Fancy Hair

There's something about putting my hair in a 'do that makes me happier about getting up each morning. I don't know if it's the creative challenge or just that I feel more put together, but when I've done my hair . . . well, watch out, World!

This was actually relatively simple and just requires lots of bobby pins. I pulled my hair to the side and secured it with a clear elastic. Then, I took sections of my hair and wrapped them around the elastic, then pinned them in place. After I took these pictures, I actually ended up putting in another bobby pin so that the knot was a little more round and less pointy. As long as all the loose ends are tucked in, it looks really polished.

Cat says "Meow" . . . But what does the fox say?

 

Each year, my mom and I get together and carve pumpkins. This year we went with an animal theme -- she carved out a cat (Did you know that tomorrow is actually National Cat Day? Did you know that there even IS a National Cat Day??) and I made a fox.

Despite having had this tradition for decades now, I just realized that you can cut the BOTTOM off the pumpkin instead of the TOP. Why? Well, several why-didn't-I-think-of-that reasons I came to find out.

1. It makes for an even base instead of a round one, so no balancing act on the pumpkin's part.
2. You can place a candle on the ground -- flat surface, no tipping risk.
3. You can light that candle FIRST, and then place your pumpkin over top of it. No burning fingers. ((mind blown))

After you cut out the bottom and scoop out the insides (once I get better at this blogging thing I'll remember to take pictures of each step), it's time to carve. Personally, I like to sketch out my idea on paper and black out the areas I'm cutting out. Then, I draw directly on to the pumpkin with a washable marker. It comes right off when it's wet! Although my hands did markered up, that didn't really bother me since we have soap and water at my parents' house and I can wash my hands . . .  Then, I got to work sawing away. Another big pumpkin carving tip: buy those kits. Totally worth the four bucks -- even if you break a tool mid-way like I did (pro tip: go slow).

I always like to test out the pumpkin with a candle to see the effect before I declare it complete and demand an audience. And I do demand an audience. I called Jeremy and my dad back in to the kitchen (several times) to see the pumpkins in their full glory with lights off, candles glowing.

Next stop: front porch!

Moneyball

"I am totally using the big red bat," I thought as I selected the larger "girl bat" when it was my time to step up to the plate. I channeled everything I could remember about how to hold a bat that I had seen my brother do when he hit home run after home run going back for as long as I can remember. Jon is an AWESOME baseball player. He played in high school, college, and professionally post-college. But, I am not my brother. While I can row, run, and yoga flow with the best of them, baseball was never my sport. Heck, I never even wanted to play on a kickball team -- all those people watching you while you're up to bat?! No thank you. The idea of batting struck fear into every bone of shyness in body.

But somehow Katie had convinced me this would be fun, and who doesn't like fun? I had already survived being picked last for the team (granted, the captains didn't actually know my name since I was meeting most of these people for the first time), so how much worse could batting be? As I placed my feet next to home, I repeated the "keep your eye on the ball" mantra, bent my knees, put my right elbow up, and tried to breathe like a normal person.

And guess what?! I scored the first run for my team! Boom. Up to bat six times, hit the ball six times, AND got on base six times. That's right, batting 1,000. So apparently my younger brother isn't the only one in the family who got the hand-eye coordination genes after all. What is it they say again? Only the best play in October? Yeah, not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

Walk and Talk

Went on a great walk this morning with my friend, Aniesa. Between the busyness that is life, we found some time to catch up, see some fall foliage, and grab some coffee. We walked around the neighborhood before picking up some pumpkin lattes. (I'm more of a plain latte kind of girl, but this just seemed so fitting -- and we both love a theme.) Then, we went along a nearby trail where Aniesa held my coffee so I could snap some fall pictures and we talked about life. I'm so grateful for this friendship -- Aniesa and I met in high school and kept in touch as we both traveled the world during and after college. (Thank goodness that the Internet was created before we began globetrotting! Granted, you had to pay by the minute in seedy "Internet Cafes", but at least email existed.)

And, while I know that their time in the States was just supposed to be a stopover on the way to more exotic places, I'm so glad I've had this time with them the past couple of years! Wherever they are headed next, whenever that may be, they should plan on having some house guests . . .

tbt - Jumping Pics

Steph and I invented jumping pics. Truth. This was from 2006. Who knew how to jump and catch that moment in [digital] film before 2006? That's right -- no one.

That was an epic trip across the country to Oregon. Here we are on Mary's Peak in Corvallis. Steph found a tree stump and we put our automatic timer (and legs) to work. As we traveled around that Pacific Northwest state we stopped at pretty much every overlook along the coast and took pictures at each one. Love that girl. Loved that trip.

(Hey, when are we traveling again?? I'm sure the "where" we can make up as we go . . .)

Orange you happy to wear a scarf?

When I was little, my school had a "Career Day" where all the kids dressed up as what they wanted to be when they grow up. I dressed up as a teacher. Basically, this meant wearing a long skirt of my mom's, a blouse, and a silk scarf tied around my neck. That's probably how my scarf-wearing started, although there was a long break between second grade and adulthood. But, once I entered the classroom as a teacher, those scarves were back on! (Classrooms, like office buildings, don't always have the best heat/AC.) Even though I'm no longer teaching, it seems I have yet to abandon the scarf. This one was a gift from my dad and has been safely living in its orange box -- until now. I never wore this one while teaching -- can you imagine first grade fingers on Hermes?!