Now That's Spooky

Probably the scariest thing that occurred today had nothing to do with evil monsters, haunted houses or trick-or-treaters.

Nope, the scary thing is that I am having withdrawal symptoms... withdrawing from Carter's childhood!

Where did the time go? I remember the days of carving pumpkins together, taking him trick-or-treating and having everyone "oooh" and "aww" over how cute he was in his costume. This year we did not carve a single pumpkin and he went trick-or-treating with some of his "ghoul-friends" from school. (Yes, he's too old now but I made him dress up!)

Daddy and I stayed home, reminisced and passed out candy to a record number of trick-or-treaters -- 11! That's twice as many as last year. And that includes one ex-girlfriend of Carter's from 5th grade who is either stalking him or just hoped to see him. And who wouldn't? I wanted to say, "Thanks for breaking my son's heart. Here's your Kit-Kat. Now go!" But instead I was nice and just said, "Carter's not here" -- which a protective mother might have said even if he was home. Wouldn't she?

When I told Carter about his red-headed visitor (oh, you remember the red head, don't you?), he just rolled his eyes. Bless him.

He also said he may be willing to share his Halloween candy -- all but the peanut butter cups. Not fair. Either way I'll have to wait until tomorrow.

He's changed his costume and is now dressed as a mopey teenager who has too much homework and shouldn't have gone trick-or-treating.

He's pretty convincing.

Happy Halloween!

Not Missing Much

I think I need to grow some roots and stay home more often.

But I can't deny it was good to get away in a secluded cabin and get 20 more pages done in my 2011 scrapbook. Plus, to hear hubby and Carter tell it, I "didn't miss much" of anything here at home.

It's an interesting dynamic when I am gone scrapbooking. I don't really get a chance to miss my guys but that's because they are never far away. Just about every page I am looking at their smiling faces or funny faces or handsome faces in photos. It's just like having them with me.

So I didn't feel too bad last night when I called home at 9 p.m. and said I'd be spending one more night in the wildnerness with 3 fellow scrappers. I did feel a bit guilty when I got home this morning and realized my "Saturday chores" went un-chored. My loving hubby got some laundry done, though, so that was a bonus! I still didn't get around to the rest yet, either.

After lunch, I had to take Carter shoe shopping so he could get basketball shoes and gym shoes. We went to MC Sports in Plover to get the hoops shoes, then circled back to Rapids and got other shoes at ShopKo. We stopped at the video store to rent Thor and then stopped at Wal-Mart for groceries.

Carter is a casual shopper. As in very casual pace! So we were gone 3+ hours, then spent almost 2 hours watching the movie -- so I guess that's 5 hours of quality time together.

Maybe I didn't miss much, but I missed plenty!

Heading Out

The kids are off of school today for some imaginary teachers' convention so I took today off, too. As it turns out, though, I am not spending any time with my child.

Carter slept in while I went to see my chiropractor for the third day in a row. Making some progress there but still not 100%. Came home in time for hubby and I to go to the funeral and burial ceremony.

Now I have my scrap packed and I am heading Up North, sort of, to my friend Becky's cottage -- where we will scrapbook to our heart's content (as long as my back holds up). It's not too far away, about an hour, but there is no "connection" up there so I will be computer-free and possibly phone-free.

I don't expect great amounts of productivity, just enough to keep my mojo going on the 2011 album and leave plenty of time for some good girl talk.

See you on the flip side!

Tough Loss

It's been a week of some tough losses. Oh don't worry -- I'm not going back to the Packer-Viking game. That outcome was pretty much expected anyway.

I'm always reminded, though, that even if we expect things, it doesn't always make it easier to handle them.

Some friends of ours lost an uncle/brother this week. He was quite sick with cancer so it was inevitable. But even with the end in sight, it was hard for some to let go. I can't blame them. Just because we know someone is going to die and just because we have the chance to say "goodbye" doesn't mean their loss doesn't hurt. It doesn't mean we won't miss them.

Hubby and I dropped Carter off at school to play Pep Band for volleyball then we went to the funeral home. We waited in line a long time and it was obvious by the visitation crowd that "Uncle Wally" was well loved and respected. His loss will be felt by many.

After greeting family and friends, we headed back over to the school for the sectional matchup between our Royals and the Wausau Newman Cardinals. During the 2 regular season meetings, Wausau kicked our butt. Tonight our girls played their hearts out and kept it close, but in the end, their season was over and they were sent home while Newman advances in their quest for state.

It was so sad to see our disappointed girls try to hold it together. For the seniors, that's got to be so tough to realize that was their last high school volleyball game. Ever. I can see why they were crying. Even I got a lump in my throat and I don't even have a kid playing! (I do appreciate my friends who let me use their girls for my "daughter fix." I was pretty sad, too.)

