Tonight, I kind of wish I could pull up a stool and get a little Psychiatric Help from my buddy Lucy. You know the phrase too much is never enough? Well, sometimes too much is just that. TOO much!

I know I haven't been my normal blogging self, but with two Halloween parties, the regular cleaning groceries laundry, mowing the leaves, one well timed mental breakdown with my ever supportive hubby standing by, carving pumpkins, having mom and dad up for dinner, and trick-or-treating...somehow I just didn't find the time. Go figure. It has been a long, fun, but exhausting weekend. Fall has just been coming at us at a breakneck pace, and I don't see it slowing up any time soon, so I guess it is time to buckle up and hold on for the Holiday Wild Ride!

So many life lessons are in a Charlie Brown cartoon...

"Never jump in a pile of leaves with a wet sucker"

Never get between a woman and chocolate...a paraphrase if you will of "the fury of a woman who's been cheated out of tricks-or-treats."

and of course, the three things you don't discuss with people..."religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin!"

Thanks Charles Schultz! May my blog, like Linus' pumpkin patch, always be the most sincere.

Just one little request, though. If you could somehow get ABC to air the Dolly Madison fruit pie advertisements during Peanuts specials, that would be great. Those were very much part of the whole experience back in the 70's...and I always wanted 'em! Of course, mom never bought them. Right up there with my lack of pets, character bedsheets, and Underoos. Yep, the things from childhood I am bitter about...but that's another blog.

Becky,
This is a personal letter to you.
Please don't yell at me at lunch tomorrow.
I'm all outta blog tonight.
Sorry,
Cheryl
PS Last line there made me think of an Air Supply song, though, and if I know you, I know you're singing along. Not because you are like Air Supply's number one fan or anything, but because you, like me, are a wonderful rememberer of random songs of the 70's! Sing it sister!
PPS Maybe I will blog about that random song lyric thing tomorrow. I actually call the phenomenon "The Debbie Gibson Factor," since I can remember all the words to "Electric Youth" for goodness sake, but many days, can't remember where I put my keys.
PPPS Hmmm, funny, but I kinda got a blog out of this rambling, eh?

Some nights, you have bookgroup...I mean girl's gossip/eat/shop night out...and your jean obsessed friend finds $13 Levi's, WITH cute pockets. THEN you find a cute Gwen Stefani perfume set, also for $13. Well, let's just say that on those nights there is just no time to blog.

Just another Manic Monday.
Several of my Facebook friends, people that don't know each other in the least, have put up this actual post today! Isn't that funny? Monday energy is universal, or universally lacking, I suppose. You know, I looked back at my blog today, like I continually encourage my students to look back at their Writer's Notebooks. My objective in the classroom is for them to examine topics for expanded writing in class, but my objective was to look back on my Mondays and see if they are always blah. Well I'll tell ya what...in the summer, not so much, but in the school year, yes. The tone of the entries is not negative so much as VOID. I think my energy level is just so low on a Monday, that if I get through school, and then get home to do the "regular stuff," that is about all I have. Today was a "new" day at school too, as my student teacher started. This is a great thing, overall, and I know she will be wonderful as she already worked with me last semester as a practicum student, but it just felt like a "second first day of school," in a way. Karen B. brought in cheesecake for me this morning, and that was super duper wonderful. I have to say it gave me hope for the day, but it certainly does seem that morning cheesecake ended up being the highpoint. So, Monday, farewell for now. I attacked you, I prevailed, and now I am done...at least until next week. Is it too early for a Monday countdown?

I kind of had a plan in the back of my mind going into this Sunday. I could just feel that I was on a grumpies trajectory so I tried to head it off with the mantra that I see every day, multiple times, that hangs over my old TV/old disgusting entertainment center "Faith Family Friends." It would be tough to argue against it as it is a pretty good saying, one that certainly resonates. Still, at times, the balance gets thrown off. Today ended up being a pretty good day, and I had a bit of all three.

We started with Faith...Sunday school for the kids and then church for us all. The sermon even prompted some discussion between Tim and myself, about quiet, and what centers us. Church, to some extent is something that centers me, if I were to be truthful...the quiet, the routine, the ceremony, the familar. In fact, by the end of the service today, I was blissfully drifting off to process in my head, but it was so much so that I sang the wrong last verse for our ending hymn! Oops. And, I have to admit, I do sing loudly.

Next,it was time for Friends, and a little get together at Carri's. She was helping out a friend who is just getting started with a company called NYR Organics, and we sat around her table trying out lotions and potions, eating yummy food, drinking some wine and talking girl talk. Gwynn went along and played with Erin. It just felt good.

And last came Family. I came home, to Tim having picked up the family groceries, and made a yummy yummy dinner myself...French onion soup. Now it wasn't the biggest hit with the kids, but they tried it, and made do with the sliced veggies and grilled cheese accompaniments. As much as some pull their hair out over dinner, I am always so happy to cook for my family, and that is why. They will try. They are open. They appreciate. I don't like to sit around and brag on them, because that can be obnoxious to say the least, but as far as food preparation, consumption and appreciation goes, they really do, totally, ROCK!

And so, today, the Sunday grumpies were completely averted, not without effort, but easily nonetheless. A little of each, Faith, Family and Friends, and it does seem that I am just Fine.

Saturday Randomness...

- Again, if I could just sleep until my BODY wants to get up everyday, I would feel SO much better.

- Devin and Tim went out hunting today...first time for Devin with his gun/post hunter's safety class. They actually canoed up Sterling Creek at 0 dark 30. That will always be a mystery to me...why that is appealing...see above note I suppose. Devin got a goose, partially on his own. He also learned how to clean it. Yucky to me, overall, but he was so pumped. Male bonding...gotta love it.

- Spent part of the day taking our "important documents" and organizing them in a fireproof box. Kinda sad that we had them stored haphazzardly for 17 years of marriage, but that's just us. It was a riot cleaning out this one box, which I knew had Tim's Social Security card in it. It also had a variety of old college ID's and liscences of both of us. Then there were some random notes, and clipped Cathy comics, and photos as well. It just was a funny trip through our shared history.

- Another thing we came across was our GRE scores. We both took them on a whim, with no preparation as we were PRETTY sure we'd do our grad work at our undergrad alma mater and we did not need GRE scores to do that. As we compared, we realized that, percentile wise, we scored within 10% of each other, overall. My verbal was higher, Tim's quantitative was higher, and we were almost identical in analytical. This has to mean something...

- Meatloaf is yummy...and to remember Meatloaf playing at Oswego State Springfest '90...and my broken wing. Well, let's just say that was a good laugh you gave me Jay. Thank you. Laughter. Memories. Fun times past, present and future. That's what it's all about.