50 GREAT THINGS ABOUT FALL

I'm over here looking at my calendar with a puzzled expression on my face. Wasn't it JUST January first? How are we now in the month of August? Late August at that! August 23rd to be exact. Like, when did this happen? Wasn't i just a chubby faced kid with frizzy pigtails asking my mom to PLEASE "buy me an easy bake oven?" (she never did) Now im a chubby faced adult --albeit with a bit more cheekbone definition -- who is still wanting an easy bake oven. Some things never change. Unlike the seasons. Time is flying and try as I may (which, admittedly, is not very hard) I can't keep up. My favorite season of the year is reaching its climax, and as much fun as climaxes are *smirk* -- they don't last forever.

*insert thoughtful look here*

All isn't lost though. As much as i love summer, fall is my second favorite season. If by some magic we could turn the four seasons into two, i'd want it to be fall and summer. Can you imagine? An endless cycle of fall and summer all year long. um.. heaven? Im so down with that. Until they invent a solution to my two-season-a-year problem, i figured that rather than get all maudlin at summer's imminent conclusion, i'd get hype over fall's subsequent arrival. Not that im trying to rush you or me through the year, but since it was on my mind, i figure, why not talk about it?

But enough with the prelude:

1. The fall landscape. It boasts a beauty unlike any other time of the year. Fall foliage takes your breath away.
2. turtlenecks
3. boots
4. scarves
5. Hats. Newsboy caps, tams, fedoras, berets... hide your hair and look fly at the same time.
6. Dancing without excessive perspiration.
7. Football. ah football. Sunday and monday suddenly have meaning again.
8. Hot chocolate/cocoa
9. Hot apple cider WITH the cinnamon stick. (and maybe a little rum if youre feeling naughty. lol)
10. Warm days and cool nights.
11. corduroy
12. Wool overcoats
13. Blazers. I live in blazers during the fall season. It's perfect for the times when its too cool to go without covering, but too warm for a full on coat.
14. Giant pots of chili
15. No more mosquitoes!
16. Argyle. (and gentlemen, may i suggest a pair of argyle socks? Let em peek beneath your slacks when you cross your legs at work. Super duper hot. I wouldn't steer you wrong. I promise. Love, mama Lex)
17. Comfort food.
18. Its acceptable to gain a few lbs.
19. Hearing leaves crunch beneath your feet.
20. Fighting the urge to dive into a pile of leaves. (yes i am 30something and i still want to do this. Well until i remember all the vermin that crawls around in said leaf pile)
21. Using the fireplace
22. The smell of firewood
23. The harvest moon.
24. Crisp mornings.
25. Soup!
26. Pumpkin spice anything. Coffee, lattes, bread, candles...
28. Hayrides.
29. Amish country.
30. Nesting
31. Chilling under blankets on the sofa
32. Chilling under blankets on the sofa with the boo watching movies (preferably saturday afternoon cheesy films or the oldies but goodies: raiders of the lost ark etc etc)
33. Mowing the lawn becomes less and less necessary.
34. Studios put out the good movies. No more substance-less blockbuster schlock (although inception was GOOD. did any of yall see it yet?? tsk. yall suck!) and more thinking films. And yes, I like to do that every once in a while.
35. Freshly baked bread.
36. Reading in waning daylight. I like to leave my blinds open until its almost completely dark. No other lights on in the house. Call me weird (but just call me.)
37. Pie.
38. Scrabble and pie.
39. The sound of wind blowing through the leaves.
40. General Coziness. Ever notice how things are so friggin cozy and squeezy(yes i made that word up) in fall? Its cuddle season! Spoon me baby.
41. Classical and jazz by the fireplace.
42. Sweats and hoodies.
43. Brisk evenings outside with the fire pit providing light and heat.
44. Picking pretty leaves and putting them in a scrapbook
45. Baking on weekends
46. Going shopping for school supplies even though you aren't in school. :-)
47. Leaving the window cracked at night so you have an excuse to crawl up under your sweetie :-)
48. Candy Corn. I dont particularly like it, but i do it because everyone else does. lol
49. Nature hikes to observe and enjoy the season.
50. Quiet nights of quiet stars, and everything in between.

Summer Soft - Stevie Wonder

I BELIEVE IN... PART II

-Tea
Anyone who knows me well, knows that i am a tea junkie. Exotic, run-of-the-mill, loose leaf, bagged - Like pokemon, i gotta get them all. (i know. feel free to groan.) I am a lover of coffee too (and how), but there is something about tea that i find infinitely soothing. I had the pleasure of attending a Japanese Tea Ceremony, and it was a most tranquil experience. But, even without an elaborate ritual, tea calms me. Don't front on tea. BTW, im totally sipping some chai RITE NAH. :)

- Just Being
Or as we say in common parlance: Chilling. The Italians have a nice expression for it: "Il dolce far niente" The sweetness of doing nothing. Sound more poetic and less lazy that way, no? But in whatever language you choose to put it, doing nothing is one of the greatest things... ever. For best results, try doing nothing with a cup of tea. ;-)

-Dancing
WTH is wrong with you people? Why aren't you shaking your bodies down to the ground? Why am i, with my too shy shy © kajagoogoo self, the first one on the floor when the dance music starts?? Its my firm belief that 95 percent of the world's problems would be solved if everyone danced more often. Seriously, dancing is my number one stress reliever. Its not about formal training, its not about staying on beat, (though that helps) its about its about feeling the music, and ENJOYing yourself. And fellas... i can't stress this enough: DANCE. Don't worry about if you look stupid or awkward. You probably do and its ok. Kinda cute even ;-)

-Giving Compliments freely and frequently
If you admire something about someone why hold it in? Are you afraid of looking like youre sweating someone? Shoot. Ima let yall in on a little secret. I sweat all my friends. Seriously. Spread the good word. Oh and beware the difference between a sincere compliment and flattery.

