Ten on Tuesday, October 19

1. I'm a little Debbie Downer today. Had a wonderful dinner last night with amazing friends, but I fear I overdid it a bit on the guacamole. I love guacamole. I hope it doesn't show up on the scale.
2. For the first time in many years, this weekend I will be attending Homecoming at my alma mater, Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL. I'll be staying with my ish-brother, Chunk, and his girlfriend, Erin. I've been promised chili, a campus tour, and time with old friends. Should be a fantastic weekend. Wish more of my old J-school peeps were gonna be there, but I think a little time in the place where I found myself is just what I need right now.
3. I thought I had turned a corner with the whole running thing, because last Friday I actually had a wonderful run/walk workout. Then, Sunday's came, and I wanted to die. Every run is different, but I have to keep trying. I've come to terms with the fact that I probably won't be running the full 5k on November 6, and I'm okay with that. I'd just like to not feel like I'm dying while trying.
4. Soup is good food. This fall and winter, I'll be making a lot of it. Generally low in calories, impossibly easy to prepare, and delicious ... right up my alley! On Sunday, I made a crockpot full of chicken tortilla soup. I'll be having it for lunch all week, and that's just fine by me. YUM!
5. If Target doesn't have it, you probably don't need it. Seriously.
6. Last Saturday, my friend and former roommate, Emily, took the train out to the Heights to have lunch with me and do a little catching up. It was so good to see her! Hard to believe she's been here for over a year now. I love that she's truly become a city girl. I'm proud of who she is. It makes me happy that I was able to be a part of her fresh start in Chicago.
7. Also last Saturday, I went with my friend Dawn to see "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" in Libertyville. Two of the cast members - "The Scotts", as I call them - were our fellow performers in the Summer Showcase back in August, and it was such fun to be part of the audience and enjoy their talents. It was such a fun day to be around friends ... definitely a reminder of how lucky I am.
8. I haven't been to Wisconsin since my birthday weekend. I need to finalize plans to get up there in November; I miss my people! I'm looking forward to being up there in the fall, even though the leaves will probably be off the trees by then. I'm thinking bonfire. Doesn't that sound perfect?
9. If you sprinkle a little pumpkin pie spice in the brew basket with your coffee, then steam and whip some skim milk to go in your mug with the coffee, you'll have a delicious, spicy concoction that tastes like fall, and is so much better than the bologna latte Starbucks tries to convince me is delicious. Speaking of which, I am going to have to find a way to fit the caloric intake of a peppermint mocha into my weekly allotment. It's almost that time of year!
10. I'm really tired of the political ads and phone calls and mailers and stuff. But what I'm more tired of is Christine O'Donnell in Delaware. She has cornered the market on stupid crazy, and if the people of that fair state vote her in, I just don't know what to say. It's one thing to dabble in witchcraft. I really don't care; she's right, we all did stupid stuff in college. It's quite another to have no grasp on the first amendment, nor any understanding of what it says. Church and state, lady - they are separate. It's okay with me if you don't think that's the way it should be, but the fact that you didn't know ... that's unfathomable.