10 Reasons why I am Ecstatic about {Fall} - Writer's Workshop

Time to play/write along with Mama Kat and this week, I'm choosing prompt #5, "10 reasons why you’re glad it’s Fall." 

Hmmm.....I don't think that's good enough.  How about 10 reasons I'm ecstatic its Fall?!

1)  We have a kidlet birthday to celebrate!  And just as soon as I cringe that one of my babies is getting another year older, I smile & celebrate how they've grown & see the happiness across their face.

And there is happiness whether I stock the party with store bought decorations...

...or hand crafted decorations for a custom themed party.

2)  And before I blink my eyes, mini pumpkins of many hues are scattered about the house (depending on wherever whichever kidlet moves them!) and we're off to the pumpkin patch, a favorite family outing, to get the big ones.

Red wagons, chickens, a pig, sheep, half dozen old tractors to sit in, a hale bale pyramid that lets them climb to the skies, random farm kitties, and of course, oodles and oodles of pumpkins to ooo and ahhh over, pick and choose, and come home with four to six perfect for us pumpkins.

3)  And the night before Halloween, we gut, seed, and carve those plump pumpkins.  Most end up with jagged smiles or sinister faces, but at least one gets a detailed carve every year.  C-3PO and R2-D2 was mine!

4) Kidlets in costume!!  We've had The Great Carrot, a monkey, Cat in the Hat, race car driver, Mr. Incredible, Snow White, Buzz Lightyear, Aurora, Batman, and Cinderella parade these halls.  And rumor has it, we will see Harry Potter and either a scary witch or another Aurora trick or treating this year!

5)  November brings on cravings for edible pumpkin treats.  Scrumptious and savory roasted pumpkin seeds from all those carved pumpkins are enjoyed by all and since a kidlet went GF/CF (gluten & casein free, among other things that have been removed), close to three years ago, we try new holiday recipes every year.  Last year, it was delicious GF/CF Pumpkin Bread, which will make an appearance again soon enough.  And this year, I will finally make that GF/CF pumpkin pie!

6)  Cool, crisp air combined with rustic deep reds, golden yellows, and screamin' oranges make me giddy!  Then when those beautiful leaves fall, its a race to see who gets to crunch it.  In my past, I've even hobbled on crutches to get the best crunchy leaves and now, must admit, I've even cut off one of my own kidlets to get to that crunchy leaf first....but, where there is one crunchy leaf, there are many to go around. :>

7)  Thanksgiving!  We first arrived at our own perfect turkey recipe pre-kidlets for a Four Musketeer gathering here back in 2001.  And in the years since, it has been refined & made absolutely moist & scrumptious.  I'll let you in on just one of our turkey secrets......instead of butter on top of the bird, Hubby (who is ever so kind for cooking Thanksgiving dinner every year!) puts a couple of slices of bacon on top for the duration of the roast.  There are a few other perfect & moist turkey secrets, but we'll save that for another day! :> 

8)  And after turkey day, we love our family outing to pick the perfectly tall Christmas tree!  I request (demand?) a tall one every year.  And the kidlets ooo and ahhh and giggle and cannot contain their excitement, which always make us smile just as brightly.

9)  And then there's the magical twelve days in stampy, inky, creative, crafty land that make so many of us giggle with childlike giddiness that is brought to us by Tim Holtz himself...his annual 12 Tags of Christmas!  Here are a few Tim inspired & guided tags that I made to pair up with dozens of smaller ones for teachers' Christmas gifts last year.

And as if the inspiration alone that Tim provides wasn't enough, he does giveaways all twelve days....and last year, I won one of them!!  Look at all those beautiful fabby Tim products!! :>

10)  And there's another kidlet Fall favorite that is mine as well because of the great thoughtfulness behind it.  An Auntie & Uncle always kindly got my kidlets a chocolate advent calendar every year.  But, once the GF/CF diet change was made, the regular chocolate advent calendars were no longer edible for one kidlet.  After a little research, she found a GF/CF one from Peanut Free Planet!  Wooohooo!

