Nearing the home stretch

Today DT makes an appearance for 24 hours. It is his last visit before he's done with sim training in Houston. Which means he's almost done {kind of}. Depending on when they schedule his LOFT {which is something to do with training...I don't even get it} he should be home a week from Thursday or so.

And then he leaves Friday for Octoberwest in Prescott. But that's another story.

Today he'll touch down in Phoenix at about the same time I clock into work. So basically I get to waste my life for 8 of the precious 24 hours that he's here. I hate everything about that. But such is the way of the world.

Every day I count down the hours, and then the minutes, until I can go home. Today I need to program my brain to think about something else or I might go crazy and be institutionalized before day's end. And then I won't get to see him at all.

Please, please help me with an attitude adjustment. Thank you.

I won't make it till Spring

I'm sure you've seen the images of the TOMS ballet flats floating around Pinterest and the rest of the Internet. I feel a physical need for them. NOW. How will I ever make it to Spring 2012 without owning a pair?

{photocredit: The Nest}

Go here to add your email address so you'll know the moment they're available.

In other, unrelated, but much more exciting news, my newest nephew made an extremely on-time arrival late last night. I haven't yet met him. That'll come in a few hours. But I hear he's just perfect and that his mama is a baby-birthing girl-wonder. She continually provides her offspring with the easiest, most pain-free, quickest deliveries known to mankind. Way to go, K! I am so excited for M&K, and I am so happy to be an Auntie to my third nephew. Check The Palmer Post later in the week to see if K has had time to post pictures of the little peanut. {No guarantees- I hear that having two children under the age of two is sort of time consuming}.

The Hillbilly Clan

During these last few weeks while I've been going it alone, I've been lucky that my brother and sister-in-law {who also happen to live across the street} have really taken me under their wing and included me in all of their family adventures. I've had so much fun with them and my nephew. As I scroll through the pictures of all of our activities, I start to see a common theme.

{tractor rides for the baby last weekend}

{loading up the trailer with "Scottsdale's finest compost" for the garden this weekend}

These lifestyle choices really shouldn't come as any surprise, considering where we live. Life is good when you're a redneck.

Thanks to M&K for hosting me for dinner and including me in their adventures!

Weekend Media Wrap-up {9.24.11}

Extra-long premieres {1 hour Modern Family, 1 hour The Middle, 2 hours Grey's Anatomy} means much time spent viewing the boob tube this week.

{photocredit; k2radio.com}

After winning a million awards, I was afraid that the hype behind Modern Family would cause disappointment with the premiere. That was not the case. Two episodes back-to-back, and it was just like always. Awesome and hilarious. My favorite part was when Haley says no to Dylan's marriage proposal at the dude ranch in Wyoming, and then he goes missing. When she finds him and screams, "Where were you?!" He answers, in all seriousness, "Wyoming!"

The Middle was corny, which is normal. I could have done without the Ray Romano bit, but I enjoyed it all the same. I was slightly disappointed with the premiere, but I'll still be a loyal viewer.

{photocredit: spoilertv.com}

The Office, formerly a favorite of mine, was very entertaining, even without Steve Carrell. I feel bad saying this after so many great seasons, but Modern Family is a better show. The Office will be just fine, however, without Steve. Spoiler alert: Pam is very pregnant again...and so is Angela.

{photocredit: aceshowbiz.com}

I fell asleep half way through Grey's Anatomy and also after the first five minutes of the new series Whitney, so I'll report on those later. New Girl did not disappoint. I always get a little nervous to watch a series premiere. Remember my experience with Up All Night? Well, Zooey was her same, funny self and it was truly a success as far as series premieres go. I think it's a show that the network will consider a keeper. {P.S. The second week of Up All Night was not bad.}

The good news is that I haven't watched any episodes of Rescue Me since last weekend, which means that I've been sleeping wonderfully. {Oh joy.} But I kind of miss it. I've been chipping away at my Design*Sponge book and also another novel about working in an office that I'll tell you about when I'm all done.

So, what do you think about the changes on Facebook? I don't really care. As long as I can see what people have been up to that day when I log on, it makes no difference to me. For being a lover of social media, I am pretty indifferent to changes in the way things look and function, as long as I can still see what I want to see.

