The new blog header is in honor of Kelly & the NCHS Cheifs' win on Friday night. Now tell me it's not fall! ;)

jumping the gun

I know I'm waaay to eager for autumn, but I can't help myself. Here's a little peek of what I did this weekend...

Who cares if it's 95 degrees outside?

                        

   

  

Do you spy sweet Nolan's painting on the end?

 Happy Fall (almost)!

Feelin It

I can totally feel it. Can you?

It just barely started yesterday. I went outside at 4:59 am (yes, you read that right) to meet my running buddy. I felt something unfamiliar. It was almost like... a chill. In the air. I couldn't believe it. (But so grateful, especially since we were attempting 3.5 miles, including an incline). It was positively pleasant! Until I started sweating and panting, of course.

Then today, as I headed out in my new running-style-cause-i'm-cool-like-that tank top, I shivered as I stepped outside. Shivered! I was almost chilly. For a second!

Can it be? Is fall rolling in? Pleasepleaseplease say yes!

Don't get me wrong, I have had an amazing summer. Even when it was 111 degrees, I was enjoying our Louisiana summer to the fullest. But now we're back in school, back to routine and I'm ready for autumn. The fall decor is calling my name. Jeans, scarves and sweaters can wait til winter (this is the south we're talking about) but still, I'm ready.

leaves in the pool - sure sign of fall!

Oh, and just for funsies - here are a few recent pics...

Old Front Door

New (ok, old with a new paint job) Front Door

... just wait til I get a fall wreath on that baby

Kelly reclining in our new accent chair in the study.

Yes, he's reading the Crown College Bridge.

Beautiful summer blossoms on our trees in the front yard.

Bad thing about fall, the leaves just end up on the lawn.

No pretty color changes for us.

Can YOU Feel It!?

First Day!

Can you believe these two are in 2nd and 4th grade? How on earth did that happen?

Our first (two) days were great! How about you?

run, forrest, run!

I feel it's time to put this out there:

I. AM. A. RUNNER.

Four words I never thought I'd say in my life. Am I a size 2, long and lean, marathon running machine? No. I am the same old Ang, my size hasn't changed (YET) and I can claim just under 3 miles. Do I walk some? Yes, I run 30 seconds, walk 30 seconds... sometimes I even run a full minute. Oh yeah.

Don't laugh. I am the same girl who had a doctor's excuse from running in 7th grade due to my medical condition. Condromalcia Patella. Look it up.

My friend is trying to convince me to sign up for half-marathon training. Not so sure about that, but we'll see. That is a BIG step for me. So if you see a girl with a bright red, sweaty face, half-running, half-walking throughout the streets of Natchitoches, don't call 9-1-1. It's just me. No, I'm not dying or having a heart attack. I'm just running.

Back to Life (Back to School)

When I was asked to take the position of secretary at my kids' school, it was October. I had missed the frantic first days of school. Now that I'm all in, I'm beginning to understand what it takes to kick off a new school year. It makes me appreciate Claire & Nolan's teachers even more, knowing the hours they put in during their summer vacation to get their classrooms ready for their students. I have been putting in extra hours too, because stuff needs to get done! Many of those hours have gone into creating our new website (if you're really interested, check it out here.) Our school is pretty awesome, if I do say so myself!

A regular routine, lazy Saturdays and the excitement of a new school year I AM ready for. Homework, crazy schedules and hectic evenings... not so much. But we're scaling back, rearranging activities and menu planning (trying anyway), in the effort to make life as easy as possible.

We'll be headed to football games soon, which we can't wait for. Kelly has been at practice every evening for a few weeks now. Claire will be starting to play in fall softball tournaments and Nolan is getting ready to test for his orange belt soon. We will be joining AWANA on Sunday nights, freeing up our Wednesdays. Now only if it wasn't 105 degrees, it might actually feel like fall is upon us!

you can tell it's time...

to go back to school when us gals get a new 'do!

Are You Ready?

That's the question everyone has been asking me lately about going back to work. Usually with a sad look in their eyes (most of these people are teachers who have 2 more weeks of vacation). As I prepare to head back tomorrow, my answer, surprisingly to some however, is yes.

Don't get me wrong. It's been a fantastic summer. Better than fantastic! After working full-time for the last 2 summers, I have enjoyed every single day of my vacation. We enjoyed traveling, visiting, vacationing and just... being.

School starts in just over 2 weeks, and it will be my first "back-to-school" from this side of the school secretary's desk. I'm glad to a have a bit of experience under my belt as we get started and having nearly 2 weeks without students and teachers should be enough time to clean out (my desk!) and gear up (my energy level!).

I'm also starting running again tomorrow. At 6am. That, I'm not looking forward to so much. I do have a fun running partner and we talk the whole time (when we're not panting) and that I have missed. Not quite sure how I'll feel about it when we move the time to 5am when school starts. Hmm...