I could probably list another fifty things I love about the Fall season.  But, I'll spare ya & stick to the ten! :>

What are your Fall favorites?

Google, the kidlets say. What about You?

How much fun is this uber awesome blogging & online world to you?! 

Well, its beyond fun, fabulous, & informational to me! 

How many times do you look up a word online?  Its spelling?  Its definition?  Its relevance?

I do.  I  use the net to look up spelling, definitions, word or topic relevance, or even words to make sure I'm remembering them right from oh so many years (decades) ago. 

My kidlets even tell me when I don't know the answer to one of their never ending list of questions, "Its okay, Mom.  You can Google it." 

Seriously.

What generation is this?!  Where did the world of cassette tapes & dictionaries & thesauruses & floppy discs & Pac Man & Frogger (my Atari favorite!) & library trips go?! 

Hmmmm....I got older.  When did this happen?! 

I grew up. 

And my kidlets now ask me questions.

And when I don't know the answer, they tell me to 'Google it'.

Seriously.

Google has become a family friend.

One we know intimately, for all the time we spend with it. 

Answers, information, pictures, images, maps, and even more answers.

"Google it.", my kidlets tell me.  There I will find our answer.

Funny enough though, *there* is where I find my next question.

So, *here* is where I ask you, what do you want to know next?! :>

A New Day

When you start traveling down memory lane, its hard to stop.  Its easy enough to find many paths to meander down and great sights to take in, thoughts to ponder, questions to wonder, and then more memories to wander.

When I saw Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt #2, "Tell us about a day you were sure you wouldn’t get through." and I knew exactly which trail I wanted to follow next.

Mom says she finds random bits & pieces of her Mom's, my Grandma (you know, Grandma & her boyfriend, Jerry Rice! :>), at meaningful times in Mom's life since Grandma passed.

I'm sure I gave Mom the "Yea, yea. Okay. Sure." response when it happened to her.  But, then Mom found a piece of paper with my name written in Grandma's script & a typed passage on the front and more writing from Grandma on the back about my confirmation.  She didn't tell me about it, but simply put it in an envelope & mailed it to me.

Fast forward to an extremely challenging morning with the most extreme kidlet meltdown in public ever.  No need to say anything else.

When the kidlets & I returned home and everyone was settled.  I walked out to the mailbox, still completely effected by the events of the 'extremely challenging morning' and what do I find, but an envelope hand addressed to me, from Mom.

Upon opening the envelope, I found the little piece of paper with the printed passage & Grandma's script on it.  I read it.

(Picture is clickable to enlarge & read!)

As I read, I was reminded to move forward in my day from that moment.  The challenging morning was over and I could choose to move forward and try to have a more successful day.  It reminded me that as challenging as that morning had been, it was gone and I could choose what I wanted to trade the rest of my day in for.

I put 'A New Day' up on our refrigerator four years ago and there it has stayed.  It serves as a daily reminder to me and somewhat recently, even Hubby said that he also often reads it.  Hopefully, you can find something positive to take from this as well!

What keeps you moving on your challenging days?  Share your keep moving forward mojo!

(I don't know what this is from or who wrote it.  If anyone recognizes it, please share with me, so that I may give proper credit!)

And because I have enjoyed meandering down memory lane so much this week, making it fabulous & I enjoy Minky {moo} (definitely take a stroll through both of these women's blogs...they are a riot!....but after you say 'hi', okay?! :>:>), I'm linking up with her too:

Meet Grandma meets Jerry Rice

Grandma grew up on a farm in North Dakota, taught in a one room school house in a neighboring town, before moving out west, later meeting and marrying my grandfather.

Grandpa was an avid SF Giants fan and loved listening to their games on the radio. Grandma never held any interest in sports, let alone following a specific team of a specific sport, let alone following professional athletes' careers.

However, all that changed when in the early 1990's Grandma's three daughters took her to dinner at Benihana's in Burlingame. 

