A POST THAT IS NOT ABOUT MY NAILS, T

I feel like I am neglecting my blog lately. Pooh...

I am not sure if it is because I really have had nothing terribly newsworthy to write about or that I just have not been creative enough lately to come up with something witty. Maybe both.

It has been a busy week since Halloween and I am beginning to feel like November through the end of the year is already filling up with lots of social occasions, deadlines, and appointments and that is starting to stress me out! Yikes. (Breathe)

I don't want to feel like that. I want to make sure I carve out some "down time" and time to enjoy special holiday traditions and not feel like the entire time is all hustle and bustle. I want to savor the season and all the festivities and joy that come with it.

There are lots of fun things coming up for us. We are going to see the play "The Lion King" this weekend. Bruce got me tickets for my birthday. I can't wait! We're going out to dinner and then to the play. It will be so much fun.

Then next week, we are going to Disneyland for Bruce's birthday. This year, Disney is offering free admission on your birthday and so we are taking advantage of it! Believe it or not, it has been close to 18 years since either of us have been. So in a way, it will be brand new for us. There are so many changes and new rides and improvements since way back then. And also it is a bit sad to know that some of the attractions that we so fondly remember, are no longer there.

My son, T will be coming home for two weeks, beginning November 25 until December 8. I am so excited! We are hosting Thanksgiving and I am excited about cooking for him and having family over while he is here. After his visit, he will be reporting to his new duty station in Norfolk, VA. I miss him very much, but I am also so very proud of him.

I know T is thrilled that I am not writing another post about my nails. I mean I could. I have plenty to say about that subject, but for my son's sake, I won't. This time. Love you, buddy!

TRICK OR TREAT

It's nearly 7:30 p.m. and we've only had a handful of trick-or treaters tonight.

That started me thinking and I was wondering how many people kept their kids home tonight in fear of H1N1? It's a beautiful night here in SoCal...not raining or sleeting or even cold here tonight. I have to think something else is keeping the goblins home.

Just a thought....how about at your house? Were there less trick-or-treaters at your house this year?

GOING BOLD

I have to admit that I usually choose more traditional colors when it comes to nail polish. And most of the time I am only a shade off of the pinky reds I am drawn to. So when I was browsing polish yesterday, I was suprised to be drawn to Norra.

Norra is the ZOYA shade that I think resembles blackberries. It is darker than I normally wear. It is more purple than I normally wear. But I really was seduced by the mysterious depth of color in the bottle and even more infatuated once I painted it on my nails. Ahhh, yes, this may be my new color. At least for fall. I may have to go back again to find another luscious color for winter. But, it will be hard to break me away from this one.

WELCOME TO MY OCTOBER

Apparently I spoke too soon, or am a victim of Murphy's Law (again).

You see, the weather in So Cal can be very different from one day to the next. What I mean is that my fireplace nights have been interrupted by a "mild Santa Ana", which in plain english means that our temperatures are warm again.

Yeah. I am not excited.

Instead of enjoying the coziness I was envisioning in my last post, we have our windows wide open and fans whirring during the day to keep the house cool.

How glad am I that I didn't move those fans to the garage already? I knew better. October is famous for Santa Ana conditions creeping in unanounced. I am really over summer weather. Way over. Totally over. SOOOOO over it.

I pushed my Uggs back in their place in the closet and slipped into my flip-flop sandals when we dressed to go to Costco last Saturday. It's just so hard to shop for pumpkins and fall decor when it's 87 degrees outside. Ya know what I mean? Well, maybe you don't.

Okay, enough whining and complaining....

I do have a small pumkin sitting on our coffee table beside a pretty silver bowl of whole walnuts for snacking. Once November arrives, and cooler weather is here to stay, we will have more fall inspirational decorating done.

We've been whittling down our bodies via diet and exercise (treadmill, elliptical and Bowflex). It's gotten easier and feels good (finally). I look forward to our Bowflex workouts on weekday evenings and Saturday morning, though my treadmill sessions during the week at 4:40 a.m. are harder to get excited about, I still always feel good afterwards. And that makes it so worth it!

This weekend, the weather is perfect. It was 74 degrees today. Not hot, not cold. We slept in until 7:30 this morning, had our coffee and breakfast, completed our Bowflex workout, showered, and ran errands, did our weekly grocery shopping, and came back home to relax, cook dinner and enjoy a nice glass of wine.

Tomorrow, I plan to work on my nails and my novel. I need to apply a coat of acrylic to my nails so that my polish will adhere. I've been giving them a break for a few months--and goin' naked with no polish, but I just love nail polish, so I painted on my base coat, put several coats of a deep brownish red on and a clear top coat earlier this week. It's not held up well. I have added more polish and top coats, but it's just not cutting it. Time for reinforcements! Bring on the acrylic.

Time to get some shut-eye. Good night readers.

FALLIN' FOR FALL

Yes, it appears that Summer has faded away and Fall is here to stay.

Our temperatures have been on the cool side for a couple of weeks now and this morning we woke up to rain. More rain is predicted to continue through tomorrow night.

Yes, I am happy to announce that it's fire in the fireplace--autumn spice candles burning--pull on some fuzzy socks--wrap up in a blanket-- weather. Mmmmmm. Can't you just smell that pot of chili bubbling on the stove?

Fall's chilly nights let you to bury yourself under the down comforter for the night (and late on the weekends)

Fall weather encourages you to invite the 80 pound dog to sleep on your feet (oh wait, that's my house)

It's also time to get all wrapped up in your Fall television shows

What better time to rent a movie, pop a bowl of popcorn, snuggle on the couch with your honey?

Need a better excuse to run out and get a hot caramel apple cider from Starbucks? (the best fall drink!) I don't!

I do believe it is my favorite season...