Getting Back to Routines

While it's not here quite yet, fall is definitely peeking it's head just around the corner.

I'm really happy about that! I love fall - it's my favorite season. I'm not sure why exactly, there's just something about it. Something about the way the sunlight filters through the trees, and how the air in the early mornings and late evenings has just a hint of crispness to it. It's just a delicious time of year! A feast for the eyes as well as for the stomach.

Stomach? Absolutely! Fall is the time to begin baking again, and making all of those wonderful soups and stews that we enjoy so much. I can hardly wait! But wait I will ... at least for a little while. Though the summer here in southern California was really, really mild (it was wonderful!), we are currently in the midst of a bit of a heat wave. According to our weather reports, it's not supposed to last too long, but ... who knows. It's time for going back to school and this is what typically happens when school starts - it's hot ... REALLY hot. So we'll see. We'll keep our fingers crossed that the weather reports are correct.

In the meantime, Kevin and I did a little shopping for the pantry (pumpkin scone mix and potato corn chowder soup fixings - YUM!) and a little cooking for the freezer. We stocked the freezer with protein filled breakfast goodies - 10 egg McMuffin-type sandwiches (homemade, of course!), 16 egg and cheese burritos, and 12 assorted flavor smoothies (peach, pineapple and strawberry). These will make our often hectic (at least at the beginning of the school year) mornings a little less rushed. A delicious, homemade grab-and-go breakfast is just a nice way to start the morning. Even if the rest of the morning is crazy =)

I have some other things that I'd like to do to prepare for fall; I'm working on that list at the moment and will share that later. I've also been working on some really fun craft projects that I'd like to show you -- I need to get busy and take some pictures of those. Maybe this week. Some of the things we've already accomplished, though, are the following:

~ Washed and ironed all of our work clothes

~ Made clothing repairs as necessary

~ Cleaned and shined all of our shoes

~ Stocked the pantry and freezer with basics and some delicious dinners (in addition to the breakfasts mentioned above)

~ Cleaned and organized the pantry

~ Cleaned and organized the kitchen cupboards (straightened, as well as filled and labeled jars with basics: pasta, rice, hot cereal, baking supplies, etc.)

~ Cleaned some of the rain gutters (will work on getting the rest of them done when it cools off a bit)

~ Had maintenance done on the cars

I think this is a pretty good start. Now ... on to the rest of the list.