All the things I'm obsessed with right this minute

If you know me personally, you probably know that I get on these kicks where I become fascinated with an idea or object and can't get enough. If you don't know me personally then let me put it to you this way: I have OCD. I am both obsessive and compulsive. Luckily it's mostly charming (I hope) and very rarely disruptive.

Here are my obsessions of the moment:

1. Halloween! Well, yeah it's October. That makes sense. But as some people have to get in the Christmas spirit (Mom, this means you), I have to get in the Halloween spirit by watching movies and doing fun activities. I have a few things left on my list to do in the next week including: watching Hocus Pocus and the Rocky Horror Picture Show, going to a corn maze, and completing my costume. This is a preview:


2. Vegetables. I'm trying to eat more veggies because a) I love them and b) they are good for me. I've been doing a personal challenge where I try not to eat potatoes and I limit my bread quite a bit. Since I started I've been enjoying many more salads for lunch (rather than sandwiches) and veggies on the side instead of fries or chips. I had the chicken Caesar salad from Walmart for lunch today, and it was delicious. I highly recommend it!


3. Patios. This time of year makes me want to get outside more than any other time. Recently I took out my swimming pool, and now I have a big backyard just begging for me to do something with it. My idea is a flagstone patio. It's going to be back-breaking work, but I am OBSESSED with the idea. This is pretty much what I want with the exception of the tree in the middle.


4. Studying the Bible. Obviously this list is in no particular order or God would be at the top. Very top. Above the title. In September Jen started a new small group through Faith Promise that I've become a member of. It is for women ages 25-35. I adore all the ladies, and we've been having some good studies so far. I've been going to my family's Bible study too, and currently we are in the book of Revelation, which is deep and heavy but so interesting. And I've also found a home church at Rio Revolution. If you are looking for a church to attend, I invite you to visit it.

All of the studying and fellowship has really made a difference in my relationship with God, and I'm so glad for that. I'm excited and hungry for it for the first time in a long time.

5. Travel. Like always, I crave travel. I need it! I recently got back from Atlanta with Jennifer and Brad, and we had a great time. I got on TripAdvisor to post my reviews of the places we went, and BOOM! The need to travel hit me again. TripAdvisor has this new thing where it shows you how much of the world you've seen. I'm at 4%. Are you joking? Four measly percent?! I've got to remedy that immediately!

This is me with the Coca-Cola bear in Atlanta. He was so cute, I wanted to take him home!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

As long as I can remember, I've always LOVED October. Not that you need it, but here are 31 reasons why you should love it too:

1. The air is crisp. Something about October air makes me want to open the windows, pile under blankets, and just breathe more. (Sinus infections be damned.)
2. Football. Okay, it is no secret that I love me some football. October is when things start getting exciting. UT Vols play 3 very highly ranked teams in the month of October. Will we win? We shouldn't, but that doesn't mean we won't! Also, it is much more comfortable to go to football games in October (see #1).
3. The Corn Maze. I don't love being lost, but I love being lost inside a giant maze of corn. Go figure. It smells earthy and a psycho may jump out at any minute. That could describe the whole state of TN actually...
4. Halloween. It is the best holiday. Period.
5. Costumes. Not to be confused with Halloween, costumes are an important part of October. Some people have costume parties. Some events are costume themed. Any excuse to dress up in a costume is good enough for me.


6. Fall colored foliage. The leaves are gorgeous in this part of the country for just about a week, until inevitably, we get a big rainstorm. They are still pretty after that, but they are on the ground rather than the branches.
7. Chili. I'm hard to please when it comes to chili, but I think I make some of the best around. No cheese, Frito chips, or anything weird in my bowl. Maybe saltines and a butt-ton of pepper.
8. Bonfire smells. If someone could accurately capture the smell that is a bonfire, brush pile, or something of the like, I would buy them out (whether it be candles or air freshener, or fabric softener) and never leave home. I love that smell beyond words.
9. Pumpkin everything except coffee. Carving pumpkins - good. Pumpkin muffins - good. Pumpkin pie - very good. You get the picture.
10. Horror movies. Being fake scared is so much fun! Being actually scared (like in a hostage situation) is probably not so much fun. But when it comes to horror movies, I pre-game. I get myself scared before the movie actually starts by thinking about how scared I will be. Voila! No horror movie is ever disappointing. And yes, my imagination is so much scarier than movies.
11. Outdoor festivals. Our town throws a big fall concert with fried foods (yay!) and live music. It seems like people just want to get outside in October. You can't contain it!
12. Sweaters and boots. This is easily one of my favorite style combinations. It even makes hard faced Victoria Beckham look sweet and cuddly.