A very tough loss. But I see basketball right around the corner so they can't be down for long. Easier said than done, I'm sure, but I have it on good authority God always has something better for us right around the corner.

Sometimes we just have to let go so our hand opens up and He can place something new there.

The Hip Bone's Connected to the Back Bone...

I need to find my birth certificate. I feel like an 80-year-old woman today and I'm wondering if maybe in some parallel life I am one!

A funny (no, not funny) thing happened after blogging last night. I grabbed the ice pack so I could ice my hip. Then as I maneuvered myself in the chair to angle my body just right, my back went out. And when I say it "went out", that's just a non-medical term for "Holy crap, it hurts and I can hardly move."

Nice, huh?

I had figured I could tough out the hip pain for a few days, but I don't mess around with the back. I wasn't sure how I'd make it through the work day today so thank god my chiropractor could get me in at 7:15 a.m.!

He's a magic man. He did get some of the tension off the hip. Somehow. And the back was readjusted but not enough to ease my discomfort. So I will return to Dr. Tom tomorrow morning and Friday morning and hope for more miracles. If that doesn't work, I figure it's the perfect time of year to find a witch doctor.

Seriously, there is never an opportune time for a sports injury -- can I even call it that when I was not even breaking a sweat? I feel bad for my neighbor who is dealing with knee pain right now -- just 10 days from her first half-marathon. And I have a booked schedule myself the next few days between a funeral and visitation, a volleyball sectional (just a spectator in the hard bleachers while Carter plays Pep Band) and a scrapbooking overnighter Friday to Saturday.

I need my back back.

The only good thing is that since the hip bone is connected to the back bone... my back troubles are overriding the hip problem. That pain seems to have lessened considerably since my morning "adjustment."

I'm still shuffling around like an old woman, though. I figure I could be one for Halloween. All I need to make my costume complete is a bag for treats.

Sad.

Hip to be Square

It's amazing a body can endure an entire half-marathon, but then be put in its place after a dinky little 2-mile run.

Not sure what caused it, but my hips (mainly my left) have been bothering me since Saturday -- sometime after I forced Carter to go on a run with me down to the dead end and back. It's only 2 miles and we probably walked a third of it for his sake, but later, I was feeling it.

It could be combination of the new Jillian Michaels exercises I was doing this weekend, too, but really? Could that tiny little change mess up my muscles and super strong bones fortified routinely with good ice cream calcium?

Who knows? All I know is that it is not a constant pain or discomfort but when it does strike, it's wicked. If I was a dog, it would probably be diagnosed as hip dysplasia. But since I'm a stubborn human like my old man, I'll probably ride it out, well rest it out, and see if it doesn't get better in a few days.

Yes, it was stupid of me to try to run again today. I thought maybe I'd loosen things up. I never claimed to be very smart -- just determined, I guess.

Guess I'll tone down the hip-shaking moves a few days and keep my running shoes in the corner.

It sucks getting old.

10-Step Prorgam

Since 12-step programs have met with so much success, I thought I'd try to a 10-step one to see if it works even better. I can tell you, after 10 days, it is awesome. In a super yummy way.

Oh, I'm talking about the 10-day process of making Amish Friendship Bread. What did you think I was talking about?

I got a "starter" batch and instructions from someone at work. If you've never experienced this, I guess I can equate it to a pyramid scheme for people who like to bake.

Someone gives you a "starter" in a gallon Ziploc bag. You mush it (that's the technical term) twice a day for 5 days, add some ingredients on day 6, then mush it until day 10 when you add more stuff, divide a cup each into 4 bags (for friends you beg to take it) and then use the remaining batter to mix up the rest of the bread. It's got a super tasty cinnamon flavor to it so it's no wonder people keep making it.

On baking day, the bakers (that's me tonight) have to decide if they are ending their role and giving all 4 bags of "starter" away or keeping them. It can be a vicious cycle when you run out of people to take them and/or you don't want to bake anymore. I have tossed the "starter" before just to end it. (Probably breaking some sacred law.)

My only bad experience with this was about 5 years ago when I last did this -- and there's a reason. It was summer time, the bag got heated, too much air built up and, like a funny cartoon, exploded. All over the kitchen. It dried hard and we were scraping it off for months. I think we might have had to use turpentine or something to finally get it off.

Now that my 5-year ban has expired, I figured I would give this Program another shot. It worked! I already have plenty of people wanting the "starter" bags, too, but after tasting my first big piece tonight, washing it down with a glass of eggnog, I am definitely keeping one of them for myself!

I'll just have to coincide it with an 11-step exercise program to keep ahead of it.

Happy Birthday, Dad

My parents did a great job of teaching us kids to respect our elders. In fact, being a bit competitive, I have to do one better. Not just respect our elders -- but give them everything in our power.

So today for my dad's 84th birthday, I gave him a Packer victory over the Vikings. As much as it hurt my purple pride to do so, I figured, heck, the old man deserves it.

