Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I don't have anything to say about it except that I haven't had anything interesting to say, as opposed to this which will be absolutely RIVETING.
     Fall isn't doing anything for me. First of all, it has such a non-commital climate. We literally went from running the air conditioner to running the heater within two days (and we really tried not to do that.) Even though we're only days away from November, I still have to mow our lawn. You never know how to dress because it could go from 45 to 70 in one day. What a lousy season. Second of all, it contains Halloween, my least favorite holiday of the year. My mom and dad went anti-Halloween about the time my sister was born, which means I have no Halloween memories to speak of and I've never been Trick or Treating. I couldn't wait to celebrate it after Mike and I got married, so I diligently waited by the door that year with my bowl of candy, passing it out to the cute (and sometimes snotty and ungrateful) little kids who stopped by. The thing is, after 20+ years of waiting to celebrate Halloween, the act of opening the door about a dozen times and handing out candy was kind of a letdown. For some reason, my mother was very pleased at that reaction. Maybe she thought that my lackluster night of celebrating Halloween had convinced me it was an overblown holiday and I didn't miss out on anything by not being a part of it as a kid. Sorry, Mom. I had wonderful parents who did a great job raising me, but that's just one of those things I'm always going to be unhappy about. I think that the good feelings my friends have about Halloween stem from happy autumn nights spent as children and I've learned that you can't jump on that bandwagon once you hit adulthood. So, even though I'm 27, Halloween remains to me that stupid holiday I wish would be over. Maybe it will be different once I have kids and can experience it vicariously through them. Mike has already made me promise we won't be "losers" and take the kids to the mall. He really hates that for some reason.
     There's a chill in the air, I'm smack dab in the middle of my Christmas shopping, and when I step into my bathroom I can smell the heat from the furnace. All these things, plus the fact that I'm dreaming of an end to this dreary season, have combined to put me into the Christmas spirit at a time that's unusually early even for me. I caught myself walking around the house humming "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" (even though it's not), so I broke down and whipped out my Time-Life Treasury of Christmas. Oooh...Feliz Navidad just came on. Where's Dad when I need him?
     I want to run out and get some wrapping paper so I can wrap the few gifts I've already gotten (I could always pick up more when I'm out so I could have more to wrap.) The only problem is, it's laundry day. Maybe it's because our dryer caught on fire when I was a kid and I had to be traumatized by seeing some of my favorite clothing items charred on our front lawn, but I'm really paranoid about leaving laundry going when I'm not home. I won't do it, which means if I'm not here, laundry isn't being done. Plus, by nature of it being laundry day, I'd have to go out in some mismatched, unflattering top and sweatpant combination, and I don't think it means that much to me. So, in the meantime, I'll just cuddle up here with Bing Crosby and a comfy throw and wait for Santa (or at least the timer on the dryer.)