The End-of-Summer Blahs

I touched on it yesterday's post, but this week... man, this week has got to be my least favourite week of the year.

School is starting again.  Summer is winding down.  I always get this icky feeling in my stomach for a few days around this time of year.  It feels like it might be worse this year, and I think that's because I feel like we didn't get much of a summer.  The weather was shoddy, I'm not sure we ever had a +30 degree day (with humidity we did - but not many), and it just seems to have flown by so fast.

Also, I didn't have a good sleep last night.  Probably not helping matters.  I fell asleep on the couch watching TV around 8-8:30 - which is a bad habit that I wish I could break - and then woke up at 10:30.  I moved to my bed, and while browsing on my phone, I came across an email that gave me too much to think about at a time when I needed to shut my brain off - not get it all wound up and churning again.  *sigh*  Oh, and I had heartburn. The world was just working against me, obviously.

The End-of-Summer Blahs. I get 'em every year.  Nothing seems to make it better. Not looking back on fond memories made in the sun, not looking ahead to fun things to come, not even the anticipation of Shawville Fair which is coming up this weekend.  (Truth be told, I greet Fair time each year with severe mixed emotions - it's always a fun weekend, yet at the same time, the last taste of summer: bittersweet.)

Seriously though, why am I always so sad when summer draws to an end? I LOVE fall.  And after fall comes my favourite season of all - WINTER!  I look ahead to the coming days with great joy and excitement.  I've waxed poetic about all of my favourite fall things: cozy clothes, cuddling up inside as the air gets colder, crunching colour leaves beneath my feet, making soups and sauces and baking treats, spooky movies, a long-awaited trip with friends, and I'm also excited about two Netflix shows coming up: Fuller House at the end of September and Stranger Things as the end of October.  Not to mention, Scary Movie Marathon, always a highlight on my calendar!

 ...and then, awaiting that first snowfall... my magical time of year, it is just around the corner...

Just have to get through these End-of-Summer Blahs first.

I've had days much worse than this.  And I know I just kind of have to hold my breath and wait for this week to pass.  It will all get better soon.

I'll be hanging in there until then...

That "back to school" pukey feeling.

It's no secret that I hate "back to school" time. Loathe and detest it.  I feel like I've been in knots since Sunday, just knowing the kids would be going back this week.

Do I have kids? No. Do I go to school?  Hell no.  And yet, I still get that icky, sick-to-my-stomach feeling when I see the kids out waiting for buses. I scrolled through Facebook this morning and liked all the "first day" pictures my friends were sharing of their kids, but I don't really "like" them.  They make me wanna puke.

The first day back to school was always my least favourite day of the year, and it remains so all these years later.

Thankfully, I found a way to cheer myself up!  A local radio station posted this meme on Facebook, and I swiped it to share here on my blog, in honour of "back to school week".

So the question is:  If you were going back to school, and these were the teachers, which class would be your favourite?

This was tough.. reeeeallly tough.  But I think I have to go with Music class.  I mean, that should be a fun class regardless, right?  Nothing too serious or difficult or too much homework coming out of Music class.  If it's taught by Adam Levine?  HELL YEAH.  (for the record - I never actually had music class when I was in school.  So it wouldn't have even been a choice.)

2nd choice - based ONLY on the teacher - is P.E.  But in reality, I hated gym class.  (Guaranteed I'd show up if Channing Tatum was in da house, though.)

I'd also do OK with Biology, History, and Physics.  And I'd happily spend extra time in the Principal's office, if need be.

Chemistry and Math? Meh.

My actual favourite subject in school was English.  And I suppose if Jamie Dornan was my teacher, that would make going to class extra fun.  However, based off of these photos, I'm not particularly attracted.  I'm sure if he was my teacher in real life, though, I'd be rushing to my seat every class!

Please feel free to play along in the comments... Which class would be YOUR favourite??

Happy Back to School Day ;)

Wednesday Hodgepodge: Solar Eclipse Edition

In an effort to keep the blogging rolling, I've decided to participate in Wednesday Hodgpodge questions... Solar Eclipse Edition!

1. Did you watch the solar eclipse? Your thoughts? Sun Chips, Moon Pies, Starburst candies, a Blue Moon beer, a Sunkist orange, or a Milky Way candy bar...what's your favorite eclipse related snack on this list?

