My blogging as been slim to say the least. But, as with everyone, that doesn't mean that things haven't been happening around here.

The last week or so included my having gone (with Jackson in hand) to a friends for a Home Interiors party and purchasing a few things, which were all very reasonably priced...so much so that I kinda felt bad because it didn't add up to much. We all went an ex-neighbors daughters first birthday party and that was cramped. They are living in a duplex while their house is being built, which under normal circumstances wouldn't be a problem, but they left a big house here so they had a lot of stuff to put in a smaller space than they left behind. So, we didn't stay too long because it was hard for Jackson to run around when no room allowed for it is someone else's house.

Monday afternoon until Wednesday afternoon my sister was here with my nieces and that was a good visit. I felt bad because we had to stay here during the day because of construction stuff, but on Tuesday after everyone left I took them all up to the Boyd's Bear Factory and the girls made their own bears. They had a good time and I'm so lucky that it's only about 20 minutes north of my place. It's fun to see kids in a place filled with teddy bears and other stuffed animals, their eyes get so large when they see something that they like...oh to be a child again.

The Olympics are over and I have to say by the end of it all, I'm glad that things are getting back to normal. I think I pushed my husband over the edge with having it on TV as much as I did. The new Fall season is starting and it will most likely be another year of my getting hooked on a few shows that will be very short lived and will fade away.

I've decided to really make a point, again, to cook more. My new strategy is to have my whole weeks food menu planned a day or two prior to going shopping. That way I can make sure that I have everything on the list that I need and have all my coupons ready. In the past I've tried to wing the meals too much and work off of what we've had in the house, which can work pretty well but with the food supply dwindling down and all my supplies in various locations throughout the first floor (because of construction) I need to be much better organized. I've been slipping on my overly organizational ways and need to get back in the groove of it all. I love it when there is always something that I'm working on in the kitchen, especially because you have a better idea of what you are really eating. But please, don't get me wrong, I still love a meal out from time to time and I know that will definitely still be in the plans once in a while.

My older cat peed all over my husbands stuff, again. She's totally protesting the fact that she's stuck in our bedroom all day while people are (or sometimes aren't) going in and out of the house. So, basically anything that she could crawl onto or into she was going to pee on. This ended up meaning my husband's stuff because all mine is in dressers (that aren't broken) or the closet. We ended up having to buy another automatic litter box for the upstairs because we know they both have used the one on the first floor with great success. It comes down to the fact that it's cheaper to buy another box then to keep throwing out Joe's clothes. On Saturday I threw out another pair of his pants (which makes two or three in total) and over ten t-shirts.

Autumn is my very favorite time of the year and I can't wait for the chill in the air to come. Days when a nice hot spicy bowl of chili with cheese and cornbread are needed to warm us up. When longsleeve shirts and sweaters start to be pulled out of the closet. But for goodness sake, it's in the 90's the past few days and it's making it hard to be in the spirit. I want to put out all my autumnal decorations and switch over to my Fall purse but it's strange to think about carrying around a cute dark green corduroy purse when it's 93 degrees and humid. I need that brisk air that brings me back to being in DC at 7 am getting a Mocha Latte at Starbucks with a friend on our way to work.

That's it for me today, Jackson is running around after the dog and Pippy is just not having it. Poor dog just wants to lay down and sleep and my son isn't making that easy for her, at least he's laughing the whole time and getting enjoyment out of it.