All Quiet on the Western Front

Aaaah, I love days off, especially since I hardly find any joy in my job, and there's nowhere else I'd rather be than with my family. I feel that a day off is a wonderful time to relax, enjoy some time to yourself, sleep in, perhaps gets some errands done and tidy up a little bit around the house, taking care of the clutter that accumulates throughout the week. Since Floyd is involved with the mock elections at WIU, which is taking place every Tuesday and Thursday night for the next couple of weeks, I get to stay home those days to watch Chloe. So here it is, 7:37 pm on a Thursday night, with the hubby at school and the kid FINALLY taking a long overdue nap, which is a plesant change from her crying jag from a half hour ago. The apartment is quiet, albeit the incessant buzzing coming from the computer. I realize I have time on my hands in which I can accomplish many things while I'm free. I begin to weigh my options..here are some possibilities:

~I could put away the baby's clean laundry which has been sitting in the basket since Sunday night
~ I could work on a couple of scrapbooking pages which I haven't done in probably a month
~ I could clean up the dirty dishes while there's only a few, instead of letting the stack grow higher and higher
~ I could stop being a lazy bum and hop into the shower and get out of the pj's I've been wearing since last night

I had all day to do this, and more. I always create these lofty goals for myself as my days off are approaching. 'I'm going to clean every room in the apartment top to bottom..I'm going to do twelve loads of laundry..' And honestly, what did I do today? Not a damn thing. Like I said, I'm still in my pj's. It so easy to squander time and be a lazy bum. But I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm going to get up and do something, while the night is still young and my place is still quiet. I'm gonna to pick up the living room. I'm going to go to the kitchen to tackle those dishes and...oooohh..I forgot we have turtle cheesecake. I think I'll have a quick slice and check out those magazines we got in the mail today. But after that, THEN I'll start cleaning...

I love October

One of the main reasons I love to live in the Midwest (some days I wonder if it is the only reason) is the guaranteed change in seasons. The renewal of spring and the return of green grass and fragrant flowers, the seemingly endless daylight and the relaxing warmth of the summertime sun, as well as fall's colorful foliage and winter's snowy wonderlands. Even though I do appreciate the changes, there is one month that stands alone as my favorite: October.

I love the brisk autumn air and cold soggy rainy days. I love the rich vibrant red, orange and yellow leaves on the trees. I still enjoy Halloween, and every year I wonder, 'Hmm..what should I be this year?' as if I were a little kid. I love pumpkins, going to orchards, bonfires and hay rack rides. I look forward to taking Chloe to the park so she can crawl through the crispy fallen leaves as she experiences her first autumn ever. I love to see the leaves on the tree outside my church change to a lovely orangey-yellow, the exact orangey-yellow they were three years ago this month when Floyd and I took our wedding pictures under it. I don't know..I just get giddy every year when October begins. I feel it's a nice change after months of hot hot heat and it's a great time to throw on a blanket and get snuggly on the couch with someone. (Hopefully with someone you know..)