Wednesday, October 31, 2012

happy halloween

I've been thinking about Halloween costumes. My favorite costume growing up was my gypsy outfit. My mom made that costume for me and I loved it, even the nasty black wig! The big hoop earrings were pretty cool too. I also liked being a hobo and having my face dirtied with a burnt wine cork.

My kids have had a variety of costumes. The boy went as Thomas the Train during his preschool years. The hubby created an amazing costume for that Halloween. I think it is still up in the attic. The girls have been Powder Puff characters, fairies, ninjas and a whole host of other things.

I love handing out the candy and seeing all the cute costumes! Best part of Halloween!!

Happy Haunting to all the little ghouls and goblins!!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

oddest thing

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day in my neck of the woods. Of course, a huge part of our country was enduring Hurricane Sandy. After looking at video and reading news reports throughout the day, I almost expected stormy weather when I left the office. I wasn't alone. Several folks commented that when they'd get a glimpse of the outside, it was weird that the sun was shining and the sky was clear.

So often when we watch the weather news, it is about weather that is happening to us or will happen to us once it travels a bit further inland.

Very strange to see a hurricane and know that we aren't going to get any of that water or wind.


Monday, October 29, 2012

the pumpkins


The Halloween Pumpkins carved by the hubby, the girl and the boy!

trick or treat

We bought pumpkins on Saturday and the hubby and kids carved them yesterday. As soon as the sun set, we had to light them and see how they looked. As always, they are fantastic. I will take a photo and post it.

The end of October is here! Halloween is upon us!

Speaking of trick or treat, watching the coverage of Hurricane Sandy and the anticipated weather has been interesting and a bit scary. I've been thinking of my oldest daughter's best friend who is away at school in NYC.

Off to bundle up for the morning walk. It is about 41 outside, but we are going. As my brother says, there is no bad weather, just bad gear. Now that they've moved from the gulf hurricane zone to what I guess is the Atlantic hurricane zone, I hope he has good gear for the days ahead.


Thursday, October 25, 2012

college part two

The acceptance letters are starting to roll in for the middle kid. It is rather weird to be doing this again. Our life is in a senior year loop. I sort of think, however, that this daughter will make her decision sooner than the oldest one did. She is already leaning heavily towards one university - not the one her sister attends.

Now that soccer is over, the only event we have left is the banquet. Then our days with that group of folks will come to an end. We've been involved with that program for five years. Sort of odd to think that we are now finished and moving on to other things.

The holidays are approaching and while I was in Target yesterday buying some cards I noticed the Christmas stuff is being stocked, staged and highlighted. Last year at work, the holidays were sort of a non-event for me as a department of one. This year I will be part of a larger group and it should be more fun.

Off into Thursday I go and on the way home from work I get to stop and pick up the latest from Justin Cronin. Looking forward to reading "The Twelve" over the weekend!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

soccer is over

Our girls lost last night 2-1. After a season that had many of the sideline coaches scratching their heads and wondering just what exactly the coaching staff was trying to do, or not do, the team lost in double overtime on a golden goal with only 20 seconds left before PKs would have begun.

This opponent was beaten at the beginning of the season 4-0.

I didn't go to the game last night. I stayed home with the boy and helped him with his confirmation essays. I thought it would be an easy win.

I was wrong.

We are all devastated. It is the hardest thing to watch your child cry and know that you can't fix it or make it better. No words will take away the hurt and the disappointment.

Time will lend perspective and will allow her to see the lessons to be gleaned from this season. We've always told our kids that you can learn things from any situation. Sometimes you learn what to do. Sometimes you learn what not to do.

Life goes on, even for soccer girls and their soccer moms and dads.

XOXO to our Ladies.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

zippity do da

Ran out of time this morning before I left the house and didn't have a change to even think about composing any sort of blog post. Before I lose myself in the world of lynda.com and the take a tutorial on google+, I thought I'd jot a few things down.

Nothing is better, clothing wise, than a brand new white shirt. What is it about white shirts? I just adore them.  I found one on super sale at Land's End a few weeks back and decided to wear it today. Perfect!

Our Dukie-dog had his annual visit to the vet yesterday for his wellness exam. He is now a 'senior' dog according to the report we received after his exam. He was still a bit off his game last night at bed time. They have to sedate him to trim his nails and it takes several hours for that to wear off. But, his overall health is good and he doesn't have to go back for a year.

The soccer girl has a match tonight and most likely a match on Thursday night. I'm savoring these last few nights of sitting in the bleachers. Our days are numbered. My soccer mom status is rapidly coming to an end. I need a new 'identity' and I guess with the boy arriving at the high school next year, I will become a 'band mom'! Not sure they are as sassy/feisty as the soccer moms, but I will find out.