Certainly I am his favorite child for doing this. Not that I would do this for personal gain.

I mean, I would have loved nothing better than to actually keep the lead we built at halftime and give our rookie quarterback some confidence. But I knew Dad really wanted a special gift wrapped in green and gold so my boys had to lay down for the No. 1 team in the NFL. Just this once.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

He did tell me tonight he appreciated it -- knowing I have such powers. And I told him his birthday was sort of my lucky day, too. Even though the score didn't go the way I wanted to, the numbers matched up just enough for the "pool" fairy to give me $75. Whoot! (That pays for one of our tickets from our excursion to the Dome earlier this season anyway. Ha.)

As a post-game note: I was encouraged by our rookie Christian Ponder. I would love to see the Vikings move out of the "QB Retirement Home" mentality and actually let a young quarterback help the team grow. If we're having a losing season (not if), let him make his mistakes and learn from them so we can move forward -- instead of our constant "green" efforts to recycle old, washed up quarterbacks.

I am not a fair-weather fan so I am in this for the long haul no matter what the players, coach and front office do. I'm just a little tired of the re-runs. I'll keep watching, though.. sitting in my game day gear and biting my purple nails.

Here's hoping I'll actually have something to celebrate long before I turn 84!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

No Place Like Home

I realized today this is the first Saturday since Labor Day weekend that I am home with no major events to travel to or participate in. While I loved my two races, my trip to the Dome, my sister weekend and my scrapbooking getaway, it feels really nice just to be home.

My house appreciated it, too. It has been quite neglected. I wasn't sure where to even start but while I was eating breakfast, I heard the kitchen counter yell, "Find me first!" so that's where I started.

Got a little cleaning in, forced Carter to get off the couch and go for a little run with me -- and also took time to snap some pictures of a few pages from my scrapbooking getaway last weekend. I figured I would post these now since I will be out for the evening enjoying the Badger game by the campfire. Yes, it's possible to wheel a large TV down to a fire pit. And a grill, too! Should be fun.

Now for a few other fun memories from earlier this year...

Remember Carter's stint as the Cake Boss?

My nephew Colin's new race car (and new number) debuted in May. Yes, I found a Cricut cartridge that cuts out race cars! And so much more. I ordered it this week so I can't wait to use it. A lot!

Our annual Hedberg family Easter egg hunt always makes for 2 pages of fun!

Found some Twins paper last year on my sister weekend in Minnesota. Always on the lookout for the good stuff!

That same Cricut cartridge that made the race car also has some golf items like the cart and flag I used here. Am gonna love having it!

Speaking of golf... our golf ball-sized hail this spring.

If you ever wonder why I begged Santa for that Cricut last year -- look at my cool jigsaw puzzle letters to go with my Jigsaw Run page! How awesome is that?

And I even found the mountain goat or whatever animal it was on our t-shirts and race bibs for the Point Bock Run!

A simple black-and-white wedding layout for our friends Scott and Sandy's big day. Remember, that's when we went to Lambeau Field for pictures!

And finally, my WICKED page! I had the hardest time matching the green. I thought I did OK, but the camera doesn't lie. Don't worry, I'm not re-doing the page. I still like it.

And still have way more to do... but not today.

Barber's Remorse

I've heard of "buyer's remorse" -- when you re-think your purchase after you get home and realize you shouldn't have spent the money on the item. I wonder if there is "barber's remorse" for customers regretting a new hair cut. Or head shaving.

Carter is not going to admit he made mistake.

Not after getting all the girls' attention all day in school. But tonight he did not want to go shopping at Wal-Mart with me. His only explanation was, "I'm not going out in public." Why not? He just points to his hair -- or what's left of it.

OK, you spent all day in school with it. Why the sudden change of heart? He says it's because I don't like it. It's gotta be something else because a mom's opinion does not often matter to a teenager. He suggests I shave his whole head to even it out. I'm not about to make him a skin head. I guess I prefer a Mohawk. (For now.)

So he didn't go with me, but no more has been said about it.

Daddy and I were teasing him tonight that he must have lost some of his brains in the head shaving, though. We were playing cards (3 to 13) and he discarded a wild card for Daddy. Either he wasn't paying attention or he's lost some of his reasoning brain cells.

It didn't bother me. I ended up winning anyway! Yes, I'm gloating. We have a long season of cold nights and card playing ahead of us and I may not get the chance again!

And as tradition warrants, there's eggnog chilling in the fridge for the victory "shot."

Heck, they were out of the Candy Corn M&M's so I just had to move onto the next season. I'm sure Carter will be covering his noggin with a winter hat one of these days too!

Until a girl walks by and wants to run her hand through his hair. Then that barber's remorse will disappear as quickly as my first quart of eggnog!