Oh, and Apple should be announcing the new iPhone 5 in the next couple weeks. I will not be purchasing one, but I'm excited anyways.

And this is slightly overdue {as in six years late}, but my Kristin Sister told me to watch Steve Jobs' graduation speech to Stanford because it's about following your dreams, etc. And inspiring it was. I recommend you watch it if you, like myself, are struggling with the fact that you'd probably prefer to spend your time doing something else other than what you're actually doing as a career.

"...The only way to do great work is to love what you do."

"...Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice."

Thanks, Steve. Some day I'll make you proud.

My Photographer Sister

I've accumulated four sisters in my adulthood, and each one is beautiful and talented. But today, I'd like to feature my Tess Sister. She's got the gift of being an amazing photographer. In fact, she was the official photographer for Tara and Casey's wedding last month. Here are some pictures I stole off Facebook.

{Brian is DT's best friend since forever. His girlfriend, Sandra, has Sicilian roots, like me. Quite apparently, her Sicilian roots are stronger than mine}

{DT looks like he's saying, "Heyyyyyyy..."}

You should check out {and like} Tess's Facebook page at Tess Miller Photography to see her real talent {babies, families, seniors, etc.}...more than just a couple goobers at a wedding. And if I keep buggin' her enough, you might also see her official website go live soon.

{Boy, am I lucky to be a part of the Millers.}

Special Delivery

This week, some of the stuff I've ordered recently has been delivered to my house. {Yes, I was unsuccessful at becoming a minimalist}.

The least cool thing that came from that pile of boxes was the bag of Blue Buffalo dog food.

The coolest thing was the gigantic unicorn pinata for my 30th birthday party next month.

But I'm here to tell you about the second-coolest thing I purchased online this week, and it is this.

Hooray!

One of my favorite design blogs...in book format. You should check her out at Design*Sponge.

And I should really start reading again. Which is difficult to do with all of my favorite TV shows premiering this week.

My book purchasing rate has far surpassed my book reading rate in recent weeks, so it is my full intention to set aside some time for reading this weekend. {I'll let you know how it goes}.

Oh. Thank. Heavens.

Quick impromptu visit from DT. What a relief. I don't sleep well when he's not here, and it makes me nutso. Like, I start to feel numb and non-human and I have a big, blurry headache. My mom said when we were babies and she had to be up all night with us, the lack of sleep was so miserable that she felt like it should be used as punishment for prisoners. I {sort of} understand what she's saying now.

Plus, I'm just glad to see him because I miss him. I understand that we have thousands of pilots in this country, and each of their wives must go through what I'm going through every so often. So maybe I'm just being a baby, but I guess it's not such a bad thing to miss the one you love.

The person that should really be complaining, however, is DT. He's the one that has to spend two weeks in Dallas and then two weeks in Houston. I can't think of a worse place to spend that much time. But he continues to smile through it all. {I think it's because he can stream the Sunday Ticket on his iPhone during class time.} He passed a written exam and he has an oral exam on Thursday. Then it's off to the simulator for a couple weeks.

We can do it, we can do it.

Waterballon Boobjob

Blogger tells me that one of the main keywords that people search that lead to this blog is "waterballoon boobjob." I can think of no other explanation for this, other than last year's White Trash Party.

This year was equally as outrageous. I'm fairly certain that very few people exist on this planet that are as cool as the women pictured below.

I'll have you know that I won Best Dressed Male for my costume. My prize was a pool towel with a Valvoline logo. I left it at Patti's to dry off, since I was thrown in the pool with it. Several times. {Don't worry, I had on dark undergarments under my white undergarments.}

Rowell was our bartender. She hadn't washed her hair since Wednesday or shaved her legs in a week.

Michael came as a paint huffer.

Caramel tequila. The most benign shot in the universe.

Patti always has an impressive spread at her parties, and this one was no exception.

Mini corn dogs, fried chicken, Stouffer's mac 'n cheese.

Puffed Cheetos, Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Little Debbie Nutter Butters. Notice the presentation of the cuisine. It was perfect and delightful.

Pork 'n beans, beer in mini coolers.

Baloney and processed cheese never tasted so good.

We only got mildly out of control this year, but it was a really great time. One successful night...but I would never expect anything less from a party at Patti's house.

