August

Third month of summer, third post of summer.

It’s 11:55 pm on a Sunday... my tiredest, tiredest day... and I am only awake because I fell asleep at 7 pm without meaning to.

Sundays are hard.

Being the primary president is hard.

Being the primary president in August when half the teachers are gone so I’m playing class Tetris, the organists are gone so I’m playing the organ, the pianists are gone so I’m playing the piano, and my three-year-old only wants me so I’m playing the mom, is hard.

I love it but sometimes I wonder if I can really keep it up for another year. Is there more I can do to delegate? I feel like I delegate a lot. My counselors are wonderful. My teachers are wonderful. My bishop is wonderful. My husband is wonderful. (Even when i fall apart on him in a blaze of glory like i did tonight, hence the 7 pm nap) 

There’s just some stuff I can’t seem to lift off my shoulders, and part of that is what happens on Sundays. Someone needs to know what’s going on with all the kids and all the teachers, and I am that person for now. Hmm. Maybe I should revisit this train of thought in September when everyone comes back. (I’ll still have the three-year-old though...)

Augustus! save some rrrroom for later!

Kinda running low on the ol' photo selection.

Anyway. I like August so much that I just made an August label on my blog.

It's the essence of that "end of summer" feeling that I like so much.  Even though we came home from our vacation to discover that I had let all of the hostas die. Even though the backyard grass looks even worse than the hostas. Even though we walk outside and start sweating immediately. Even though the lovely lazy days at the pool and fountains and such are coming to a close.

I just love the transition.

I love summer and this has been a great one, but it will come again soon enough. I am even psyching myself up for winter, sort of. I normally am not a fan of winter at all and I doubt that will change, but I decided that this winter, I'm not going to complain...much. I mean, I'll take summer heat over winter cold any day, but the mosquitoes that come with the rainforest vibe we have going on around here, are a bit of a deal-breaker. When I come in from the humidity and cool off in my air-conditioned house, the sticky hot feeling goes away, but the mosquito bites and faint scent of bug spray remain. Yet in winter, I can come in from the bitter cold and warm up by a heating vent. (so romantic) And no mosquito bites. It's like the cold never happened, until I go outside again of course.

Four more weeks of summer though, before Theo starts kindergarten (!!) and we are not going to waste them. Life is good my dears...life is good.

August

I love August. I even love its name, so much that Matt and I considered it as a name for our baby boy until we realized how many newborn Augusts there are out there lately at least on blogs. When I read for the 5th time "HIS NAME IS AUGUST AND WE CALL HIM GUS!" we ditched it. Still a cute name even if he'd have to be August S. forever. But he's Lars anyway so it doesn't matter. Larsy parsy pudding and pie.

Anyway back to August the month: I love summer but I also love the transition into fall. I love that this fall I have NO MORNING SICKNESS. (last fall I thought I could never enjoy fall again. I still haven't eaten anything pumpkin flavored since last October.) I love looking forward to school starting. I love back-to-school shopping. I love picking peaches and blackberries. I even love finally putting BYU's football schedule in my calendar, because Matt loves BYU football so much. I love that 8 years ago this month, Matt and I got engaged. After a BYU football game actually, I think! Well, technically the day after. I love being married to Matt and could never imagine or want any other life. Being married is great even if it does mean sharing a bathroom with a boy.

Happy August.

I was looking for this below image of Matt and me, but can't find the file, so here is a video I made a few years ago. Or just look at the thumbnail. This is Bear Lake 2003, around the time we got engaged. Good times.

Back to school, back to school

I was going to make a fall mix for you but I realized that I still have my fall mix from last year on the sidebar (even though it's labeled "January" for some reason).

So instead I am going to share this little tidbit with you. When I think of fall I think of school starting, and when I think of school starting I think, among other things, of my 2 favorite cancelled TV shows, which happen to be set in schools.

(enjoy a little Latin flavor at the very end of that one.)

Can't beat 'em!

