Happy Halloween

We're still in the slow lane for Halloween. Actually it's a teacher workday and the kids won't wake up. My daughter and husband worked on the pumpkin last night.

My son has football practice tonight which rules out mischief for him - thank goodness. My daughter is dressing up as a go-go dancer. You might recall this post about what my son said regarding her costume.
Tomorrow starts NaBloPoMo. Wish me luck. Happy Halloween. BOO!

Be Glad I Didn't Take a Picture

Monday I got home from work. I began cleaning and I started the dishwasher. After some time I noticed a bad smell that was getting worse and worse. A little detective work narrowed it down to under the kitchen sink. Our trash is there, too. I emptied the trash but it did not smell nor did the odor go away. I bent down and looked around under the sink and noticed a snack size ziploc bag. I retrieved it. The bag consisted of slime and eyeballs. Then it hit me. While we were out of town last week, my parents told me one of the fish died. Apparently my dad did not listen to my daughter's tales of former fish being flushed. Why in the heck did he put it in a ziploc bag? Then he missed the trashcan. I called him and he kept saying "I put it in a ziploc bag". Well that did not work and it didn't make it out for trash day last week. Because the dishwasher next to the sink was running, it was all hot inside the cabinet making the smell worse with each passing minute. Totally disgusting. I wiped the inside of the cabinet. It took hours for it to air out and the smell go away.

Tequila in Small Spaces

I was barely home 24 hours then I was off again. Saturday my daughter and I went to Hickory, NC or as the locals pronounced it "Hick-ree". The guys headed to the App vs. Furman game. It came down to the wire but the Mountaineers held onto their lead with much thanks to Corey Lynch. Furman was driving down the field with seconds left and Corey intercepted the pass. He was the one responsible for the awesome blocked field goal in the Michigan game. The first half of the game, I was at a children's play but still managed to text Husband and Katie. Is that rude or what? I rushed after the play to my friends' home to watch the 2nd half.
In Cabo San Lucas, we revisited Slims Elbow Room "the world's smallest bar" after a 5 year absence. It has only about 6 bar stools. The selection is beer or tequila. If you buy a t-shirt, you get a tequila shot. My friend and I couldn't resist. I have pictures but since I didn't disclose to her about my blogging or ask her permission, I won't post them.

Back Home to ...

cold, rain, and laundry. No more sun, beach, and tequila shots. I'll write more later and post pictures. The sunrise is from my balcony. The arch is the hotel lobby.

Hola

A view from our hotel in Los Cabos Mexico

It's Over

The 30 game home winning streak is over. It came down to the wire but Appalachian lost to Georgia Southern. Final score 38-35. Adios.

The Countdown Begins

Less than 24 hours husband and I will be on a flight returning to Cabo San Lucas Mexico. We were there 5 years ago. I have a packing list thanks to this website TaDaList.com (I tend to misplace written lists) but I have not actually packed. The toes were pedicured yesterday. We have a few company dinners to attend so I had to get one dress altered and actually remembered to pick it up. Packing is not my biggest tasks. I need to have the groceries stocked and house cleaned. My parents will be moving in to watch the kids. While I am mentally preparing for all these upcoming tasks, my husband and son are leaving to go to Boone to watch my much loved Mountaineers play some football. I will take a break from my chores to watch the game. I may post again with the results.
I caught up with Grey's Anatomy on Friday. The show better pick it up if it wants to stay up to par with the past seasons. Alex showed a few emotions which is rare: hurt and compassion toward Izzy and her situation with George. 'Love him.
As sad and geeky as it might seem, I will have my computer on the trip so I'll probably post pictures if nothing else. With a slight time difference, busy schedules, and international calling, we found it's much easier to communicate with family by email if not urgent.

It's That Time ....

soon it will be November which is National Blog Posting Month or NaBloPoMo for short. I've decided to participate as well as my good blogging friend Nancy. For more info, click here. Think about giving it a try. Last year I only lurked reading the daily posts of the NaBloPoMo bloggers.

While on the International Food Aisle

Let me start by saying I'm not mocking any one's religion, denomination, or ethnicity. I took my husband to the grocery store and ended up with a Jesus candle in my shopping cart -you know the ones they sell by the tacos kits. He convinced me that a taco dinner with a Jesus candle and our kids would be nice this week before we leave for Mexico.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

In my last post I talked about TBB - Total Blog Blankness. Allison was kind enough to comment that I should write about Halloween for one of my posts. Nothing really stands out as far as Halloween as a child. October 31 is my mom's birthday so we would combine a birthday dinner at home with trick or treating and answering the door. When I was in college, my roommate and I decided to go to the D.C. area over fall break. Her sister was an officer in the Navy stationed at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda, MD. There was a party Friday night which turned into an all nighter then we headed to Annapolis for the Navy vs. Pitt game. The Midshipmen won in an upset. After a nap on the way home, we got ready for the Halloween party. Before we had left on our trip, my roommate had grabbed some of her mom's old things (circa mid 1960's Long Island, NY style) to make up my costume. I wore a bowling shirt, pants, bowling shoes, carried a bowling bag, had big hair, stuffed my bra, wore blue eyeshadow, and red lipstick. I was the Buxom Bowler. I regret I don't have a picture. It was back in the days before digital cameras. The funny thing is I remember this little enlisted guy (who had not seen me before my transformation) following me around saying how beautiful I was.
Does anyone else have Halloween memories to share?

