My TGITW

If there is such a thing, I will declare it's a Thank God It's The Weekend!

I took yesterday off and got to shop with "free money" – gift certificates at Rustic Redefined Boutique. I never realized how hard it was to shop for something when you don't NEED anything. But I managed to find two nice sweater tops and matching necklaces. Win, win!

Today's shopping fun was the Nekoosa Giant Pumpkin Fest. And you can see why they have GIANT in the name!

I did manage to find a few things that might work for "Christmas gifts" but other than than it was selfish Pumpkin Fry Pies from the Amish.... and their Cashew Crunch for my upcoming sister weekend!

As for the rest of the weekend, since neither hubby or I have a team in the MLB playoffs, I am rootin against the Yankees, and we are supporting the Brewers!

Saying Hello, But Not Hugging Hello

 

I love the colors of fall and all that cozy "sweater weather" jazz, but I am just not ready to let go of summer completely. I was chilly on my laps around the neighborhood today and I didn't like it one bit!

Things I do like about this October at least...

I got to the downtown Farmers Market one last time to buy myself some flowers and probably too-late-in-the-season honey-dipped sweet corn. We'll see.

And this weekend is the Nekoosa Giant Pumpkin Festival with dozens and dozens of vendors for us weird fall shopping fools.

Also... our nephew Colin stopped by after work to pick up 7 raffle baskets I (with the help of generous friends) put together for an upcoming benefit he and his wife are organizing for a fellow racer whose baby daughter has had lengthy hospitalizations for seizures. If you want to support the event, it's Sunday, October 18, at Springville Sports Barn in Plover.

Also in October, a fun wedding out of town October 10-11. Then, I'm looking forward immediately to my 28th annual Wild Women's Weekend with my sisters... though it's a Sunday-Wednesday this time. Still. Fall colors. Cozy times with 7 sisters.

And Crop-Toberfest! A scrapbooking weekend with my high school BFF! A month ago, I felt ahead of the game, but now that it is actually October, I'll need to get some more specific organizing done!

I'm grateful that despite the chilling temps, there is plenty we can embrace about October – not quite hug status, but close!

What Day Is It?

 

Naturally I'm at a loss of what day it is when I'm working from home. But today was certainly a wake-up call when I found myself a guest for Hump Day!

Yes I have attributed more grace to some of these signs.

But I definitely do desire some of their background!

Double (Almost Triple) Feature

My Monday almost could have been a quadruple feature if you count 8 hours of work entertaining. It was not, for the record.

After work, I captured the first half of photos at the JV football game vs. Gilman. From there, I went a block away to capture photos of volleyball. I caught the last game of JV, then did the Senior Night thing, and shot the first game of varsity. I will be back next week for Cancer Nite so I'll get more then.

By the time I got home, it was too late to partake in my third feature – The Voice. So I edited and uploaded a bunch of pix and went to bed late.

Today, though, since work is done and hubby is golfing, I will watch last night's episode and then tonight's. 

My boring life must astound people. LOL.

Hope you have something to look forward to this week!

Falling For It

I visited my neighborhood Pumpkin Shed after church... and this will be the extent of my fall decorations!

Oh, plus a plate of delicious pumpkin bars! Hubby has been golfing all afternoon so I'm just going to pretend I baked them up all by myself!

I had a few "fall vibe" options but I was not going to fight the mass of humanity at Warrens. So I stuck close to home, went to the pumpkin patch and finished wrapping up my raffle baskets.

Then, because the Packers played the other night, my Vikings were on TV finally.

Kinda ugly, but we got the win! When you only get to see your team on TV a few times a season, there's no way to really defend them – or figure out what they're doing wrong. Not that our fan opinions mean anything!

Still... it was nice to secure a 3-0 start to the season.

Hope you find peace and solace in the beautiful fall colors. And decide that serenity is worth fighting for!

Just One More

When I take senior portraits, I pretty much straight out tell the kids, "OK, when I say 'just one more' I mean 10-20 more!"

Weddings are different. You have one shot at a getting the right shot in some cases. But when you're shooting the family groupings and wedding party, it's an "OK, I'm gonna need you to keep smiling. I'm probably going to take 8-10 pictures so one of them has all your eyes open!"

Today I photographed a wedding for a young man at my church. First, I'll say it was kind of neat to hear how my pastor (who I adore) does a wedding ceremony. She was awesome, of course. And despite my misgivings about our lowly lit church, I managed to capture some good ones!

Their reception and dance (and outdoor photos) were at the Grand Rapids Lions Club. The only real scenic location there is a small pond. We made that work for the background. 

A fun thing they did to start the dance was a "Freeze Frame" dance. The bride and groom sat in two chairs on the dance floor and during the song "Freeze Frame," people formed a line, and then could run up and pose for a quick 5-second photo with the newlyweds. So I basically got photos of them with almost everyone there! And funny ones!

It went pretty well and thankfully the weather gods smiled on them. After the all-day rain last Saturday, I was a tad worried. For no reason, as usual! 

Hope you found a reason to smile today! 

Hoco Vibes

This week was Royals homecoming. I pretty much did not participate in (or capture 📷) any events. Just happened to have busy nights. 

This is probably the first time in years where our homecoming game had something on the line. We (ranked as #2 in the state for 8-man teams) were up against the #1 ranked Gilman. Unfortunately, Gilman had earned its rank for a reason – and showed us all on the field, the sidelines and in the stands.

It was kind of humbling. But it was, for me, a nice evening spending time with my two favorite Assumption alums.

Hubby was taking defensive stats per usual. Then, on my way home, Carter (alum for 10 years) called me. Oh these special Royals!

Here's a few action shots since it was finally a daylight game!

A little airborne tackle!

A senior having a breakout year!

Unfortunately, in the end. Gilman clobbered the Royals 44-6, but I was so relieved we scored so it didn't appear that our ranking was all for naught.

We'll see what tonight's loss will mean for that. But really, I think most of us Royals fans are thrilled with our season so hopefully it doesn't dash any major hopes. It's only September after all.

Keep the Royal faith!