Happy autumn! (At least I think it's autumn...)

I have to get in one more blog post in September, so I can have at least ONE month where I have a decent number of posts. I’ve been such a blog slacker this year. There has been not enough, and, in turn, TOO MUCH going on around here to result in a nice, steady blog habit. Perhaps I can remedy that for these last few months of 2009…

But for now – how about a random thought post? Hooray! :)

Thought #1: Did I just say “these last few months of 2009”?? I can’t believe it’s almost October. It seems like barely a few months ago we were excitedly planning our move to Chicago, and now here we are still in Austin with new jobs and no plans to go anywhere any time soon. Just goes to show you, you never know where you’ll be from one year to the next… This is the time of year I really start to miss living in the north -- I miss the cooler temperatures and the colorful trees and the smell of burning leaves and fireplaces... basically, all the things that provide evidence of the changing of the seasons. Sigh... maybe I'll need a sweater in November... definitely by December... I hope...

Thought #2: The Yankees are the AL East Champions!!! Can’t wait for the post-season!

Thought #3: I have been attempting to be a better time manager, as my job seems to be getting in the way of my free time. How dare it. So I went ahead and bought myself a little day planner (something I’ve never bothered to do in the past) and started making lists and writing down reminders of things I need to do. I’m also trying something new this week – on Sunday, I chopped up all my vegetables and put them in plastic containers in the fridge, so when I want to use them, all I have to do is pull them out of the fridge and they’re ready to go. I find that the majority of time spent when cooking is all the prep/clean-up work. So hopefully this will save me a few minutes when I’m making dinner…

Thought #4: I broke down and bought the new Dan Brown book last week, even though it’s gotten some bad reviews. I’m only on chapter 13 (which, as anyone who’s read a Dan Brown book knows, is somewhere around page 20… :)), but so far, it seems to be right on par with his other books. I mean, you’ve got a mysterious society shrouded in secrecy, a huge scientific lab running state-of-the-art experiments, a city full of symbols that no one but Robert Langdon understands – it’s Angels and Demons and the Da Vinci Code, American style. But maybe that’s why it’s gotten bad reviews? Because we’ve seen it before? Ah well, no matter to me… I love a good story, even if it’s a retelling of a story I’ve already read… :)

Thought #5: I’m going to Chicago next weekend! Columbus Day is a holiday where I work, so I have a long weekend. So mom and dad and Rick and I are all heading up to see Eric, and Bob and Jeanie are flying in from Montana to join us. I can’t wait – we haven’t been back to Chicago since our sad trip up in February, when we had to fly to the city and drive our car back down here. I’m looking forward to a happier trip this time, with some good food and good coffee and hopefully at least one trip to Ghirardelli…

Okay, that's about if for now... I need to post this before I fall asleep and miss my "one more post in September" window... :)