-Not taking yourself(myself) too seriously.**
When did everyone get so deep? Between twitter, FB and the zillions of forwarded texts i get daily(im about to fight my cousin LOL), im wading through a glut of profundity. Folks are so insightful, so circumspect. Do we laugh at ourselves anymore? Where do the lighthearted go? Laugh at yourselves people! Be goofy! Admit mistakes when you make em. Stop couching everything in sagey expressions. Part of being human is being flawed! The world is a whole lot easier to navigate when we denude our egos of excessive gravitas.

-Men's Razors
Omg yall. Can someone explain to me why we ladies are getting the short end of the st(ypt)ic(k)? When it comes to hair removal why am i getting a closer smoother shave with mens schick quattro than with the one for women? (Um... don't answer that. I know yall got jokes. lol) But yeah they make the womens in pastels and scented and all that other fun girly stuff, but what im most concerned about is performance. And razors designed for males are much better than the ones designed for the fairer sex. But you don't have to take my word for it... ©

-Being unabashedly, unapologetically... Regular.
I don't know yall, but lately i've been feeling all last of the mohicans-ish. And it has everything to do with being um, regular. And no, not activia regular. lol. (rashad) I know everyone has different definitions of what constitutes regular/normal, but for the purposes of this blog im going to define my regular as "being content with the basics." Its more than that of course, but thats my feeling reduced to the lowest common denominator. t seems that everyone is on the cusp of greatness, is making moves or some other expression that signifies a grand aspirations. Not that anything is wrong with that... but. Its like nobody is _just_ a person anymore. Everyone is a daggone brand. Conceiving their brand, building their brand. Why is everyone intent on making themselves a commodity? Whatever happened to the simple life? Sheesh. I just (ok maybe not JUST) want to get married, have some pretty (hopefully) babies, and a nice home to come to where i can close the door shut out the world, and watch the history channel. Seriously. Keep your flashing lights. I am not at all average, but i am quite regular. (and yes there is a difference. ;-)

-Hugs
Give one. Spread love.

-Being alone
People who always have to be with people make me nervous. Of course i could be exposing my limitations here, but im a firm believer of aloneness (NOT loneliness) Why you always need people to distract you? Get comfortable with yourself. Solitude is not scary -- if you do it right. Learn what inspires you, get a handle on what makes you tick. You can't ever be comfortable with others until you learn to be comfortable with yourself. Over the years, the biggest hurdle for me was doing things by myself. If i couldnt get someone to accompany me on -- whatever -- then i just didn't to it. Wackness. I missed out on a lot because of that. Now im all about getting out there. So do, see, feel. Don't be afraid if no one wants to come with you. Its ok to do it alone. The bonus? When you do have someone(s) to join you, that makes it all the sweeter.

-Experiences not "things"
This may seem laughable to folks that know me - for i have many "things." But the fact of the matter is the older i get, the less i want things (or at least things in excess) and the more i want experiences. Experiences, shared or not - i find have much more long-term fulfillment than the initial -- but transient joy of things. Not to mention, material things take up so much physical space, where to store it all? Experiences are habitue of the mental. and that space is endless. The funny thing is, the more you fill it, the more space there is.

-Burning Bridges
Ok i don't mean quit your job on some steven slater steez. Or cuss out your momma when you know you're gonna be hitting her up for next months rent check. But i mean we all probably have experienced relationships with people places shoot -- THINGS even -- that we know are toxic. Perhaps we are even aware that they are no good - yet we keep going back to them because they are familiar, comfortable, maybe even comforting. Yet the toxicity remains. In those instances when we finally get the cojones to cross that bridge - BURN BABY BURN. Watch the smoke ascend. Don't look back! We know how that worked out for lot's wife. ...What? "Didn't any of you go to sunday school?" (points if you can source that quote) Anyway. If we don't burn it, we may be tempted to cross it once more, double back on ourselves to see if things have changed, gotten better. When chances are, they haven't. According to einstein the definition of insanity is doing the same thing but expecting different results. We aren't insane are we?

-Under promising and over delivering.
You know the old adage "actions speak louder than words?" and its cousin "talk is cheap?" Well those didnt become old adages for no reason. The fact of the matter is, most people would rather you DO rather than tell saying you will -- but DON'T. That's worse than never saying anything at all.

-Bacon

Need i really explain?

**Of course, it could be argued that by even making an entry talking about what i believe in, i am guilty of taking myself too seriously. But, well, we won't argue that will we? :-)

Roy Hargrove - Dream Traveler