to bury it in a cold drink and forget it every happened. And to top it all off, S had a funeral to attend today, and so I held down the fort with some back up help. Oh, and did I mention tomorrow is a full moon? In the midst of this most difficult kind of day, was something I will hold close to my heart for a long time. Something to pull out on the next difficult day and chuckle at and then put away again.

Sunday Secret's

Last weekend I convinced The Boy to stop working for an hour and come out for a walk with me. I wanted to walk along my run route with my pedometer and take note of mile-markers. I wanted to know where the 3/4 mile marker was, where the 1 mile mark was, and where the 1.5 mile mark was. My goal is to run a 5K, and I run out to the marker, turn and run back. I walk 5 mins from my house, down to the trail and to the tree that starts my route, and I walk 5 minutes again at the end. I visually decided where the spot past 1.5 would be to get to 1.6 and that is my end goal. Right now I am running 2 miles at a stretch, and hope to be at 2.5 miles by Saturday. I'm not sure where that marker is, but figure it's about halfway between 1 and 1.5, and I know it takes me about 7 minutes to run 1/2 a mile right now (I'm not going for speed yet, just distance) so I'll plan accordingly.

It's Begining To Look A Lot Like......

Christmas! In case you aren't in the know, one of the hottest spots on the web surrounding the big "shopping kick-off" which, in case you haven't been paying attention is quickly approaching, is Black Friday@ GottaDeal.com. Seriously, go check it out. I have been reading this website for as long as I've been on the internets (we won't talk about how long that is), and seriously, I've saved a bunch of cash because of it. My favorite improvement that they've made over the past few years is the addition of the online Black Friday sales. I scored some great stuff last year for the kids for CHEAP. Stuff I wouldn't have bought otherwise (a Zune MP3 player for Mr. Man and a Nintendo DS for Ms. Thang). Granted, I stayed up LATE, but in my opinion, it was better than having to go out and drown in the mobs of shoppers.

Starting in August, the site becomes a buzz of people discussing what they think the hottest trends will be for the season, (check out the official BlackFriday@gottadeal.com's trend list here) and posting and discussing the state of the economy and dissecting each Black Friday ad as it gets posted. Some years it gets ugly and stores send Cease and Desist orders to have their ad taken down, but most stores appreciate the sales they get due to having their ad up and don't mind so much. Around Halloween, or early November, the ads start going up and the list making begins. I like that I can click on all the stores and compare. Some stores offer "online only" specials that you wouldn't otherwise know about (Walmart.com did this last year and the year before if I remember right) and some store ads list what items from their Black Friday ad can be purchased online for the same low price.

With the economy being shaky and the price of everything being so high this year, I plan to start my Christmas shopping in the next week or so. I will do family gifts and stuff like that, but I always wait to watch the big sales before I start my shopping for the kids and the Boy. Doesn't everyone love a deal???

An Afternoon At The Orchard

One of my most favorite things to do in the fall, is to go apple picking. We've gone every year for the last .. oh, I dunno 5 0r 6 and it just never gets old. A few years ago our favorite Orchard closed up shop and we've taken to going to one further up the road in the next town over. Due to the fact that the closest orchard closed, our new spot has become very busy and weekends are quite crowded. We were originally going to go on Friday but it was cold and windy and then it rained, so yesterday found us headed out after lunch. This year we got smart and borrowed our neighbors wagon so that we didn't have to lug a bushel of apples back to the car. When we first started picking apples we only picked Cortland's. I wasn't well versed in what kind of apples are good for eating or pies or what have you, and they were recommended so that was what we got. Last year we added Honey Crisp apples into the mix because they are so good for snacking on. This year we picked 1/2 a bushel of Cortland's and the other half bushel was mostly McIntosh, and the rest Honey Crisp.

In Which We Find... My 700th Post

So it's no secret that Mr. Man and I are having a hard time of it lately. Half the problem is we are both stubborn and cut from the same cloth. He has a very similar personality type as I do.. and therefore we but heads. A LOT. He is also a teenager and hormonal and in 8th grade which as I remember sucked a bunch, and I know that he spends all day being good and what have you and then needs to come home and just blow off some steam. I know this in my head. I have a hard time remembering it when he's being smarty-mouthed or talking back or just being a butt. I also have started to think that possibly he doesn't realize when he's being fresh and talking back all the time. He just says it how it is (wonder who he gets that from?!) and in his brain there's nothing wrong with that so I shouldn't get upset.

So anyhow, on Saturday of last week (the 27th) I went out for my run around 9am. I have given up running on the roads (my town was built in a lake bed and we are surrounded by hills everywhere) and have taken to running on the old railroad tracks. The tracks have been removed and it's now a recreational trail. I can to go MA in one direction (10 miles) or if I'm rambunctious I can to go Maine in the other. I run towards Maine (seriously, I don't ever plan on going further than Keene which is 10 miles if I ever get that far) because it's a more scenic route and the trail isn't as rocky and there aren't peoples dogs barking at my ankles. So I walked my 4 minutes down to the trail entrance at the end of my street behind the school, started down the track, and saw something up ahead. I stopped, because I don't run with my glasses on and it was kind of far away and I wasn't sure what it was. I've met foxes before and they generally scoot over the bank and into the woods, but this creature was coming at me. It was grey/black/white and reminded me of a small dog. With pointy up ears. And a bushy-kind of tail. It was chasing a chipmunk and I decided I didn't really want to mess with it so I turned around and headed the other way. Tuesday I tried to go down the track again, but when I got to the spot where I watched the coyote run into the woods, I got freaked out and turned around again.

Yesterday I asked Mr. Man to come with me on his bike. When I walk my 2 mile loop he always asks to come along and I always tell him no. I walk to unwind from life, I don't want company. I run because walking all the time is boring, I love the woods and don't mind if I have company or not. He agreed and we had a very pleasant half hour. He mentioned to me that probably the coyotes were always there, I just hadn't seen them. I told him that I am always aware of animals when I'm alone in the woods, and hunters now that it's fall...but it was the fact that I did see one. Besides, considering the remote nature of the trail I choose, and the fact that my cell doesn't get signal out there, I surmised that running with someone even on a bike is better than being alone. He loves the woods and I think this might be good for our relationship. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.