Dogs, noses, and leaves!

Okay I admit it, my title is more than a bit strange. But those are the things on my mind these days.

1. We got a dog! We rescued a beagle...her name is Lilo (as in Lilo and Stitch). Quit laughing! Her name was Lulu but we call Lucy that so we had to change it and we wanted it to be somewhat similar. We were throwing around Lila, Layla, Lola etc and the girls decided that it HAD to be Lilo. Eh, it seemed like an easy one to let them have their way on. Lilo is a very good and mellow dog so far. I walk her every morning and the kids "love" on her. (in fact Jack has tried to ride her like a horse - yikes) The adjustment has been relatively easy and we are keeping our fingers crossed that it stays that way.

2. I finally got my nose pierced. Some of you are now rolling your eyes...and roll away. I know it is not everyone's cup of tea (sorry Mom!) and I'm okay with that. It is actually something I have wanted to do for years and I finally mustered up the courage to do it. I really like it (except for when I rubbed my nose really hard in my sleep - ouch!). Annie and Lucy think it's "cool" and Alex and I had the whole conversation about what if they wanted to do the same thing as teenagers. While I could throw down the whole "I waited until I was 36" card, I don't think I will. If it is something they really want to do then we will talk about it with them and see where that leads us. Anyway, I can't stop staring at it in the mirror...it's super fun.

3. Alex spent almost all day in the yard today raking, blowing and bagging leaves. It was sunny and warm so the kids spent most of the day out there with him and loved it. There probably won't be many more outside days before real winter hits so it was great for them to be able to run around and get some energy out.

As the last of the leaves fall from the trees I begin to dread just a bit the coming winter months. It can be so gray here in Pittsburgh and I have to admit it depresses me somewhat. When there is a seemingly endless string of gray days I feel my mood go south and my smile gets lost in the bleakness of the winter season. I wish I knew how to escape the winter blues besides going to a sunny place for weeks and weeks. Any advice out there in the bolgosphere would be appreciated!