Matt and his HF Science Department colleagues are all going as cereal box characters this year. The obvious choice for Matt is a Frosted Mini-Wheat, don't you think? Here's Matt, and here are a few images of the Frosted Mini-Wheat guy, so you can see what we were going for. Happy Halloween!!!
On Saturday, we had a successful first foray into a Craft and Bake Sale to raise funds for charity. We'd done in-home craft and bake sales before, but this was a different animal since it was benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as part of my Team in Training (TNT) participation. 
Saturday morning's 10-mile training run for the half marathon (a month from tomorrow we leave! eek!) was quite an adventure. It was a cold, rainy day and I had to update my Facebook status to say I was going to go do it to shame myself into getting out the door. It worked, of course, and the first four miles were pretty uneventful once I warmed up. I do a two-mile loop from our front door so I can leave drinks on the porch instead of carrying them with me. After mile six, I tripped on the pavement and skinned my knee in front of the neighbors' house. No big deal, but embarrassing. I definitely whined a bit in my head. After mile eight, I discovered this sign on the screen door (along with an extra Gatorade, just in case I needed it) thanks to Matt. He sure takes good care of me, don't you think? Then right around mile 9 1/2 it started to rain again, and then it started to hail. Fun fact: hail makes you run faster. So, if it hails in St. Pete's, I may have a shot at placing in the race! Just kidding. After the initial shivers, I actually started to feel good about it - this is what charity running is all about. Not to be a sap, but this is the idea - in comparison to what people living with cancer go through, some sore knees and hail are NOTHING. I happily finished up the rest and hoped the people passing me in their cars thought I was nuts. Because I know better and, for that brief moment, I felt very much like the sane one.
Poor Ollie! Given that our backyard is a daily squirrel convention, it's never surprising to see about a half-dozen out there taking advantage of our acorn factory. Ollie loves watching them (and the raccoons), but this was too much. If this was football, that squirrel would get a taunting penalty! (The planter is only about a yard outside the window.)
Happy Birthday (yesterday) to Mom! 10/10 is a big deal in our family as it's Mom's birthday, and we've long taken to calling out "10-10!" upon seeing the time on the clock. (And if you've ever noticed, a lot of times that's the time the clocks are set when you buy them!) So, as Mom was turning 55, we thought it the perfect time to throw a party. And Mom loves hot air balloons, so we did the decor around that, which was echoed in many of the gifts she received - from hot air balloon wind chimes to an upcoming ride in the new Navy Pier hot air balloon attraction, she received so many wonderful gifts. She's also going to have quite a time in some of her favorite stores and restaurants thanks to her friends and family!
