Fall Favorites

I don’t know about the rest of the country since my cousin Amaryah told me it was still above a hundred in southern California, but Fall has arrived here in Ohio.  Oh sure, we’ve been apple picking already, Dave has started cutting everything in the garden back, football has started, but now the weather is catching up.  It has been in the 60s during the day for the last few days and thankfully, it’s going to creep back up into the low 70s for the rest of the week. 

I’ve decided I’m just not ready for the really cold stuff just yet.

We’re embracing this mini cold snap with a big pot of chili and some pumpkin cookies.  I am weird about chili.  I love tons and tons of beans, a little meat, and not a chunk of tomato in site.  It’s my Meme’s method of chili making and it reminds me of coming home after school to a big pot of it waiting on the stove.  I can’t wait for those smells tonight.

We are also going to make some of my friend Bridget’s Pumpkin Butter.

So, is it fall where you’re at or are you still enjoying summer?

Michelle’s Rules for Not Looking Like a Jerk on Facebook

1. When you write status updates in another language I want to unfriend you.  Oh, I don’t mean Finnish, French, or Austrian, those I get a kick out of, I mean what used to be something near English.  “ZOMG, i PaRteeeeeeeeeeeD toooooooooooooooOOOOo hArD tHiS weeeKenddddddd.  beeeEEEEEeeeeeer BoNgS aRe soooooooo kEwEL.”  It hurts my brain people.  HURTS my brain!
2. Don’t be passive aggressive.  If you have an issue with someone, email that person directly, hide them, or unfriend them.  Don’t write things like, “Swearing in posts is so unattractive.”  You know, because passive aggressive posts that make you sound like an uppity fussbudget bitch are so much more attractive.  “Some people are so rude,” or “I wish my friends didn’t suck.”  Um.  That isn’t going to gain you friends that don’t suck.  It’s going to gain you friends that are pissed.
3. If you post questionable material to your significant other, something along the lines of “I want to handle your man meat,” or anything else in the same realm, please know that anyone the two of you are friends with will read it.  While I am absolutely thrilled you “want to hump him like a sailor on leave,” his grandma probably didn’t need to know that.  Or his mom.  Or his aunt.  Or his boss.  It is even worse {and truthfully, really weird} if you actually understand how this works and you still post it.
4. If you are over the age of 25, and this is being generous, you should not use the word chillax.  Even more so if you use it several times a week.  Do you work at all?  I’m guessing by the sheer amount of chillaxing you’re doing, that answer is no. 
5. If you are going to post ignorant, racist, sexist, anti-gay, or anything that is blatantly mean, I am going to unfriend you right after posting you’re a big jerk on your wall.  As my friend Jackie beautifully illustrated, it is a social network not a platform for your views on politics, religion, sex or money.  Be nice.  People are different.  Don’t spread hate.
6. Don’t write horrible things about someone you’re friends with or dating.  Not only is it horribly rude, but everyone that reads your drama every other week will think you are an idiot for getting back together or staying friends with her after you aired her dirty laundry again and again and yet again.
7. If you post, “OMG I have the biggest secret!”  All of your friends will know you are either pregnant,  getting married, won the lotto, are moving, or got a new job.  We will also know you are an assclown.  Until you’re ready to announce your happy news, keep it to yourself.
8. If you are fifteen, please do not post anything about blow, weed, or hard ons.  Your sister will cringe and want to unfriend you even though she loves you very much and wants you and your cronies to be good upstanding young men.  This applies to you too Troy & Nolan.
9. Don’t be Midge.  Incidentally, that was a great big INTERVENTION fail on our part.  She is now up to more likes than I can count.  Here are some of my recent faves… "It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!! IT'S SO FLUFFAAAAAY!!", "I didn't do it"-"Then why are you laughing?"-"Cause, whoever did it is a freaking genius", "I kissed Bella....and she broke her hand....punching my face...", “How many times do i have to say "excuse me" before "get the fuck out of my way" becomes acceptable?”  She is also a fan of So Wonderful, So Marvelous on Facebook so I can’t be too mad.  {Pssst…. you should ‘like’ it too, when I get to 200 we’re going to do a giveaway!}

So, um, did I forget anything?

My 101 Things List

I don’t know if you noticed, but I added a tab at the top so you could see the progression of my list with a little more ease.  It seems as if lately, I’ve been ticking things off the list so I thought I’d give you a little update.  I now have 35 things completed, another 15 in progress, and 51 to go!  Do you want to help me out with #101 by creating a list of your own?

A visit to Mackinac Island #56.

Apple Picking #52

A Membership to the Toledo Museum of Art #20

Thanks to Groupon a Family Membership to the Toledo Museum of Art for $40!  Getting a membership was #20 on my list, lots of our family are already members and it’s something we have been wanting to do for a long time, especially now that Finn {and maybe me too!} can take advantage of the art classes. 

By the way, if you’re local, this deal runs until Sunday.  I got ours for a whopping $20 after using my referral cash!  We just got Groupon in our area a few months ago and already I’ve taken advantage of the awesome savings.  They have a different deal most every day for local {and sometimes national} companies and services.  If you’re a local business, you might want to check it out just for the sheer numbers of potential customer exposure you can gain.  Even if you’re not local you can check it out, it’s likely that it exists in your area too.  Go over and check it out.

Spooktacular Spider Web Pancakes

We dyed our pancake batter black to make spooky Halloween shaped pancakes.   Then pop the batter into a plastic squeeze bottle and start drawing!  Don’t forget the spiders to go on the web.

Oooooh spooky!