The pumpkin patch.

Last month, as we were driving home from Florida we took time to make a list of all the fall activities we wanted to complete and we even went as far as to put these activities into our joint calendar. ha! One thing we knew we wanted to do was visit a pumpkin patch! Last year when we went to the pumpkin patch in mid-October there weren't any pumpkins left! I looked up the best time to go pumpkin picking... and turns out mid-September is perfect! Who knew?! I can't guarantee the pumpkins won't rot before Halloween but we shall see!

We thought we'd take out Javi's radio flyer wagon for the first time! It seemed like a good vessel for the terrain and how perfect that we didn't need to carry a toddler.... or pumpkins! Luckily, he loved his ride and the whole thing made for some really fun pictures. :)

We went to a farm that's a pretty close to our house. It was really crowded but apparently everyone was there for apple picking (not pumpkin picking) so we pretty much had the patch to ourselves. Because it's so early in the season, the paths to walk through weren't yet cleared and the grass (? is it grass) was really tall. I was a bit worried about ticks so I stayed on the outskirts. :) But Sean jumped right in.

I can't wait to continue with our fall festivities. On the agenda is apple picking (and baking), a weekend trip to Maine, a day at the zoo and a 5K (should be a bit interesting since I'll be 29 weeks at that point). Not to mention getting ready for the new baby (setting up a nursery, etc.), re-doing our upstairs bathroom and purging our basement. Some things are clearly more fun than others. :)

The great fall.

Sometimes really embarrassing things happen to me.

Sometimes really painful, embarrassing things happen to me.

So, I figure... why not blog about them?

Take last week, Thursday to be exact.

It was 6AM. Totally dark, totally frigid.

I was walking to my car, completed bundled, 

carrying 3 bags full of things that I probably didn't need to bring to work.

The ground was apparently covered with black ice.

And I was walking so carefully, so cautiously, so slowly.

I got downstairs, down the hallway, through the "courtyard", down the steps, across the parking lot...

And to the car that was parked RIGHT NEXT TO MY CAR,

and suddenly it happened.

My feet did that sort of "running thing" where they are trying to find balance and safety but the ground seems to be moving on them?

That sort of "two-stepping" that doesn't look fancy, and just makes it harder to stand?

And, then... the worst part.

I completely fell.

And not just a slip or a trip.

I mean a full blown, up in the air, slamming down on my backside so that every inch of my body hit the ground at the same time.

From my head to the heels of my feet.

Nothing caught my fall. 

Not my elbows, not my arms... no part of my body risked itself for another.

via.

So, I just laid there.

Beside the back tires of a Ford Ranger.

On the ground. In the middle of a dark parking lot.

When I realized what happened, I tried to get up...

Shamed and saddened.

Annoyed that no one was there to help, but relieved no one witnessed my fall.

I was no longer carrying my car keys that I originally had in my hands.

I sat up looked around and realized they, too, had landed on the black ice and slid down the hill of the parking lot.

Not being able to stand... 

I did what anyone in my situation would do.

I crawled on my hands and knees... on the black ice... 

in the middle of the dark parking lot.. and retrieved my keys.

Only to drag myself back up the hill, to my car, and drive in traffic to work.

Perfect morning, huh?

Luckily my iPhone survived the fall. 

My can of coke did not.

Yup,

And my back still hurts.

So, I think it's safe to say I'm losing the game between myself and Winter 2013.

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy has us bunkered down. No work, no going outside... luckily we haven't lost power yet and we are jamming out these Harry Potter flicks like no one's business. We're on the 7th one. Oh yes. National Grid best not fail us or I will never know if H.P. is able to avenge his parents' death or if Lord Voldemort dies. 

Yup. That's what is going on here.

Yesterday we went to a baptism for this little one:

It's been quite some time since I've been to church for something other than a wedding. 

Saturday we got all dressed up for a wedding.

It was at the Botanical Gardens. It was beautiful.

I'm not sure what this week has in store for us but I guess it all depends on this storm.