Last of the Mohawk-ans

I'm going to have to re-read yesterday's blog post to remind myself how wonderful motherhood is and how awesome boys are... even when they don't listen... and even when they go off on their own in some dark corner of the school during a volleyball game and get a Mohawk!

Yes, even then.

Well, it sort of went like that.

The Assumption volleyball team is the No. 1 seed in the regional playoffs so we went tonight to support the team. Plus Carter played in Pep Band beforehand. That was an issue right there. He didn't really want to play tonight so he putzed at home and got there as the band was already playing and didn't seem to move any faster to join them.

So he was already on my list. Yes, moms have those lists, too.

I didn't see him at all for the first game, assuming he was putting his instrument away and sitting with friends. Since I was talking to a girlfriend, I didn't notice where hubby was sitting either. Sometime in the second game, though, Jim comes over and says, "Your boy is in the cafeteria getting a Mohawk." Say what?

"Who said he could do that??" I asked. I could tell by the look on Jim's face who gave him permission. Good grief. So of course since I had my camera with I figured I better capture the action. I missed it though. And just saw his somewhat crooked 'do when it was all over. I'm not happy.

Sure he's done with school pictures and football is over. So then what's the point of getting one? To show school spirit for volleyball of all things? I don't think so. Here I was led to believe "a bunch" of boys were getting them. But I only saw Carter and one other boy had gone under the knife. I heard some of them saying, "My mom wouldn't let me." I said, "Carter's mom wouldn't either, but she wasn't asked."

I know it's not a big deal in their minds -- those junior high boys and those "grown-up boys" -- but moms don't always like surprises. It makes me fear tattoos and piercings down the road. Yikes.

And Carter will still smile at me like he did tonight and say, "C'mon, Mom. You know you still love me."

Yes, dear. But let's not push it.

By the way, we won all 3 games tonight so we advance in the playoffs. Must have been all that school spirit!

Bouncing Baby Boys

We got to see a brand-new baby today. The new grandson of a classmate of hubby's. I was too nervous to hold him, though. He was about 5 1/2 pounds of adorable but still so teeny and fragile.

The new mommy couldn't stop beaming. I told her in a nutshell, the 3 great things about motherhood:

1) Boys rock.
2) There's nothing better in the whole wide world than being a mom.
3) You'll find every age is the "best age."

Don't you moms agree?

I loved when Carter was a newborn and I could just watch him sleep for hours. I loved when he could start scooting around and laugh. I loved when he could start talking. I loved when he could start asking questions. I loved when he could be my helper. I loved when he could do things on his own. I loved when he was a big boy and showing off his school work. I loved when he was old enough to switch to letter grades. I loved when he laughed at our jokes and loved when he could start telling his own. I loved when he decided on his own he would try to play an instrument -- and can! I loved when he tried a new sport for the first time -- t-ball, soccer, then baseball, then basketball and now this year football.

I love that no matter what age, I am still a beaming mom, too!

Tonight we had Carter's end-of-season football equipment return and pizza party. The head coach and his wife put together a video with still images and some video clips accompanied by music. We had to leave early to get Carter to confirmation but we got a copy of the DVD to watch at home.

I'm looking at these once bouncing baby boys now bouncing all over the football field -- running over anyone who got in their way. They suddenly look so old. Like young men now. I am glad we got to watch it in the privacy of our home. Carter would have been embarrassed to see his mom tear up in front of everyone.

But then, I bet I'm not the only proud mother that did! We can never be too proud.

Never.

No Glee in Mudville

I was on a strict time budget tonight. This is the first Tuesday evening all "new season" that I was going to be home to watch Glee.

So I went for a run over lunch instead of working out tonight. Didn't want to eat into any Glee time.

I had Carter start the oven so when we got home from work I could put in the chicken pot pies right away.

While those were baking, I had laundry in and was mixing up cookies for a football pizza party tomorrow night.

After supper, I baked up the cookies -- a yummy fly by the seat of my apron recipe with the new White Chocolate Candy Corn M&Ms -- and had those done and laundry by 6:55 p.m.

Jim and Carter were next door. I whip off my apron. Grab the remote. Sit on the rarely empty couch and switch on Glee. What?! Where are you, Glee? What the heck?

I feel like I've been punked. No Glee tonight. Some X-Factor show that is 2 hours long because Simon Cowell rules the world. Or at least Fox.

So as a backup plan -- well, I had planned to do it AFTER Glee anyway -- I called my mom and told her corny, pun-filled jokes that made us both laugh. And then I sampled my tasty cookies. And threw in another load of laundry.

Oh yes, there are worse things going on in people's lives at this moment, but allow me to be selfish a moment. This is MY blog after all. And honestly, I suspect I'm not the only Glee fan who feels this way tonight.

I needed that little slice of silly joy tonight.

