another reason to love fall

I had another reminder this morning about why I love fall so much - eggnog and pumpkin lattes. I have been a huge fan of eggnog lattes for years and am always bummed when they are gone for the season but last year Tanya convinced me to try the pumpkin latte. After a sip I was sold - I mean seriously what else says Turkey Day or a crisp fall morning like a pumpkin latte.

Now I just have to figure out how to get Sam to make those for me. But first we have to get a new espresso machine - ours is dead. This is a horrible tragedy since Sam cannot function with his morning caffeine. Diet Cokes are excellent but this doesn't quite cut it in the morning. Trust me on this one I have been commuting in with him on the way to work the last two mornings.

Please Sam hurry up and decide which machine you are going to buy. We desperately need to get you your morning latte caffeine fix and you really need to learn how to make pumpkin lattes for me. This is at the top of your to do list this weekend!

thanks to our veterans

Happy Veteran's Day. As a nation we should be so grateful for those who were willing to serve our country. My parents sent me an email that I thought was worth sharing - I am not sure who credit goes to on this one.

It is the VETERAN,
not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN,
not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN,
not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN,
not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN,
not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN,
not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.

Thanks to my grandfathers, dad, father-in-law, and my 2 sisters who served in the military. Their sacrifices have helped make our freedom possible. Don't forget to say thank you to a veteran today for all the freedoms we enjoy. Our country has its share of problems - which have certainly been highlighted lately - but there is no place I would rather live.

happiness steps

The BBC did a study for 3 months in a town in England to find out if these simple things could make a difference in their happiness - turns out it worked. Here are the 10 simple items:

1. Plant something and nurture it
2. Count your blessings - at least five - at the end of each day
3. Take time to talk - have an hour-long conversation with a loved one each week
4. Phone a friend whom you have not spoken to for a while and arrange to meet up
5. Give yourself a treat every day and take the time to really enjoy it
6. Have a good laugh at least once a day
7. Get physical - exercise for half an hour three times a week
8. Smile at and/or say hello to a stranger at least once each day
9. Cut your TV viewing by half
10. Spread some kindness - do a good turn for someone every day

Some of these I already do but not as frequently as I should. I am going to give it a try and modify it along the way as I see fit. I definitely think my treat each day will have to be good quality chocolate - should have brought more chocolates back from Brussels.

fall is in the air

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. One would think in Seattle it would be summer but while I love summer (or what little of it we had this year - where exactly is global warming taking place anyways) fall is the season I love.

In part it has to do with Halloween and Thanksgiving, here are 2 holidays that focus on my favorite things - chocolate and turkey or in my case turkey sandwiches. I also love the crisp air - or soggy air here and the leaves changing color. Since we have someone who cleans up our yard the leaves seem to be even prettier now that we don't spend days raking them up. Though we do have a few less with the removal of one huge maple in the front yard.

I terribly miss not working in downtown Seattle but my drive to our Redmond office is beautiful this time of year and since we move so slowly on the road I definitely have time to enjoy it. It does make the commute go by faster and and I love seeing the fall colors and the morning fog on the lake.

Plus fall means pumpkin lattes and soon we will have eggnog lattes - just another reason to love fall. Oh and did I mention boots which means more shoe choices in the fall season no wonder fall is my favorite time of year.

feeling a bit devilish

Here are our 2008 Halloween costumes. I had actually picked something else out but that will teach me to wait to order until a week before Halloween - those vacations really can interfere with my to do list. I won't share my original idea as now I will try and order those costumes for next year. Maybe I can even get them on sale if I actually remember to do it this week. Unfortunately Halloween is over for another year but I can already start my planning again.

no more mudslinging

I cannot wait for the elections to be over just so I no longer have to see or hear political ads. I cannot believe these influence anyone to vote for one candidate over the other. I seem to get annoyed enough not to vote for the person running the negative ads but then I hear them from both sides and then am just irritated with both of them.

If any candidate would offer not to run political ads I think they would have my vote regardless of anything else just because they gave me some peace and quiet for a few months. Oh well it will all be over by tomorrow evening- at least if we don't have a recount again. In actuality they will keep talking and writing about it so I may have a few more days of this to endure.

Please, please be able to actually count ballots so it can finally be over and I am not frightened to turn on the radio, read the paper, or watch the news. Never mind I still can't read the Sunday paper the way the Cougs have been playing. Even though I badly want to read all the scoop on the Huskies losses I can't get through the Coug's dismal performances to be able to pick up the paper.

halloween boating

It had been over a month since Sam and I had been out on the boat. Considering since we had finally gotten it back from the yard we had been out on it at least once a week with the exception of 1 week it has been a long time. With Sam visiting his mother in New Mexico, our trip to Amsterdam, and the rainy weather we were long overdue.

A Halloween party at Bell Harbor Marina helped get us back out on the boat. Now since Elliott Bay is only about 2 miles from Bell Harbor Marina we didn't exactly spend much time actually traveling on the boat but we did get to spend 2 nights sleeping on it and according to Sam he never sleeps better than when he is on the boat.

I did learn a few things about Halloween costumes and decorations on boats though.

1. Don't pick a costume where your skirt has a petticoat underneath - boats have limited room and taking all the room up with a skirt might not be the best plan from a space perspective.
2. Docks have many birds and other sea critters who think the docks are their own personal heads. Long skirts aren't the best ideas in such places.
3. Do pick a warm costume - as a child you don't get cold and are willing to sacrifice so everyone can get the full effect as an adult you will want to be a bit warmer. Actually this might not be true in my case - I skipped the coat though a costume where boots can be work underneath is a good idea.
4. Glitter isn't a good idea. Just keep the glitter off the boat as anyone sitting on our boat will now leave with a few sparkles attached to them.
5. Roasted pumpkin seeds are excellent but leave them at home. They fit nicely in all the cracks and crevices on a boat.

Another excellent weekend on the boat. Looking forward to our next boating adventure - Sam may even convince that winter cruising is an option. After all there is a race sponsored by Elliott Bay next weekend and I didn't yell out an emphatic no way when he mentioned it as we were carting our stuff off the boat. Of course I didn't wholeheartedly agree either but trust me this is progress.