Sick day

Today is a sick day. As in, my nose was so stuffy last night that I couldn't breathe or sleep, so I stayed home sick today.

When my alarm went off this morning, I was already awake (as I had been most of the night), so I sent a quick voicemail to my boss letting her know at the very least I needed a couple more hours sleep before functioning today.

Including my "extra" sleep this morning, I figure I accumulated a total of 4, possibly 5, hours of sleep overnight. Coupled with my cold/sinus issues, I am not well-rested. Ugh.

Finally, I can breathe this morning/afternoon, but my throat hurts, my ears hurt and I'm still coughing occasionally. Ultimately, I decided to stay home from work and keep my germs contained to my house.

(Don't worry, my husband has already had this stuff. Hey — I had to get it from somewhere, right?)

Anyway, allow me to share some internal musings. I've said this plenty of times before, but I started this blog, in part, to allow myself the chance to write for fun. *Again,* I'm a writer/editor/photographer/designer at a weekly newspaper for a living, so although I write weekly, most of it is not what I would consider fun writing.

One of my personality flaws is that I don't do things if I can't excel at them. I never learned to whistle or ride a bike because I wasn't great at either during the first few tries. Endearing, I know. Most of the time I excel at writing and editing, hence my job as an editor. But I also enjoy writing, hence my desire to blog.

However, I often get discouraged with my blog/blogging abilities because I fail to keep it updated on a regular basis (because my day job takes A LOT of time) and, let's be honest, because there are probably only three of you reading this. I could call you by name, but I won't.

I would love to present this incredible declaration that I'll find a way to better manage my time and save time for the blog to let my creative juices flow, but I believe I've done that before as well and, obviously, it worked wonders.

So, I'll pose the question to you: what are your tips for time management? How do you manage to find time to do things for you (whether it be blogging or something else)?

I would just love some tips on how to devote more time to the blog instead of only writing a H54F post at the end of the day on a Friday or rambling almost uncontrollably on a sick day. Any advice?

Hiatus

Sorry I've kind of been on a hiatus as of late. As mentioned previously, my mother has been ill and is still seeing doctors and having tests run. I live 130+ miles away from her, so trips home to check on her and my dad are pretty exhausting, especially when they start and end within about 24 hours. My hubby is currently snoozing on the couch because he's battling a sinus infection and feels terrible. Quite honestly, I don't feel so great myself, so I'm going to grab a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream, wrap up in a blanket and watch what's left of Thursday Night Football.

Happy October, folks! May autumn be kind to you :)

I leave you with this picture of eternal cuteness — one of my dad's 5-week-old puppies lapping milk from a saucer:

This is Betty Jo, named after one of my late aunts. Her momma wasn't feeding her enough, so we gave her some milk, which she LOVED! Cutest, tiniest puppy ever.

Prayers and praise

I'm a believer, a born-again Christian, and I believe in the power of prayer.

Tonight, as I tap this out on my iPhone and hope the Edge network is enough to let me post, my mother is in the hospital. In short, she's doing OK now, but was ill earlier today. I've prayed and asked friends to pray for her, for my father who won't leave her side and for my husband and I who traveled into town this evening from two hours away.

Too many prayers have been answered today for me not to give God praise. I'm scared, but it could be a lot worse. Friends, I ask you to remember us in prayer because we're not out of the dark yet, and truth be told, we can all use a little guidance. Thank you for your love, support and prayers. May God bless you, too!

High Five for Friday

So, how about having a H54F post on Friday?! Fabulous, I know.

1. Sometimes you have to snap a picture of the back of your hair in a mirror to get a sufficient view. Also, hooray for these bobby pins from Sally Beauty Supply. Invest! It's $1.50 that will change your life.

2. Apple picking with the hubby and a couple of good friends/family members :)

3. The first scarf of the season courtesy of a Three Bird Nest grab bag.

4. Using the recipe from Lauren at From My Grey Desk Blog, I ventured into the world of apple fritters. Though some of them looked like various aquatic creatures (see the whale in the upper right?), they tasted delicious.

5. No photo required. I woke up with a terrible sinus headache this morning. But, after two Ibuprofen, a Sudafed, a cup of coffee and two and a half extra hours of rest, it finally went away. That's the good news — the headache is gone!

See other H54F posts at FMGD!

Energy and shoes

It's amazing how energizing a visit with a great friend can be — especially if that visit includes a salted caramel mocha.

Today has been a little up and down — I woke up with energy and after a trip to the grocery store, I made some apple fritters (yum!). It was my first try making them, and I used a recipe from Lauren at From My Grey Desk Blog. Even though mine didn't look as pretty and round, they tasted delicious. So delicious that my husband dubbed them the best thing I had ever made, and that's high praise right there. I'm not the best cook, but in four years of marriage and nearly 10 years time together, that has to be pretty high praise.

Anyway, after a nap and a caffeine-filled visit with one of my BFFs, I have enough energy to tell you about my lovely shoes that arrived/were purchased this weekend.

First of all, I've been coveting (OK, I know I'm not supposed to covet) a pair of shoes frequently worn by Kate from The Small Things Blog for quite a while now. They're gray patent leather wedges, which doesn't seem too impossible to find, but apparently they are (especially within my price range, I suppose). So, I was super thrilled when Kate posted a link to some similar shoes on a blog post a few days ago.

Even though they're a different color and material and the heel appears to be a little bit higher, they were such a great deal that I ordered a pair immediately.

Love in shoe form | Urban Outfitters

The description said the shoes run a little large, so I ordered a size down. They're a little snug, but not uncomfortably so, I don't think. They're beautiful though, that's for sure.

While visiting friends yesterday, I stumbled into Urban Attic, a consignment store with great prices and cute clothes. I found a Banana Republic dress, a J. Crew sweater and a houndstooth pattern skirt, but possibly my favorite purchase was these suede booties.

They kind of have a western flair, I think, and the heel isn't so high that it makes them difficult to walk in. I can't wait to wear them, and with the forecast for this week, I think it may almost be time to pull out the rest of my boots and booties.

What great finds have you stumbled upon lately?

H54F (the abbreviated version)

1. This week was forever-long, and I am glad it is over.
2. I got more than 5 hours of sleep last night.
3. Weekend=football
4. I'm going to an orchard/farm/awesome place tomorrow with friends, and that sounds amazing!
5. I realize this is a subpar post and plan to make up for it with a post about awesome new shoes tomorrow.

Goodnight all, and darn, now it's technically Saturday. Oh well, I started typing on Friday ;) It still counts.

My NFL Sunday 'recap'

Can I just say how excited I am for the start of the NFL season? I'm a bit competitive, so with a little coaxing five years ago, fantasy football and I became BFFs. I now know about and understand the game of football (unlike when I cheered for it in high school), so nothing makes me happier than sitting home on a Sunday afternoon/night and watching any and every second of the games that my husband and I can find.

Yesterday, the first NFL Sunday of the season, we may have overindulged a little bit.

These two pictures were taken literally seconds apart despite the fact that it looks like we were watching football in the dark in the first one. I wanted to focus on the TV screen though, so everything else is dark. And in the second one, you can see what I mean by overindulging. But hey, that huge box of pizza fed us all day ;)

Though I won't know for sure until late tonight how my fantasy teams fared, it looks good so far! My QBs had stellar performances this week, so here's a shout out to Tony Romo and Matt Ryan.

Well, happy Monday (if there is such a thing)! This will undoubtedly be a rough week at work for me, so I would appreciate any positive thoughts and prayers. Have a great week!