Catching Up Is Hard to Do....

Sweet Baby Jane! It's been over 2 months since my last blog post and I am sure no one has noticed but me. : ) Thank goodness I do not have any adoring fans that I must cater to with regular updates, entries, pictures, etc.

To jump start the sort-of-belated beginning of my favorite season----FALL!----let's take a look at those goals I posted for myself in June. Maybe I've been extremely efficient and busy these past four months and have been able to cross some all of my goals of my list.

• Getting over my "irrational" fear of ants. 1/2
• Mastering the art of gardening and tending that garden.
• Potty training Lennon. X
• Being a first time dog owner----which includes potty training a dog. X
• Whipping my ass into some semblance of a shape that doesn't resemble a dumpling.
• Reading and reading and reading and reading and reading some more. XX
• To get back to sketching and painting. 1/2
• Painting the trim and molding within the house.
• Painting the book shelves in the living room.
• To camp---and I mean really camp. No bathrooms, no showers, no air mattresses and absolutely no whining . 1/2
• To spend more time with friends that matter most to me.
• To put myself out there more and enjoy life.
• Oh! And establishing world peace.

Wow! Well no one can't say I wasn't ambitious when making that list, though I suppose you can say that I should have known better than to make a list for all to see and hold me accountable for. So let me explain.....

• Getting over ants: I gave myself a 1/2 check due to the fact that I will never not be afraid of ants, nor will I ever enjoy them. However now when I discover ants in the house I do not hyperventilate or fall into hysterics. Instead I take a deep breath and make it my goal for the day to annihilate every ant in my vicinity. So that counts for something.
• Potty training Lennon: SUCCESS!! She is potty trained---at least my version of potty trained. We are in panties 24/7, have minimal accidents (usually prompted by not being able to take off our pants in time to make it to the potty), though she still occasionally needs help wiping, washing her hands and braving #2. But who doesn't?
• Being a first time dog owner: SUCCESS?? Well we certainly have a new member of the family and she is potty trained. We love her to death, though I sometimes wonder what the hell I was thinking. Don't we all?
• Reading...: A goal I can always make and will never fail! With school on the back burner again I will for sure have plenty more time to sneak in a book here and there.
• To get back to sketching and painting: I gave myself a 1/2 since I at least fished out all my materials and supplies from the attic and brought them downstairs. Having to go into our attic is no easy feat, so a half check is definitely warranted.
• To camp...: Well a 1/2 is given here since our summer camping trip was run afoul due to the weather and we had to modify our plans. Though we did go camping AND I didn't whine one bit AND I had a fabulous time. I may even weasel my way into getting invited to next years affair.

Yes, it was a pitiful showing and attempt at goal making. Though I think I can trump the rest of my list (except maybe for establishing world peace) since JOSH FINALLY PROPOSED! Yes folks, you read that correctly. Josh is finally making an honest woman out of me. Something we all knew would happen eventually, yet were never quite sure when he would man-up and brave the shackles of a formal, state-approved union. So take that list!

Though with a wedding a little less than a year away more lists will for sure come...

First Pumpkin Patch of the Season

Due to all three of us having caught the same cold at the same time we have yet to visit a pumpkin patch. Booooooo! Instead, we have all been hacking, achey and cranky while being cooped up in the house. But luckily today was the first day that Lennon and I didn't feel too bad (and we're now definitely not contagious). So we met our playgroup at the E.Z. Orchard Pumpkin Patch while Daddy stayed home to get a very long, quiet nap. Awwww....how nice. : )

This year I found it virtually impossible to keep Lennon clean and free of mud, pumpkin guts and goat saliva. C'est la vie. I guess the plus side of it all is that it could have been a lot worse if she had noticed the tractor race track, which was essentially a pool of mud filled with pint-sized tractors. Although our little Beastie was very protective of any animal and/or pumpkin she touched, I am proud to report she didn't make anyone cry and actually played well. It got a little hairy though when she noticed her friend Maddy had a lollipop clenched in her little fist. Let me tell ya, it took all my will power to keep Lennon distracted and away from it. Victory!

Lennon had the worst time trying to pick out 1 pumpkin. There were just too many to choose from. I guess she's got a bit of an indecisive streak. I have no idea where she picked that up. She did finally settle on "Baby", her teeny-tiny little pumpkin (pictures posted later). I cannot get over how much she has grown since this year she was able to run after anyone and anything, while exclaiming "EWWWW!" all the way as she avoided stepping in pumpkin guts.

We finished our excursion with a shopping cart ride with Maddy in the E.Z. Orchards grocery store, where Lennon shared her pumpkin donuts. Alas, Maddy did not share her lollipop. Thank you Maddy!!

All in all, it was a fabulous day since it didn't rain. Lennon fed the goats, screamed "BAA!" in the sheep's faces, chased Lu-Ann the wild chicken and almost made out with a baby calf. But she has better etiquette at a petting zoo than her mom---I was once known to have stuck my finger in or around a goat's tushy. Talk about "EWWW!"