Good Bye Summer, Hello Fall!

Happy Saturday everyone!  This is the weekend that represents the end of summer.  You can feel the temperature dip in the evenings and early mornings.  It usually warms up during the day, but it is still different from a few weeks ago.  I love the fall.  I think it is like my New Year.



(pic we Heart it)

It seems as though the wind brings fresh air and new beginnings.  It was always fun getting the kids ready for school.  There was an air of excitement, they were nervous and excited at the same time.  They wondered what teachers they were getting, and who was going to be in their classes.

(pic. We Heart it)

( pic. We Heart it)

And then they started College, we had to buy towels, bedding and every other thing a new College kid needed.  The boys were easy, they were happy throwing everything in a plastic bag, but our daughter seemed to be much more organized.  Plastic containers, suitcases and everything had to match.  Girls have so much more STUFF!  Did I ever tell you how much I missed her when she went off?  Well with 3 boys and 1 girl, you can understand that, right?  Her first year away, I was looking forward to her coming home this one weekend.  Well it just so happens that we were going to have a snow storm.  I was devastated!  My husband must have know how upset I was, because he took off work that day and we drove up to Penn State to pick her up!  Don't get me wrong, I love my boys dearly, but they don't call as

much as your daughter does, just to chat.

Penn State.

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(pic. We Heart it)

# 3 & Wife M., Husband B & daughter, #4, graduate, me & hubby, # 1.

Number 4 ( the last one) and his then girlfriend K.  Now his wife.

Now they all have graduated and left home, 3 are married, we have 3 grand kids, and I don't know where all that time went!

So now here we are in the new Fall season and we don't have to move anyone up to school anymore.  I love it and hate it at the same time.  We don't go up to school anymore just to see the kids and go to the football games, it is just different.  Although  now we can enjoy helping our grand kids get ready for school, and the excitement is back again.  We can watch our 5 year old grandson play football, I can't believe they start them that young now.  We can watch our grand daughter in her cheer leading outfit, cheer for the teams.  I am also delighted to say that I am watching the youngest, 3 months old, while our daughter goes back to work.  I am so glad that I can finally help her out now that I am not working anymore.

 
Megan

Connor

I know this is a soccer game, I don't have a football picture yet.

Ryan

So this is how my Fall season is starting this year.  How has your season been going?

Getting kids off to school?

Enjoy the last weekend of Summer!  Say hello to Fall~

Susan

Rainy Days

I like the rain, especially when it starts to cool things off.  It's really great if you don't have to go out that day!

We really needed rain, now we seem to have an excess.  We had more rain these last few days then we normally have for a whole summer.

During the dry spell, I was so worried about our grass that I watered the lawn every day.  Now my husband said that it seems like we just watered the weeds. The front yard is filled with weeds!  We live in a community where they take care of your lawn, mow your grass and shovel the snow for you, which is great, but I think they need to plant some more grass for us.  It looks like our lawn is the worst in the neighborhood. I was

told that now we just have to wait until it is time for grass planting.

 

I just finished reading 'The Help'.  I loved it!  Now I can't wait to see the movie.  If you haven't read the book I highly recommend it.  I was impressed with this writer, Katherine Stockett.  It was her first novel as well.  It was sad, funny and very well written.  Put it on your summer/fall reading list.  Although, it has been out for a while and in paperback so I may be the last person in America to have read it.

We had our first book club meeting Friday night.  We had 9 ladies show up.  We decided to pick an older James Patterson book, 'You've been warned'.  Many ladies had already read some of the newer best sellers so we were a little limited on what to read.  I am really looking forward to this.  I made a fruit salad and some canoli's, beverage's were wine or ice tea. One of our ladies brought a big box of wine and some apps.  She is very excited about the book club as well, can ya tell. 

Today is my daughter's birthday, 34 years old.  Her daughter told her that she couldn't come up stairs because she was getting all dressed up for her mothers birthday.  I have to post this picture, because she is only 7 years old and acts like she is 15!  God help us through those teen years.

She told her mother that she even dressed up her American girl doll, Ashley.  Very Chanel don't ya think!

Have an awesome day!

Susan

Joined the Library...

OK, I finally joined the Library.  I kept telling myself I really need to join, so I did yesterday.  I haven't been in a library in forever!  They look the same.  I guess Libraries don't change much except for the computers they have added.  I did notice that it isn't as quiet as I remember.  People seem to be talking all over the place.  I thought when you were in a library you were supposed to speak in a whisper, if you had to talk at all.  I noticed that some people come to the library just to read the newspaper.  Some of the people on the computers were on Facebook, some were playing games.  As much as some things that change, some things stay the same.

I know many of you probably have Kindles or Ipads to read books on, but that can get expensive as well as buying books.  I think the library might be just the thing for me.  They even have book sales, bring a bag and fill it up for $5!  That should keep me busy for a while.

For some reason I seem to read more books in the summer.  Once the fall and winter comes along I never seem to be able to find the time to read as much.  Why is that?

When do you read?  Some people just read before bed.  I feel a little guilty to sit down during the day and take the time to read.  I feel like I should be doing something else around the house.  Why is that?  I realize you have little ones around you are busy every minute, bedtime may be the only quiet time that you get to read.  That is if you can keep your eyes open long enough, I do remember that. 

Let me know when you like to read, and if you use and buy books or kindles, or use libraries.

Have a wonderful weekend, looks like we are going to have some good weather until the Heat Wave starts next week!

Susan

The story of my Life!

 Well I decided to play along with Emptynester over at Empty Nest today.  She is so funny and such a great writer.  You should hop over and check her out. http://emptynest1.blogspot.com/  Her friend started this blog hop Wednesday Words of Weight Loss, check her out too. http://www.everydayruralty.com/I guess you just really answer the questions, and while you are in the process of doing that, it really makes you think about why we eat.  Ever since I had my children I have kept a little bit of weight on.  Don't get me wrong, I have lost weight at one time or another.  I know I can do it because I have done it before.  It is all a mind set that you have to put yourself in.  I love being thinner because I just feel better.  Since I have had my accident, it has been really hard to do anything.  You can read about my accident  here . My ankle seems fine, just stiff, but it's the knee that is giving me the most trouble.  When you have a fractured knee, they really don't do anything about it.  It has to heal on it's own.  So it depends on the day, sometimes I limp and sometimes I don't.  What I am really saying is that it is hard to exercise right now, which has not helped my weight, not one little bit!  So these are the questions for this week. 1. Are you happy with your recent attempts at healthy eating?
Not really.  I need to eat more vegetables.  My sweet tooth has been out of control.


2. Do you ever put off things because you don't want to do them unless you look/feel better?
Yes, we have a wedding to go to in May, and I should really look for a dress, I am not sure if any of the ones I have still fit me.  I would like to look 15lbs thinner.  Do you know where I can get a dress like that?


3. Did you get all dressed up for Easter when you were a kid?
Oh yes, Easter hat, gloves and all.  It was a very special day and everyone I knew wore a new outfit.

4. Do you have more of an appetite in warm weather or cold weather?
It really doesn't matter, I seem to like all seasons to eat.  The summer does make you think a little more because you are not all bundled up in sweaters, so people can see if you have a little muffin top!


5. Have you done anything this past week that you could describe as "being kind to yourself"?
I am kind to myself every morning when I take the time to read what my blogger friends have to say.  I have learned so much from all of you.  You have inspired me to refinish furniture, be more aware of my eating habits, decorating my home with new ideas, and learn how to take great pictures.  I am kind to myself by learning new things through all of you.  Thank you all so much!



Susan