Weekend Media Wrap-up

I’ve noticed a trend among bloggers involving a weekly themed post, and I’ve decided to try it out myself. Since I’ve made no effort to hide the fact that I’m a media junkie, I decided to go with entertainment as my theme. This includes books, magazines, movies, TV shows, and anything I’ve learned on the Internet.

As DT pointed out, real professionals exist to review things like TV shows, movies, and books, so I’m not trying to do that. I’m just simply letting you know what’s out there in case you find a moment when you’re inclined to absorb information via an electronic or paper outlet and you want some ideas.

Without further adieu, I present you with what I found entertaining this week.

It was the first week of TV premieres, but since we haven’t gotten into the real meat ‘n potatoes of it all, I don’t have a lot to tell you.

Parenthood was as good as ever. I’m disappointed that Amber chopped and dyed her hair into a weird person ‘do because her style last season was so, so cute. But the lovable, personable characters are all the same, complete with their compelling and dramatic lives.

I watched the series premiere of Up All Night. Any series premiere makes me cringe a little. I think they all go through growing pains. I just want Will Arnett to be as awesome as G.O.B Bluth all the time, but I guess unrealistic expectations will always produce disappointment. The show has potential, though.

For as much as I brag about having the ability to sleep through any situation, I must admit that often the insomnia bug bites me when my husband is not here. It really sucks, but the only positive aspect is that I have lots of time to catch up on whatever I’ve started on Netflix. This time around it’s Rescue Me, and I love it. The characters use flip phones like they’re the newest, coolest thing, so I know I have lots of catching up to do. I just hope I don’t lose so much sleep that I get through all seven seasons before month end.

On Wednesday I got both my O and Real Simple magazines in the mail, and naturally I took the time to thumb through them both so I could mark the pages of the articles I'd like to read at a later time. So, without having thoroughly perused either one, here are the top three eye-catching articles from each, in my opinion. {Disclaimer: My attention span is usually not good for anything longer than a page, so don't expect to find any info on feature articles here.}

O

1) Have a Seat! on page 58. Not so much because I am ambitious enough to actually make this seat but because I love Design*Sponge, and I'm so excited to buy her book. Did you get the Anthropologie email with her book tour dates? I so wish I could go to this. Ah, if only I lived in Chicago. {And speaking of Anthropologie, I got a smokin' deal on a cardigan last week because they mis-marked the sale tag. Score.}

2) Within Reach on page 132. Lots of stuff on breast cancer, being that this is the October issue, and October is breast cancer awareness month. Cancer is scary and it sucks, so it's nice to hear about some positive developments in fighting this beast.

3) Whatever Your Budget, We've Got You Covered on page 207. Because I suddenly developed a deep need to own a trench coat (yes, it's still 100 degrees outside), this page was very useful for examining the different colors and styles that are out there while I do my research.

Real Simple

1) A Month of Easy Dinners on page 238. Because we can all appreciate a good, healthy, home-cooked meal, and also because we can all appreciate saving time.

2) Decorating with Orange on page 168. Orange is my second-favorite color {just behind green}, but I don't have anything orange in my house. I would love to, though.

3) The Right Birth Control for You on page 205. It's relevant to most people in my age group, and it's interesting. Plus, I learned about this stuff in a formal educational environment at one time, and it's fun to see how much I remember.

I could go on with a 4, 5, 6, 7, etc., etc., etc., but you'll just have to pick up a copy for yourself.

Some interesting things:

Scientists discovered a planet that orbits two suns, just like Tatooine.

A new pharmacist where I work sent me an invite for HauteLook. Has anyone scored any hot deals from this website they’d like to share with me? I’m overwhelmed with it right now.

The mornings are cool enough for me to start jogging outside again {not media-related, I know, but it has me excited all the same}.

DT ordered a used tire online and it arrived this week. Literally, it was just a tire with a FedEx label slapped on it, just sitting at my doorstep. I know that doesn’t sound so funny, but if that’s what greeted you upon arriving home, you’d have chuckled, too. It’s amazing the treasures we find online…including a discontinued tire with the same amount of tread wear as our other three tires.


Here is a picture of my nephew's hair after Kristin took him on a rhino ride. I took this right off The Palmer Post. Honestly, no teasing or hairspray were involved.