Season 1 of Veronica Mars is still the best (2 and 3 went slowly downhill, I'm sorry to say). So many quotable lines and I love all the characters. Unfortunately a little crude at times and the crudeness got worse in the final 2 seasons. Felicity, you may already know of my love for, and all the seasons of that one are awesome. I re-watch them when I want something on in the background while I do a mundane chore like painting. Season 1 of VM has been on lately while I organize files.

Slightly embarrassing confessions out in the open, now please proceed with your normal September activities.

Welcome, fall.

Twice in the past week we have enjoyed 65-degree temperatures during daylight hours. And noticeably dry air! My windows were open all day today!

Fall is slowly (slowly!) slowly (slowly!)* on its way in. This means that in between bouts of unseasonable September-October heat that refuse to be shaken off, we will soon be looking at long sleeves, denim, and shoes. Among other things.

For us, it also means preschool for Theo (and joy school for Ida! can you stand it!!)--which means getting up before 8 and getting out of the house before 11, how did we ever do it last year? Bless you and your long days, summer!

Oh and it means a haircut for Theo, hopefully before school starts. And buying Theo new shoes, hopefully before school starts. It means a birthday party for my October baby who will in fact be a 2-year-old sporting a binky. Come on, it matches her shoes!

It also means sweaters... socks... boots... candles... Spicy Peach Jam... planning Halloween costumes and Thanksgiving side dishes... going to Michael's just to wander through the aisles and smell everything.

It means making Spicy Ginger Cookies during general conference. (which, since I am not pregnant, have been demoted from the original title "Jump Start Your Labor Cookies"... I love the still-new tradition, which I started just days before Ida was born, of making these cookies during October conference.) It means lots and lots and lots of trips to the park and generally as much time spent outside as possible. It means a trip to the gigantic, campy pumpkin patch with gigantic, campy slides and a haunted hayride, all of which for some reason appeals a whole lot to me.

It means...soup. Lots and lots of soup. Chili mostly. Oh, and cornbread...

Weird smile:

So. Sneaky old Fall is almost here. What does that mean for you?

* I hope someone got this reference...

Hey, Diamond!

Tuesday evening at dusk in our nation's capital was a lovely August night, not particularly hot at all, when Matt and I partook of Neil Diamond's sonorous baritone . . . live.

It took me only 20 minutes to get from our apartment to Matt's office, so we were a little early and stopped to get half our day's calories at the Gallery Place Haagen-Dazs. We lingered a little, figuring we would miss part of the opener, and finally entered the Verizon Center at 8:20 to find that . . . Neil was already ON! No opener! What!

So, we missed a few songs. Sad . . . but the remainder of the show was very fun.

The lady sitting next to me looked a lot like this (a word to the wise, be prepared for some shocks if you look for images of Bea Arthur online. She's a little bit skanky!) She and her husband didn't seem very into the show, and they only clapped after "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" and "Hell Yeah." (that second one is from 12 Songs if you've forgotten.) Weird? Also, there were two ladies in front of us who were definitely at least as old as my Grandma Clayton if not older.

But the average age was younger than I would have predicted. Lots of 20- and 30-somethings, although mostly 50- somethings. Some 60-, 70-, and even 80-somethings. Lots and lots of bleached-blonde smoker-ladies.

I can't fathom what Neil must do to keep his voice so velvety after all these years. Because it is velvety! He is pushing 70. I decided that since he got onstage right on time (we assume) and got off pretty much right at 10 p.m., he probably goes to bed early and maybe drinks some hot lemonade as a nightcap.

He played a lot more old faves than I expected, what with his two newer albums released in just the past three years or so. We enjoyed such classics as Love on the Rocks, I Am I Said, Cherry Cherry, Cracklin' Rosie, Forever in Blue Jeans, Sweet Caroline, You Don't Bring Me Flowers, Brooklyn Roads, Thank the Lord for the Nighttime, I'm a Believer, America (a song I don't especially love actually, but I really liked the slideshow for that one), Song of the Whales, Play Me, Song Sung Blue...that's all I can remember.

