Isn't it a bit early to be thinking about Christmas?

Well, there's no "bun in the oven".

I'm sort of feeling relieved and a wee bit disappointed all in one. That's fine though, because even though I want to be a mom one day, today just isn't it. Besides, this means that I can still enjoy alcoholic beverages over the holidays. :)

It also means that I don't have to feel guilty for getting a new cellphone and going shopping with DH for bras! DH is a "spender" and whenever we go shopping for one or two items we always come home with ten times that amount, which the other day greatly benefited me. Meanwhile, I hadn't been to one of the three local-ish malls in quite some time and when I happened to stumble upon a certain storefront sign labeled "coming soon" I seriously felt my heart skip a beat.

SEPHORA.

Right here. Not in Boston, or even NYC. But here. I swear, DH didn't know if I was having a panic attack or was about to faint. This store may mean nothing to most- but to a "beauty junkie" it's like a staple to our daily functioning.

Meanwhile, over the past few days I've got the notion to explore Salem, Massachusetts for Halloween. I've been there twice before, just not on the holiday. DH lived there for a few years when he was younger with his father and the stories he has are quite spooky. It's just this vibe- which I still haven't figured out if it's real or imaginary- that just overwhelms the senses.

Yet that's the cart-before-the-horse... this weekend we're going apple picking. Again. I still have a quarter of a bushel of apples left from earlier in the month but I've got my heart set on a few apple pies to make. I'm going to send most of them with DH to the guys at work, and I suppose the apples I do have left- which are still very good by the way- are going into mason jars after getting squashed into apple sauce. Interesting how apples I personally picked right off a tree are still good 2.5 weeks later. Makes me wonder about the ones I buy at the grocery store... how old are they?

Getting back to shopping though... Christmas decor is already up and in full-force marketing in stores everywhere. It's October. Now, I'm one of the biggest fans for Christmas time, but it seems that every year it just starts sooner than the one previous. Yet, when one ventures into the stores now and sees ornaments, trees, and lighting options already they start to dwell on the holiday stresses. My SIL is one for this already. She's been calling me and is already stressing out over which holiday events are going to be feasable and which ones aren't. It's going to be a long season that's for sure.

This is the start of "who's family" between DH and I also. My parents are still married- so that's one house. His however are not, so that's two houses. It would be fine except it seems to always turn into his parents keeping us at their own house longer than planned so we end up being late to the next place- which thus turns into us never getting to my family.

Right now I'm debating just having Thanksgiving and Christmas at MY house.
Only DH, MP, SP, Meow-meow, and I.

Less presents obviously... but I'd rather have the fire roaring in the fireplace, a few bottles of wine, and DH next to me watching movies anyways.

Future Myspace Whore?

I'm sitting here, after finally logging off myspace, and wondering what happened to me.

I'm the well-mannered Southerner who always writes letters, sends cards, and prefers human-to-human contact in conversation.

Yet, I've turned into the texting, emailing, comment-leaving, anti-talking to another person face-to-face or even over the telephone creature from the depths of cyberspace.

When someone stops by, you feel obligated to chat with them even when you don't honestly want to. However, you can answer your phone or not, read that email or not, and open that myspace message or not- all depending on if you want to deal with them.

I really have traded some friendships for this machine. I've got some pretty stationary shopping to do- at a store and not online this time- and a busy day of returning phone calls tomorrow.

Today it was yardwork. Raking leaves and pine needles that have only started to fall. Cleaning seems to never stop- inside and out of my house.

On top of this I might be pregnant. Now it's too soon to tell, but I've just got this feeling...

I wonder if I should keep up with my pilates? Couldn't hurt anything but my muscles!

Is this what "Bringing Sexy Back" means?

