Sunday Contentments - Football!

I know, I've been a bad blogger. I haven't posted here all week. All I can say is, I've been busier than usual. But now it's Sunday, and I'm taking the afternoon to relax and chill. Here are this week's contentments.

Football - I swear to God, I can't stand the game. I spent way too much time in high school and college being forced to sit in the bleachers and watch a lot of football, and I loathed every minute of it. So it's pretty ironic that I'd call it a contentment now. But! There's always a but(t)... I married a man who really enjoys the game. Early in our marriage, he used to spend all day Sunday watching the games. He's a Redskins fan and a Virginia Tech fan (we both graduated from Tech). I used to loathe those days, because I'd completely lose him. Then slowly, I discovered that if he was watching the game, I could do other things, like commandeer the dining room table to sew or make jewelry. Game days got to be lazy afternoons for both of us, and for certain games, we'd invite friends over and whip up a lot of comfort food. The men (usually) watched the game while the women (usually) made jewelry, worked on costumes, drew, etc. We got out of the habit of doing game day after Princess was born. Hubster said he just couldn't justify spending hours in front of the TV when there was so much to do, and a baby to explore the world with. But I've been run ragged this summer, what with all the travel and work and getting the kids back to school, and I want a break. So I've re-instated Game Day. This afternoon, the Redskins play... someone. The Giants, maybe? I don't care. It's not the game itself I'm interested in. It's the excuse to sit on the couch with my sketch pad and pens, or at the dining room table with my beads, and do something creative that isn't work-related. Speaking of which, the next contentment is...

Beads - I've had to make a lot of trips to Virginia Beach the past few weeks, and there's a Michael's craft store down in the area I've been visiting. Since traffic coming back on that trip is always the suck, I decided one afternoon to stop in at Michael's and pick up one or two items. Just one or two, mind you. Then I walked in the door and ran smack into the bed section and that was that. I found some really chunky orange nugget style beads that I just had to have. Then I found a pendant with a Tibetan Buddha on it. It was all in oranges and dark greens, and it just so perfectly matched the orange chunky things I had picked up, and oh! Look over there! Dark green glass beads, slightly marbled with orangy red, and several strings of various shades of green beads next to that, and... And I walked out of the store with enough beads to make a new necklace. A nice, chunky, ethnic style piece, very Tibetan in design. Tres cool! I haven't been in a Michael's in years, mainly because I couldn't leisurely stroll through the place with two small children kicking each other all through the store. That day, I was on my own. I don't think I'll go back again for several months, though, because I'm so starved for new craft supplies, I think I'd go waaaaaaaaaay overboard.

School - School has finally started, and this year, Pixie is in preschool and Princess is in first grade. That means yours truly is on her own most of the day. I had one day last week when I wasn't traveling to appointments, a day when I could stay home, and I was so frikkin' amazed at how much stuff I got done! Tomorrow is Monday, I can stay home again, and I expect the day to be peaceful and productive.

Foooooooood - Yummy, yummy fooooooooood. For the game today, I made a big pot of chili, with rice and corn muffins. I'm salivating just thinking about it. I think I'll grab myself something to eat as soon as I'm done here.

Fall weather - It's no secret, and in fact I may have mentioned this last week or the week before, but I can't stand summer weather. It's too damn hot and sticky. The last couple of weeks have been just beautiful. Cool enough for jeans, and I love that.

New patio furniture - We've been in this house 14 years, and have only owned a couple of second hand plastic chairs and a tiny plastic table. Then last spring, one of the chairs collapsed under Hubster (and he is not a large man). It was obviously time for new patio furniture. Hubster waited until this weekend though, to get a nice set on sale. We've got six chairs and a nice long table. We can have guests and eat outside! WIN!

T-shirts - Threadless.com had a sale this week! I love Threadless t-shirts! I bought three. I can't wait until they arrive. SQUEEEEEE!

Yeah, the entire list is pretty materialistic, but you know, sometimes simple things like t-shirts and craft supplies really do make the day brighter. The game is starting soon, so I'm going to get some chili. Have a very content Sunday, folks!