September to Remember: Day 5

5th – “Be late for something day” is also “cheese pizza day”, so this post will obviously be about the reaction I get after arriving late to a Labor Day BBQ while grubbing on a huge slice of cheese pizza 

I never considered eating out to be a bad thing and I still think that's true. What you need to watch out for are the unnecessary fast food trips. I classify fast food as anywhere you get served sans waiter (read: don't have to tip). So the obvious McD's and Taco Bell yes but also Papas John & Gino, ice cream parlors, etc.

Since the beginning of March I started bringing a salad to work every day for lunch. For nearly 8 years I had gone out to eat every single work day and I didn't really see a problem with it (read: $$$). But Brig challenged me and I accepted. As long as she made it, I would eat a freaking salad every single day. And I have done it for 6 months now with absolutely no cheat days. I know if I fall off the wagon once and convince myself that just this one lunch out is OK, that will snowball and there will be nothing stopping me from getting back into the old habit.

With the big life change in March I thought I should start paying attention more to what we were eating, or really, where we were eating. If we eat out less and cook more at home, we will most likely be eating healthier food and saving money in the process. Win-win. So I started tracking how often we ate out and specifics like which day of the week and what type of restaurant (fast food, sitdown, brunch, ice cream/bakery, etc) so I would be able to see what our weaknesses were and any patterns that may emerge.

For the first few months it looked pretty good and like we were eating out a normal amount. But July and August have been really bad. I'm sure it is directly related to the season and the fact that we are taking more trips and it's so humid in the house that a nice, cool restaurant sounds great. As the days shorten the further into Fall we get, I expect to see our number of days eating out shorten as well.

To tie this back into today's topic, we have not gotten a fast food pizza in a couple months now. All frozen pizzas for us and none of the big chains. It's amazing to think how overpriced pizzas are when compared to a DiGiorno. Mind you, I'm not someone who ever liked frozen pizza growing up but DiGiorno is actually good. The only time the little devil on my shoulder starts to shout is thinking about Little Caesar's $5 Hot 'N Ready. But so far I've brushed him away every time.

September to Remember: Day 4

4th – Fall must haves

I feel like "Fall must haves" can mean almost anything. I guess I'll make a list of things I would do to make the season worthwhile.

Go apple picking
Jump on a hay ride while at the farm (and try not to get stuck next to any kids)
Inevitably be there around lunchtime and have to eat a terrible hamburger
Drink a Shipyard Pumpkinhead
Listen to Brig call it a "Shipyard" all season even though that is the name of the brewery and not the beer she is drinking
Buy some candy for Halloween (and enough of it this year so we don't embarrass ourselves in the neighborhood and have to shut our light off early. Hey, we were going to a Halloween party that night so we didn't think we needed that much to give out.)
Learn to love Jimmy Garoppolo for 4 games
Sign up for Hulu so Brig can watch all her shows when they come back (read: Modern Family)

September to Remember: Day 3

3rd – Obligatory “Why I’m excited about fall” post

Fall has always been my favorite season. I think it goes back to my soccer playing days -- knowing I'd be hanging with friends and scoring (more than) goals. Fall is the most sense-fulfilling season. You can see, smell and feel it.

Apple picking, hayrides, pumpkin everything (pie, beer, spice latte), cornstalks, cider, turkey, foliage, football, school, a light jacket. What other season has so many things come immediately to mind? Spring: flowers, pastels; Summer: the beach, al fresco, school-less children everywhere; Winter: shoveling, 4:00 pm sunsets, a dearth of life.

Why am I excited about this fall specifically? Somebody has a big, round-number birthday coming up and we have trips planned to the Cape and Portsmouth (not Plymouth ;)). My biggest battle will be figuring out how to watch the Pats now that we have cut the cord. Leave suggestions in the comments!

September to Remember: Day 2

2nd – Best summer reads recap

This is a tough one but last year it would have been tougher since I didn't read anything. Now that I read on the train though I actually have a selection to choose from.

