Fall

   My favorite time of year has arrived.  The trees are blushing their vibrant yellows and reds, the air is thick with the smell of pine, and pumpkins are appearing at every doorstep.  I have a legitimate excuse to wear boots and scarfs, and I find myself craving apple cider more and more each day.  Cinnamon is becoming a staple in my kitchen, and I can't help but seek out a good book to curl up and read as a soft breeze comes through the window.  

   I am desperately trying to convince my friend to throw a costume party for Halloween (I will have the grandest costume balls some day - I was born for it), and I am itching to buy every overpriced garment I see in the Halloween isles.  I'm dying to add just a few wigs to my collection, but I will wait for the after-holiday sales for those.  Why do I want these?  Heaven knows.  I tell myself that I am amassing play clothes for my daughters-to-be.  If they are anything like me (and what will I do if they are not?!) they will wear at least thirteen different outfits a day and make strange headdresses out of random clothing.  It's what I do.  My sweet groom, good thing he loves me despite the fact that he married a nut!

My Husband the Hero

I just need to say that I felt like a million bucks today, and all because my husband stepped up and defended me!  Let me tell you what went down:  

I went to the post office because my friend who just lost her father needed me to overnight an outfit for her to wear to the funeral.  Of course I didn't hesitate to do it, and at the post office I was looking for the proper size box to ship it in.  As I was checking them out, this tall Asian postal worker brushed past me and didn't even excuse himself.  Whatever, I got over it.  So then I asked him if they had any thinner boxes, and he laughed at me in the most condescending manner and said he didn't know what I was talking about.  I then explained that by thinner I meant less wide or a little smaller, and he walked me over to a different section.  I got my box and started filling out addresses, and when I was ready to pay for it of course I got this same guy now behind the counter.  I explained that I needed the box shipped overnight to be received by Friday morning, if possible.  He said that the soonest they could guarantee it was by 3pm on Friday.  I hesitated for a moment because I wasn't sure if that would be good enough. As I hesitated, a man in uniform in the back room yelled to my guy, "Is that the last of the express deliveries for today?" to which my guy replied, "Yes, that is all".  I was floored!  I asked him to wait a minute and let him put my package in so it would make it in time.  He turned around to look at the uniformed guy, then looked me square in the face and said "Sorry, too late now".  Now I had had it.  The anger inside me was at a boiling point now, because not only had he been totally rude in his manner of dealing with me from the get-go, but he had the audacity to blatantly screw me over like that.  Needless to say, I took my package and marched out.  When I got home I relayed what had happened to my exhausted husband who had just gotten home from a long day at work.  When I was finished he told me to put back on my shoes because we were going to talk to the postmaster.  We walked in to the post office, my handsome husband still in his uniform and looking mighty formidable.  We asked to speak to the postmaster directly, at which point my hero expounded upon how poorly his wife had been treated and that he would not stand for it.  We only got an apology and a promise to "provide better service next time", but I got a whole lot more than that out of it than just that.  I got to see my soldier wage war on my behalf, and I got to see just how lucky I am to have someone who loves me that much.  

My best friend's father suffered a massive heart attack last night and died.  He was too young and too healthy to have expected it, if such a thing can ever be expected.  It is in these instances that we are faced with our own mortality and must ask ourselves if we are truly living life as we should.  All too often petty squabbles, depression, selfishness, pride and other such barriers jump in front of us and keep us from moving forward.  What's worse is that all too often we don't even realize it.  Or worse, we are not willing to confront it and overcome it.  So I challenge both myself and anyone who reads this to keep in mind the following as you go about your days:

*Savor each moment and don't sweat the small stuff.

*Pray and establish or strengthen your connection with your maker.  We cannot get through this life alone.

*If you love someone, tell them.

*Learn to forgive and do it often.

*Don't hold grudges.

*If you've got an issue with someone, talk to them and find a way to fix it.

*Make time for yourself, and make time for your family.  You are in control of your own schedule, and if you are not then it is time to be. 

*Indulge in something uplifting everyday, whether it is reading a good book, enjoying beautiful music, or just picking up the phone to call someone you love. 

*Engage in small acts of service.  Sometimes a smile or a friendly word is all it takes, and sometimes it is more. Either way, it is hard to wallow in ourselves when we are serving others. 

*Evaluate where you are in your life spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally.  If you are not where you want to be on any of these things, then take the steps to get there.  

Maybe it is because of the field I am going into (therapy), but I am a firm believer that we are in control of our own happiness.  You have to decide if you will be happy, and you have to work to sustain it.  It isn't easy and a lot of times life just isn't fair. But this much I know: it is worth the battle, and if you are not fighting then you are not trying hard enough.  You never know what day may be your last, so make it count my friends, make it count.  

My old Harem days

My theory is, if you can't find an excuse to dress up in a costume, find one!  It isn't quite Halloween yet, but for my birthday my friends knew that anything involving a head-piece would win me over, and thus our Moroccan-themed party commenced!

Birthday Fun

For my b-day my sweet hubby took me to the State Fair, where I got to practice my cow-whispering.  This is me talking sweet to ole' Bessy right before she told me I looked like a jack a$$.  