My favorite performances were probably "Forever in Blue Jeans" and "Play Me." My favorite moment--besides the extended "Cherry Cherry" wherein he introduced his band that he's played with for 30+ years--was when he was musing upon "life on the road" and he said, "I say to myself, Hey, Diamond!--that's what I call myself, no need for first names--Hey, Diamond! Are you ever gonna stop this packin' and singing' and travelin' and unpackin' and packin' and travelin' and singin'?" at which point the crowd yelled "NO!" and he replied with a throaty chuckle, "That's always my answer too."

So, the moral of the story is . . . if you ever get the chance, and apparently you will, definitely go see Neil. Although it seems he prefers to be called Diamond.

Also, moral #2 is that taffeta cowboy shirts are currently in with "Diamond" and moral #3 is that "Sweet Caroline" really does not get old. You would think that it would, but it doesn't. It's just that good.

Seasons.

I love seasons. At the beginning of every season I get excited for the changes: changes in the weather, the light, the smells, the clothes, the food, the activities. Then, about halfway through, although I am still enjoying the current season, I start dreaming about the season to come. It never fails.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE summer, I love sunshine, I love shorts and flip-flops, I love long days and short nights, I love cooling off with an icy treat, and I am thoroughly enjoying going to the pool Every Single Day!

But we're coming up on August now and so, true to form, I am thinking about...sweaters; back-to-school sales; fireplaces (not that I have one); Mr. Boogedy; football games (in moderation); autumn morning sunlight; red, orange, and yellow leaves; pumpkin patches; hayrides; Matt's briny turkey; and last but not least, a delectable variety of pumpkiny, cinnamony, gingery, clovey treats...including but not limited to spicy peach jam.

Also, I really like going to craft stores in the fall. Michael's, A.C. Moore. Even JoAnn's. And of course halfway through September I will start dreaming about Christmas. (Pine trees! more sweaters! wrapping paper! candy canes! gingerbread houses! Neil Diamond party!)

This year--even as I enjoy the perks of not showering every day because hey, we go to the pool--I am particularly looking forward to two things about Fall 2008:

1) Babies!
2) Halloween!

I like Halloween more and more each year. This year I will have two kids to dress up--rest assured that there is a 100% chance I will not still be pregnant on October 31 ("Chance of departure today, 100%."), despite the fact that I recently had a dream about going into labor on Halloween night and desperately praying that the baby would come before November.

So, I need ideas for the babies. Not that they will be trick-or-treating--at least, I'm not planning on going, although I'll be happy to eat candy--but it's still fun to dress them up and someone has to throw a Halloween party. In case you've forgotten (Matt did), Theo was a mummy last year.

If you have a good idea and I use it, I'll send you some of my candy, and/or some spicy peach jam.

September was very Septemberish that year.

I don't know how it is where you live, but I am declaring today the first REAL fall day 'round these parts.

We stepped outside today for a little morning walk and it had turned into autumn overnight. I couldn't believe it. There was an assuredly crisp breeze, leaves swirled around, and my favorite fall thing which I had forgotten about: the sunlight has changed. I love autumn morning light. I love it more than I love pumpkin cookies and MORE than I love cheese.

It may warm up again and be too hot for long sleeves or apple cider but the sunlight will still be there to remind me that it's fall.

I think I want to break out the dutch oven and have me some peach cobbler.

This is my 3rd fall post in as many weeks.

Also--"Mushaboom" came on in Marshall's yesterday and got me thinking about Phoebe's post from last year about fall tunes. Click here to revisit and have yourself a good September Morn.

Each peach pear plum

So back to this whole autumn thing.

If I didn't have a calendar in front of my face telling me tomorrow is September 1, I wouldn't believe it.

I wouldn't believe it!



I didn't go to the pool nearly often enough while I had the chance.

However I have big plans next week to make Phoebe's SPICY PEACH JAM* and that will help me remember how much I looooooove fall even though I also loooove summer.