We only had a partial eclipse here, and no, I didn't watch it. I have memories of the one in the early '90's, being in elementary school and they blocked the windows with black garbage bags. They really instilled a fear in me back then of damaging my eyes.  I had no special eyewear to watch the eclipse on Monday, so I stayed in the office and tried not to look out the window.  Tried.  I also learned on Monday that when someone tells me not to look at the sun, I am totally the type of person who will look at the sun.  I glanced up out of my window several times, and then spent the rest of the day waiting for my eyeballs to fall out of my head.

As I said, we only had a partial eclipse - I think 60-65% coverage - so it did get a little dark (like in the evening when the sun is starting to set) and it was kind of weird, but it was much darker yesterday morning when a storm rolled through.  All in all...nothing to write home about.

And my favourite eclipse related snack? Absolutely 100% Sun Chips.  The Harvest Cheddar kind.  And now I'm craving... 
2. What are you 'over the moon' about these days? What's something you enjoy doing every 'once in a blue moon'?

I can't say I'm really "over the moon" about anything right now... I'll go with our girls trip to Nova Scotia.  It still feels like it's far away so I haven't really gotten super-pumped about it yet, but in reality, September is right around the corner... before we know it, we'll be flying out on the 27th!  I can't wait!

Something I do "once in a blue moon"... hmmm... blog? exercise? choose healthy food options? ha!  Actually, I go with a pedicure.  I just got one on Sunday, and it was marvellous. I don't know why I don't go more often.  Once in a blue moon for sure, but hopefully I'll train myself to go more often.
3. Tell us about something in the realm of science that interests you. How do you feed that interest?

ummm... I'm not a science kid. Never have been.  Not much in that department interests me.  The stuff that does is things like aliens - extra-terrestrials. Do they exist?  Are we alone, or is there other life out there? Watching the show Colony and the movie Arrival has probably inspired this in me moreso right now. Also, I really liked The Martian - book and movie.  So, I guess space stuff is my thing.  Kinda. lol.

4. What are a few things you remember about going back to school as a child?

Oh God. This question makes me wanna puke.  Going back to school time was AWFUL for me.  Dreaded it.  Still do.  I didn't enjoy back-to-school shopping, I didn't get excited about going back, and the night before/first day always came with tears.  Even now, far removed from my school days, the thoughts of it makes me sad and my stomach twist painfully.  I hate back to school time. :(

5. I've seen several versions of this around the net so let's make one of our own...share with us five words that touch your soul and briefly tell us why.

Faith - I am a person of quiet faith, raised to go to church, not one to rub it in anyone's face or force my beliefs on others, but to have a deep understanding, belief, and confidence in that faith.

Home - I'm not one to stray far from home, and when I do, I'm always happy -relieved, in fact - to get back.  I'm most content in my safe, secure bubble, and treasure the memories of 'home' all throughout my life thus far.

Christmas - My favourite holiday, my favourite time of year... thoughts of Christmas makes my heart sing with joy.  Christmas is totally my "thing".

Music - It's been a big part of my life, I've always enjoyed listening to live music, the radio, tapes in the car on family drives as a kid, my dad or my uncle or my cousin playing guitar.  Music definitely is part of my soul.

Babies - Strange to put this, as I don't actually have any of my own, but I love babies. Nothing brings me greater peace that holding a sleeping infant in my arms.  I have always loved babies.  Maybe someday.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Yesterday, I wrote about my disappointment with this summer and my reluctance to get excited for fall.  I don't know what has shifted in me since then, but literally 24 hours later, I can say that I WANT FALL!  Once we get over this back-to-school stuff that makes me feel squeamish, fall is one of my favourite times of year (preceded only by winter).  And I'm suddenly oh so ready for it.  I want to bust out the cozy leggings and big sweaters, I want to snuggle up with a cup of hot chocolate and watch spooky movies, I want to put on giant pots of sauce or soup and not worry about my house getting too hot.  I want leaves to change colours and I want that crisp cool air to arrive.  Bring on FALL!!!

Rainy Tuesday Randoms

Oh, hello there, little blog.  It's been awhile.

