quoth the raven

Today it was absolutely GORGEOUS out. Mid-70s, sunny, breezy. No humidity to speak of, really. I love this weather. The weatherman says it is supposed to stay this way all through next week. I really hope he is right!

I've been toying with the idea of dying my hair. Since the color on top faded into a brassy red. (This is why I stopped loving red. I simply can't afford to keep it up.) Since the color underneath is a dark brown, almost black, I was considering trying out black. But I was scared to go with permanent dye. So I tried some semi-permanent Manic Panic dye today in Raven. It turned out nice! Now I just have to see how quickly it washes out/fades. Hoping it lasts through Sunday! If not, I have another jar and hopefully can convince my sister to touch it up for me. ;P

stranger in a strange land

This weekend's forecasted weather is a stark contrast to last weekend's freezing temperatures and freak snow showers. This weekend the weather man says it's going to be 80°. That's one of the qualms I have with Alabama weather -- one day you're bundled up against the cold and the next you're busting out the flip flops and tank tops. Gaah!

Strangely enough, I am starting to find myself daydreaming about spring and summer. I've caught myself fantasizing about taking the [family] boat out to the lake. Summer barbecues. Sipping lazily on a Tom Collins and letting the buzz of the Tanqueray wash over me. Feeling uninhibitted and free the way only a summer full of possibility and empty of responsibilities can make one feel.

While I'm not at all happy about it, I am sure it will be nice to spend the summer not only free from a job but also free from the daunting task of classes. No worries about getting assignments in on time. No stressing over exam week. Still I wish very much that someone would loan me $6,000 so I could just get it over with sooner rather than later.

I'm still pretty stuck on wearing green until St. Patrick's Day. But I find myself gazing longingly at my spring and summer wardrobe. Suddenly I crave the freedom of short sleeves and flip flops. It's right around the corner and, I'm sure, that once the heat and, more noteably, the humidity kick in I'll start wishing for fall and winter once again. We are bound to have at least one more cold snap before spring really comes on full force so I haven't "officially" retired my long sleeves and knee socks. Cold snaps after the warm spells like the one we'll have this weekend are good for killing off the bugs that "take the bait" of the warmer weather and come out of hiding early. If we don't get one of these cold snaps in late March or early April it will be a long, mosquito infested summer for sure. So I'm still hoping for one more good bout of winter weather. A last hurrah to a season that's gone in [seemingly] the blink of an eye.

Since I did a little early Spring cleaning today and I am free of homework assignments, I think I'll get up early tomorrow, shower, and contemplate heading out to D-Town. During my cleaning (and organization) spree, I came across yet another green top that I need to wear. It's not kelly green; more of a subdued hue. Somewhere between lime and sea green, I suppose. At any rate, I'd forgotten about it and now I'm looking forward to wearing it tomorrow. With the nice weather and all that. :)

life in autumn

I absolutely love October. I love the constant flux of temperatures. Mostly I love the cold days. Halloween is my favorite holiday. I take regular trips down the holiday aisles in drug stores, grocery stores, and Wal-Mart. I love the traditions, the breeze, the colors, the smells. This year, however, we won't be having our annual Halloween party. My grandmother is still very ill and my parents just don't seem to be 'into' the idea of throwing our annual bash. No creepy decorations. No costumes. No cupcakes. No candy. No Jell-O shots. I feel like I'm being gyped of my favorite time of year. :( But oh well.

We did go to the Haunted House on post this weekend. We took all the kids, waited in line for two hours, and FINALLY got to the door. We had an escort because the setup was a series of tents that you had to step in and out of carefully and they didn't want to risk anyone falling and getting hurt. For the price (two canned goods) they put on a really good show. My nephew David got a really good scare before we even got to the second tent and was pretty much done after that. Poor guy! I'm not a huge fan of haunted houses because I generally don't enjoy being scared but this one was very tame and I spent the entire time marvelling the props and actors rather than being scared. We're talking about taking a trip out to Dothan this week to go to Jaycee's Haunted House which is a much scarier setup. It's set in a house that's more than 100 years old and apparently this house has some 'history' as well. The windows are all boarded up, the paint is cracked and peeling, and it just looks spooky without anything else being done to it. I've heard (pardon the pun) horror stories about it and I'm half curious, half scared to check it out. We'll see. The only other traditions we have left are trick-or-treating and the Peanut Festival. I've been in Alabama for five years and have never bothered with the Peanut Festival because I'm not into carnival rides, country music, or large crowds. I probably won't bother this year, either. The kids are going trick-or-treating on Friday night but Tony and I will probably just sit at the house and possibly hand out candy.

On the religious front, I'm not sure what I'm going to do for Samhain this year. I need to fish my book out of storage. I'll probably do a small, private ritual and bake some spice cake (or cupcakes) and drink cider. I wish I could go to California for the weekend, honestly.

In other news, the fall semester has begun. For Fall A I'm taking Principles of Web Development and Business Systems Analysis. I'm very excited about the Web Development course! But I'm not so excited about taking two courses at once. I haven't taken two at the same time in almost a year. So I'm a little nervous that I'm going to get overwhelmed. Thankfully, there is only one midterm (Business Systems Analysis) but we'll see how taking two final exams goes in week eight.

I guess all is well. I have an appointment with SpectraCare tomorrow to find out about mental health care. I suppose this is good. My mood is crazy all over the place so, yeah. Tony is still looking for work. November 7th is when his unemployment officially ends. I colored my hair this weekend with L'Oreal Feria's "Chocolate Cherry". It's a very rich burgandy-ish brown that boasts wine-red highlights in the sun. Very fall. Very me. I love it! Pictures to follow at some point.