Happy Saturday to you!

The Missoni hype

It's all over the blogs and the news. Missoni sold out of every Target store in, like, seconds, and it crashed their website. Being a lover of all things bright and colorful, but a hater of crowds and hassle, I am disappointed to have missed out on a ton of stuff I've seen that I LOVE, but relieved to have not dealt with the craziness required to actually get it. And since I didn't purchase anything, I can feel proud of myself for sticking to my resolve to cut back on shopping. {So far, I've only been an average performer when it comes to this resolve}.

If you're unfamiliar with Missoni, you can see it on Target's recently revitalized website, though every thing is out of stock. Or, you can visit the Decor Chick and see what she says. Maybe Target will get more Missoni soon...I don't really know, and I haven't checked it out. Do you know?

I love shopping. Bye.

September

I'm going to start off extremely upbeat and positive. September is great because it's the start of the NFL season (if you're a football fan...and I am not) and also because of the Fall TV show premieres!

Other than that, this month holds no other redeeming qualities, in my opinion. Not only because the summer won't end, but while suffering through that, there's generally not much exciting happening. No holidays {Halloween and my birthday are too far off to get excited yet}, no events {like spring training or the Phoenix Open}, nothing.

But before I go on about why Wake me up when September ends should be my personal theme song, I'd like to flashback to 2007.

September was actually one of the better months that year, but certainly not the best. DT and I had spent the entire month of August traveling {Belize ---> Atlanta ---> Charleston ---> Seattle ---> Oregon coast}, and he had returned to work in September. I was in my fourth year of school and found myself with my second month off of rotations in a row, with nothing really to do. The idea of having two months off with no responsibilities is other-worldly to me now.

Anyhow, I utilized my flight benefits and took off on what DT titled "The Lindsey Palmer East Coast Freedom Tour." My first stop was Ft. Lauderdale, where I crashed at Lexie's and even spent one night partying on South Beach till 3am followed by a city bus ride home. {Partying that late is also an other-worldly concept to me}. Then I took off to Boston and crashed at Tariq's. He was in school at Tufts at the time, and I spent every day riding the subway into the city and just doing whatever. Lastly, I took off to D.C. to crash at Sarah's. I also mastered the D.C. public transportation system and did a very thorough solo museum tour. It was while walking through the National Mall that September that I received a phone call from Walgreens with a job offer, and I thought it was so cool that I was going to be making so much money soon. I didn't end up taking that particular job, but if I knew then what I know now, I would have run as fast as I could in the opposite direction of that job offer to a land far, far away where pharmacies don't exist. But that's not what I did, so here I am.

Every September since 2007 has not been nearly as exciting as that one. They've all been about on par with what I typically expect from September. This month, however, bears a couple underlying factors to consider before I decide where it ranks in the scheme of the Septembers of my life. First, my other half is in the middle of Texas until after the month ends, which I know I've mentioned at least 20 times. It sucks, and I'm sure I'll bring it up again. However, our family is expecting a tiny bundle of joy in the near future, and I am so excited to meet my new nephew. Thank goodness for the Procreating Palmers to give me something to look forward to this month. Surprisingly, I also have something else nice to say: it's raining and kind of cool right now, and I love that.

But with all things considered, I have to say that I cannot wait for October. Can somebody please push the fast forward button?

Sometimes things just have a way of working out

DT's mom sent us a beautiful rug a long time ago. It came from his grandparents' house in Lakewood. At the time, we were afraid of our animals who had chewed up and peed on a cheap rug we had purchased from Overstock, so we kept the beautiful rug tucked away in its safe box for a later time when our animals could be trusted to be more responsible.

Well, they're far from perfect, but they don't chew anymore, and they've made great strides in potty training, so I decided to take my chances and beautify our house with the rug. Plus, Gretchen Rubin's blog taught me to quit holding on to nice things and actually use them {and for that reason I exchanged out our cheap silverware in the kitchen for the nice silverware from our wedding}. Turns out, the rug fits perfect in our weird entryway. It couldn't fit better if I turned in the measurements myself. The iPhone can't be relied upon to take a great picture in every situation, but you see what I mean.