Suffering From 2 Ailments

I'm suffering from TBB - Total Blog Blankness. I also seem to be afflicted with a bad case of procrastination. I'm putting off everything. I use to take such joy in accomplishing tasks as soon as they were presented. Whatever.
Side note: I'm sitting here at a coffee shop and ran into someone I had not seen in a long time (fellow Mountaineer). He thought I had been in the news recently. For what? Hmm, I don't think so. Kinda hope not.
I'd love to have something exciting or funny to write about but again TBB. I am going to Mexico in the near future. I guess that's exciting. I've been before so I'm not as psyched up for the trip as I could be. It's with my husband's work. This is where the procrastination thing comes into play. I have a lot to do to get the house ready for my parents to move in. I've got to pick out clothes for the events. Have I done anything? What do you think? Thanks to Ally at Tangerine Zest, I did look for and find my passport. Baby steps.

Pick My Battles and Challenges

I admit I can get a little irritated at times. I like a clutter free environment - not a lot of items on the tables, floor, and counter tops. This is a battle I cannot win. Here's proof:

Former dining room, now used as a "craft room" by a certain family member


This is just the outside some one's bedroom. You don't want to see the inside.


The cat knows better but what the heck. Everyone else is doing what they want.


I took these pictures Sunday morning. Instead of ranting and raving, I went for a walk/run - Challenge 7 to calm down. I'm doing the Couch to 5k program. It is very, very gradual for me considering I have run 5k's before. However I think it's just what I need. I have jumped back into running before after taking breaks and it has not gone well. I've downloaded pod casts that go along with the program to tell you when to walk and run. Challenge 8 was to cut down on computer time. I could have done better but I think I made progress. I still got on the computer frequently but not for as long. I will continue both challenges. I have a goal to run in the Gobbler 5k with my son Thanksgiving Day.

Homecoming Saturday

Back from the mountain. App added to their 30 home game winning streak. Since USC lost yesterday, we now have the longest home winning streak in the country! Our biggest fan is Chancellor Kenneth Peacock. He's considering stepping down from his current job to become a drum major:

A highlight of the Homecoming game day was finally meeting Marie of Blue Ridge blog. I wish I had thought to take a picture her as she did of us. I hope we can see each other again soon. We need to get Allison back to the Rock, drag Katie from her tailgating festivities , and give Rob a break from childcare for a meet-up. I visited with Avery - a former football standout and announcer for ASU. In the spirit of homecoming, I ran in a friend from high school and college. I had not seen him since we graduated. My son got to go down onto the sidelines the 4th quarter. My daughter was not allowed to ring her cow bell and it was too hot for her gold and black boa but she managed not to get bored as she normally does. Saturday was so much fun. I'm really bummed I will miss the next home game. It will be a month before I'm back to the rock.
I plan on posting again a brief recap of this week's challenge.

Deck the Halls

The other day I went into Michael's craft store. No way am I crafty. My daughter needed a sketch pad. As I was looking at the selection, it hit me they were playing Christmas music. I shouldn't have been surprised. After all, it is the first week of October.
Speaking of Christmas, I talked to the kids about the possibility of having to make some changes about the tree due to Chloe Cat. Under any other circumstances, my daughter would be upset but Chloe is her cat. She doesn't want to see Miss Big Ears get into trouble. My son wants everything the same regardless of the cat. Hmm?

We're Everywhere

Appalachian grad is new carpenter on TLC's Trading Places. Click here for his video bio. He kinda reminds me of Tom Brady with a southern accent. (for the record I've been told I don't really don't sound southern. )

Some Things Don't Go Well Together

While trying to go to sleep last night, I had a flash into the near future:



Not sure how this will all play out.

Challenges 7 and 8

If you have been reading my blog, you will remember I did weekly challenges through out the summer. I put them on hold once school started in order to adjust. Now I'm up to the challenge(s).

Challenge #7 - Start Walk/Running. I really need to get back into the exercise habit. I've learned over the years, I prefer the outdoors to a gym. I've been walking but it is not enough. I quit running due to injury. I'm optimistic I'm healthy again. I plan on doing a walk/run program. That may be as far as I ever get and that's okay. I'll never be fast. I don't see myself doing more than 5k at a time. In the past, I believe I've pushed myself too much causing problems.
Challenge #8 - Cut Back on Computer Time. I feel I'm on the computer too often. I can't say blog posting, reading your blogs, and commenting is what is time consuming. I check my email a lot. (I have 4 email accounts for various reasons including 1 for work). I start wandering aimlessly in cyberspace. I read really unimportant things, etc. I have guilt I'm setting a bad example for my kids. I seem to be acquiring a little ADD as far web pages flashing before me. The funny thing is this was the first challenge I had in mind when I started them. Each week I kept nixing it. That speaks volumes!