Beginning of the End

It's official. With the arrival of Halloween, the craziness of the end-of-year festivities has now begun. Tonight we'll deck out Braeden as a policeman and let him beg candy from the trunks of our church members' cars. I'll employ every tactic imaginable to avoid said candy. Tomorrow I'll start worrying about Thanksgiving dinner and what healthy sides I'll prepare.

There will be Christmas cards to make, gifts to buy, a house to clean and decorate, cookie dough waiting patiently in the freezer, and a plethora of parties and events to attend. Life will get wilder as the days grow shorter, and we'll all find ourselves tumbling toward an inevitable exhausted end, staring at each other on New Year's Day, wondering what in the world just happened.

And you know something? I wouldn't have it any other way.

My Political Opinion

Politics suck.

I absolutely despise all the backbiting, snarling, hateful gameplay of the politicians that the media feels obligated to broadcast 24 hours a day. It's disgusting. So much so that I refuse to listen. The very instant even a snippet of political news catches my ears, I change the channel. I do not want to hear it.

The whole debacle just makes me sick. I get so angry and so frustrated, and it's simply not worth getting stressed over. Therefore, I am taking a laissez-faire approach to the 2008 election. Two days before the polls open, I'll look at the candidates. Most likely I'll vote for whichever poor soul gets the Republican nomination. Then I'll bury my head back in the sand for the next four years.

There you have it: my political stance.

Fires

It has been insanely dry this year. In fact, I heard on the radio that this kind of drought only happens in my corner of the world about every 100 years. Given all the mountains around here, frankly I'm surprised that we haven't had more problems with fires. When one ignited over the weekend, I couldn't resist the photo op. Perhaps this belongs on my photo blog, but the pic wasn't as good as it was interesting, so I'm sticking it here. I believe the fire is out now, but we still haven't had the first hint of rain. Our parched little county is in desperate need of water.

Not-So-Random Bits of Miscellany

Having completed an entire mini-album this weekend, the Scrapbook Bug has bitten and burrowed deep into my skin. I think I may use my spare time this week to catch up on Christmas albums and all of the portraits that I have laying around.

Tomorrow I get to pick up my new glasses! I got two pair - one with black frames and one with silver. I can hardly wait - the black ones are SO cute, and totally new for me. I know I won't wear them all the time, but since I can be hard on glasses, I thought I'd splurge and get two pair this time. The silver pair is much more conservative, but still stylish. I always seem to opt for a unisex frame. Guess it's a rebellion against the gosh-awful gargantuan pink plastic frames I wore in the 80s.

Jeff is taking me out tonight! He has the day off, and is taking Bebo to Chuck E Cheese this afternoon. Bebo was soooo excited. He's been once before, with Grannie and Peepop. He was talking our ears off this morning before they left. Anyhoo, I'm hoping I can convince Jeff to eat at Applebee's tonight. Their Weight Watchers menu is so good, and I like going there because I know exactly what I'm dealing with. Afterwards I want to go to the bookstore to search for books about world religions - the topic of choice for my Sunday morning girls' Bible class. Of course, if I can finangle my way to Hobby Lobby, that wouldn't hurt, either.

I almost forgot - Big News! Jeff was accepted back into nursing school! He'll start again in January. I am so happy - it means that finally our lives are back on track, and once again there is light at the end of the tunnel. Someday, I would very much like to live a semi-normal American life, ya know?

Life with Allergies

Ugh. My nose won't quit running, my eyes are so itchy I think I've actually scratched the surface a little, my throat aches, my sinuses feel like someone is gouging them with very long needles, and I think my head will explode.

I hate this! I suppose I'm used to it by now - I've had allergies all my life. I never could see the point in allergy testing and shots. Why inject myself with more of what I'm allergic to? Besides, my problem is things like dust, cut grass, and pollen. I can't exactly avoid these things. It would be much simpler if I was allergic to, say, bananas. To avoid the allergy, don't eat bananas. When you live in Pollen USA, and the weather is so dry that it looks like a reincarnation of the Dust Bowl, there's no getting around the allergy.

I think I might single-handedly keep Puffs in business. God only knows how many Kleenex I've gone through in my lifetime!

Please?

MEMO

To: the weather
From: Amanda
RE: fall season

It has come to my attention that despite the official start of fall, the temperatures are more indicative of late summer. Grass and leaves are brown at best. Please see to it that the temperatures drop at least 20 degrees, and that enough rain falls to give the leaves and grass sufficient color for the autumn season.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Purge & Simplify

Without speaking too loudly, I will let you in on a secret: there's a possibility we'll be moving in a few months. It depends on what happens with Jeff and school. In the meantime, he has shifted into serious attack mode.

Nine years of living in one house is naturally going to cause an accumulation of clutter. When you factor in two total slobs and a preschooler, that clutter turns into utter mess. It's no secret to anyone who knows me that housekeeping is not my "thing." Now is time to rectify that. We will be throwing away, giving away, and destroying a great deal of the things filling this old house.

Then the real attack will begin.

There is so much work to be done - carpets need to be deep-cleaned, the bathroom floor is literally caving in from a leak, the kitchen has to be re-tiled and re-painted - well, you get the idea. Nothing in this house is ever easy. Every "simple" project we've tackled has turned into a nightmare of epic proportions. I secretly wonder how long it will take Jeff's enthusiasm to fizzle like flat soda.

I sense a serious headache in the making.