there's nothing like taking the dog for a walk on a cold night, then putting on soft, warm pajamas and eating ham and bean soup.

i'm a huge fan of all things cozy. fluffy socks, tea with lemon and honey (and sometimes whiskey), NCIS marathons on the couch with my love and our animals. things i can eat from a bowl (i LOVE bowls). crock pots, and the tasty things that come out of them. hot coffee in my favorite mug. crawling into bed, early, with a good book and the cat on my chest. warm laundry. clean sheets. Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra on the radio (er...Pandora station). thunderstorms in the night. hot showers. wrapping Christmas presents. a quiet house. cake. smashed-up baked potatoes with butter, salt, and bacon (eaten from a bowl, obvs). yarn. making things with yarn. belly-laughing. belly-laughing with E.

i'm not a huge fan of waking up with a scratchy throat. or math tests. especially math tests that have to be taken after waking up with a scratchy throat.

last night, i had the whole day planned. wake up, coffee and breakfast (healthy, high-fiber, no-sugar-added cereal...with marshmallows, because i'm a grown-up and i said so, that's why), start laundry, take math test (which is a "once you open the link, you're committed for the next four hours" thing), make more laundry detergent, clean the kitchen and bathroom, do more laundry, finish the little warm hat for the fetal pig i'll be dissecting on Tuesday.

it's been two hours, and i've only gotten through coffee and breakfast. and E will be home for lunch soon, so there's no point opening the test yet.

ok. new plan: start laundry. make laundry soap. do the dishes and sweep the kitchen. have lunch with E. take a long, hot shower. put on pajamas, robe, and fluffy socks. make tea with lemon, honey, and whiskey. take math test. crawl into bed with yarn and the cat.

coziest sick-and-have-to-take-a-test day ever.

last night

before:

during:  (Dallas gets canned pumpkin pretty often as a treat, and he was absolutely ENTRANCED. also, i can't believe it took us thirty-odd years to figure out that cut-open trash bags are the ideal under-pumpkin barrier.)

Ta-Daaaaaaaa!!!

(no filter of any kind!)

 i am going to marry this womon SO hard.

the traditional morning-after breakfast!

it rained for the third year in a row. i made homemade macaroni and cheese with smoked sausage. we had lots of trick-or-treaters, and watched Army of Darkness and Ash vs The Evil Dead. Dallas spent a couple of hours making whiny tortured dog noises from his crate, despite consuming three hot dogs in bits and pieces. Houdini lived up to her name and made a break for it, returning with a tail full of pickers. we ate too much candy. we slept in. we ate more candy. we had oatmeal pancakes and bacon for brunch. hope your Halloween was happy, too!!