13. Darker makeup is acceptable. I wear it regardless of season, but black eyeliner and October go together like peanut butter and ladies. (Bonus points if you know what movie that line is from.)
14. Thunderstorms. When it's cool outside and it storms, the windows steam up, and everything feels cozy inside. It's magical.
15. Candy. The treats are in mini, guilt-free portions. What's not to love? One of my favorite bits from a stand-up comic is Jerry Seinfeld talking about Halloween. He describes the first moment a child figures out the concept of Halloween and their reaction is "what is this about candy? Who is giving out candy? EVERYONE THAT WE KNOW IS JUST GIVING OUT CANDY?!"


16. Coffee tastes better. Coffee is yummy! I take it with 2 creams and 2 sweet-n-lows if anyone out there wants to bring me some. In the fall when the morning temps dip below 50 degrees, coffee changes from a delicious drink to a must-have. It doesn't hurt that the steam rises up and gives you a mini facial while you drink it.
17. Less Sweating. Speaking of facials, summer wreaks havoc on my skin. I hate that my makeup melts off and my hair is continually frizzy. Sweating is just not a good look. Thankfully October brings less sweating and more temperature contentedness.
18. Apples. I've never actually been apple picking, but something tells me I'd love it. Like October, apples are crisp and delicious. Fujis are my favorite. I'll take them with or without caramel and peanuts (although never candied!).
19. ABC Family's 13 Nights of Halloween. Read this lineup and tell me you don't want to fill your DVR with it!
20. Suddenly it's acceptable to wear head to toe black. As if I needed a reason!
21. Straightening my hair. Humidity makes curly haired people insane. Autumn has less humidity and therefore more ways I can style my hair without it looking like a bird's nest. (See also #17)
22. Tanning season is done. I don't really "lay out in the sun" during the summer although I do get a tan from being in the sun. You don't have to worry about weird tan lines by October. It doesn't matter that you wore a halter bathing suit all summer and have strange stripes across your shoulders. By October your tan has mostly faded away.
23. People wear overalls in non-ironic ways. It must be something about farming and harvesting crops. I don't know why, but I see a huge surge in people wearing overalls and flannel in the fall. I love them both (although I don't wear either), so I say keep em coming!
24. Campy witchcraft movies. My favorite witchcraft movies are The Worst Witch, Hocus Pocus, and The Craft. If there is one you haven't seen, you are totally missing out!
25. Re-reading old favorites. I love the book Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (I love everything by her actually, but this book is beautiful). Nothing beat R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike when I was a kid. And do you remember the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books? Holy crap, those illustrations were NO JOKE!


26. Scariest Places on Earth shows. I love the Travel Channel programming that has to do with the most haunted places on Earth or the scariest hotels. I do not like the shows that use night vision to catch ghostly footage (unless it is Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files and then only because Ben Hansen is ridiculously dreamy). I would rather hear about the history of a place than see a bunch of people scaring themselves.
27. Mosquitoes are almost gone. Self-explanatory.
28. Seeing my friends. November and December are jam packed with family-related events, but it seems like October is designed perfectly for friend hangouts.
29. The nights aren't too long yet. In the winter it is so depressing that I never get to see daylight. I work all the time. I actually do that in the summer too now that I think about it. In October, the days are shortening, but they aren't too short yet. It's the perfect time to build campfires and shoot fireworks because you don't have to wait until 9:30 for it to be dark enough!
30. No more lawn care. If you know anything about my childhood, you know how much I detest mowing. Here's hoping all my grass dies this winter and never comes back!
31. Tim Curry. Not many 6 year old children grew up wanting to marry Tim, but I did. Even now at 67 years old, I find him totally dapper. More than likely he's gay, but when I fell in love with Tim, I didn't even know what that meant. I just knew he had large, googley eyes (which is a reoccurring trait I find attractive to this day), a voice like velvet, and a certain something. The Worst Witch, Clue, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Stephen King's It, and the list goes on. This man was made for October. He should be called Mr. October instead of Reggie Jackson.