some miscellaneous items

Thought I'd hook up with Miscellany Monday for the first time today (thanks for the recommendation, Summer!). Since I do write occasional posts full of somewhat random or unrelated topics, why not make it a bit more official? So, on to today's.

1) I forgot about these pictures from the weekend we visited my parents. These are some of my favorites.

Pita in the garden.

Discovering how peas grow and eating them right out of the pod.

No doubt admiring her Nana, who she attached herself to for the duration of the weekend.

2) Thing number two is that I have been a reading maniac lately. I'm so happy that I'm finding plenty of time to read this summer. I think I've read three books in the last two weeks. I just finished My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. A serious tear jerker, but so good and impossible to put down. I read that one in three days. Now I'm about halfway through The Help. I resisted reading this one for a while because novels written in that time period and setting are a dime a dozen. However, this really is worth reading and is hard to put down. It shows the segregated south from a whole new perspective.

3) I can't believe that July will soon be over! The summer is flying by. Staying home with Celia has been a lot of fun this summer and it will be hard to leave her when I go back to work. Luckily work is only part time, and I LOVE fall.

4) Speaking of fall, it really is my very favorite time of year. I'll be sad for summer vacation to end, but luckily it leads right into the best season of all. I love the cool weather, the changing leaves and cozy autumn colors, the smell of the air, needing blankets and sweaters, fresh apples and pumpkins and squash, oh my!

5) Speaking of my very favorite time of year, this fall will be a little crazy. Chris will be taking at least two classes in addition to full time work. In September I'll be at the peak of my marathon training, which means a LOT of time spent running. Somehow I have to find that time.

6) I took Celia to the playground this morning and met a nice mom with a preschool age girl and a 6-month-old baby. Her name was Sarah too, and I've never met a Sara(h) I didn't like. Wish I'd had the guts to "ask her out" for a play date or something. Meeting other moms really is kind of like dating. You hit it off with someone, yet you feel awkward bridging the gap between just chatting wherever you've met and actually getting together on purpose. Oh well, maybe I'll see her again.

7) At the same playground was another mom with five kids- all pretty young, and including one baby. Celia had been very cranky and acting up before we left this morning, but seeing that lady looking completely exhausted with her five kids reminded me how easy I have it. The mom was also extremely skinny, which (especially given that she has had five children!) for some reason I found both disturbing and fascinating.

8) Speaking of skinniness, I've been a lot hungrier than usual in the last few days. Must be the sudden increase in running mileage. So I have to relearn (and keep relearning until October) how much food my body needs. If I lost five pounds I'd get a little faster, but any more than that would be too much. So, I'm working on eating more- but not too much (don't want to gain in the middle of marathon training!)- and on eating healthier and more filling snacks.

9) Speaking of healthy snacks, there are some fantastic ones I've tried recently that I'll share sometime this week.

10) Back to the topic of fall and returning to work, I'm getting excited to get a new planner and post-it notes. I love office supplies, and that I get to keep participating in back to school time as an adult. I am such a dork.

Hope you're all having a great Monday! I am exhausted from Celia being up in the night, but I'll muddle through.