In another fortunate turn of events, I had a very fun and social weekend. It was my first weekend in a stretch of four to be alone, and I was kind of nervous because I had always left the social calendar up to DT. I don't mind spending time alone, but not for days at a time. Well, I kicked off the weekend at happy hour. Then, on Saturday morning, a bunch of us ladies celebrated the impending arrival of my newest nephew at a sprinkle hosted by Anne, Kate, and Erika at the Probstfelds's house. In case you don't know, a sprinkle is the same thing as a shower except that it's for the woman's second child, so it's supposed to be scaled down a bit. {I thought it's only definition was "cupcake topper" until last week}. I've never been to anything at Anne's house that I would consider to be "scaled down." Everything was beautiful, complete with fresh flowers and elegant brunch food.

More than half of the women in attendance were mothers, and about half of them were pregnant with their second child. I have been surrounded by mom talk for the last two years, so I came to the sprinkle expecting to further my education in motherhood once again. {I'm almost eligible for a master's degree in Motherhood for as much as I've learned from being surrounded by moms all the time.} But we actually covered a new topic this time: the birthing process. It was honest and awesome and fascinating and disgusting. My favorite topic in my Masters in Motherhood education thus far. Maybe some day I'll have learned enough to begin my experiential rotations...but not quite yet.

K and I rushed home after the sprinkle to re-group, then hopped in the car with Max and Hudson to go to the Buttons' for Meredith's surprise 31st birthday celebration. Andrew is a master Chinese food chef, and he cooked up an enormous feast for everyone, including a make-your-own eggroll in a deep fryer station. The best part was that Luna, who had always been very wary of me and frequently gave me the stink eye, suddenly became my best friend. I engaged in interesting conversation with the adults, and I even spent some time running at full speed through the yard towing two or more kids in a wagon. I'm not sure how safe that activity was, but I had as much fun as the kids did, and Kristin had a great time laughing at me.

On Sunday, my brother called me at 7:30am because he had cooked the world's largest frittata, and then he couldn't finish it, so he hoped I would come across the street and eat what remained. What are brothers for if not to offer you their frittata leftovers? I happily obliged and spent the day hanging out with him and Hudson. Later my parents came over and brought pizza. Though I'm not much of a football fan, I had fun just hanging out with the family.

And the best part of the whole weekend? DT was granted Monday and Tuesday off from training. He made it on a flight last night by the skin of his teeth and came home to me. I take him back to the airport tomorrow morning, but for now we're enjoying being together {and by that I mean playing on our separate computers, but in the same room of the house} until I leave for work for the night. Unfortunately, it's probably the only time he'll make it home until he finishes training in the first week of October, and he is only two days into the process. But I'll take what I can get.

Try to make it a good Monday and a great week. {For me, that takes tremendous effort...but I will try if you will try}.

Where were you?

September 11, 2001. Everyone knows where they were, even DT, who can rarely coordinate space and time in his memory. I was a college sophomore at ASU living in an apartment that is about a one minute drive from where I now work, and I think about that morning all the time. I lived with three girls, and I had been up all night with a sore throat. I heard one of the girls saying, "Oh my God, Oh my God!" really loud, really early in the morning. She was talking to her mom who lived on the East Coast. And after that, we were glued to the TV in disbelief.

Everyone knew the world would never be the same. We got on with our lives, but things were less innocent than they were before the terror attacks. I was a simple, carefree girl, but 9/11 hardened me. Kristin just wrote on The Palmer Post about viewing the world through a child's eyes. It is a sweet and endearing post, but it's sad to me because I am completely incapable of seeing the world that way now. Maybe when I have kids of my own that will change.

I remember a few specific things during the time after 9/11. My parents were going to leave on a flight the next day for a trip to Canada {I think?}. Obviously, they didn't go. My dad had the time off work, so instead he decided that something should be done about his chest pain and wound up spending the night at the Osborn hospital with a new stent in his heart. Maybe he would have had a heart attack if they took that trip instead. I don't wanna know.

My family had already planned a trip to NYC for that December, so we went. It was full of its regular Christmas cheer, with an overlying sadness. We saw Ground Zero through a chain link fence. It was only three months after the fact, and it was humbling to say the least.