Unfortunately, I went on a real dry spell during the summer months of books I wouldn't rate higher than 3 stars on Goodreads. But there are 2 that stick out that I would deem Best Fiction and Best Non-Fiction of my summer reads.

Fiction - The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, 1968

Non-Fiction - Pedro by Pedro Martinez w/ Michael Silverman, 2015

The Last Unicorn is 48 years old but really it's timeless. I had heard it was one of the best Fantasy novels ever and I can't say I disagree. It's an easy read; great for both kids and adults. When describing it to Brig I called it a "fairy tale within a fairy tale." (Yes, I quote myself.) I think that is apt but it's also so much more. Trust me on this and borrow it from your local library.

Pedro Martinez is a Hall of Fame pitcher who spent his best years with the Red Sox. He was always a character and one of "The 25" who broke the Curse of the Bambino to bring Boston their first World Series title in 86 years. This was a great book because it showed Pedro before he was an All Star but just a kid from the Dominican Republic following in his brother's footsteps. It's a story with a little something for everyone.

September to Remember: Day 1

One of my favorite bloggers (button to the right) just introduced #babblingbridgeseptembertoremember and I'm gonna give it a shot. A post a day on such great topics as:

1st – Summer wrap up

2nd – Best summer reads recap

3rd – Obligatory “Why I’m excited about fall” post

4th – Fall must haves

5th – “Be late for something day” is also “cheese pizza day”, so this post will obviously be about the reaction I get after arriving late to a Labor Day BBQ while grubbing on a huge slice of cheese pizza 

6th – Did I mention it’s fall? Reiteration post on why I’m pumped for fall

7th – DIY tutorial: fall makeup

8th – DIY tutorial: fall hair

9th – DIY tutorial: fall nails

10th –Most embarrassing moment in life, described in great detail (bonus points if said moment happened during the fall)

11th – Rant about a coworker

12th – Rant about your husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend

13th – Shrewd political analysis of the 2016 election forecast 

14th – Photo tutorial: how to take poorly lit and largely mediocre photos for your blog and Instagram

15th – Home tour; the peek into my life you’ve been asking for all these years 

16th – All the best new fall shows ranked, from someone w/out cable television 

17th – Blogging pointers from someone w/ a kickass blog

18th – Instagram pointers from someone w/ over 60 followers

19th – Recipe: Homemade cat treats even a feral cat won’t touch

20th – Trendsetter post on all the things you might not know about yet, like kale and coconut oil and ombre hair

21st – My take on the first season of the Serial podcast, since I just wrapped it up (only 2 years late) 

22nd – Why dogs are better than people

23rd – Why cats are better than dogs

24th – Why all pets are better than kids

25th – Six years together w/ B; a celebration of us

26th – One week til the big three-oh! Birthday posts commence

27th – Best birthday ever

28th – Worst birthday ever

29th – What I think Brent and my sisters are planning for my (surprise!) 30th! 

30th – 30 in 30; since I’m about to turn 30, it seemed appropriate

Yes, I think we're all looking forward to 9/12. But for now... a summer wrap up!

Remember when summer flew by because of the dread of school starting up again? (Except college, of course. Couldn't wait to get away from the parents.) Now it feels like summer flies by because we never have time to do all those fun summer activities.

We didn't go to the beach, we didn't play frisbee or volleyball and we didn't have a beer olympics (in an Olympics year, mind you!). I sure did mow the lawn a lot though. And we bought some great patio furniture.

OK, that last paragraph was meant to sound pathetic... I know how to influence my reader(s).

We actually had a great summer! Syracuse? Plymouth? Newburyport? Philadelphia? Providence? Block Island? I think all of that happened in the summer but who can remember. Brig opened a new restaurant (it's not HER restaurant but she helped open it) and my sister even got engaged.

Wow, what a post to re-enter the blogosphere. I don't want to write too much as I'm still shaking off the rust and the list above makes this look a lot longer than it actually is. Yay!

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