The Lovely & Simple Things

Did you know that I think autumn is the best?

Mostly, I love the deep sigh of relief that autumn brings. Stepping out into the morning chill...sitting on the front porch...crunching through the leaves...snuggling in flannel & fleece...taking in the colors of the Tennessee hills. Deep, deep exhales.

Winter makes me hibernate. Spring fills me with eager anticipation. Summer is an outburst of energy. But autumn? Sighhhhh.

The best thing about autumn is how easy it is. You no longer have to worry about the Africa pounds because you can wear sweaters and jeans every day. You don't have to paint your toenails because you wear close-toed shoes. The weather is simply divine every day. You're never too hot or too cold. The food is utterly delectable.

As a past Staples employee, I love doing things that end with "that was easy." I've mentioned my slight obsession for everything pumpkin-flavored in the past, but tonight, I'm going to share with you three super secret secrets of autumn. These are my go-tos and take literally no time at all to do. Ain't nothin' better.

Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate
I'm sure there's a fancy, coffeeshop style of doing this. But when I say "pumpkin spice hot chocolate" I literally mean adding pumpkin spice to your hot chocolate. You know how you buy that little canister of pumpkin pie spice every year and only use, like, a teaspoon of it for your pie? Well, pumpkin pie spice is versatile. Heat up a big mug full of hot chocolate and sprinkle in a healthy dose of pumpkin pie spice. Voila. Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate. For ideal enjoyment, sip slowly while wrapped in a blanket on your front porch.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
I bet you can see where this one's going. Take Aunt Jemima's Just-Add-Water pancake mix (easiest. ever.) and add a bunch of pumpkin pie spice to the batter. Done-zo. Not only do your pancakes take on a sumptuous golden brown color, but they taste oh so yummy.

Easy Pumpkin Bread/Muffins
This is the best kept secret. Buy one box of Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix and one can of Libby's Pumpkin. Combine the two in a bowl (NO eggs. NO oil. NO nothin' else). Pour into a bread pan or a muffin tray and bake at 350 for approx. 50 minutes (if bread). Just watch it til it's done. This is the moistest bread I've ever tasted. So moist, in fact, that it sometimes does not hold its shape as you cut it. But if you could care less about presentation, this recipe's for you.

A Story for National Sue McGee Day

A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "this kid is driving me CRAZY!"

But at night time, when that two-year-old was quiet, she opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor, looked up over the side of his bed; and if he was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The little boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was nine years old. And he never wanted to come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and when grandma visited he always said bad words. Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo!

But at night time, when he was asleep, the mother quietly opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep, she picked up that nine-year-old boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a teenager. He had strange friends and he wore strange clothes and he listened to strange music. Sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo!

But at night time, when that teenager was asleep, the mother opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep she picked up that great big boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town. But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove across town.  If all the lights in her son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and said, "You'd better come see me because I'm very old and sick." So her son came to see her. When he came in the door she tried to sing the song. She sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always...

But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick. The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my Mommy you'll be.

When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

TIA Wednesday

(Wednesday is the new Tuesday, right? I'll get my act together soon. Promise.)

This week, I want to give a shout-out to the top 3 things in America that still continue to surprise me, even 4 months and 12 days after returning

1) Hot showers. Sorry I'm not sorry for taking 30 minute showers sometimes. I could stand under the high-pressure, hot water shower head forever. While I still love the idea of only showering once every four days (you save so much time!), nothing can keep me from showering very often in America. Let's face it - I do my best life-processing in the shower. And it sure is a lot easier to stand in a hot shower thinking for 30 minutes than a cold, drippy one.

2) My bed. It may be a free hand-me-down bed, but it's big and plush and isn't filled with dirt & bugs and doesn't have a crater in the middle and isn't surrounded by a princess tent mosquito net. This is the first time in my life that I've ever not slept in a twin bed. And I love it. I love my four pillows. I love being reunited with my dog. Best of all, I've had the joy of figuring out how to sleep in it. I was very conflicted at first about it, so I ended up sleeping diagonally so I didn't have to decide what side to sleep on. But in the interest of my future husband, I have chosen a side this week and love the commitment.

3) Unlimited cookies & ice cream. I can eat a whole bag of cookies whenever I want...which I don't usually do...but...

Abide With Me

Abide with me, fast falls the eventide

The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, abide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth did smile

And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,

Thou hast not left me, though I oft left thee;

On to the close, Lord, abide with me.

I need thy presence every passing hour.

What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?

Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?

Through cloud and sunshine, abide with me.

I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless.

Ills have no weight, tears lose their bitterness.

Where is thy sting, death? Where grave thy victory?

I triumph still, abide with me.

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes;

Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.

Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee;

In life, in death, Lord, abide with me.

TIA Tuesday - Oops

I know it's Wednesday.

I also know that yesterday, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief when I read that Tennessee is one of the only states in America that might not feels the pains of the national pumpkin shortage. Due to droughts, hurricanes, and other extreme weather around the US, it was announced several weeks ago that 2011 would be a pumpkin shortage year. I have been on the pumpkin hunt since then, buying canned pumpkin anytime I see it in the store. My local Kroger's pumpkin shelf has been empty for weeks - and the only day that it did have some, I swept all of the remaining 10 cans off the shelf to stash in my pantry. However, despite the good news for us Tennesseans, they're predicting that pumpkins themselves may be sold out as soon as the 15th.

This Is America, where people hoard pumpkin even though we have complete access to a plethora of other good and healthy foods around every corner.

Not to mention having a car to carry home ten cans of pumpkin (I would never try to hike with those in my backpack!). Or having enough money to buy canned pumpkin. Or buying something that is essentially non-essential, even if it is mouth-wateringly delicious.

TIA.

[An update from NPR. Go ahead. Breathe a sigh of relief.]

I Have a Job?!

Yikes. I never told you about my job! And today is not the day for a big job post...but I promise to write that soon. We're approaching my 2 month anniversary, so now is better than ever to share two exciting things happening at my job; two things that are bound to make you giggle.

The first is this feature on the Red Earth Trading Co. blog.

The second is this video that Adam and I made, encouraging you to go vote for Global Support Mission* in the Giving of Life grant. Go vote now!

Welcome to the best job in the world. I am blessed.

Global Support Mission is the greater organization that I work for - Red Earth Trading Co. is a direct-trade arm of our organization.

It's Back...

Nothing could have made this great night even better - except these two things:

Arrested Development. It's back. Daily AD Office Lunches are about to get even better.

I'm peeing with excitement about it - which I'm sure is what Will Arnett meant to say if he hadn't been limited by 140 characters.