Off to listen and watch this tutorial. Our national meeting work is complete and I can hear the pallets of stuff being wrapped, taped and readied for shipment to the convention center.

Happy Tuesday.

Monday, October 22, 2012

slipping away

October is slipping away. At work our list of things to do for the national meeting is basically complete. At home, with the flower beds back under control, the outside chores are winding down as cold weather begins to move into the region. Inside the house, I was able to buy two pie pumpkins yesterday and prepared and froze enough pumpkin for both Thanksgiving and Christmas pies.

I also made braciole yesterday! Delicious. I only did 6 of the meat rolls as the store didn't have that much tenderized round steak. It was so good and so nice to enjoy a real Sunday dinner.  I also put away some extra boiled potatoes for potato corn chowder later in the week.

The soccer girl will have another game on Tuesday night. This will be a 'must win' situation as well.

I've been reading quite a bit of late. I have found a cozy mystery series featuring a pizza restaurant and the two sisters who run it. Very light and easy to read.  Our library has them for download, so my Nook is being used daily.

And that is about it! Happy Monday...the week is about to begin.

Friday, October 19, 2012

the rare friday post

I sort of gave up on posting this week. The mornings went by fast and Friday arrived in short order. I'm not complaining. We had a good week.

The soccer girls managed to win their first game in their march to the state championships. Whoop! The middle daughter saw a decent amount of playing time and did a fantastic job.

The oldest daughter seems to have survived her first trip to the student health center at her university. She walked away with two prescriptions, one for a z-pack and one for tamiflu. While her flu test was negative, she was exhibiting the classic flu signs and the doctor went ahead and made a preemptive strike. Dr. Mom approves. Now, if she will just get healthy and stay that way for a while so she doesn't catch every creeping crud bug that crawls her way.

Both the 'at home' kids did well with their first quarter grades. Straight A's all around. Whoop!

Hubby's car finally went kaput, but it at least got him home from the job site he was visiting and is now being repaired. He should have his wheels back tomorrow.

Work was steady and quite entertaining this week. My coworker is drafting her statement of purpose for the PhD program at the local university and that letter along with her regular papers gave me my dose of what it would be like to be finishing up a Masters degree in English and getting ready for a PhD program. Yikes. I will continue to live vicariously through her and enjoy learning and relearning things about Shakespeare and the British Early Modern period. Love it!

I put the second Justin Cronin book on hold at the Library and am anxiously awaiting my turn to read "The Twelve."

Happy Friday, enjoy the weekend and see you next week!

Monday, October 15, 2012

the reclaiming of my flower beds

Back in the early spring, before the oldest's graduation party, we had made a big push to clean the flower beds and spread down some mulch.

Then the next thing I knew, it was October. Yes, I don't believe I did a darn thing to those beds all summer long. The bed on the east side of our house was so overgrown, I was embarrassed. I love to garden and putz around with the landscaping, but when I went back to work full time, I just didn't have enough hours on the weekend to spend that sort of time digging in the dirt.

Hubby graciously offered to help and I accepted, knowing I would be advising him all day long on what was a weed and what was a perennial. It took us 3 hours, but we managed to weed, trim, and reclaim all of the flower beds and shrubs. It actually looks nice again!

We still have a few things to do once the grass goes dormant. The liriope needs to be cut down along with the irises, the mexican petunias and the sedum.

This gardening effort was just one item on our to do list for the weekend. I'm happy to report we checked off all the other items as well.

Happy Monday!

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

no book sale for me

The Friends of the Library held their fall book sale last weekend. This was the first sale in years that I didn't attend. Due to a variety of events last week, I just never was able to schedule some time to be over there. I'm feeling quite disconnected with that group at the moment, and I guess it was just bound to happen.  I really wanted to stop in and give the lady who has 'managed' the sales for the past 5 years a big hug and say to her loud and clear "Thank you for your hard work."

I guess I will need to find another way to thank her. When I became the president of the group I begged her to keep on as the sale manager until my term was over! She was so reliable, so organized, so good at that job. I knew I didn't have to worry or focus any energy in that direction with her in charge.

Well, I guess I will learn, along with the rest of the members, how the sale went in the next newsletter.


Tuesday, October 9, 2012

better late than never

I never had a chance to blog this morning. Rather difficult to have quiet time with house guests. So, as the afternoon comes to a close here at the office, I thought I'd sneak a minute or two and jot some thoughts down.