Aunt C recognized Jerry Rice, the legendary San Francisco 49er, Wide Receiver, #80.  Neither my Mom or Aunt D knew who he was.  (Even if you don't follow football, its not easy to not know who Jerry Rice is, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area!)

And with a "Please, please, please its my Mom's birthday??!" from Aunt C, Jerry came over to meet Grandma!

He gave her a kiss and took a picture with Grandma.  I can't help but look at their hands & difference in size here, no wonder he didn't drop the ball!! :>

Here's Grandpa & Grandma at Grandma's 80th birthday party, wearing the Jerry Rice 49er jersey and holding the Grandma/Jerry cake that Aunt C got for her. 

Once again, Pre-Jerry, Grandma had no interest in sports, let alone football, let alone one specific football player.  Post-Jerry, she would look for him in a game and called him her boyfriend.  Too cute!

Did you know that September is  Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month?

In 1999, we lost Grandma to ovarian cancer.  Thanks to last week's Back 2 Blogging event through SITS, I learned about how Kelly Ripa has teamed up with Electrolux to support The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

Grandma meeting Jerry Rice is one of many fun stories that I keep close, even though she's no longer with us.  What fun grandma stories do you hold on to? 

I'd love for you to say hello, then come back to this page & click on the link on Kelly Ripa's name and learn more.  Hope everyone is  well into a great week today! :>

And because I love my Grandma so much & this story so much, I'm linking up in the new home for Wordful Wednesday:

And yes, Grandma & Jerry have me Tickled Pink...come to 504 Main and see some fabulous & fun!

Why I Blog ~ SITS Day Five

Today is the last day of the Back 2 Blogging event via SITS!

And I have had so much fun this week, not only in posting, but in visiting so many other wonderful SITSta bloggers and catching a ride along their journeys. 

Today, we have been asked to "write about what blogging means to you. Why do you blog? What purpose does it serve you and how have you benefited from sharing a piece of yourself online this way?"

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Why I started blogging was much more vague than why I continue to blog now that I have dived into this online ocean. 

When I began blogging, I was serenaded by the creative & crafty, particularly papercrafts, even more specifically, stamped papercrafts.  Once I waded into blogging and inhaled the vapors of this amazing world, I was hooked. 

While papercrafts will always hold a very special place in my heart & inky, stampy hands (I started stamping in '94, scrapbooking in 2000...yup, after sixteen years, I think my love is here to stay!), I was hooked on the creativity that exists across the board and no longer wanted to limit myself to papercrafts.  I wanted to celebrate all kinds of creativity and began to share friends' & family members' creations as well as explore new ways to adventure through my own creativity.

All the while and from the beginning, I've been me, a Mama of two amazing kidlets, a wife to Hubby, a friend, daughter, sister, and yes, since February 2009, a blogger. 

And yes, blogging has given me the technical, aka kept my skills current, forced me (sometimes unwillingly) to learn to read a bit of html and even write a line or two, and taught me what social media is (and yet every time I even start to blink, there is more to learn!).

And yes, blogging lets me write and write and write.  I've been writing since I was a kidlet...its where I find my voice, where I am braver, where I can play.  And can I just tell you, I am sure that since I began blogging, my wonderful friends are probably thrilled that I do not write novel length emails to them so much anymore (occasionally, I still sneak them in....shhhh! :>).

With all that, blogging has given me something even greater than I ever imagined.  I have been amazed, time and time again at the community that is amongst bloggers, around the world.  Always curious how other people live, in different parts of my own country and across the globe, its the connections that have formed via this wonderful world of blogging that keep me writing, learning, and full of inspiration.

So, why do I blog?  To write, to learn, to find inspiration & hopefully inspire a wee bit myself, to connect, to learn some more, to appreciate where I am in life, to aspire to where I might go, and to continue to seek out and find the little bits & pieces o' life that make me {smile}.

Amazing what we can find in places that we never even knew to look.

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Thanks to Standards of Excellence, Westar Kitchen and Bath, and Florida Builder Appliances for sponsoring SITS Back 2 Blogging and offering up the uber beautiful Turquoise Sky Thelma & Louise from Electrolux!