{ check, check }

1. Halloween costumes ready to go. Check.
2. Website re-design. 90% Check.
3. National Championship Race productions underway. Check.
4. TCS orders shipped. Check. Check.
5. Halloween party stuff for Samme's class ready to go (healthy zucchini muffins; pencil, notebook & jokes as goodies for her classmates; decorations, activities). Check.
6. Post race Halloween party decor, costumes + plans. Check. Check.
7. House a wreck. Check.
8. Kids halloween goody bags. Check.
9. I think I've given myself an ulcer. Check. Check.
10. 6 loads of laundry done, but not put away. Check.

I'm beat. Whooped. But must keep going. GO! But next week, I will sleep. For days....

{ africa }

So, I'm not going on the mission trip to the Kenyan orphanage this winter with my Church group, which I'm bummed about....But I am going to go sometime within the next 2 years. I can feel it and I know it. I just started this journey a bit too late this year and didn't have the time & funds to sign up in time, re-arrange work commitments and ran out of time to convince my family that this was a good thing. I know, excuses, right? But, I'm convinced that there will be time in the near future when the trip has my name (and God's name) written all over it. This wasn't the one. But, I am helping the local group fundraise. They are trying to raise $7,000 to build a separate boys wing so that the kids can be separated by gender. A few weekends ago Samme & I participated in the "Run for Orphans." And Samme & I are helping my friend Milly who is going, FILL up a giant duffle bag FULL of art supplies, vitamins, first aid supplies, kids clothes, books, etc. Won't you be so kind as to send some items or a monetary donation for the new wing for the kids at the orphanage? Email me for my mailing address. Every little bit helps.... Thanks so much! Oh, and I need this stuff as soon as possible...early November at the latest!

ps - Look at all of the great vitamins everyone sent last month to Jodi! Woot! I love how a few people can make such a difference.

pps - The image above is from Meg who went to Africa last fall. Read all about her trip here. Thanks Meg for letting me share...

{ on my mind + menu }

Things here have been hectic...good hectic, but still crazy nonetheless. I've got 2 massive holiday orders to ship to TCS, the National adventure race championship race to host, a halloween school party to plan, a website overhaul, etc. all by October 31st. Yup, that's how we roll.... Anyway, I may be a bit absent around here until early November....But, here's some stuff that's been on my mind + menu this week.

1.Worked all weekend on a website overhaul (its still not done, but take a peek - its coming along)...
2. Did you know I've got a LobotoME facebook page. Click here for it. Special discount coming soon to our Facebook & Twitter peeps.
3. Brain buzz on Bohemian Vegan.
4. In case you missed our hilarious ipad spoof video of our new MEpad.
5. Love SouleMama's "library" room.
6. Oh and can I tell you what an idiot I am? So, I'm at Target and trying on bathing suits for no particular reason other than they were all on sale for like $6. So I try on a small and it's too big. I'm thinking wow, the Tracy Anderson Method is working. So, I go out and get an XS and it fits but isn't tight. And I'm like wow and then hmmm.... Then I proceed to look at the tag inside and it says Liz Lange MATERNITY. yup. Great. I'm super excited that ME, not pregnant (never have been, never will be) fits into a XS MATERNITY bathing suit. I think I must work a bit harder at the TA 30Day Method, no? The story gets better because I BOUGHT it. It was cute and it fit. ;) Someone please tell me that an XS Maternity is the same as Small regular. Please?
7. More simple wisdom from Tara.
8. Love these spooktacular halloween drink printables (free) here.
9. With the fall weather, we've been eating lots of veggie chili, lentil soup, and with the large amount we've been working, lots of green smoothies, doing lots of crock pot meals (we call those meals "throw it in the pot in the morning and hope for the best" dinners).
10. I totally spaced posting this during September (National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month) but as many of you know I am a 10 year (woohoo!) Stage 3C Ovarian Cancer survivor....here is a post about what happened to me & the symptoms. KNOW the symptoms.

Hope you are all having a great Fall! Only 2 1/2 more months until the new year! How are you doing with your 2010 resolutions? It's not too late to go after some of them! GO!

{ weekending }

Spending the weekend working on the website, getting blogger, twitter and facebook to work together, cleaning up the house, doing 4+ loads of laundry, making applesauce with our apple bounty, going for a short hike with the kids, collecting leaves for an art project, going to church & an apple festival, sipping tea and just hanging out at HOME...I love Fall.