 

At this point Bessy and I were no longer on speaking terms, and I am pretty sure that she had the hots for Brandon.  

My friend Dean threw me a Moroccan-themed birthday 

dinner, and went all out to make it fabulous.  This was only the first course!

 

The food was amazing and the company great.  I ate more couscous than any human should ever be allowed, and consequently was quite grateful for the loose-draping costume!  

In amendment to my pregnancy quip

I must confess, I feel very flattered that so many of you care for my womb's well-being.  After receiving numerous "Don't do it!"'s  from women whom I highly admire, I am here to assure you that my Nuva Ring is tightly in place.  Not that it was going anywhere in the first place, mind you. At this point I view motherhood just as I do any other fleeting excitement, like learning to knit.  I may be smitten with the idea of sitting in a rocker with skeins of homespun yarn rolling around my feet, and I may even enjoy knitting away every so often in the twilight hours.  But I am definitely not ready to devote the time necessary to make socks...and I certainly don't have the skill for it yet!  That doesn't mean I don't want to make socks, and let it be known that I really respective you fabulous sock-knitters of the world!  For now, I am happy to admire the handiwork of others and save my knitting needles for another day.  As for my womb...well...she's busy in other adventures.  

The inevitable has happened

You'll hear it from me first: I think I want a job.  Don't get me wrong, crafting and cooking and taking grad classes are all great....but I am getting ansy.  I even find myself thinking that it may be nice to get pregnant or worse - get a dog.  This cannot happen!  Thus, I have begun the ever-depressing search of finding a job for which I am qualified.  Turns out I am qualified for nothing.  Seriously, getting a decent job with a Bachelor's in psychology is just as impossible as if I were a high school grad!  I can't even substitute teach here because you have to be certified.  Certified means going to school for another year-and-a-half...and thank you I am already on that but plan on getting paid better afterward.  Patience is not a virtue I possess, unfortunately, so I don't know what I will do.  With that being said, I should get back to knitting my scarf. 

Oh btw, I think I am going to join a spinning and weaving guild.  How cool is that?  

I think I'll call him Elroy

Here is my new favorite little guy, just made him today! 

 He started out like this:

And ended up like this!

Now I'm just on a roll...

I've come to a very important realization: I'm a self-indulged narcissist.  Why am I a self-indulged narcissist? Well obviously, because I don't have kids.  Every other blog I've seen is super-cute with dozens of pictures of  babies with little stories about how they did this or that and went to the fair and pet baby lambs and la-dee-da.  I, on the other hand, just write about me (and occasionally my groom).  Don't get me wrong; I am perfectly content being a self-indulged narcissist at the moment.  I just thought I'd let you know that I was aware.  

*By the way Mom: when I called to tell you about the posts I was so surprised to hear you nonchalantly say "la-dee-da" because I had literally just written that in this post.  Telepathic connection?  I should say so!    

Oh boy!

Now that I've finally realized how to put pictures on here the correct way, I thought I'd post some of my favorite scrapbook pages I've done so far.  Be gentle, I am an amateur.  Lots more coming!

I can't wait to make babies with this man! 

Behold my work and my glory

I may be converting to polytheism, because Rose Levy Baranbaum (author of The Bread Bible which I faithfully follow) may very well be a Goddess.  Seriously, if I can pull off baking bread this gorgeous and melt-in-your-mouth, there must have been some divine intervention.  Get the book and find your nirvana.  

So it's been a while...

I know, I know, I've been terribly negligent in posting.  What can I say?  I like to sleep in and mornings are the only time I get to write.  At this moment, however, I am in the middle of baking bread and thus am forced to remain awake to ensure a successful outcome.  I've been at this bread since 4 o'clock this morning, with hopes to get it out of the oven by 10:30 so when my groom gets in from being on-call all night, he can have his favorite food.  Gag all you want, but wait 'til you try my bread!  

Life has been quite nice, with the exception of the lawnmower man's nocturnal video game habits which has left me swearing strings of obscenities at about 3 in the morning because we can't sleep.  I've been honing my domestic talents (i.e. enthusiastically attacking every handicraft that women in the 1890s might have been forced to learn) and knitting and crocheting up a storm.  My latest fascination is sewing toys, like these two:

and with 4 dolls down I plan on taking on some other fun projects.  Admittedly, the scarf and blanket I am attempting needlework on looks like it was done by a paraplegic, but I'm holding onto the delusion that it will magically look perfect once it's done. 

Classes for grad school have started, and I feel very academic at the moment.  I even went out looking for some funky reader glasses with no magnification (my eyesight is, sadly, quite good), but couldn't find any. Instead, I've been planning my wardrobe around my classes.  How does a wanna-be artsy-schmartsy homemaker-cum-therapist look, you ask?  Well let me tell you.  First, I make sure to wash my hair only once a week so the style I choose never looks too contrived (does anyone really trust an academic with whistle-clean hair? I don't think so.)  Next, I find anything vintage (or slightly resembling vintage in my muddled brain) and toss it together with a pair of boots and a scarf.  Lately I'm big into knits, so anything made out of yarn or wool is sure to be on my body somewhere.  Finally, I top off the ensemble with big, chunky earrings and zero lipstick.  

I think the West might be getting to me.