My time at ASU and in that apartment were probably the least fun of my entire life. It sucked, and 9/11 didn't make things any better. I decided I was ready to get the hell out of dodge, so I left when I finished the semester and went down to Tucson. I had so much fun in that gross little city, and I finished college a couple years later at U of A. Then I just kept going to school. I spent four years in Charleston partying and adding a couple more diplomas to the resume before I decided it was time to grow up for good.

So here I am 10 years later, a married, working home owner and grown-up person. We're still fighting the war on terror, and we are still affected all the time by the terror attacks of 9/11. We have heard the conspiracy theories {could our own government really have been responsible?}, and I have trouble wrapping my head around it. We have differing opinions on so many things, like the TSA and their new body scanners at security.

As we look back and remember that terrible, awful day it breaks our hearts. We empathize for those who lost loved ones, and we appreciate the brave souls who were involved in the rescues that day and who have fought for us since. I'm watching my nephew push his trucks all over the house while we watch CNN, and it's weird to me that he'll grow up and go to school and learn about 9/11 in a history book. It doesn't seem like it's been 10 years, even though so much has happened.

Back on 9.11.01 I was young, and I didn't know a lot of things. Now I'm an adult, and I still don't know a lot of things, but I know a lot more. As you grow and learn and experience stuff, it makes it harder to just go with the flow, and it makes you more cynical, but you also make smarter decisions.

So today we remember those whose lives were lost so tragically and appreciate and feel pride for our country's heroes. And tomorrow we will forge forward, full steam ahead, and all we can do is hope for the best.

Time-saving tip

I don't know about you, but I must wash my hair every single day. And it's not straight, and it's not curly, so that means I also must blow-dry and flat iron it every day. It takes a lot of abuse, which is not good for it at all.

So, I stopped doing my hair in the morning. Not so much because I care about how healthy it is, but mostly because I'd rather use the time to do something else. It's not like I need to impress anybody on any given week day, anyways. The new routine goes like this: take 30 seconds to dry the bangs, then throw the rest in a wet bun, and complete one extra chore every morning before work. I've put away laundry, emptied the dishwasher, made lunch, sorted through the mountain of mail on the kitchen counter, etc., etc., with all my extra time.

After working a full day and driving 45 minutes each way, I'd so much prefer to spend my time at the end of the day actually living rather than doing chores and things I don't want to do. When I wake up in the morning, I have the zest and energy to do simple chores...the same chores that seem awful and tedious in the afternoon. My hair is spared the abuse, I get the chores done...it's a win-win.

As a side note, I'd just like to mention that Europeans are really on to something that us Americans are not. They take more vacation and work less. Personally, I don't think humans were ever designed to endure the {hugely disproportionate} work:play ratio that we are faced with today. If I lived in Europe, I might be able to do my hair, do my chores, and go to work, all in one day's time...and also squeeze in a blog post every day.

Sopha Lust

Have you seen either A) Crate and Barrel's website, featuring an upholstery sale, B) Your email from Crate and Barrel about their upholstery sale, or C) The catalog in the mail from Crate and Barrel about their upholstery sale?

Well I've seen them all, and I am lusting after the sofa on the cover all three: A, B, and C. It's the Tailor Sofa, and it looks so plush and comfortable, and it's bright red, and I love everything about it. I've been entertaining the idea of buying a new sofa since we moved into our house over two years ago, but with two mangy mutts running {and sometimes peeing} all over the place, I just can't bring myself to stress out about the condition of my new couch. Plus, we've been using M&K's old couch, and it's a very light color...and it shows just how messy we really are. I don't think we're grown up enough yet for a new sofa. But that won't stop me from lusting after it.

And in case you haven't seen A, B, or C, I'll show you what I'm talking about, even though this picture just doesn't do justice to the plushness of it.

Doesn't it make you just want to take a nap on it right now?

These pre-5am mornings plus a Ladies Margarita from Kona Grill {as weak as it may be} are making me yawn a lot {WEAK!}. We celebrated Sam's 21st Birthday today after work. When is the last time you celebrated a 21st birthday? It's been at least six years for me until now. That makes me feel old. Goodnight.

Holding Down the Fort

It's off to training for DT beginning tomorrow. So, anyone wanna make plans in the coming weeks? I'm free.

