I Would Send You A Bouquet Of Newly Sharpened Pencils If I Knew Your Name & Address

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I'm giddy for fall, folks. I can't spend enough time outside these days -- I'm practically shaking I'm so excited for this weather, these colours, new starts, fresh everything. Mmmm, breathe it all in, friends.

In honour of this season, I've made a little list of things I must do before the snow flies:

• Visit the pumpkin patch
• Drink hot apple cider from the market
• Make a natural wreath with Gretchen
• Carve pumpkins for Halloween
• Go horseback riding
• Sew up Gretchen's costume
• Eat pumpkin pie
• Go on a hayride
• Play in a pile of leaves with my baby girl
• Make a craft with maple leaves

What's on your autumn bucket list?

I Think We're In For A Pretty Wonderful Year

Back in August I wrote out my Four Simple Goals, and I'll be straight up honest with you... I only really achieved one of them.

But I'm not beating myself up.

I've realized over the past few months, some ideas in my head have changed. Circumstances change.

My first goal was to purge my wardrobe of all that crap I don't wear. THIS I did. There may be a few stragglers in the back of our hall cupboards, but mostly, what's folded upstairs or hanging in my closet are items that I actually wear. And let me tell you, my choices each morning are slim. I could name them all, and that would be boring, but the point is, I could name them all. And now I need to add a few new (and delicious) pieces to the mishmash. And then I'll be happy.

My second goal was to dye my hair dark again, which I've currently put on the back burner. I've been growing my hair out since August 2009 and now I'm not sure I want to tamper with it. Stay tuned...

Goal no. 3 was to finish my doula training in the fall. This hasn't quite happened, but I'm not worried. I'm really enjoying the certification process, the reading, the assignments, and there's really no rush. I'm thrilled about the birth I'll be attending within the next month and to see where my doula journey will take me.

Now, my last goal was contingent on the crappy car I bought in August. The car which ended up being a bust (and is still, FYI, living in my driveway... sad & covered in snow.) So yes, goal no. 4 aka. visit somewhere outside of Ontario, has yet to happen, but I have faith. And hopefully an equal amount of patience.

A few people have asked what my New Year's Resolutions are, but I'm not so sure I'm going to make any. Essentially, my hopes and dreams for 2011 are to ease myself into my doula shoes and to honour my family and myself.

Which sounds like a pretty fabulous year in the making.

Four Simple Goals (Before 2011)

If you're an avid reader of Elsie's blog, A Beautiful Mess, then you probably saw her simple goals post a little while ago. Well, I have decided to play along. It is my hope that by posting these goals for all to see, you'll all hold me to them -- accountability is key, after all.

01. Purge my wardrobe of items which I don't/won't/shouldn't wear. If you know me, then you know I generally wear the same sort of thing over and over -- variations on a theme of jeans, tanks, tees and sweaters. I may not be an expert when it comes to fashion, but I know what I'm comfortable in and occasionally, what might get me a compliment or two. However, my closet/dressed/hallway cupboard are packed with an obscene amount of clothing, most of which I never wear and it all just ends up being washed and folded, forgotten about or tossed about and so on. I'd really like to whittle my wardrobe down to the piece I wear often, a few nice outfits and some accessories to spruce things up. Simple. Classic. Easy. I'd also like to do the same for Gretchen's clothing, though with hers I more or less just need to move the small sizes out to make room for next batch. It's a bit of a blessing in disguise that baby G is so tiny -- her clothing lasts much longer the age on the tag.

02. Dye my hair dark again. Not a lofty aspiration at all, but I miss it. After a year with these lightish locks I'm bored and want my dark stands back. (Note: Let it be known that I've done nothing to my hair, aside from trim my bangs myself, since last August.)

03. Complete my doula training. Ideally this will happen by October 14th. The date is somewhat arbitrary, but I like to have a deadline on the horizon. I'm a bit of a student at heart. I've been working at a rather leisurely rate so far, but have decided to give myself a more rigorous schedule so that I don't lose momentum. It's so easy to get tied up in other things. I've thrown my soul into this training & as the date of my first certifying birth gets closer I am so eager to make this transformation.

04. Visit someplace out of province. This is a little vague, but since purchasing a car last week I've decided it needs to be christened with a road trip (most likely in the fall). There's a good chance we'll head to Quebec, or perhaps a little further to the east coast. None of us have our passports yet, so we won't be heading stateside this year, but in the future, most definitely.

There you have it, mes amis! I hope you'll join in (if you haven't already) and share your own four simple goals! Please share in the comments, or leave a link so I can take a peek.