Me thinks...

...that some on scene blogging may need to take place here next year. I mean really an event just for brats, what could be better? Oh wait, I know what could be better, it is in the fall and I bet I could find some squeaky cheese and beer to go with it. Heaven on earth for sure!

Fall

          I woke up this morning thinking to myself "holy crap it is cold in here and it is still dark outside. Is it possible I slept right through fall?" Good news though, I didn't, and it is still fall! The last few days the weather has been wonderful here. I wish we could just push the pause button and it would stay like this for a while since Alabama doesn't do the whole 4 seasons thing real well.
          I love fall and everything fall has to offer. I have such great memories of falls back in Wisconsin. Back home we would be out at the pumpkin patch, eating caramel apples, and playing in the hay barn. I haven't been able to do much of that here, but I have a mission to change at least some of that this year. Fall activities are pretty much the same no matter where you live, just with minor variations. I can pretty much do everything I loved to do back home here except go apple picking. Apparently Alabama does not have great soil for apple trees which makes me a little sad but I can drive just a couple hours towards NE Tennessee and North Carolina if I really feel the need to do manual labor and pick my own apples. I can however make life easy and go to the farmers market for the apples and make caramel sauce to eat them with - YUM!
          I love that when fall sets in it just means we all want to get up and enjoy being outside before the cold sets in. Fall festivals are a great for this and they always seem more enjoyable to me than the summer ones. People are happier, there are less bugs, and you can be out longer before you die of sweltering Alabama heat. Everywhere I have lived has had fall festivals and they are not to be missed. It is a great opportunity to wear your favorite team's fleece hoodie outside of the house or in my case, to pull out my black boots and a warm turtleneck and look like I actually belong in the season.
          One of my all time favorite fall foods has to be Caramel Apple Pie in a Paper Bag (CAPIAPB). DOOD it is amazing! If you are back in Wisconsin go here and get some pie, seriously! I was lucky enough this past weekend to be in St. Louis and some great friends hooked me up, so I have had my fill this year, phew cuz that would have been a problem. 
          My list of reasons why I love fall is long and could go on a really long time, so rather than put everyone to sleep I am just going to go enjoy the fall evening with happy thoughts of CAPIAPB and hope you do the same!

Accent

I am in St. Louis this weekend on work and staying with some great friends. This morning we went to church and the pastor has a killer Wisconsin accent. It was great. Thanks to Pastor Shevey for his great accent and talking to us about it afterwards!

Mosquitoes

Alright folks I have a confession to make. I live in 90 + degree weather in the summer time by choice and I love it, except for 1 thing - these bleeping mosquitoes!! OK that isn't the confession, but I will get back to that in just a second. Back home we made fun of these pesky little things as the state bird and they are everywhere to be sure. However, I moved to Alabama and now I can't even walk outside without getting attacked. Here is where the confession comes in, so I haven't worn skirts or shorts for pretty much two summers straight now. I like to wear light clothes and be cool in the summer time but these days my legs, ankles and feet look like someone beat me up. And by someone I mean the mosquitoes. They seriously hate me with a passion around here. Today, I was in the grass for apx. 2.5 minutes and my feet blew up in little (BIG) bites, claritan and benadryl cream to the rescue and I could at least walk without feeling like my feet needed to be itched right off of my legs. They might be the state bird of Wisconsin but they take the cake around here for the one thing that can really really get under my skin. Haha...under my skin...I made a joke...well it was funny in my head at least. So the BBSC (Beer Brats and Squeaky Cheese) tip is if you plan to move to the south be prepared to fend off mosquitoes like you've never done before!

Back On

Yes I  have been slacking and I admit it, but yesterday I was inspired not once but twice to get back at it.  Tonight in honor of those inspirations I am posting both of them for you to read and maybe be inspired.

First was an email that was forwarded to me by the great and wonderful Nancy. Now I have to say that I don't do the whole chain mail thing, but this article was a great reminder of my home team and that football season is here! Take a minute and read this inspirational story, you will be glad you did.

Secondly, I don't aspire to be a professional blog writer by any means but I know it is something I want to do for fun because I enjoy it. My hope is that just one person will read and enjoy it (*clears throat* hint to the hubby) but no one is going to read it if I don't post anything. *sigh* but lately I have felt more like reading blogs than writing my own. I read many blogs in a day, but my favorite by far is Ree Drummond who is the author of http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/. She seriously rocks! Yesterday she posted this article and it really spoke to me. If you like to blog, I am speaking to you "Graphite Free", or want to get into blogging, that is you "Embrace the Suck" then read this list and her blog.

So there you go, here are the two things that have kindly reminded me to stop making excuses and get my butt back in the saddle. Consider it done!