Good thing I always have the Peppermint Stick ice cream to fall back on. Other Gleeks might not be so lucky!

Off-Season

I feel for the Milwaukee Brewers fans who begin their off-season today thanks to the mighty bats of the St. Louis Cardinals.

I know their pain. The Yankees have shattered our (as in the Twins') post-season hopes more times than I care to count in the last decade. We certainly didn't have to worry about that this year. But I moved on weeks if not months ago.

Now we are just entering the off-season in our house. That brief period of time -- 2 weeks, maybe 3 -- between middle school football and basketball. How unusual to have Carter ride the bus home and have his homework done when we walk in the door after work. Very much a treat when we had many past-9 p.m. nights of school work on game nights. Not fun.

He also had time to blow his bugle, as Daddy calls it, and will have plenty of time to read tonight, too. I am hoping for a productive start to Hex 2, the next grading period, which starts today.

I am also in my off-season. After being gone pretty much 5 out of the last 6 weekends, my schedule has cleared. No more girls' weekends away, no more races (running or stock car), no more scrapbooking. At least not in the immediate future.

So I had time to work out after supper and even putter around online for half an hour or so looking up family tree stuff. It suddenly seems like so much time on our hands when we're not running here or there or at home getting ready for some upcoming event.

I'm loving this! I'm thinking of it as a much-deserved break. I'm sure I won't have time to get bored, and I suspect it will get busy again sooner rather than later. Heck, I might even get time to write.

Or finally catch up on Glee.

Priorities, you know.

Endurance

I survived another endurance event. While it strains the brain -- the creative side anyway -- it also tests your back, your backside and your legs. Don't let it be said that scrapbooking is for the faint of heart!

I feel completely wasted tonight. Not as in alcohol consumption but as in my body is completely spent.

But just like the half-marathon, it is so worth it in the end.

While I did make it home last night, it was technically this morning, I didn't blog because I needed those precious 5 hours of sleep. Went back up to Point this morning but wrapped up and was home around 3 p.m.

Overall, I didn't complete as many pages as I thought I would -- 35 instead of 45 -- but I got over that disappointment. I took my time, putzed with my Cricut and I am happy with just about all of my pages. I couldn't wait to get home and show the guys. And they "oohed" and "ahhed" appropriately so I didn't feel my time was wasted. (Maybe I'll take a few pictures and post them. Sounds like too much work right now!)

As far as my progress goes, I made it as far as my brother's 50th birthday party in late June so I am almost halfway through my 2011 scrapbook already! That's the part that makes me say, "Yay ME! I was productive after all."

I survived!

Now where's my t-shirt and medal?

Croppin'

By some miracle, I got my act and my crap (or scrap) together and was ready for my scrapbooking weekend on time.

I had a few extra errands to run this morning, plus squeezed in a very short run against the wind (both ways, seriously) -- but a person can do things like that at warp speed when they have the right motivation.

My friend Jenny picked me up at 12:30 and we headed to Stevens Point for Croptoberfest 2011.

When all is said and done, I did not have as productive a day as I'd hoped. First, I practically forgot how to work my Cricut -- it's been so long. Then, the very first page I'm working on -- New Year's Day Rose Bowl party -- was missing the main picture.

I forgot Carter had taken that to school for a project and I still didn't have it. I had asked him to get it back this week and, sure enough, when I called him he said he did get it. And it was in his backpack. So I'll have to start out with that one in the morning when we go back up there.

Hopefully now that I've got the kinks worked out, I will get into a croppin' groove tomorrow and kick some butt. Or as Carter pointed out: Don't do fast pages, do good pages.

Good plan!

I Sold My Soul For Ice Cream

About a year ago, we got a new Schwan's Man on our route. It didn't take him long to make my list. And I don't mean my Bucket List or my Christmas Wish List. I mean THE list. The bad one.

The problem was that he didn't take my love for Peppermint Stick ice cream seriously. I mean when I tell him I bought out the last Schwan's Man's inventory at the end of the previous holiday season, I'm not joking around. Needless to say when he did not keep any units of the scrumptious green stuff on hand, he got on that list.

Then this spring, he moved right up that list when I learned he is a Detroit Tigers fan. What? Who the heck is a Tigers fan? Well I do enjoy a friendly competition among Central Division fans, so I just keep paying for my Schwan's goodies with my Twins checks and he keeps taking him. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he doesn't mind at all. He just wants to make the sale. Hmm.

Fast forward to tonight. Now I have been gone for several of the recent Thursdays he has stopped by. But tonight is my "pack for Crop-toberfest" crunch time, so I was home.

He rings the door bell but keeps his hands behind his back. It's dark out so I don't know what he has and I say that he better not having anything Tiger related back there. (For those who don't follow baseball, the Tigers are currently in the playoffs and the Twins, well, didn't come close.) So he says, "No, but you have to pledge to cheer for the Tigers this weekend if you want what I brought."

