Fall Has Flung

Today has been the first truly cold day of the season. I mean that in the sense that when I got out of class today at eleven, putting my sweater back on was necessary - nay, vital (I shouldn't complain. My boss just called from Idaho, and it's below freezing there. In October). There have been mornings that have been quite chilly, but by midday the sun is out and warming up the world. Today, this was not the case. It got me thinking (somehow) about the vast variety of words associated with cold weather, and how some of them are quite pleasant to say or hear. And some are not so great. Let's discuss.

1. Brisk. For some reason, words with that ess sound in the middle always seem to sound better with a good hard "kuh" right at the end. Bris? Lame. Tsk is another example. Only words with ess sound qualify for this level of satisfaction. Mink is a crappy word.

2. Crisp. Maybe I just like the pairing of kuhs and esses. Or maybe that pairing is just the right kind to describe cold weather. However, while I like this word in the context of weather, I'm not its biggest fan when we're talking about snack foods. As you may or may not know, those crazy British cats use this word when referring to potato chips. It sucks. They seem to be under the impression that chips are French fries. I know the French are lame and all (goodness knows we Americans even tried to switch them to freedom fries, but that never quite caught on), but let's look past that and call French fries by their proper name. They are not chips. And chips are chips, not crisps.

3. Nippy. Now we are into the realm of cold words Alyssa does not like so much. Nippy reminds me of either boobs or little dogs nipping at my ankles. Seeing as I am not so well-endowed and I don't like dogs, big or small, these are not good associations for me. Nippy is out.

4. Chilly. I take the opposite view on chilly as I do with crisp. Chilly is fine when you actually mean chili, a delicious concoction that can include (but is not limited to) bean, beef, and peppers. How did something so warm become a homophone of something so cold? I don't approve.

Other synonyms include biting, cutting, and sharp. I have no opinion on these words. That could be because they are just not used that much. I mean, seriously...when's the last time you said something along the lines of, "Boy-oh-boy, it sure is sharp out there today! Better wear some mittens!" Don't remember? That's because you never have. Although I bet Lewis will say that sometime soon just to prove me wrong.

On an unrelated note, I went to the vending machine to get a snack today, and I picked a Peanut Butter Twix. Now normally, if I'm in the mood for peanut butter I try to stay in the Reese's family with either a Peanut Butter Cup or a Fast Break, but I saw that someone had tried to purchase a Peanut Butter Twix and it got stuck, so if I was to select that particular candy bar, I'd get two for the price of one. Heck yes, says I. Sucks for whoever tried to get a Peanut Butter Twix before me. Buyer beware.

Pumpkin Pie

Each season has its benefits. Winter allows for snowball fights and warm blankets and hot chocolate and skiing (I'm told). Spring is the time for everyone to jump the gun at the first glimmer of warmer weather by running to play outside the second they can and ending up knee high in a mid-April snow storm wearing nothing but basketball shorts and a t-shirt (good times). Summer is the over all seasonal winner for me. It's the time to be spent outside with chilled lemonade and a frisbee. The time for swimming and lazing and just overall enjoying. But Autumn has something to which the other seasons cannot compare...

Sure you can ooh and aah over the leaves as they change color. You can let out a sigh of relief as the weather finally cools down, because even the blistering heat that is a summer staple can get old. You can cheer as our nation's greatest sport which we all know as football kicks off. You can even enjoy as a new school year gets underway (if you're into that sort of thing). But nothing, NOTHING, not even FOOTBALL can beat the wonderful joy that only Fall can provide: and that is the yearly crop of pumpkins.

But, my friends, there is something even better than just pumpkins. Pumpkin bread is delicious and pumpkin cookies can be good and heaven knows there's nothing like a good Jack-o-lantern, but that is not what I am referring to, no it is not. The thing to which I ode is the glorious confection known as the pumpkin pie. It is, without a doubt, the most amazing, wonderful, incredible, best thing in the world. You have no idea. I love it so.

Wedding Pictures

For those of you who aren't on facebook, here are links to our wedding pictures:

Temple Pictures

Reception Pictures

More Reception Pictures

Let me know if the links don't work. I hope they do. We're freakin' adorable.

All Stitched Up and No Where to Go

Yesterday, for the very first time ever, I got stitches. Well, I got a stitch. But still, it's a pretty big deal since I've been a klutz my entire life and have had more than my fair share of accidents and mishaps, and yet I've never needed stitches until yesterday. Let me explain how it happened.

Today and tomorrow, nearly everyone in my office is on their annual "Adventure Experience" (some sort of "exciting" trip as an initiation for this year's new officers). We spent pretty much all of yesterday getting stuff ready so that they could go on this trip. My boss went shopping for all the food they needed to bring with them, and when she got back to campus, she asked us to help bring the stuff in. So we went down there with our carts and loaded them all up. I didn't have a cart to take back up, so I was trying to help by holding the doors open for the people pushing carts. As I was running around doing this, I tripped on someone's foot and slammed my face right into the metal edging of a door. I thought I was fine, and told everyone that, but someone said, no you look like you might need stitches. I was confused, cause it didn't hurt that bad, but then I touched my mouth and my fingers came away all bloody. I went up to the bathroom to clean myself up and discovered quite a deep gash in my lip. So, someone took me to the health center and I got myself stitched back together, and we filled out the worker's comp form.

All in all, it could have been a lot worse. Sure, it hurts to smile and eat and rub my lips together, and I can't lift weights til it's healed (you'd be surprised at how much you use your face muscles when you lift weights...I've noticed it before, and I wasn't about to risk opening up my wound again, not with my wedding in seven weeks), but I'm still really lucky. I could have banged up my entire face or even knocked out a few teeth! A cut in my lip isn't that bad. Now, if it happened a month from now, with just three weeks til my wedding, I'd be worried. As it is, I've got more than enough time to heal up and I shouldn't get much of a scar if I get one at all. I get the stitch out on Monday, so everything should be a-okay!