I will miss him like crazy, but I'm beginning to get some plans in the works to stave off the loneliness. Back in Charleston when I lived alone for a few months here and there, I learned that loneliness is perhaps one of the worst feelings...second only to guilt, I think. I am very much a homebody and introvert, and I'm terrible about staying in touch and initiating plans, so this will be a good opportunity to get my social groove back.

I think that's really all I have to say right now. Except that the massive power outage occurring in Southern California right now for no apparent reason is freaking me out.

A very busy Fall TV viewing schedule

I don't think I'll be able to keep up this year. I've added to the calendar all the shows I've got lined up, and it's a lot. Having only dropped Brothers & Sisters, I canceled it out by getting caught up to the current season on Parks & Rec...PLUS a million new shows that I want to see. Especially New Girl (Zooey Deschanel) and Whitney (Whitney Cummings).

I finished Friday Night Lights a few weeks ago, and as much as I think it was the best show on television, I'm a little relieved that I won't have to add it to the line-up. Since then, I've watched two or three episodes of Grey's Anatomy to get caught up to this season, and it's not like I've had tons of (or any) spare time while I'm waiting for the bazillion TV programs on my calendar to premiere. What's a girl to do?

I guess I'll just have to prioritize. And my list of priorities (in order of importance) looks like this: Modern Family, Parenthood, Parks & Recreation, The Middle (I know, it's so dumb...but I love it), Happy Endings, and then all the rest of them (which include precisely zero reality TV shows). At least four of the five are only half-hour sitcoms. What does your Fall line-up look like?

David Tabernacle

For a while, I've been mulling over what alias I should assign to my dear husband, and I've finally decided on David Tabernacle. But it'll probably just be DT for short, which is fitting since those are also the first and middle initials of his actual name.

Where does David Tabernacle come from you ask? The imagination of DT himself. David Tabernacle is his favorite spy name, and he hopes to one day check into a hotel using the alias with the purpose of staying undercover. But since he'll never get to do that, I figured we'd put the moniker to use right here.

My spy name, by the way, is Sophia Lisote. However, for the purposes of this blog, I shall remain Lu.

While we're talking about DT, I'll have you know that he just left on one last, quick little trip as a First Officer. He leaves for captain training on Friday, and then life as we know it will never be the same. After the classroom and simulator training, it'll still be probably a couple of months before he finishes his IOE...and then its off to being Captain with an ORD base.

With the captain upgrade, we've been focusing a lot on how awful it will be for DT's visits home to be fewer and further in-between and also on extremely inconvenient days {meaning anything that's not the weekend.} But, in reality, he really deserves a pat on the back. He's worked hard in several different areas of aviation since he graduated college in 2004, and achieving Captain rating is a really big deal. Plus, the pay raise isn't bad, either. You are awesome, DT!

Labor Day in the Pines

This is how we started the three-day weekend.

We hit something going too fast on the dirt road cutting through the Fort McDowell reservation and blew a tire immediately. Since it was clearly unsafe to take this car through the winding roads to Show Low {see donut above}, we turned around and loaded up the little red car {then showered off the dirt and sweat}. Off we went for round 2, and we did not take any short cuts that time. Following the two hour setback and lotsa traffic, we finally made it to the cabin. And after that, everything was great.

For the first time, Dylan forewent golfing with my dad on Saturday, so he joined my mom and I on a long walk with the dogs. It was so nice outside, a feeling I hadn't experienced in months, that I just wanted to keep walking forever. But that's impossible, so at some point we stopped. Following the walk, we headed to the pool. I think I've gotten into a swimming pool maybe two or three times this summer, and I hadn't been to the Torreon pool in probably three years, so it was certainly a novelty for me.

Here, a couple of real acrobats show off their tricks to the other pool-goers.

Acrobats in love.

In true country club fashion, we ordered drinks at the pool. Swamp water, beer, and Bloody Mary. Look, it's a stoplight.

After the pool, since we'd had such a terribly rough day, I found myself relaxing on the couch and even snuck in a quick snooze. I think the late morning adult beverage was to blame. But before we knew it, it was time for happy hour on the patio. My mom never fails to provide tasty appetizers and a variety of drinks. By this time, my dad had finished his golf game and had just completed assembly of the airplane that we all got him for his birthday. When the last golfers played through, a bunch of people stormed the second fairway, including us. Among the games of football and catch, my dad and Dylan flew the little orange plane while my mom and I stood in the rough and let the dogs stir it up with a little Yorkie named Yogi.