What's the meaning of "I do"?
Personally, I think that the role of the man has been totally destroyed.
I'm not bashing the "We are women, hear us roar" movement that our mothers and grandmothers founded decades ago, but what has that cost our male generation in the process?
You can see it on television commercials, and in movies.
(The romantic comedy genre- obviously.)
Why is it that the media portrays a successful female with a not only emotional moron but a senseless idiot perfectly happy just being a bum? Let me clarify before you get annoyed...
In the 1998 flick "Hush" with Jessica Lange and Gwyneth Paltrow, the husband is clueless of his mother's insanity and disregards his wife when she tells him she's uneasy.
In "High Fidelity", John Cusack is emotionally defunct and relationship challenged even when Laura spells it out for him.
In "Just Married" Ashton is a total jerk towards Brittany in Europe when things don't go his way.
I could go on, but you get my drift.
Or even the commercials where a female walks in on her man "freshing up" and asks him why he's putting on a dirty sock- or when he's changing his shirt he just turns it inside out and backwards?
How about the Ford commercial with the girl at the dry cleaners drive thru who pays for the cute-guy-in-the-Mustang-behind-her's shirts? Seriously. He drives a brand new Mustang- he can pay for his own shirts to be cleaned.
This is NOT sexy. Men are supposed to be bold, charming, and strong. Women are too, but what has happened to this culture's perspective of manly men?
What happened to our Cary Grants? To our successful manly man who sweeps a girl off her feet? Why aren't those the type of men the media portrays as "good"? These days, you get "Shop Girl" and the audience cringes at the idea of Steve Martin and Claire Danes. Even in "Lost in Translation" you don't want Scarlett Johansson with Bill Murray.
Where's our manly men?
The provider, the protector, the giver, the man who makes you feel like a woman down to your very core with just one glance? Even if he is older- he's more experienced.
They don't exist anymore. Our generations manly man is one who lacks manners, has grooming issues, and is selfish down to the very center of his being.
Maybe this is the reason that many twenty-something women want to have families instead of careers. This should not be looked down upon!
Women can have younger men on their arm and aren't looked down upon. Flip the table and all of a sudden you hear the whispers of "He's old enough to be her father!"
What has happened in the past two decades?!

It upsets me. It envokes such discontent in me.

Maybe it's because I'm with one of our generations manly men, yet long for the type of decades past? Don't get me wrong, I love my husband, but there isn't the commitment, trust, provider, protector in him. Yes, he's military. Yes, he fights for our country. That doesn't mean he isn't one of the most selfish people I've ever met; because he is.
Then again, how much of that is him, and how much is what he's been taught?
I've seen it in base housing the most. Sons growing up being tattle-tales. What happened to letting your little boy stand up for himself- even if he gets beat up or made fun of? Doesn't that teach him life lessons?

I've always thought it's easier to stand up and fight for your principles than it is to live each day by them. Maybe this is the case here?

Is it really about romance or the urge to nest?

The leaves are starting to change and gracefully make their way down to the ground. The weather is turning a tad bit nippy, and closets are starting to go through the twice-a-year turn over of the seasons.
Yet, as we pack our strappy sandals and lightweight tank tops away to make room for knee-high boots and wool sweaters, something is in the air.
No, I don't mean the moth balls that were lovingly tossed into the Rubbermaid containers with favorite sweaters.
It's something more primitive than that. It's the urge to "nest".
When we think of animals nesting, we think of bears in hibernation. Every day we see the chipmunks and the squirrels outside our windows starting to nest. They're busy out and about collecting nourishment for the winter.
Humans are different however. Our nesting is more about home and family than it is food and warmth.
Most people in the fall would rather be at home or with close friends and family than anywhere else. The fall brings football parties, and the start of the holiday season. Everything is more comfortable and cozy, and much more enjoyable if you aren't alone.


If the start of summer is "breakup season"... then is the start of fall the "pairing up season"?

Think about it for a moment. This time of year there are more couples than singles. More diamond rings are purchased in the fall than in the summer. More babies are conceived, and it's because the fall is romantic. The nights get chilly, so you tend to stay in more. Fireplaces are starting to get used, and bottles of wine go hand in hand with fireplaces. Candles set the mood, and also scent the air. The leaves turn and it's apple picking time. Pumpkin patches and hayrides. Walks after dinner, and cuddling while watching movies. Romantic.
Males don't even have to put effort into it. Everything about the fall is romantic. All they must do is select an activity and the female is more than pleased.

It's interesting isn't it?