I always find that my favorite Halloween goodies are in Pottery Barn Kids. The new catalog came yesterday and I’m finally going to break down and order the trick or treat basket with the monogrammed liner. It’s so cute! I wanted it last year and never ordered it. This year we’ll have real trick-or-treaters and we need a cute basket!

I’m also pretty sure that I need to locate those black and white lollipops!

And the banana! She looks so happy to be dressed like an Organic Chiquita!

Just kidding. I’m so excited, though, because I received three awards this week! I am just so glad that people are actually reading all of my ramblings!

Another judge on American Idol? Is this necessary? I love the show and I’ll always watch it because I love music and I love to hear the good ones sing, but why would they try to do something else to create controversy at the judge’s table?

Another Monday is here and I’ve finally made it through the day. I’m home in my comfy clothes sitting near our huge windows as a thunderstorm whirls around outside. My favorite! The dogs are wrestling and Fiona lets out a little yelp every time Boudreaux is a little too rough. Things are perfect! I’m just waiting for my wonderful husband to hurry home so we can eat our fine cereal dinner.

Some may read the above paragraph and think I’m being sarcastic, but this is truly my idea of perfection. I taught my second class today and it’s going really well. It’s a 9:00 a.m. class, so that’s a little tough, but I’m finally getting them to warm up. I got a few laughs today and they were becoming more engaged. I know that my second semester of teaching will get better, and fortunately for me I only have to teach for 50 minutes at a time. Because an hour is taken up three days a week by teaching, I really have to get down to business the rest of the day. I spent so much time today just hustling to get everything done. Teaching has definitely caused me to be more productive.

Todd and I had a really great weekend. We ran lots of errands on Saturday morning/afternoon and I have almost completed my Preppy Fall Swap shopping! No hints, though! We rented five {5, V} movies on Saturday afternoon. Todd went for a long run and I watched Enchanted with Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey. It was so cute! Then we watched Smart People with Ellen Page, Dennis Quaid, and Sarah Jessica Parker. It was funny and dry and Todd and I both enjoyed it.

I had started reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers a few months ago, but didn’t make much effort to commit to reading it. I decided to start reading it again on Saturday night and I haven’t been able to put it down! It is such an amazing story of a woman who needs to find love within herself, love for her husband, and most importantly, love for the Lord. I’m halfway finished now and I can’t wait to pick it up again tonight.

We went to Carowinds yesterday with one of my best friends {bridesmaid from Charlotte} and her boyfriend. The hands down best time to go to an amusement park is on a Sunday in August. The temperatures have been tolerable here and the crowds yesterday were almost non-existent. We rode every ride and didn’t even spend the whole day there. And the ride to Charlotte and back allowed me to get farther along in my book. Life is good!

The Gamecocks have their first home game on Thursday night and we seriously can’t wait! Football fever has consumed us and I’m not sure I’ll have much more than that to talk about this week. Hope my readers are football fans!

Who are you rootin’ for this season?