Long Time, No Write! (lame title, I know, but my brain is in cold medicine fog!)

So, if you followed my blog last Spring, you'll remember I wished for alien abduction (complete with the probing...what's the sense of a good alien abduction without the probing?) as an alternative to my jam-packed, no time to even sit and breathe, life.  Well, the aliens never came, but I suddenly today find myself sick with some sort of God-awful head cold that leaves me unable to move off the couch.  Forget my plans of an early zumba class followed by the Elverson Farmer's Market....my morning has been filled with boxes of tissues and bags of Ricola cough drops...is 10am too early to start putting whiskey in my tea?  After a few hours of Dr Who episodes on Netflix and an equal amount of time sucked into the time vortex that is Pinterest, I remembered this blog.  Only one semi-good thing about having a cold...I can do these things without feeling (too) guilty.  Oh, and another good thing...I can ask my husband to go out grocery shopping and he will actually do it, no questions asked (OK, well a lot of questions asked...so far I've gotten 4 phone calls from the store..."they don't have fresh yams, are sweet potatoes ok?")...but at least I'm still here on the couch with my tissues and he's there with the yams...or sweet potatoes. 

So, in case you're wondering why I haven't written in so long, let me give you the Reader's Digest version (warning: contains obnoxious Mombrags about the kids):  We finished the girl child's gymnastics competition season with her placing 2nd All Around in the State competition (and medaling in all 4 events).  The boy child had a successful Spring, Summer, and Fall baseball season pitching and playing 1st base--even hitting his first ever over the fence homerun at their big summer tournament at Rehoboth Beach, DE.  I had a very successful garden and canned about 20 quarts of tomatoes and countless pints of pickled hot peppers.  Can you say homemade chili and salsa!?  Wonder if, when the zombie apocalypse happens, I can ward them off with hot peppers?  "Braaaaaaaainssss....oh no, get back she has habeneros....!"  Then there was a wonderful mojito and hottub filled week in the remote 4 X 4 section of the Outer Banks with some of the most awesome friends you can imagine (we'll skip the part where the Jeep broke down in the pouring rain and lightening storm and we had to navigate over flooded out dunes 4 X 4ing in said broken-down overheating Jeep at 1am...true story!).   And that pretty much sums up my last several months.  You can see why I haven't been around much. 

And now, in my cold medicine induced haze, my teenage son (how the heck did that happen....wasn't he just watching Thomas the Tank Engine and riding his Big Wheel?) is sitting here with 3 of his besties who spent the night, watching Dr Who with me (he has such cool friends!).  The girl child is getting ready for gymnastics practice, and tomorrow will compete in her first meet of the new season as a Level 6 gymnast (maybe I can get a nose/sinus transplant by then!).  I'm so excited for her...I'm sure I'm more nervous than she is!  And I'm still planning my Thanksgiving menu (how did I ever do this before Pinterest???).  Should be planning my Black Friday itinerary (yes, I'm one of those crazy get up at 3am to stand in line in the cold for hours just to get the adrenaline rush of a good doorbuster bargain), but it seems like Black Friday has turned into "let's ruin all our employees Thanksgiving Day celebrations by starting on Thursday" Day.  Really retailers???  Shame on you all!!!  (said in my sternest Mom voice). 

Hopefully my next blog post won't be months away...with winter coming, I plan to be cooking up lots of good soups and what-not and promise to post some recipes (along with some pictures, maybe, if I can remember again how to do that!).  Promise I won't wait until my next cold...or alien abduction...or zombie attack...I have habeneros, I'm ready!