Hey, it's the Schwan's Man so it has to be good, right?

Oh, it was very, very, very good!

From behind his back, he pulls out not one but TWO containers of Peppermint Stick ice cream! I'm almost embarrassed to say I squealed in delight... and Carter rolled his eyes and left the room.

Of course, coming from a Tigers fan, I had to ask: "OK, now did you find these left over from last year? Or are these new?"

"New!" he said. "I've been driving around with these all day and I saved them for you!"

OK, he's off the list.

And he did just say pull for the Tigers this weekend. If they make it to the World Series, I hope I am cheering for the Brewers instead...

while eating my Peppermint Stick ice cream.

Holding Down the Fort

I'm a big fan of scented candles. Not the strong ones that give you a headache or force you to leave a room. Just the pleasant ones like the Bath & Body Works Caramel Pumpkin Latte one I have burning in the living room.

If the scent is right, it not only covers up the smell of cat and teenage boy, but gives you comfort or stirs up a good memory -- usually involving family or food.

That's the magic of our sense of smell. Today I stumbled across a scent that had me right back in my front yard as a grade-schooler.

I was out for a run over lunch hour. When I was cooling down, I walked right past a tree that had lost all its ugly brown leaves and I could smell my childhood front yard.

I don't even know what kind of tree we had -- I think an elm or box elder or something. It was big enough for climbing and a good shade tree. But come fall, it did not produce the lovely orange and yellow and red leaves like the maples do. Just plain ol' dead tan ones. And they had a distinctive scent to them (distinctive enough to remember today).

And they were crunchy. It was not fun jumping in a pile of those, I tell you. So we made alternate entertainment plans.

My sisters and I would sort of rake long thin rows of leaves to form the outside of a fort. Not a high-walled structure; more like a floor-plan blue-print. We'd have "walls" dividing the kitchen, living room and bedrooms -- sometimes a bed outlined, too, so we could lay our dolls down for a nap. I guess we called it a fort, but it was more like playing house. And it was a lot of fun.

I guess I forgot all about that. Glad I got outside today. And glad my nose wasn't too stuffed to make me miss my trip down memory lane.

Take some time to stop and smell the leaves this fall. You never know what you might be missing.

Breaking Even

After a slow start in the win column, our Assumption Middle School football team wrapped up the season today with a win at Wausau Newman -- bringing their record up to an even .500.

We started off the year with 3 straight losses, so to finish at 4-4 really reflects the improvement of the whole team. Remember when we had to twist Carter's arm to go out for football this year? I'm pretty sure that even though he missed that 2-point conversion catch tonight he's still going to want to go out for football next year!

What a difference 8 weeks makes!

I don't think we parents are ready for the season to be over either. Sure, it's a struggle to juggle the schedules sometimes between our work, Carter's practices and games and, oh yeah, homework. But we sure were blessed with pretty decent weather. I think if we had been freezing our butt off, we'd be rejoicing that the season was over. But we had one more nice, shorts-sleeves kind of game this afternoon so it doesn't seem like it's the end.

Our opponents today were on the tall side to say the least. Not bulky, just tall, tall, tall. I see some tough basketball games in our future. (Do I dare say basketball out loud already?)

Carter had decent playing time tonight but Jim has the camera with him down in Atlanta so I tried to shoot some video instead. Got a few snippets of action here and there, but I don't know if I'll find anything worthy of posting. Plus, I don't remember how!

Maybe I can learn in my free time, but right now I gotta gather up the garbage for garbage day tomorrow, get Carter's football clothes washed so he can return his uniforms and, hmm, one other thing. Oh, get EVERYTHING ready for scrap camp this weekend. I haven't been home long enough any night to get organized for that.

What did you say? Oh, good point. Get off the stinkin' computer then!

OK, farewell football season! Thanks, everyone, for playing along!

You Break It, You Buy It

It never fails that when hubby is out of town on an extended work trip, I fall victim to some sort of crisis.

During his January/February trips, there's always some sort of blizzard or ice storm to shake things up. And last fall, our old Honda Civic went to hell in a "need new head gasket" hand basket and I suffered that traumatic "overheated" drive to and from work. The end result was that I allegedly "broke" the car and we had to buy a new one upon hubby's return.

So why should this time be any different?

Jim left around 3:30 a.m. for the Appleton airport to catch a direct flight to Atlanta. For the next 7 days, he and I are sort of on vacation... from each other, that is. He's gone 'til late Thursday night and I leave midday Friday for Crop-toberfest (scrapbooking, not harvesting).

So we will both be doing the single-parenting role. I just get the football chauffeur and homework dictator duties!

Tonight I went to pick Carter up at football practice and arrived 5 minutes early. I thought I'd sit and listen to the radio. After a few minutes, I remembered that I should probably not run the battery down because 2 or 3 weeks ago, we had a dead battery at practice when Jim accidentally left the lights on for half an hour. Well, tonight it didn't take much.

