On my mind.

When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
'tis near Halloween.
~Author Unknown

One need not be a chamber to be haunted;
One need not be a house;
The brain has corridors surpassing
Material place.
~Emily Dickinson

When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam,
May luck be yours on Halloween.
~Author Unknown

Welcome Baby Boy.

Over the weekend, we went to a celebration to welcome a sweet new wee one. The children played, the men watched football and the ladies gathered together cooing over the little man who slept soundly through it all. Intimate, serene, and comforting are three words that immediately come to the surface when I try and describe it.
As pictures have popped up sharing peeks into the afternoon, one very obvious pattern shone across the faces of everyone that held him - calmness. The new mom showed all the telltale signs of such, tired eyes, exhausted from the dramatic changes in schedule, the tenderness that postpartum affords us but she, too, radiated calm.
Maybe that's just what babies were meant to do.

Tell me.

His expression sums up my thoughts today.

Changed my day.

Because even though we've been married a few years and together for many, Hubby surprised me this morning with just a simple sweet phrase this morning. Just you and me. He took my breathe away in that moment. I love how he always knows just how to. So, instead of my usual on my mind today, it's this song. It's consuming me right now.

Bonnie's Day.

Iris Johansen is a favorite author of mine. She is a New York Times best selling author who now writes crime fiction. She has her main cast of characters that carry throughout her novels. Eve, Quinn and Bonnie are three of them. This year, she's finally released (in stages) the trilogy to explain the stories of each and how they've got to where they are.
Eve came out in the spring and it was largely the reason I purchased my e-reader...more on that some other day. I learned so much about her that I never knew. Where she started out, some of her secret struggles and so much character came out. I've read before that as an author you must know your characters right down to the last imaginable detail even if those details are never written. Iris Johansen has done a great job with that.
Quinn was a perfect accent to my summer reading and I raced through it because of the cliff hanger that was left from Eve.
Today, Bonnie makes her debut. I don't know yet if she completes the story but she does complete the set. I've bought my e-version copy and am now anxiously waiting until I can get home, grab a cup of tea and curl up to drink it all in. I have a funny feeling tonight is going to be a late one.
I'm also reading Book 6 in the Harry Potter series and my wonderful textbook at the moment. What about you?

On my mind.

Funny thing about this video, I was find seeing the mountain climber but the window washers made my knees weak.
Happy Monday! I wish you a wonderful week.

I want to//I will

Craft to my heart's content//Mail off the crafts I've completed and wish I had just a bit more time to make more
Curl up in a comfy chair with a raggy quilt and read until I am engulfed by the darkness of night//Sit at the table drowning in a textbook
Write the words that are spilling over in my heart//Make course notes and study aides
Spend some time updating my iPod//be thankful that I have music even if it isn't the most current
See my sister//See my sister
This song is stuck in my head. Maybe it's a Sugarland thing. Happy weekend!

I forgot.

Even when you get great news of "you passed", when you've got a loaded schedule there is no time to stop. The celebration of "pass" lasts for the few moments after you've processed the information and then you move on.
This next course is the other half. The yang to my pass yin. Thanks to some very misleading information, I just realized I'm about three weeks behind. Today's agenda will include some serious time-management planning to make up whatever I can.
How do you recover from a time loss set back?

Childhood throw back.

Messing around on Youtube, I came across this great little video. How many did you watch?

Cram, Hockey and Turkey with a Side of Stuffing

That right about sums up my Thanksgiving Long Weekend. Despite the extreme winds today, the weather here on the prairies is over the top amazing. Sorry all my South friends, I'm soaking up every second because I know they are fleeting moments. It won't be long before stale grey skies stare down on us and white blankets our world.
Tonight is cramming in everything I possibly can in preparation for my economics exam tomorrow. I scheduled it. There is no one but me responsible for the Saturday of a long weekend choice. I am feeling OK but the jitters are creeping in. One more night and this part is done. One more...
Hockey! Hockey! Hockey! Yell it from the rooftops! Let the whole world hear. Welcome home, NHL. More on this later.
Monday will round out the weekend with a house full of chatter and a table warm with food. Family is what you make and it's time to stop and remember to be thankful for everything and everyone we have.

Dizzy.

Just enough tilt to make my legs start to shake. I love it!

Mission: October

Well, well, well...
It's been quite some time since I've ripped out a mission list. There are always to-dos and want-tos and other lists that I somewhat neurotically make but my missions are different.
Let's see what I can pull off in October:

1. Read my heart out. This may well be the last month for a while that I get the chance to leisurely read. I'm going to take complete advantage of it. Speaking of reading, I need to charge my e-reader...


2. Finish both my courses. Gulp!


3. Take pictures. More on this later.


4. Dream something big.


5. Kick some stuff out.


6. Figure out a Halloween plan.


7. Cheer on the return of our NHL team. We pick up our season tickets today! My stomach gets all fluttery just typing that.


8. Get some serious discipline in place. It's going to become essential to the winter ahead.
   

On my mind.