As per usual, I had no intentions of taking an extended blog break, it just sort of...happened.  One minute, I was writing out a review of the Ed Sheeran concert in late July, and the next... sidetracked. Back-burnered. Saved for a later date.

And now, here we are. Heading into the "late August" category. Summer, it feels like we hardly knew ye.  Too much has happened in the past month to give a minute-by-minute re-cap, but here's some of the random thoughts and musings I've had since my last post on July 13th...

• I mentioned Ed up there, and it feels to long ago to give an indepth review, but let's just say, he was awesome.  It was a whirlwind trip to Montreal to see him at the Bell Centre - there and back in less than 24 hours - but it was worth it in my books.  I regretted not seeing him the last time he was in Ottawa, and of course on this tour he didn't have an Ottawa stop, but Montreal isn't that far away.  Very happy I got to see him at least once live.  What that man can do with a mic, guitar, and a loop machine... simply amazing.
• While Ed was fantastic, it still can't compare to the magic that was happening last summer as The Hip traveled across the country for one last tour on the news of lead singer Gord Downie's terminal brain cancer diagnosis.  The past few days, my Facebook memories from a year ago have all been Hip-related. God, what an emotional, intense, crazy time it was in my world.  Makes this summer feel lacklustre somehow.
• I don't know why I have that feeling about this summer; like it somehow didn't live up, didn't compare, to last summer. I mean, the weather has been kind of crappy, but I've still managed to squeeze a lot of fun into the good days. I had an awesome week off for holidays, and so many other fun and happy summer moments.  I even managed to get a tan (somehow).  I don't know why I feel like this summer has passed me by too quickly, and with a sense that we've been jipped for some reason...
• Perhaps it's the sadness. Because, despite all the high points, good moments, fun memories, there has, indeed, been sadness, too.  Two weeks ago on Saturday, I had probably one of the most blue days I've had in a long time.  First, I awoke with a splitting headache, which I wasn't used to because I haven't had bad headaches in quite awhile.  Then, late morning, my phone buzzed with a notification from the TSN app I follow with the news that former Sens GM and the pride of Shawville, Bryan Murray, had passed away after a hard-fought battle with cancer.  Add to that, I kind of fell into the dark abyss of following the terrifying events that unfolded in Charlottesville that day, with Nazis and white supremacists marching in the streets... still sends a shiver down my spine.  It was a blue day.
• One of my favourite things about the past few weeks, though, has been watching fun TV again!  As happened the first time, when I finished Prison Break the second time around, I felt so empty and convinced I'd never find a show to replace it.  I decided to move on to Colony, because it starred Sarah Wayne Callies, aka Sara Tancredi-Scofield from Prison Break.  At first, I thought I was going to love the show, but it strayed too far into sci-fi territory for my liking, and I had a hard time getting through it.  But it did the job:  it got me over Michael and Prison Break again. By the time I was done it, I was eager to move on to something else.  There were lots of shows I've watched that had new episodes that I could have jumped in to: Scandal, Suits, The Mindy Project, Bloodline... but none of them were grabbing me. (in fact, I watched one episode of Scandal and was so turned off by Fitz, whom I used to love, that it astonished me.)  I decided to go with Riverdale, and I was so glad I did.  SO much fun!  I was a big Archie comic fan as a kid, so it was a treat to see the characters brought to life, and follow the darker storyline than I ever would have read in my colourful pages as a kid.  I blew through Riverdale in less than a week.  Then last week, on the recommendation of several friends, I started Shameless.  I'm only in the early stages of Season 1, but it has definitely grabbed my attention.  Loving it too!
• I'm disappointed that summer is winding down - it always makes me feel a little sick when back-to-school time comes around - but at the same time, I'm also kind of excited for fall.  My favourite time of year is upon us.  Cool, crisp air, crunchy leaves, pumpkin spice, cozy days in the kitchen making soup or baking, scary movies, warm clothes... mmmm... I love fall!  Add to it that we have our girls trip to Nova Scotia to look forward to at the end of September, and it almost makes me want to kick summer out the door for good.

Well, I think that's all I have for today.  Going to try hard to get back in the blogging groove again.  Hopefully see you again soon!