Today this book came out.

And between two stores having not stocked it yet (thank you very much to the Target and the two Wal-Marts I went to) and Barns and Noble having the book in stock but selling it at its retail ($27.50) when online (at B&N.com), it's um, ten dollars cheaper, I opted to just order it through Amazon and wait a couple of days before I got my hands on it.

So no reviews on that one yet.

Soo. . . I'll leave you with some pictures I took over the weekend at a farm John and I went to.

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Vacation 2010

After John and I were married in 2008, we went to Jamaica for a week of abundant food, beautiful sunshine, and mounds of relaxation right at our fingertips (hammocks on the beach, anyone?).

"We should do this more often", we decided. "Every year? Nah, these trips are a little too pricey to do every year. How about every two? We could probably swing a *fairly-major vacation every couple of years."

*Fairly-Major Vacation (FMV) = something nicer than a trip to Destin (oh wait, we pretty much live there) but less expensive than a trip to Europe.

We are two and a half months from 2010. 2010 is two years past 2008. 2008 was when our last FMV took place.

You thinking what I'm thinking?

I thought so.

Disney World With *the Crew!

*The Crew = a few of our closest friends

Nothing is official at all, but I've pitched the idea to John and he wasn't totally against it, so we'll see what happens. I've only been to Magic Kingdom, and he went to Disney World several times in college for cheer leading competitions, so the thought of Magic Kingdom wasn't very appealing, but once I reminded him of Universal Studios, Epcot, and the Animal Kingdom he was a little more open since he hasn't visited them before (nor have I).

So we'll see. It's still a year off (we do NOT want to go during the summer due to the extreme heat and horrific amount of tourists), so October or November of next year is when we'd plan on going.

I've been think of a few more options, but right now nothing is coming to mind, but I'm open to any other suggestions. I'd rather not do a cruise or anything having to do with laying on a beach (for obvious reasons), but if there's something else you can think of, please share!

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We May Live in Florida . . .

But we've been able to have some fall fun!

We drove about forty five minutes off the coast to a corn maze! Compared to some of the mazes in Tennessee, it wasn't very impressive (though the design was clever!) as it was much smaller than what we were used to, but we still had a great time!

Afterwards

And we went on a hayride!

Michael and Amber left this morning, but not before we had breakfast at a Chick Fil A that was on their way. Once I got home, I pretty much crashed for the remainder of the day. It's amazing how much energy you have when you're entertaining guests, and once they leave you're body is like, 'Uh, yeah, how 'bout a nap?'. It was a great weekend, and I'm sad we don't get to see them again until January.

So far we've had guests or have been to Tennessee once a month since June. We are not planning on going back to Tennessee again until Christmas (meaning we have to miss Thanksgiving--boo), and right now there are no official plans to have guests in November, but we're hoping Andy and Cherie can make it out.

As for the rest of the week-- I'm probably going to be re-organizing our closet to make room for warmer clothes. It barely stayed above 60 over the weekend! But I sure am thankful for some cooler weather!

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Woo!

It's sunny and windy and 69 degrees!!!

Glory!

Our friends Michael and Amber are on their way to visit us for the weekend! I'm not sure what we're going to do-- I'm sure a couple of trips to the beach will happen, but with highs in only the mid-60s, I can't imagine us staying out there too long. We'll probably do a little shopping and um. . . eating. . . since that's really all there is to do down here. Tonight I'm going to grab some chicken from Publix, cook some macaroni and cheese (the video may be completely different than the actual recipe), and toss some green beans on the stove for dinner once they get here.

Even though it stinks for Michael and Amber that the weekend they're down here is the first weekend we actually have notably cool weather, I'm really happy about it. I'm hoping that this is sort of the 'official' start of cooler weather down here. I checked the ten day forecast, and it's not supposed to get over 79 degrees. . . the high today is 75, but it hasn't gotten over 69; since it's already after 3:00, I'm guess it'll only get cooler as the day goes on. Awesome!

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Mmm, Clean Carpet

After John and I were married, we went to Bed Bath and Beyond to return some presents that had been doubled and use the cash to purchase a vacuum cleaner. We picked one out, took it to the front, and the cashier told us she would put it on our registry as a 'received' item, so that we could return it (no questions asked) 'in case something happened'.

I remember thinking that was a great return policy, but I doubted that such a nice vacuum cleaner (It was a fairly pricey Hoover Something or Other) would break for several years.

Fast forward to this summer. It broke. Now that I think about it, I can't help but wonder if something got thrown against it during the move, causing it to be out of commission. I mean, it turned on. And it would kinda-sorta-but-not-really pick up stuff off the floor. . . but still, it wasn't working the way it was supposed to.

So John sat down with it over the weekend to figure it out, cleaning out a couple of filters, checking the sucker thingie, and pressing all the buttons on it. He finally realized the Carpet-Brush-Turn-On-Thingamahoozit (the thing that kicks all the dirt and stuff up) was the biggest culprit.

So he called our nearest Bed Bath and Beyond, explained the situation, and was informed to go ahead and bring it in for either an exchange or cash back. So we went, dropped it off up front, picked out a new one, and paid the difference ($80 for a $180 vacuum!). Just like that. It has been a year and seven months since we purchased the first vacuum, we did not have a receipt, and they didn't even check our registry! Talk about a super easy exchange!

Once we got back, our carpets were properly vacuumed (by John-- I was out getting food for the Titans game) for the first time in, um. . . awhile. It's amazing how much cleaner our apartment looks now!

He did leave the bedroom alone so I could try it out today, and it did a great job! Hopefully this won't be a dud like our last one!

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is it bad. . .

That I have absolutely no memory of taking off my wedding band and engagement ring and placing them on my bedside table?

As I slid into bed, I noticed they weren't on my finger, went into two second panic mode, and realized they were right beside me.

But I have no clue when I took them off. Or why I took them off. I took a nap earlier. . . maybe it was then?

Sheesh.

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What's Next

So September was jam packed with family visits, spending time with our friends in the great state of Tennessee, and eating. . . lots and lots of eating.

October? Not so much. Except maybe the eating part.

The first week of this ever glorious month was spent doing frightening amounts of laundry, keeping the kitchen clean, and um. . . lazing around. I was rather unproductive, and I'm not too proud to admit it. Ahem.

Now I'm well rested and ready to take on the rest of the year (read: Holiday Season). I have several sewing projects in mind with some brand new fabric I got while in Tennessee with my mom. One project is going to be what's called a 'Zesty Tote' (essentially a tote with pretty, fun fabric that has a couple of sewn on add ons). The other project is a blanket (or two) for someone. I haven't sewn a blanket before, but it can't be that hard, right?

I'm also going to be trying out some new recipes for dinner, as well as some holiday dishes. I really didn't get a chance to dive into fun, holiday themed foods last year, so hopefully with all the spare time I have this year, I can create some festive foods!

Sorry for the lack of pictures; once I cook something I'll post it!

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