Carter got in the car. I try to start it and click, click, click. Shhhooot.

Now last time we just called Uncle Joe a few blocks away but I do not know his phone number by heart. Thankfully my son is not the only putzer so there was still about 3 parents left at the practice field. The woman next to me had jumper cables and neither of us knew what to do with them. (No comment.) But 2 coaches were left so they figured it out and jumped me.

I really didn't like facing an hour drive to work tomorrow plus another hour drive to Carter's football game up in Wausau tomorrow afternoon with a battery on its last legs. Since it was after 6 p.m. nothing was open except, you guessed it, my second home: Wal-Mart.

Now you know I'm a gearhead. I can change headlight bulbs and windshield wipers with the best of them. But I draw the line at dealing with anything that could explode or cause my car to explode if I do it incorrectly.

So I pled my case. I was supposed to have to wait 90 minutes or so but I can be charmingly pathetic when I need to be so we got the car in in 20 minutes. An hour later than we should have, we arrive home with my bank account $76 lighter.

I just hope this means the drama and trauma for the week are over early. Please, God?

Thank you.

Homecoming Highlights

Thought I'd share some scenes from the 2011 Assumption homecoming since my boy looks so good in blue!

Pregame festivities started after school on Friday. Above is the burning of the Assumption "A" at the conclusion of the Friday night pep rally.

Here the high school-middle school combined Marching Band assembles to play tunes before Saturday's game against Thorp.

A few snapshots of Carter kickin' some brass (and you can see it was pretty windy yesterday)...

OK, who requested the Village People??

And how did Carter get roped into leading the actions to Y.M.C.A.?

Taking a cue from his instructor Miss Thomas.

I only took one action shot from the game -- which we won, by the way, 10-3. We will be in the playoffs!

Lining up for halftime performance. You can see Carter (2nd row, 2nd from right) is one of the few with a horn half his size... and you can see he's the only one not looking straight on (because he's talking to a girl!).

OK, now he's paying attention!

On the move.

The girls ahead of him and behind him are classmates. Very tall classmates!

Marching and grooving into place as they play a Roy Orbison tune.

Forming an "A" for the school song. I wasn't standing high enough in the bleachers to get a good angle. I was too concerned about trying to zoom in on Carter. (Of course.)

There he is on the right leg of the "A".

I know the wind didn't help their playing, but it sure kept them cool enough in the 80-degree weather.

I may be standing a mile away but I can still zoom in where the son, er sun, catches my eye!

All done! Nice job, everyone! (And thank you, Mother Nature, for a nice sunny day to take decent pictures!)

Loud and Proud

When I got up this morning, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck... an allergy truck. Would have loved to have rolled over and spent the day in bed but there were too many things on my agenda.

First up: Lettie's River Run in Amherst...
The Desperate Housewives of Blue Jay Drive made a return trip to this annual event, sporting loud socks -- and we were quite proud of them. Got lots of compliments! But I will say they don't necessarily make you run faster. Had a dismal outing compared to my last 5K race. But I blame that on the heat, the wind, the hills and, oh yeah, the fact that I felt like crap.

Had to show a picture of the finish line all lined up with pumpkins. Cute. I hardly noticed when I got done. I was just so glad to be done. I still ended up finishing 7th in my age group. So I'm sure I'll do it again.

Got home at noon and had to shower quick and move onto the next thing: Assumption Homecoming. Game started at 1 p.m. but Carter and the band entertained pre-game so he was there early. The wind was nice for them since those heavy uniforms got awful hot. They did a great halftime show -- loud and proud -- and somehow I was able to keep track of him for photos. I will have to post them later because even though I "say" I am posting this at 11:59 p.m., it is actually 1:20 a.m. Sunday already. Yes, our third and final item on the agenda ran pretty late.

After an Assumption football win over Thorp, brought Carter home, changed clothes, ate and went back to town for Jim's 30th high school reunion.

It was a small crowd but I knew a handful of people so that was nice. Obviously, the class of '81 had a lot of fun because they kept the party going way past the bedtime for the class of '86!

Someday I'll be old enough to handle all the excitement.

Excitement in the Air

If you live in Wisconsin, you definitely know a thing or two about nail-biting, edge of your seat excitement this week.

Yes, I'm talking about the Brewers and their extra-inning playoff win tonight that launches them into the final round of post-season play in the National League. Even if our hearts are pledged to other teams, hubby and I still support the Brew Crew and are pretty happy for all our friends celebrating tonight.

Just by coincidence, we were with a gymnasium full of people -- all in blue -- when the news of the final score hit.