{Don't be fooled, you can't actually see the plane in this photo}

Immediately after the batteries died on the airplane, we ran back to the house to get ready for the '60's party and dinner being thrown at the clubhouse.

Here we are totally not dressed up. I wasn't prepared at all.

If you'd like to know the activities of Sunday, look above and read about the activities of Saturday {except my dad was with us the whole time}. We spent lots of time at the pool again, but I was the only person to get my swimsuit wet.

Lu Party of One

After lunch, we wrapped things up and headed back down the hill. How I love getting away from the heat, and just everything, for a weekend. And I still have all day today to cross a million items off my to-do list. They're mostly fun to-do's. I wish every weekend was three days...but I'll spare you from quoting again Grandpa Gustafson's thoughts on wishing in Grumpy Old Men.

Top 10 reasons why YOU should write a blog

For selfish reasons, I’d like to persuade you [again] to write a blog. Let me tell you why. When I see pictures and videos of my nephew on Kristin’s blog, it is usually the highlight of my day. Nora makes me laugh out loud [yes, I hate the abbreviation LOL] several times a week with her funny anecdotes and silly stories. Jess L.’s blog fills in the details of her life and frequent California vacations in case I miss something on Wednesday night. Elaine always has fun outdoor adventures and pictures to illustrate. When I get home from work every day and can FINALLY be connected with the outside world, the first thing I do is check my Google reader for the latest blog posts. So, my friends who are not current bloggers, I crave the stories of your life. Please give in and do it. I know, you are soooooo busy and soooooo do not have the time to write a blog just to satisfy me, but below I will post the top 10 reasons why you should make time to write a blog for you.

10. Because other people really enjoy reading it and it makes them happy […and we all know the best way to be happy is to make other people happy].

9. So people you don’t talk to or see very much can still keep up with the haps. [I very much dislike communicating via telephone, and this cuts out a lot of phone time for me.]

8. It doesn’t take very long. Most of the time I post from my little laptop while I’m lying in bed or on the couch, and it usually takes less than 15 minutes. Can’t you think of a lot of things you waste 15 minutes doing quite frequently? Stop wasting that time and update your blog.

7. It engages and exercises your mind better than, say, watching TV or playing video games…and it sharpens your writing skills.

6. It’s fun to tell the world about yourself- and you don’t have to share anything you don’t want. Though my posts are laced with negativity, it’s just because I’m trying to keep it real. Many blogs paint a rosy, pink picture of life ALL THE TIME, which you know is impossible…but that just means you, too, can paint a rosy, pink life to share with the world. Or you can paint whatever color suits you best.

5. It’s a record of memories. Recalling happy memories boosts present happiness- it’s a fact. I, personally, am a memory machine. I have the uncanny ability to recall the smallest detail of the most unimportant event that took place over 20 years ago. I am fascinated by my own memories, as well as those of others. I often tell my husband that I want to change careers and become a historian, and most of the time I’m not joking. So printing and having the blog every year brings me great pleasure.

4. Keeping in line with number 5, writing the blog makes memory keeping EASY. Since you will undoubtedly upload your photos with your blog posts, you won’t need to spend seven hours constructing a book on Shutterfly every few months. You just type in your blog’s URL to blog2book.com, or the like, and ta-da. There’s all your pictures and your blog in chronological order. Then pay the [hefty, but worth it] fee, and your beautiful, hardcover book arrives a week later.

3. You can make money. Not likely, and probably not very much, but still…

2. It’s helps you keep up with the times. Entering the world of blogging leads you to read blogs of all different types, and in turn you are exposed to varied information and opinions you may have never previously heard. Being informed is good for you. Don’t let the world pass you by while you stay locked up in a bubble. We live in a fascinating place- absorb it. And contribute to the information highway by writing your own blog.

1. The only people that read your blog will be ones that actually care what you have to say because it is their choice to read it. I see and hear so many unimportant and uninteresting things while I peruse Facebook and the rest of the Internet, so I figure I'm doing the world a service by keeping the stories of my mundane life in one tiny spot that can only be reached on purpose.

Now, are you convinced?