love list:: the last two weeks

cold house + warm bed.  unintentional afternoon naps.  one perfect batch of chocolate peppermint cupcakes.  eating dinner cross-legged on the couch with pillows and blankets.  the little women soundtrack.  unexpected storm clouds, dark ones.  creative non-fiction.  chili-cheese fries.  water.water.water.  brown leather anything.  ten days under 95 degrees.  plum eyeliner.  classic crime, phoenix.  someone else's unsecured wifi.  charts for exercise.  charts for dailies.  dishes ignored, finished or not.  small notes on my lunchbox.  small pictures on my nightstand.  the tie-rack serving as jewelry-rack finally on the wall.  the miracle of the pineapple lamp still in one piece (here & here).  a week of not-too-early mornings.  the tipping point of a pumpkin splurge.  craving vegetables, not chocolate.  blue jays & scissor-tailed fly catchers.  fresh cilantro.  rowing.  wintercrest.  running in the rain (seattle throw-back).  lego storm troopers framed.  the turquoise pen.  big bracelets.  overnight oats with peanutbutter and cocoa.  finally acting on the urge to write.

autumn, almost?

at the beginning of my run this morning, it felt like texas might actually have seasons. it was colder, a little. sadly, a half hour later (after the sun came up) i realized it was just a trick.  it seems like the world is on the tipping point of autumn everywhere... but here. i'm eating pumpkin already, and soup. and stalking facebook pictures of fall leaves. and really really hoping for a change of seasons. i'm ready for it.


grateful...

i'm grateful for the fall party. summer seamed eternal until i smelled autumn soup and pumpkin biscuits baking. now, it's fall in blood even if it's still over 100 degrees outside. a good celebration was exactly what i needed this weekend. it reminded me of all the excitement to come. the fall party is the opening of my favorite part of the year.

i'm grateful for a three day weekend. sometimes, that's what it takes to get my mind off work and onto more important things. staying up late watching psych, spending as long as i wanted at the gym, organizing my house a little more.... i feel life back in my bones. i think i'm ready for another week!

i'm so thankful for skype. really, without it i would never be able to participate in this global community. being thousands of miles (ish) away from family just wouldn't be bearable without it. despite it's hiccups, freezes, echoing, and dropped calls, it really is a blessing.

i'm grateful for a knows-everything mother. it doesn't matter if it's a canker sore or ear problems, she has a solution that (almost always) works. and usually doesn't cost very much. she's just about the greatest resource there is. not to mention friend... :)

i'm grateful for the sun that rises while i'm running, and for an entire container of orange honey butter. i'm grateful for wonderful books and the good company they are. i'm grateful for a job that gets us by and for the olive garden in abilene (really, it's one of the most familiar things here). i'm grateful for birds with long, long tails and birds with funny voices. and for clean, cold water after a good workout.


ps. i just checked the weather again. not a single day over 95 degrees in the ten-day forecast! now, now, i'm really celebrating. the heat has an end after all!