Self-checkouts and awkward conversations

I'm just going to warn you now, 

that this post may not be favored by everyone.

You've been warned.

Proceed.

 

There are 3 things I hate buying at the store:

1. Feminine items

2. Condoms

3. Pregnancy tests

Does anyone else feel tormented by these public purchases??

I could easily offer up a separate story about each one of these that would clearly illustrate my point, however, to save you from having to endure way too much awkwardness for one post, I'll stick to #1.

Yesterday was an "I NEED chocolate" kind of day. 

Not that that's really anything out of the ordinary, 

but yesterday... it was bad. 

At my practicum, every Tuesday we have a 3-hour staff meeting. The only thing that makes me even remotely look forward to going, is the fact that every week as we walk in, there is a table filled with some sort of goodie to keep the staff occupied. As I drove to my meeting, I literally dreamed about the bite-sized Halloween candies that I was positive would be sitting on the table as I walked in the door. I saw Twix, Snickers, Kit-Kats... all kinds of things. And of course, they were small enough that I could easily grab a handful or two while still allowing my insane indulgence to go somewhat unnoticed. I imagined sitting there throughout the entire meeting, savoring every bite of the caramely chewy goodness of one bar and immiediately diving into the crispy crunchy feel of the next. 

I'm telling you... I needed chocolate.

Naturally, I walked in, 

and there was bread. 

(I've never been one for having much luck...)

Bread? I thought... Really??

You can imagine the sort of torture I had to endure as I sat, 

(not so) patiently, 

waiting for the meeting to be over so that I could ease my cramps 

and finally curb that dang sweet tooth of mine.

And you'd better believe that when my supervisor asked me if I was going to come on a visit with her, 

I said no, because I had somewhere important I needed to be. 

(eh em... the grocery store...)

The big problem came when I entered said grocery store. I needed to buy some pain-reliever, but as I headed for the Midol section, worrying about the awkward conversation I was going to have to endure with the cashier, it dawned on me that buying Menstrual meds and a candy bar would be way too much awkward for one person to handle. 

I'll go to the self-checkout I reminded myself. 

Then I noticed that there was no self-checkout.

I left the store.

After a long trip through three red traffic lights, 

five minutes full of busy school-zones,  

a dodge from a familiar face 

and an old man in the women's meds section (why??)

I finally made it to a self-checkout and got what I wanted...

And there were no awkward conversations involved!

Thanks self-checkout.

I owe ya one.

Autumn.

Since I have not yet written a post about my undying love for the autumnal season, I thought that the middle of October 

would be a perfectly good time. 

So here you have it, my

top ten reasons why I couldn't live without fall:

10. Because I feel devoted knowing that I loved fall even during all those younger years when it was cooler to love the summer.

9. Because God is everywhere. I can't even walk outside without thinking how lucky I am.

8. Because driving through a canyon filled with pinks and oranges and purples and reds is like getting your first kiss, over and over again... It's exhilarating!

7. Gourds of all kinds

(including, but not limited to, the carving and baking kinds)

6. Halloween

5. Pumpkin treats in every shape and size

4. Sweaters and jackets galore!

3. Snuggle season

2. Because the bed somehow always seems even more comfy on a dark chilly morning

1. Because outdoor photo shoots are magical

Has this not been the best fall you can ever remember?!

What to do when your mother-in-law gives you squash

My parents and my in-laws are great for many, many reasons.

One of which is their self-sustainability.

Seriously... 

between my parents food storage, and my in-laws' garden,

I think we could feed the entire world.

Twice.

So naturally, 

every time the husband and I take a trip down to visit,

we come back with some kind of food or another,

and this time, it was fresh squash from the in-laws.

Last week I made a butternut squash and cream cheese soup 

(oh so tasty...) 

and I had some butternut squash left over that needed a home.

 Lucky for me, 

my trusty HowSweetEats gal, Jessica, 

managed to pull through, yet again!

I have yet to discover a recipe of hers that I didn't like. 

This one included.

It's a butternut squash and shells with cheese skillet. 

(Ha. Try saying that 10 times fast!)

It ended up looking something like this: 

Picture courtesty of HowSweetEats

Along with the meal, I served some 

browned butter chicken with sage, 

which was basically the most simple thing on planet earth.

Brown the butter.

Add the chicken.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rubbed sage, 

(and fresh parmesan, if you're a cheese freak like me.)

Cook til no longer pink, and voila.

And, if you, like me, lack confidence in your abilities to do any cooking without a recipe, then you, like me, can follow this recipe that teaches you how to brown butter successfully. 

Don't you just love the internet??

So now the next time your mother-in-law loads you up with fresh squash from the garden, you will have an easy meal 

with which to impress your hubby. 

Unless, of course, he doesn't like squash. 

Then you're just plain outta luck.

100 pictures, again?

Since I really have no way of turning every current event into a story without causing a loss of any and all interest on your end, I have succumbed to yet another picture overload.

Feast yer eyes.

First of all...we moved. 

(And I know you're all envying the act of packing/unpacking all of those boxes, so I just thought I'd let you know that there are still some left if you really need a fix...)

Then the husband turned 24,

and my sister-in-law made yet another one of her delicious cakes!

Then my parents one-upped themselves 

and got my husband a manly birthday gift...

 ...which we obviously had to christen right away.

We decorated. 

 Kind of.

And we continued working on our project.

  Kind of.

(As you can see, I "worked" really hard...)

   Then one day I went to a shower and 

got some much needed catch up time with friends. 

(So excited for ya, Britt!)

And if all of that wasn't enough, my soul sista came and made an ever-welcome appearance in my neck of the woods. 

THANK YOU TIMES 1000 

to my favorite person ever for making the trek 

all the way up from the southern parts of our state. 

 One day is not long enough, 

but we still got in some good chats and

good eats while she and our other friends were here!

The visit made my entire year.

Love you, Court. You da best!

Why being a hipster is OH so unique!

My feelings precisely.

However, I think the princesses forgot their bikes....