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Back in June I made a list of 10 things I wanted to do this summer. I only managed to do three of them (take our vacation to the white mountains, go to the beach & attend a family BBQ) but that doesn’t stop me from admiring the list, and hoping we’ll do better next year. I still want to do all those other things another summer. So in an effort to continue being hopeful, here are 10 things I’d like to do this Fall:

1. Go Apple Picking: Can I put this on my list, even though I’ve already done it? I’d love to go back and possibly pick a pumpkin as well and hit the playground at the apple orchard which I’m now considering “my favorite apple orchard” even though I’ve only been there once.
2. Jump into a pile of leaves: Especially after seeing this post over @ Sunshine and Lemonade.
3. Read a book under a tree: It was on my list for the summer and I never did it, but come to think of it, it sounds just as fun to do in the Fall as in the summer. Perhaps I’ll have better luck at it this season.
4. Make apple pie: I’ve never actually made my own apple pie, and I’m planning to do so this weekend but just in case, I’m putting it on my list!
5. Carve or paint a pumpkin: I don’t even care if it’s a real pumpkin, I want a pumpkin with a face on it (but not a real face, that would be creepy).
6. Go trick or treating with my son and all my friends and all their kids: That’s not asking for too much, is it?
7. Drink egg nog & apple cider and eat pie: I can make the pie or not, and they don’t have to be all at the same time, but doing all three of these things is a must this fall.
8. Take a trip to either Boston, Plymouth or Salem: I know this is one that might not happen but all three seem like perfect touristy things to do in the autumn months. Complete with museums and learning please?
9. Make my own cornbread and cornbread stuffing: I had the most amazing cornbread stuffing last year and I’d like to make my own this year, and cornbread, too.
10. Save money on my car insurance? Yeah I ran out of fall-themed ideas, sorry.

What do YOU want to do this fall?

I was going to try out the workout DVD that I’m renting from Netflix – the 10 Minutes Solution Fat Basting Dance Mix (doesn’t that sound way cooler than sweating while jiggling?) but I can’t. Because my shower’s broken.

Now before you tell me, “Jen, that’s the worst excuse ever in the history of terrible excuses,” hear me out (read me out?) …

I called maintenance as early as I possibly could this morning (9:01am, office opens at 9) to report that our shower knob thing is almost impossible to turn on suddenly and that we have no control over temperature at all (which means I can’t bathe my son no matter how disgusting he gets, for fear of scalding his beautiful skin – never mind my skin). She (whoever she was) took down all my information and said she’d have someone come look at it ASAP.

But apparently ASAP doesn’t mean “before 2pm” because I’ve sat at home all day waiting (not that I wouldn’t have sat at home otherwise, but you know, if I weren’t waiting for them I COULD go out – we could be at the playground right now if it weren’t for this, you know?) and still no sign of someone who will fix my poor shower.

And now MM is “napping” and I could be trying out my DVD but there are two problems with this:

1. If maintenance guy shows up, I’d rather he not show up in the middle of the sweating and the jiggling with lord knows what embarrassing music playing.
2. If he doesn’t show up and I do get sweaty from all my jiggling, I can’t shower to clean myself off. And I mean MAYBE I won’t sweat, but if so that’s a pretty terrible workout and either way so not a risk I’m willing to take.

So there you have it – I cannot exercise today because my shower is broken.

- EDIT –

Success! Of sorts. The maintenance guy finally showed up and is fixing my shower. Which means if I do decide to exercise later (remind me to come up with another excuse in a minute) at least I won’t have to sweat and jiggle in front of a stranger.

So, what should my new excuse be?

Sara @ On Simplicity is asking What 3 Things You Are Dying To Learn and you know I had to play along and answer. I don’t think we ever finish our “education” there is always something new we want to know and if you aren’t learning anymore, are you really living? I know my son teaches me something new every day at least. But here are three things I’d love to learn:

1. A new language – my sister is learning Japanese and swears it’s an easy language to learn and I’m so envious. I know a teensie tiny bit of French and even my knowledge of that is horrid. Considering how much I love to travel and how many places I’d like to go, it would be helpful to learn more languages, don’t you think? Languages I’d LOVE to learn include but are not limited to: French, Spanish, Gaelic, Italian, Japanese & German.
2. The true story of everyone I know – we know people, but how well do we really know them? I’d venture to guess that I hardly know my own parents at all. I want to know the true story of who they are, how they met, why their marriage didn’t work out, and how they feel about their lives and what they’ve done with themselves. Ditto for everyone else I know, but obviously with different questions as everyone’s lives are different.
3. I would love to be crafty – my husband picks up crafts like it ain’t no thang. Sewing, knitting, crocheting – EASY according to him. PAIN IN MY ALREADY GRIEVOUSLY PAINED NECK, according to me. My fingers lack all coordination known to man, and any craft I pick up has that horrible “I did it myself” look to it, if in fact, I ever finish it. I don’t knit. I don’t sew. I don’t crochet. I don’t draw. I don’t paint. I don’t play an instrument (I know that isn’t a craft but it seems to go hand in hand  for similar reasons).

I’ll stop there because it’s a THREE thing question but there’s so much more I’d love to learn in fields like photography, cooking, baking, math, science, politics, and more…

But, more importantly, what three things would you like to learn? I look forward to reading your thoughts on this in the comments section below.

For more Wordless fun go here and here.

For LESS wordless fun, hover over each picture. I know, I can’t help myself.

Oh – and one of the pictures is a link – can you guess which one?