Soup to Dutts

Around 9:30 on Monday morning, I started hearing a weird noise, kind of a high-pitched humming. My new-homeowner brain automatically assumed that it was something electrical, so I tried turning off the ceiling fan, but the noise was still there. The washer and dryer were also running, so I turned those off too...still there. I walked all around the house and determined that the noise was coming from somewhere in the living room. The only other thing I could think to check was the closet that houses our HVAC and water heater. I poked my head into the closet, but I couldn't really hear the noise from in there. The more I listened to it, the more I thought it sounded like it was coming from somewhere above my head. So I texted Tom saying, "There's a weird noise in the living room. I think it's coming from the attic." When Tom got home, he Googled it and tried a few different things, including switching off the circuit breaker for the living room, but nothing wor...

Yes, I am from the South, but that might be the only time you'll ever hear me use the word "y'all." So...it's officially fall! According to the calendar, that is. The weather forecast would say otherwise; I think the high today was somewhere around 85. But whatever, I'm welcoming fall anyway, mostly with food and drink. I've already had a pumpkin spice latte and some pumpkin pie ice cream. I've made a batch of pumpkin spice muffins and some pumpkin white chocolate chip cookies. And there's not just pumpkin; I also made a pot of what I call "cheater chili" for dinner this evening. Chili is most definitely a fall/winter food! Super easy, super good...will post the recipe later this week. But besides eating and drinking to welcome fall, I've also been doing a little bit of fall decorating around the house, starting with... ...my favorite fall wreath! My mom got this wreath for us from a coworker who makes them, and ...

The Little Cute Girl has another cold. There are, of course, plenty of downsides to having a sick child. She and I missed church on Sunday morning. She has a complete meltdown every time I wipe her nose, which is quite often. Oh, and trying to get her to eat her vegetables is even more difficult than usual. However, I have discovered that there are also some niceties. I've been using the Nosefrida on the LCG a lot, and you know how I feel about that. She's also been taking some extra-long naps, which have allowed me to get a lot more than usual done around the house. But the best part? The snuggling. When she woke up on Sunday morning, I discovered that her diaper had leaked all over her pajamas and her sleep sack, so I threw them in the wash. I figured the sleep sack would be clean and dry in time for her nap, which she usually doesn't take until mid-afternoon. But at 11 AM, she was rubbing her eyes and acting lethargic. I then decided that it was going to be a two-na...

1. Did anyone watch the Clemson-Louisville game on Thursday night? Tom and I were there! Some dear friends of ours have U of L season tickets, and they invited us to come cheer on the Tigers. I hope they didn't regret that decision after the Tigers beat the Cardinals, 20-17. Regardless of the outcome of the game, I think a good time was had by all. I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures at the game, but here's a picture of my ticket, in case you don't believe that I was actually there... 2. I haven't had a decent night's sleep since last Tuesday or Wednesday. A lot of late nights combined with a lot on my mind. So if anything in this post doesn't make sense, blame it on that. 3. Autocorrect on my Nexus just tried to change "doesn't" to "clean." See, that would've been something that didn't make sense, but you couldn't have blamed that on my lack of sleep. Or maybe you could have, like I was so tired th...

Phew, it has been a busy past few days! Ever since getting back from vacation, we've been running around like chickens with their heads cut off, but I couldn't let a certain anniversary pass without at least mentioning it. Monday marked 30 years since the debut of my all-time favorite show, The Golden Girls ! Who could've guessed that a show about four old ladies would become such a huge hit? Even now, The Golden Girls has a huge fan base, particularly among young people, interestingly enough. (Wait a minute...when I said "young people," I was thinking of people my age, but it just occurred to me that I may not qualify as a young person anymore. I mean, I'm almost as old as the show is. Well...just indulge me this time, will ya?) It's hard to pinpoint the exact time that I began to love The Golden Girls . I've always liked it, even when I was too young to understand some of the jokes; but I think my appreciation for it really took off sometime in h...

We're in Charleston visiting my family this week, and I've made a very interesting discovery about the Little Cute Girl... She is fearless when it comes to water. We went to the beach on Wednesday, and she crawled right into the water and started splashing around. Then she crawled in a little deeper... And a little deeper... Eventually we had to grab her and pull her back; otherwise I think she would've kept going until she was submerged. Then yesterday, we went to Waterfront Park and let her play in the Pineapple Fountain. We put her on the first step, thinking she'd just sit there and splash (given our experience at the beach the day before, I have no idea why we would think that), but she leaned forward like she was just going to crawl further into the fountain. This resulted in a face-plant right in the water, which completely terrified me but barely fazed her at all. Tom pulled her out immediately, but then she tried to do it again! I never learned ho...

I have to confess: There are some Christians whom I just flat-out don't like. It usually just boils down to having differences in our personalities (not actual sin issues that require me to call these people out), but the differences with some people are so pronounced that I sometimes can't even stand to be in the same room with them. If that makes me an imperfect Christian, so be it. News flash: There's no other kind. There's one particular person with whom I've really had a hard time lately. I've come to dread the thought of even being around them, much less having a conversation with them. Sometimes I see their name in my Facebook news feed, and my eye starts twitching. Yes, really. I was thinking about this person's most recent (perceived) transgression the other day while having my Quiet Time. I felt like my mind had been wrestling with the Holy Spirit over this for days; I knew that I was called to love this person, but my distaste for them had be...

There is FOOTBALL on my television as we speak. Granted, it's the yuckola Gamecocks, but hey, I'll take whatever I can get. This offseason was insanely long. Or maybe it just felt that way to me. (Seems like my child is as excited about this as I am.) I love pro football too, but college football will always have a special place in my heart. It's just a different atmosphere. Some of my fondest college memories involve standing in the bleachers in Clemson Memorial Stadium on a chilly fall evening, cheering on the Tigers alongside my friends. Maybe this past offseason felt longer than usual because I didn't actually watch much football last year. Not only was I tending to a newborn, but we also didn't have cable last year. Well, this year, the little cute girl is on a somewhat regular schedule, and we have something called Sling TV, which is just a few select channels (like ESPN, ESPN2, and Food Network) for a low monthly fee. So, bring on the football!...