Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Update

Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday to J!

One year ago today our Jbaby was born.

We knew his daddy would have to be out of town this year, so we celebrated J's first birthday early. My family came over to open presents and watch J destroy-I mean-enjoy

this beautiful cake created by the talented Lisa.



Then, a week later we celebrated again when B's family came into town.

This time I made the cake, and it was not so beautiful, but J seemed to enjoy it just as much.

I figured two cakes were enough for any kid, so we are not eating any cake today, even though it is his actual birthday...unless you count pumpkin pancakes. (More about them later.)

It has been so fun to get to know this little boy and watch his personality develop. B and I are glad to be his parents.

Green Pumpkin

Green Update: I put my reusable bags in the trunk of my car so I'd be sure to have them any time I stopped to buy groceries. Still, on my last shopping trip I forgot to bring the blasted things into the store! Luckily, my sister was with me and volunteered to run and grab them. I have since transferred the bags to the front passenger seat in my car. Their bright green color makes these bags a little hard to miss, so hopefully I'll use them enough to make it a habit.


Last week I bought three pumpkins: a daddy pumpkin, a mommy pumpkin, and a baby pumpkin. For the past few days they've sat on the porch looking cheerful and autumnal. The plan was to turn them into jack-o-lanterns tomorrow. This evening, however, I noticed that the baby pumpkin is gone! I know such thefts are a common occurrence this time of year, but I still felt sad. I guess instead of a pumpkin, J will be represented by a carved potato. *grin*

Being Green

I bought some reusable shopping bags at the store the other day. I'm ashamed to say, though, that this act was motivated more by selfishness than concern for the environment. I've always just disliked having having wads and mounds of plastic shopping bags around. My reusable bags are sturdy, hold plenty of groceries, and have long handles. Now I just have to develop the habit of taking them into the store with me...

I am not at all opposed to "living green." I like to feel like I'm doing my part to help the environment. We pay a monthly fee to recycle aluminum and plastic. (Which reminds me-tomorrow is garbage day. I'll have to remember to put the cans out by the street, as B is not here to do it.) However, I find that if something is better for the environment, but takes too much trouble or money, I am unwilling to do it. I would say that on the scale of green I am just a pale mint shade. However, there are people who are a bright glaring neon green, which I find both impractical and obnoxious. I would like to work towards becoming a deep, healthy forest color.

Forgotten Laundry

If I had a rock band I would name it "Forgotten Laundry." Those two words together just sound cool to me for some reason. Try saying them aloud. See? don't you think they sound cool? Okay, maybe no one else gets the same kick out of it that I do. I am a word nerd! Band names always interest me. They are usually catchy, fun to say, and make me wonder about their history. Take Death Cab For Cutie, for example. Did you know that the band is named after a 1967 song, which was most likely taken from the title of an old pulp fiction crime magazine? (I'm not as smart as I seem; I looked it up on Wikipedia.) So hey, if an indie rock band can call themselves something wacky like Death Cab For Cutie, why couldn't I name my imaginary band Forgotten Laundry? I'm sure my band would be a big hit among homemakers all over the world. We could come up with all kinds of ridiculous laundry-like puns to use as slogans on swag and such. *smirky grin* My own forgotten laundry story, however, is not nearly so funny. Here's what happened:

A couple of days ago I put a load of clothes in the washing machine. I started it, then forgot all about my laundry until the next morning. By that time the clothes smelled damp, musty and mildewish. There was nothing for it but to add more soap and start the wash cycle again-with HOT water this time. I remembered to transfer the clothes to the dryer, and even folded and put them away. Yesterday I put a load of towels in the washing machine and started it. You guessed it! I forgot all about them until this morning. Once again I had to re-wash the load. I almost forgot about them AGAIN, but remembered at 8 PM tonight and threw them into the dryer. This is not a confession of slovenly housekeeping habits-I am usually fairly good at keeping up with laundry-but an indication of how busy we've been lately!

Flying (Grudgingly)

I've been feeling frustrated with clutter for quite some time now. I finally broke down and tried out Fly Lady, which several friends had recommended to me. The fact that so many people were telling me that I "just had to try this" made me reluctant to check it out. I know-I'm stubborn like that. Still, I signed up. I must say that sometimes the purple and pink theme and cheesy names for things (super fling boogie? rubba scrubba?) make me roll my eyes, but the concepts of doing projects a little at a time, and creating habits to help you stay organized are exactly what I need. The daily flood of email can be overwhelming, but the messages are so positive that I have to smile. The other day I gave in and shined my sink.

The big challenge now is to get rid of all the stuff we have around that we don't use and don't need.