My house smells really good right now. I've been baking cookies and I also have this delightful scented candle that is the perfect smell for autumn. You're welcome to come over and take a whiff.

Over reactor

Last night....

Me: My whole life is out of control!

Zack: What about your life is out of control?

Me: *points at an overflowing trash can in our house*

Zack: So your whole life is outta control because there's trash in the trash can?

Me: Yes!

The stars at night are big and bright

That's right y'all. A few weeks ago, we got to spend some days in the great state of Texas. Zack's mom had a nursing conference in Dallas. His dad went along too, just for fun, and they invited us along to mooch off their hotel room also. And we had a mighty fine time.

We flew in on a Saturday evening (we ate Texas cheese fries at the Chilis in the airport while we waited for Zack's mom's flight to come in). Since we flew Southwest, we all flew into Love Field, which is the airport close to downtown. But our hotel was out by the other airport, about a half and hour away. Figures.

So Sunday, we basically just drove around to see various areas where Zack served his mission. Sadly, we only took a couple of pictures. In Oak Cliff, we saw the the Texas Theater, where Lee Harvey Oswald was apprehended.

And this is a picture of a gorgeous park that Zack used to ride his bike through often. (He also got in a terrible bike wreck there once).

We saw 3 of Zack's areas. We didn't make it out to Athens, TX because it was a bit far out in the boondocks. I kinda adored Oak Cliff, and I decided that if we ever have occasion to move to Dallas, that would be a good place to be. They even have Aldi, our favorite grocery store. I didn't see a Rite Aid though, so I'd have to think about that. For lunch we went to Texas Roadhouse. Hee hee. Sunday evening is when Zack's dad flew in.

On Monday, Zack's mom began conferencing it up, so it was just us and Z's dad. We decided to do some sightseeing around downtown Dallas. We started out (after paying only $3 for all day parking!) at the Texas Schoolbook Depository.

The museum there was not open yet so we walked around Dealey Plaza and saw the place where JFK was shot. Then we walked to Pioneer Plaza and saw these babies.....

LONGHORNS.

Here's Zack getting impaled by one.

Cute. Very Texas-ish. We saw the ugly monstrosity that is City Hall

(we much prefer our lovely Philly monstrosity).

We went inside this strange church (basically just a small chapel inside.)

Here's what the ceiling looks like.

Pretty. After that, we got the chance to go back to the Schoolbook Depository to see the very well done Sixth Floor Museum. It highlights the presidency and, of course, assassination of JFK. It walks you through the events of the day he was killed through written words, an audio tour, movies, and pictures. It was seriously just riveting. After some barbeque for lunch, we made our way over the one of the tallest buildings on the Dallas skyline, which we kept calling the keyhole building because it looks like this.

We were able to go up in it (for free!) and catch some great views of the city below.

Then we headed back to pick Z's mom up from her conference and grab some dinner. While we were out, we swung by the Dallas Temple.

Tuesday was our last day in Dallas and we spent it checking out the Texas State Fair, the biggest state fair in the country. We actually had a really nice time. The weather was basically to die for. We found a deal online that helped us get a whole lot off admission price, which also helped. We saw a bird show, including a singing bird that was pretty amazing. We went into a butterfly house.

I admit that I am actually pretty scared of butterflies. Weird, I know. I think they are pretty but when it comes down to it, they are still nasty bugs and I don't want them to land on me.

It was still fun to walk through and look at the different pretty varieties.

We also ate some fried food (Zack's dad did not join us in that), watched some BMX bike stunts, rode the skyride, and looked at various fair type things.

And if you needed proof that everything's bigger in Texas, here's Big Tex, some huge random scary thing at the fair. Our Texas food for the day besides the fried fair food was steak at a steakhouse.

The next day, we got up, hopped on a plane, and came home.

Our many thanks to Zack's parents for inviting us along on their trip and making it all possible for us.

Go Phillies!

Last night's game was ultra exciting. We saw history making in process. Roy Halladay pitched a no hitter, the 2nd one ever in the history of the postseason in baseball. Loved it.

October

I love the month of October. I am excited that it is here (although I love September too, so kinda sad to leave that one behind).

Here are some reasons why I love October:

-Fall weather. Yes, you are all very aware that I am a summer girl all the way. But I do like fall weather, particularly the warmer kind, and have had stages of my life where I thought fall might be my favorite season. And, in conjunction with that...

-Colorful leaves. So pretty.

-Haunted houses. I talked Zack into going to one with me yesterday but then it fell through. Maybe another night...

-Halloween scrubs at work. I can wear them all month.

-Halloween earrings. I have many. And they are cute. Which should I wear today?

-Haunted mini golf at Franklin Square. I hope they're doing that again this year.

-Franken Berry and Count Chocula cold cereal. Yum

-The produce at farmers markets. Mmmmm. Apples are the best at this time of year.

-Stuff that glows in the dark. Ooo and black lights.

-Halloween. I mean the movie. The first one. I try to record it off TV and watch it every year now since I first saw it because I really like it. And I think it has the creepiest theme song of all time.

-Other Halloween movies- Hocus Pocus, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Nightmare on Elm Street, the Nightmare Before Christmas, etc

-Halloween parties. Except I am upset because our ward scheduled their Halloween party on the 30th, which was going to be my Halloween party. Grrrrrr.

And, probably most of all

HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS! This time of year can be very bad for our bottom line because I absolutely adore Halloween decorations. I have a shower curtain and soap pump in my bathroom, glow in the dark pillowcases on my bed, multiple stings of fun lights (eyeballs, skulls, some that play music) in my living room, ghosts hanging from my ceiling, a fog machine, and more. What we usually try to do is wait until after Halloween to buy decorations on clearance, then we pack them all away. The next year, when we pull them out, it's like we just got a whole new batch of decorations. This usually happens around the time that Halloween decorations go on display at stores so it helps me be more in control of my desire to buy everything in sight.

And just for fun, here's a link to last year's post on this same topic.