*1 package pectin
4 c peaches, peeled and mashed
1/4 c lemon juice
5 or 6 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp all-spice

Follow "cooked jam" directions inside pectin box (SureJell or MCP).
Use the inversion method, not the hot water bath.

Makes 8 or 9 jars.

For best results let this recipe sit for 2 weeks before eating.

Welcome, fall

In honor of the impending autumnal season (which happens to be my favorite . . . mmm . . . pumpkins, candles, sweaters), I am in the process of adjusting this blog's template. At the moment all I have time for is changing the background color from pink to orange, so the header image and such will have to wait.

Also, 4 years ago today Matt asked me to marry him.

Thank you.

You may go.

Speaking of hot August nights

Yesterday as I was going through a bunch of old pictures I realized that today is an anniversary of sorts. I'm big on anniversaries.

On August 9, 2006, Matt and I left Utah and moved to DC. Along with our friends Sterling and Jessica of course, who shared a very large truck with us.



Jess and Sterling's tomato plants came too, and they survived. Thrived, even.



Granted we did not actually arrive in DC until very, very late at night on August 11, so technically August 12. This was after leaving Wednesday morning, driving until we reached Sterling's brother's house in Iowa City at 5 a.m. the next day; then we slept a couple of hours and headed out, arriving at our friends' Taylor and AnnDee in Columbus, OH late that night. We left the following morning and drove all day and night, barreling into DC around 2 or 3 a.m. if I remember right.

The trip was actually very fun. We had to go more slowly than we might have, because of the Penske. Sterling and Matt very graciously drove it and didn't make Jessica or me do it. Actually I never had to sit in the truck at all--about half of the time Matt and I drove in our car and the other half Jessica rode in my car while Matt drove with Sterling in the truck.

I was 20 weeks or so pregnant, I guess maybe a little more, I don't remember. Not really showing much although at the time it seemed like I was. I was surprised how uncomfortable it was to sit for that long and how impossible it was to stay awake. Also I felt T-Baby move for the first time on that trip.

Matt and I brought our camera but apparently only took 4 pictures the whole time, and they were all in about a 5-minute span in front of Taylor and AnnDee's house.



A few memorable moments were:

*Jessica and I going ballistic while being attacked by gnats at a truck stop in the sultry Nebraska night;
*Sterling's credit card failing him at another truck stop (we went to a lot of truck stops) because the company figured he shouldn't be buying diesel gas and various sundries all over the country within a matter of days;
*me looking so forward to a Georgia Mud Fudge (really the best Blizzard out there and my treat of choice on a long drive) which unfortunately disappointed; hmmm, that sounds kind of good now actually.
*talking all night with our good friends Taylor and AnnDee and being so sad to leave;



*stumbling in to Sterling's brother's house amazed that we had made it alive;
*getting a voracious craving for pizza on the last leg of the drive, which had to be satisfied at CiCi's in West Virginia.

That was also the week when they stopped letting people take water bottles, shampoo, or components for liquid bombs, into airports. I remember that happened when we were in Columbus.

Oh yeah and can't forget Sterling flipping a U-turn on Connecticut Ave in the Penske. Or was it a left turn? Or parallel parking? All three?

And Sterling and Jess sleeping on our couch cushions on the floor the first night.

And Hester taking an hour-long metro ride in to DC to help us move in.

Has it really been a year?? That seems so short and yet so long. We are all settled now and so glad to still have Sterling and Jess nearby. Hester is no longer nearby and I am very sad about that.

Who's up for another cross-country drive? Actually I'd be fine with a trip but I don't want another cross-country move, thank you very much, at least not for a long while.

Happy anniversary to us!

Good morning to you

Good morning, angels.



T still wears sleepers at night because it gets SO COLD.

Not outside, mind you. Outside we are breaking records with 100+ temperatures and air so dense it makes your eyes sweat.

But inside, our AC operates on two levels: off and arctic blast. So you can imagine which level I choose on such Hot August Nights as these.

Stay cool! oh and KIT.