I know the leaves are only just beginning to change, & most of us are still experiencing gross summer heat, but I seem to be getting more excited about fall each & every year. Because I work with teens & am married to a teacher, I don’t think I’ll ever fully get away from September feeling like the beginning of a new year. This year, I thought I’d use September as a way to evaluate how 2010 has been going; re-evaluating goals, re-focusing some wayward thoughts, & giving myself some new challenges.

» My health has improved greatly this year. My skin is clear, my hair is shiny, nearly all internal issues have been resolved, & I’ve lost weight & become stronger. That isn’t to say that I’m in optimal health – although wheat has been bid adieu, I really need to stop letting dairy into my life so often. I (understandably, I think) used the intense heat of this summer as an excuse to stay indoors & not become as active as I’d hoped, so I’m setting myself the challenge of doing at least one active thing each day in September.

» Reading. I set myself a goal in January to read 36 new books this year, & although I’ve read a LOT this year, mostly online, I’ve read a pitiful amount for being a teen librarian. To remedy this, I’m going to read an entire book each week this month.

» The blog! I’ve really let it fall by the wayside, & that’s simply not fun. The thing is, I want to post high-quality stuff, but I don’t seem to have a lot of time to do it, so I’m going to make time at home to work on it. I’ve a list of topics I want to cover that would fill several months, so perhaps now I’ll finally get around to doing it.

“By all these lovely tokens
September days are here,
With summer’s best of weather
And autumn’s best of cheer.”
-Helen Hunt Jackson, September

In addition to reflection, I’m looking forward to autumn in general. Apples! Pumpkins! Cider! Sweaters! Scarves! Pretty trees! Comfort foods! What are you looking forward to?

Last summer, I challenged you to unplug for one day each week. I confess that although I spend as little time on the computer as possible while I’m at home, I rarely unplug from everything. But I have learned to let go – I’m fortunate that I don’t have the sort of job that requires me to take it home, so I don’t. I don’t think about work when I’m not there, or at least I deliberatly change where my thoughts are heading while away. Life’s far too short to worry about upcoming book releases & dwindling anime club attendance when I could be living in the moment!

I realize that summer is nearing it’s end, but for most of us, summer doesn’t really end until later in October. So here’s my challenge for you: take a day, any day, & cram as much fun into it as you can. We did this a few weekends ago & attended a local medieval faire. It was hot, but we had a ton of fun there, not resisting the silliness, cheesiness, or bawdiness. We drank tons of lemonade, learned far too many limericks, & spoke in horrendous accents. We were fortunate enough to stretch that day of fun into an entire weekend of fun, & spent the next day with a dear friend, playing board games & enjoying the company.

Too often, we let the day to day grind get to us. Instead of doing something we really want, we instead run to the store to pick up something we may or may not truly need. I read one fabulous idea (alas, I can’t remember where) recently where a family does everything on Friday night that needs done over the weekend. Everyone pitches in & everything gets done – laundry, grocery shopping, dishes, homework, etc. That frees up all of Saturday & Sunday to relax & have fun, & truly live life. Sounds pretty amazing, yes?

So that’s my challenge to you. Take a day, & fill it with as much fun as you can. It’ll make you feel so great, you might just find yourself doing it more & more often.

Finally, at long last, I’m on vacation. This is what I’ll be doing this week…

…taking long hot baths,

making almond flour baked goodies,

cooking lots of yummy food,

taking long walks outside,

eating ice cream sundaes,

reading lots of books,

playing with my kitties,

napping,

& just generally relaxing. Yay!

Never fear – I’ll still be around here. I’m just really excited about this vacation. :)

I have a confession to make: we’ve been using the a/c most of the summer. To be fair, it is killing me to do so, but this weather is just so unbelievably disgusting! Now, I don’t mind warm weather. I can handle up to about 85°, 90° if I’ll be doing nothing & have lots of iced beverages nearby. But here in northeast Ohio, it hasn’t just been 85+ since mid-June, oh no. It’s been 85+ with at least 70% humidity; usually more. That’s the type of weather where it doesn’t matter if you wash your face – it’s going to be covered in sweat in 15 minutes anyways. You can just sit, perfectly still, & be covered head to toe in sweat. In short? Pure torture. You can’t escape it, & everything you touch is damp.

You all know that I’m a bit proponent of fresh air & not wasting energy with the a/c. We never use the car’s a/c, & the Boy & I were resolved, originally, to live without the a/c. But a few days before the wedding, at three o’clock in the morning, he was bringing a third fan into the bedroom, just so we could sleep – yeah. It was time to give in. The a/c was turned on & we could finally relax. It’s been better for the kitties, too, as they have fur coats to live in. I can’t even imagine how uncomfortable they were.

On the few days here & there that it’s been cooler &/or not disgustingly humid, we’ve opened the windows & rejoiced in the fresh air, but like clockwork, two days go by & we’re back to the oven of NE Ohio. I don’t like it, & I don’t appreciate it. All I’m saying is that we’d better get a truly amazing fall chock full of cool nights & rainy days. I miss being outside in the world!

How to deal with the hot gross weather:
» Stop using your oven. Grill, cook on an electric griddle, or start a raw-foods diet. Luckily, lots of produce is in season, so eating your fill of veggies is rather simple.

