Thursday, October 26, 2006

Wake me up when October ends!

October has always been my favorite month, because of my favorite holiday, Halloween. It's also when we get a few cooler days here in the South, and our electric bill finally dips below $200, because the air conditioner no longer has to run constantly. We do get a few trees with colorful leaves, and have to switch to long-sleeved shirts and jeans, as opposed to shorts and t-shirts. However, this year October has been more hectic than usual, and November promises to be crazy, as well. How did life get this fast-paced for us? I am so thankful that we have many friends who want to do things with us, but we don't have a free weekend until sometime in December.

With me working full-time, there's not a whole lot of time during the week for us to hang out at home, or really accomplish anything there. I've accepted that, but it would be nice to have a little time on the weekends to sit around and read a book without feeling guilty about it. If only the cat would learn to do laundry...Thank God Zach isn't into sports yet, and I refuse to join any organization that meets on the weekend. I've decided to ride in the MS 150 in April, but don't have time to ride my bike.

Anyway, here's how my month has gone: On the first Wednesday, I was the hostess for our monthly sorority meeting. It was supposed to be a fundraiser for the chapter, with me doing a Creative Memories presentation. Everyone showed up late, and didn't seem interested in the scrapbooking stuff, so I didn't push it. I didn't mind too much, but I had spent money on promo items, and time setting them up. Two days after that, I flew to South Carolina to help my sister and her husband get settled in their new house. We worked really hard, but it was so nice to go somewhere and only be responsible for myself! I need to go visit her more than once a year. That weekend, we went to the Renaissance Festival with some friends, and I didn't enjoy it as much as I usually do. It was hot, and it is so hard to go someplace like that with a large group of people. It's also gotten very expensive for the food and rides. Later that same day, we got a dog.

It took several days of persuading Darren, but he fell in love with Roux instantly when he saw him. He's somewhere around seven months old, and is a mix of Chocolate Lab, Golden Retriever, and Springer Spaniel. He has a very sweet disposition, but is digging up our backyard. He stays in a crate while we are at work, and I feel really guilty about that. I don't want him to disturb the neighbors by barking (which he doesn't do), or dig his way to China. I also don't trust him in the house. The poor cat is traumatized, and is now living upstairs. The dog was a stray for a while, and came to us with mange and pinworms. He has to have daily medication, which isn't a big deal, but is a big expense. Roux is coming with up this weekend to Louisiana. I sure hope my dad's beautiful yard looks the same when we leave!

This past weekend, we took some friends to see Cowboy Mouth at a bar in Houston. It's been two years since we saw them in concert, and it was a great show! I always feel revived after I see them live. They are so much better live than they are on CD. Zach spent the night with another friend that night, so Darren and I went out to breakfast before meeting up with them Saturday morning. It was so weird to get to talk to each other without interruption! We decided to clean out our garage last weekend, and after we pulled everything out, realized that we needed to go and get some storage shelves. Lowe's made a nice sum of money off us that day. We skipped two birthday parties last weekend to be able to work on the garage, and we're not finished yet. We have a lot of trash that needs to be thrown away, and some items that need to be sold or donated. It looks a whole lot better, though.

I got a flu vaccine on Tuesday, and have been at home ever since. I should know better than to take that shot; I get sick every time. It started with diarrhea Tuesday night, and by yesterday morning, I had fever and my whole body hurt to move. I am feeling better, but still have fever. I had to waste two of my precious 7 days of sick time that I get each school year, and am taking a half day tomorrow to go and get a permanent crown put in. What fun!

I am excited about going to Lafayette this weekend for homecoming. I hope we run into some friends there, and Zach is excited about going to a football game. Saturday is also our eleventh anniversary, so maybe we'll get to go out and eat alone.