I am sure of one thing... I'm totally skipping Zumba tonight.

Fall TV 2012.

It's my favorite time of year = new seasons of TV shows. Yay!

Here's what I'll be watching...

Mondays:

via.

via.

Tuesdays:

via.

via.

via.

via.

via.

via.

via.

via.

Wednesdays:

via.

via.

Thursdays:

via.

via.

via.

Fridays:

via.

Sundays:

via.

via.

Thank goodness for DVR, On Demand and Hulu. 

:)

What are you watching?

Apple Picking.

Last weekend, Sean and I went apple picking near our house.

I didn't realize all this entailed but the outing involved a hayride, crawling through tall grass hoping not to end up with any ticks, and learning my husband is an extremely picky apple picker. 

After getting home, we made apple crisp for the first time. I used a Betty Crocker recipe which didn't look anything like apple crisp... but Sean said it was delicious. I think I'll make it again, but use a different recipe, next time.

Speaking of apple picking and apple crisp I think it's time to make a Fall to-do list:

- apple picking (again)

-refinish a china cabinet

- go to Fall fairs

- spend a girls weekend in the Cape

- take a foliage ride

- visit Salem, MA

- carve pumpkins

- make apple cider

- go to the factory of terror (ah!)

- cook our very own thanksgiving dinner

- go shopping on black Friday

:)

We'll see what happens!

The time I "ran" a 5k.

I say ran in the loosest of terms.

More like brisk walking. And at times very-distracted-slowly-paced foot steps.

But none the less, a 5K is a 5K. 

Of course, that pesky bib thing got in the way.

I lacked the ability to see the future and ignored all signs of foreshadowing when I safety pinned all four corners of the bib across my zip-up sweatshirt.

Fast forward... oh, about 3 minutes into the race when I realized... wow this is a lot of work... I better take off this sweatshirt so I don't pass out from heat exhaustion or god forbid actually break a sweat.

I'm not the craftiest of people nor can I multitask when one of those tasks is moving my legs, which forced me to completely stop... moving.

Unpin myself, take off my sweatshirt... and then rearrange all of my belongings in my hands because apparently I missed the memo to leave water bottles/iPhones/extra tissues/sunglasses in the car.

Say whaaaat?

So, I look up and what do I see?

NOTHING.

Not a thing.

Not one person in sight.

I'm legitimately the LAST person... and I'm standing still.

Great.

Good thing I didn't do this thing to... PLACE.

I think a regular person would have thought... hmm I should run and catch up.

Not me. 

I took the time to take some photos with the annoying iPhone that my hands had to grasp the entire time because I don't think it can handle one more fall and obviously VS yoga pants do not have pockets.

I actually took this photo as proof that I was entering the woods. 

Just in case... I didn't make it out. Or something.

And then there was a pumpkin patch. 

And apple orchards, and rough terrain. 

I'm telling ya.

Even if I "trained" for this on the treadmill, it would not have prepared me for running through the woods and on gravel paths -- all in sneakers that I'm beginning to realize don't actually fit me...

But then, something miraculous happened.

I reached the finish line.

Along with my water bottle, iPhone, tissues, and the pesky bib that I was never able to pin back on to myself.

And while it took 49 minutes, I'm calling it an accomplishment.

(by the way, that's 6 minutes faster than my last 5K).

OH, and I wasn't even last!

Marriage Monday: Date Nights.

Sean and I had a date night this past weekend. We went to the jack o' lantern spectacular festival at the Roger Williams Zoo in Providence. It was so much fun and the jack o' lanterns were very impressive. It was also really great to be at the zoo at night... occasionally you could hear the animals but it was a little scary not being able to SEE them.

Basically, the festival included thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, of pumpkins that people had carved. They fall into a theme by continent and they also have some carved of famous people. Very cool!

I highly recommend going. It's a fun night. We heard about it through friends and didn't really know what to expect but we've decided to make it a tradition! Next year, we've already agreed that we'll buy hot chocolates to keep our hands warm!