We had some truly chilly weather this morning. It was 43 when I let our dog out to fetch the newspaper. I actually bundled up, ear muffs and gloves, for our morning walk.  Our lunch time stroll was really pleasant, but I kept my jacket on.  I'm not sure if it even hit 70 today, but the weekend looks to be more seasonal with temps back up near 80.

My Nook is without a book right now.  Something wonky is going on with the library's download and go ebook service. Not sure what is happening, but the books I tried to return didn't show as returned. So, I will need to let them expire. Which means, nothing to read for the next four days.

I caught up on my guilty pleasure television watching yesterday while the kids and my sister in law went to the movies. I stayed home with the two dogs and the two roasts I had in the oven.

Looking forward to a soccer match tonight! Off I go!  Hope your day was a good one.

Monday, October 8, 2012

slow down....weekends go by too fast

The long holiday weekend is going by too quickly for me! Today is Monday and although we have today off from work, I wish I could press a rewind button and turn the hands of time back so we could relive Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Senior Night was so much fun. The girls had a great time and it was wonderful to see so many smiling faces. Players, parents, and families enjoyed a friendly inter-squad scrimmage and then a cookout.

Saturday I took the girlies shopping and boy did we shop. The oldest needed some things for fall/winter and the middle kid coerced me into buying her some new sweaters as well as a dress for the soccer banquet and a skirt. Lots of good sales going on, so the bill wasn't too bad.

Yesterday the oldest had to head back to college as her fall break was over. It was so much fun to have her home. Ahhhh, I miss her!!!

Today I am off to Costco with my sister in law to doing some pantry restocking for the next month and she can have fun helping. They don't have Costco up in her part of Indiana, so she enjoys going.

Fantastic start to Fall Break!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

countdown to the weekend

I decided to take a half day off tomorrow! I'm so excited. The oldest arrived home and went with us to watch the soccer match. She had fun visiting with her former teachers, the principal she worked for during her study hall, and of course the soccer girls and their parents.

Unfortunately, our ladies lost 2-0. It was heartbreaking. Both goals were scored in the first half on breakaways. Our daughter, yet again, didn't get a lot of playing time. She was heartbroken. This was a very important match and the coach continues to screw around with the rotation and field positions. Middle kid's very best buddy played in 7 different positions last night. Unreal. Unreal. Her mother was livid.

The coach still says, after being with this group of young ladies since July, that he doesn't 'know' them. Really? OMG.

Enough of that though.....as with many things, time will cure this as the season ends at month end.

Off to work and then home tonight to watch the middle kid be inducted into the Cum Laude society. We got her official transcript yesterday....she is number 21 out of 478. One more spot to climb for 'special' recognition. She is amazing!! So very proud of her to have been able to achieve such academic excellence while still playing a competitive sport year round and doing all the extracurricular activities she does.

Enjoy your Thursday!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

i'm late!

Oops, running late today. Got a late start on the morning walk and then I've putzed around too long in the kitchen.  Short post, folks. Good day ahead, the oldest comes home for a visit and the middle kid's soccer team faces off against their arch rivals for a major match tonight.

Enjoy your Wednesday!!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

banned book week

Banned book week is underway. The event actually received some coverage in our local paper. In the student union at our nearest university, professors are taking time to read aloud from several banned/challenged books. I have also seen some neat posters celebrating the week on facebook.

We did a display in our local library a few years back and created paper chains to wrap up the table where we had placed copies of the banned books. It was quite impressive and garnered several comments.

I had only one book challenged during my two years on the library staff. It was a YA title, one of the few ones geared to boys, that had some 'locker room' language in a scene set in a locker room. Oy vey.  The book stayed put as it was clearly geared towards older YA audiences. This week also reminds me of the set of parents at a local middle school who tried to ban Harry Potter. Then of course there is the whole incident of when our then middle school aged daughter checked out every copy of "The Golden Compass" so the kids who wanted them banned couldn't get to them. I did get her to return them so kids could check them out and see for themselves what the issue was or wasn't.

Happy Tuesday. Be a rebel, go read a banned book!

Monday, October 1, 2012

why, hello there Monday

Monday is here again! What a week it will be. The oldest comes home for a visit. Company arrives for a visit. The dog next door arrives for a visit. Lots of folks arriving and we have something going on almost every evening.

From election debates to the middle kid's induction into Cum Laude to the Senior Night festivities at the soccer field - it is going to be one action packed five days.

And Birthdays abound as well! Today is my uncle Matt's Birthday!! Happy Birthday to you!

Tomorrow is my best friend's birthday! Happy Birthday to Cindy!!

So, it can't help but be a fantastic week. Let's dive in and enjoy the day.

This happy go lucky attitude is brought to you by my sheer determination to ignore the pouring rain outside and imagine a glorious fall morning.