We had a pep rally tonight at Assumption for homecoming. I mainly went because Carter played in the Pep Band, but I had a blast. Entertaining games and skits... you know the drill. Now Carter, who can be too shy and nervous to do anything in front of people most of the time, can't wait to be in high school next year so he can take part! (Slow down!)

He especially like the funny "dance" routine by the senior football players, who I must say looked pretty buff. Carter noticed, too, and he's a little concerned he won't look that good when he's a senior doing something like that. "I gotta start pumping iron, Mom!" Yes sir, whatever motivates you.

The other excitement going on -- for some of us, anyway -- is the racing action down in La Crosse. After qualifying very well last night, our nephew Colin went on to win the big feature! How exciting! I am sure he is just walking on air! Of course, he didn't have much time to celebrate since they had to get up today and do it all over again.

Tonight is an interesting 99-lap race that is broken up by 3 33-lap races. They run 33 laps, then do other races in different divisions, then the 2nd 33, then more heats or races, then the final 33. They figure out all the points between the 3 segments to determine the winner. Colin finished about 15th in the 1st segment, then won the 2nd segment! Now we're just waiting for the 3rd and final segment to get going.

I somehow think he's not worried about missing the excitement of homecoming -- or the Brewers. Not one bit.

Seasonal Transition Disorder

I don't know if summer has transitioned to fall and then transitioned right back or what. But it is becoming quite a challenge going to work when clearly Mother Nature is telling us to stay home or detour to a golf course or something.

Today, as it reached 80 again, I wisely did not go out for a walk during lunch. At this age, I know my limitations. And I know I have no willpower to go back inside to a desk job when the mercury is up and there are maybe 4 clouds in the entire sky. So I wistfully observed it out my window.

We kept the summer theme going tonight, though, and had a new flavor of bratwurst from Ski's Meat Market. Remember, this is the place that serves up everything from Beer Beer brats to Bloody Mary brats, Buffalo Chicken brats and everything in between. Their new end-of-summer flavor: Caribbean Jerk. Oooooh, good stuff! A different kind of spicy hot. Me like.

The summer racing season is also officially drawing to a close for our nephew Colin. This is Oktoberfest Race Weekend in La Crosse. He is racing tonight (he qualified 4th out of 46 drivers) and Friday night, then qualifying (keep your fingers crossed) on Saturday for a final race on Sunday. Looks like the weather is going to cooperate so we're hoping he has a super fast weekend!

In the midst of all the summer stuff is a typical fall week of Homecoming activities at Assumption. They really only have 2 dress-up days. Today was cowboy/hillbilly day and tomorrow is spirit day.

Carter put on a straw hat, some fake "hillbilly teeth" and a flannel shirt and was fine with that. I think he was a bit shy and conservative but now that he saw how everyone else dressed, he really wants to go gung-ho for spirit day. I still have blue hair paint left from last year -- but most of it is still on the bathroom ceiling. I know what you're thinking... I didn't exactly think that one through. My bad. We'll do it up right tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'll deal with that other lovely thing that comes with the transition from summer to fall then back to summer, then fall again... allergies. I'm only medicating at night since it tends to make me drowsy while typin.... wish me luc........

Like a Lamb?

We always gauge the month of March as a Lion or a Lamb. Can't we do the same with October? I am loving the lamb these days!

I don't know if it got up to 80 today but I suspect it was close. Hubby and I took a 15-minute walk during lunch hour and it was absolutely gorgeous out! One of those days where we probably shouldn't have escaped the office -- even for 15 minutes -- because it was oh so hard to go back! Shouldn't we be golfing instead of working? Did you hear that sound? I think my deck chair is calling me!

Well, we sucked it up and went back to work.

We did get home in time for me to enjoy a nice run in the sun. I figured I better get moving since I am doing a 5k race in Amherst this weekend. Trust me, there will be no medals coming home with me this time, but I am going to have some fun, I'm sure!

After my run, I showered quick and drove Carter into town for confirmation. I was tempted to take a nice walk. (Dairy Queen is 2 blocks away.) But instead I parked somewhere to "borrow" some wireless and fired up the laptop to watch last week's episode of Modern Family. That show cracks me up. I am sure anyone driving by thinks the old lady in the CRV is a lunatic laughing with herself.

Partially true.

Now I see I still have 15 minutes before I have to pick Carter up. Do I check work email or take that walk?

Hmmm.... should probably enjoy the taste of summer before the Lions of winter return!

Extra Points

It was a red-letter day for Carter. Make that a blue-letter day... as Assumption Middle School pounded Port Edwards 44-8! And #81 not only had at least 2 tackles but in our final score, caught the 2-point conversion pass in the end zone! Whoo-hoo!

Here are some.... well, a LOT of photos from this nice sunny day for football. Most don't need captions. Just look for #81 in action...

The 2-point conversion! Yay, Carter!!

8th-graders only.

Whole Middle School team.

Post-game review. Nice job, boys!