What are your plans for the weekend?

print available here.

{ who needs an ipad when you can have a MEpad? }

{ on my mind + menu }

1. Love the quote above via Tara from Ink+Wit. That is exactly what has been on my mind lately.
2. Love this charming Vermont Farmhouse.
3. Love this post about surrounding yourself with like-minded people.
4. Great post on Simple Mom about Simple Living.
5. As if we all needed another reason to get rid of the boob tube.
6. Took 2 days off the TA30Day challenge while we were camping this weekend so I'm back at it today! GO!
7. Love these images from Ikea's new cookbook.
8. Did you see my guest post on Crazy Sexy Life last week on how to save money with meal planning? Check it out here.

Have a great week! GO!

{ on my mind + menu }

1. Great fridge stocking for fall tips here.
2. Love Prana's new fall line, especially this. I'm trying to resist.
3. Love Gabby's {Get After It} game plan for the week. That's what I try to do with my momME planner each week.
4. Love this post entitled "Let's do something Extraordinary This Weekend." Last weekend we had a fun weekend of zip lining, date night, hiking, fall festivals, and more. And next weekend a visit to a cool canyon and sledding down the sand at this National Park is in the works. What fun plans do you have in the works?
5. I like how she provides an Action Item for each day's meal plan. Genuis, no?
6. My No Spend Month in September didn't go great. Not terribly. But I can certainly do better. So with that I try again. October is No Spend Month....again. Oh, you want to know what I bought that wasn't necessary. Hmmm... Let's start with these boots. Come on, I live in Colorado. I NEED them. Then there were the 4 Halloween costumes that I bought instead of made. Then, the romper. Oh, I had already confessed to that. Anyway, ONWARD we go.
7. Speaking of shopping, am I the only person who has already started with Holiday planning? Aiming for as simple + homemade of a holiday as possible.
8. Love this article...5 Ways to Avoid a Drama Filled Life.
9. This situation is still haunting me. Why oh why can't we all just be KIND to each other?
10. And I've been trying to learn this dance. Why? Because I think it would be hilarious to know how to do this.
11. This pantry pictured above (well, the whole home) makes me hyperventilate. I AM IN LOVE with a pantry. Swoon.
12. Love these halloween downloads (blank notes) + halloween lunch box jokes.
13. And this week we will be making these and these.

image via designsponge/emersonmade

{ on my mind + menu }

1. So, this week I started Tracy Anderson's 30 Day Method - its essentially 1 1/2 hours a day of workouts (7 days a week) and clean & healthy eating for 30 days. I'm giving it a GO! So far so good. In hindsight though, I'm not sure October is the smartest month to do this with the plethora of Halloween Candy EVERYWHERE. BE strong Jenny. Be strong. :) Anyway, I'm not following her 30 day bootcamp to a tee (I still like to run a few times a week, I might go on a few bike rides and Wednesday nights I am not cooking up some complicated braised red snapper recipe. One because I'm not a huge fish fan and 2) we get home late those evenings and its just not going to happen). But, my goal is to MOVE each day this month. To work it. Like I WAS doing during the winter with p90x. MOVE IT GIRL.

2. I'm thankful for date night tonight. We both agree we need it. I've been a bit crabby all week and I'm not sure why. Probably just tired from these workouts and NO CHOCOLATE or WINE. I guess that would make anyone crabby, no? Oh lord, does #1 above mean I can't have wine on our date night? I might be a cheap date tonight. Anyway, we are hitting up the new ZIP LINE in town for our date night followed up by dinner. Adventurous, no? I of course would be happy browsing a bookstore, eating sushi and lounging around the coffee shop apres dinner but, I did marry Mr. Adventure. That's how we ROLL folks.

3. Been thinking a lot about this little tidbit from Kris Carr's weekly Love List... "I am grateful for friends who honor my boundaries and give me space to grow and heal and love and fall and disappoint and love and be. Folks who demand too much of my energy get phased out. I send them love but don’t return the emails." I feel like I am also in the process of phasing some people out...mostly people with negative energy but also people that don't understand that when I have ONE HOUR free a day I prefer to be myself or with my darling family. At first I thought I was maybe being mean, but no, what I am doing is honoring MYSELF.

PS - Where did September go?

Over + Out my friends. Have a great weekend!