» Stay hydrated. It sounds obvious, but when you’re so warm, it can be tough to make yourself move to the fridge. Lemonade, iced tea, water, juice… keep them on standby. You’d be surprised how much better you feel when you’re fully hydrated.

» Invest in an ice pack. When I’m really overheated, I just sit with one on my neck, wrists, ankles, etc, transferring from one place to the next until I feel better.

» Learn to love the cold shower. Nothing cools your body down faster – definitely my favorite way to relax during this heat.

» If you’re going to be outside, don’t forget your sunscreen. Personally, I don’t use sunscreen all that often, but when I’m going to be out & about for several hours, I slather the stuff on all exposed areas. It really does help keep you cool by disallowing the sun to soak into your skin & therefore heat it up. It was a big help during all those hours in marching band…

» Popsicles are your friend. Not the sugary gross freezer pops you ate as a kid, but the kind you make yourself by pureeing your favorite fruit. Toss in some green tea & throw them in your freezer with a popsicle stick – definitely a great way to cool off.

What are your favorite tricks for keeping your cool? I think most everyone out there could use a new tip this summer!

Watch the ENTIRE thing. I was disgusted at first, but let it play. Truly amazing & oh-so-relevant.

This is the story of why I couldn’t order our Chinese food before I left for work.

Brace yourself – it’s quite the epic story. Worth telling, nonetheless.

Next Thursday, we’re having the Mad Hatter’s Simply Maddening Tea Party at my library in celebration of the new Alice in Wonderland movie. The teens are quite excited, & as such, on Tuesday we went shopping for all the various things you need to put on a fabulous teen program. After picking up some sundry items from Target, we went to Hot Topic to get some prizes – buttons & keychains, etc. It’s always fun talking to the people who work there, now that I am no longer they’re target demographic. I mentioned we were having the party, & they say hey! You should bring us some flyers, & we’ll put them out here!

Awesome.

Yesterday, Wednesday, my co-worker Steve & I attended a meeting at one of our branch locations. I offered to drive, since I don’t always have the car (my fiance & I share one), & often bum rides off Steve. I took along some flyers with me, so we could drop them off at the mall on our way back. We also made a quick stop at a local used paperback bookstore – hey, we are librarians, after all. There was an issue with the door (I drive a rather old car), but in the end we realized that the seatbelt was simply caught & thus the door could actually be shut completely.

Then we go to the mall, stop & Hot Topic & drop off the flyers. Eventually, we make it back to the library – at which point Steve realizes he doesn’t have his car key.

Which was the only copy.

Uh-oh.

And so the calls begin – first to the library branch where the meeting was held, then to the used paperback store, & then Hot Topic. They mention that although they’ve found a random cell phone, they have, in fact, not found a key. Steve calls his wife & the car dealer to see how they can go about getting a new key, since it’s one of those fancy programmable ones with a chip (don’t you just love technology?!), & we look everywhere. The parking lot, the library lost & found, in & around my car, etc. We try to see if maybe he somehow left it in his car, but we don’t see it.

Le sigh. It seems to have disappeared.

I mention that although it wasn’t in the used paperback store, perhaps it fell out when we were fussing with the door in the parking lot? It’s a long shot, but there’s a chance. As it’s already starting to get dark, we head off immediately.

Steve digs around a little more in the car while he’s in the passenger side, & that’s when he spots it. There’s an evil little place between the middle… armrest/random stuff holder thing & the passenger seat. I lost my engagement ring in this evil little place once, & our iPod constantly falls down there. I personally believe gravity has an extra-strong hold in this vortex of doom, but I’ve no rock solid evidence to back this up. Someday, my 2000 Saturn LS will become the centerpiece in a vast scientific experiment with earth-shattering ramifications, just you wait.

Anyways – back to the story. Much relief is felt by both parties, & I take Steve back to the library so he can drive home in his car.

I proceed to the post office to mail off a few things, as people are wont to do at such a place. Then I reach into my purse to call Sam to see if he’d like Chinese for dinner & if so I’ll also call them to place our order for sesame chicken & two egg rolls.

My phone is not there.

Now, before we can proceed, we must rewind to the beginning of the story, to my visit to Hot Topic the previous day, when we were picking up prizes for the Mad Hatter’s Simply Maddening Tea Party. You see, as I was paying & the nice guy with the flyer idea was trying to remember how to perform a tax exempt transaction, my (very small but perfect!) purse was knocked off the counter. My wallet fell out, & I, assuming that was all, proceeded to sign the receipt & left.

Hot Topic totally had my phone. That’d fallen out along with my wallet when my purse hit the ground. & I would’ve never known if that evil little vortex hadn’t swallowed Steve’s key, thus requiring Steve to call Hot Topic.

Funny how things work, isn’t it?

So after this realization, I drive to Hot Topic, & ask for my badly cracked (but still usable!) phone back. They told me they only called Japan twice, but had otherwise kept my phone safe. Silly Hot Topic employees. Of course, my phone had no more juice left, & so I couldn’t call for Chinese until I got home & could use Sam’s phone. Which is exactly what I did – sesame chicken & two egg rolls.

So that’s the story of why I couldn’t order Chinese food until after I got home. I think I’ll remember this for ages.