Castober Continues!

October has been pretty good to us. We have lived it up to the fullest. And have eaten way too many cookies. Hey, October only comes once a year...and so does November and December. Cookies till 2014.

Don't you just love those Saturdays, the ones that are perfect? When you sleep in, go on a run with the air so crisp and cool, get ready, and then do everything fun. Including..pumpkin patches, going to the movies to see G R A V I T Y {fantastic movie} & eat movie theater popcorn, and looking at Halloween costumes that you know you will never buy because they are way too revealing or scary. 

 

 

 

&

I found my pumpkin.
The one that is mine.
Chosen by me.

Ain't it so cute and small?

 

 

Running with Grandpa

As I was running 6 miles, there was an elderly man running behind me. I kept thinking, "he looks a lot like my grandpa." I sped up so he wouldn't catch up. After a while, I couldn't keep up my pace so I had to slow down.

As he finally passes me...

Random runner: Good afternoon.

N: Wow, you are doing a great job!

Random runner: 67 and STRONG!

N: 23 and TRYING!


And that's when I made a promise to myself that when I'm 67 years old I will be running just like that man. But then I changed my mind and decided that I hope I wouldn't be running at the age of 67. That's too much for my future old body.

Castober: Pumpkin Patch

When we drove up to the pumpkin patch, I was a little TON jealous. You'll see why. We went to PRIDDY FARMS which serves both as a christmas tree farm in the winter and a pumpkin patch in the fall. But the best part about it: IT IS SOMEONE's HOUSE. How awesome is that?? They literally have a pumpkin patch on their land and tons of people come visit! Okay...when I grow up I always wanted to host the coolest ward halloween party, I mean...trunk or treat. But now I'm pretty sure I aspire to own a lot of land and sell pumpkins.

They had tons of cool stuff. They had hayrides, pumpkins{duh}, bounce house, and a little section where you can make your own scarecrow! The other cool part was that you can have a birthday party there! Actually, when we were visiting, a little girl was having her birthday party.  I told J that I no longer wanted to celebrate my birthday in August, but that next year we should celebrate it in October instead. And then we were wondering if it was legal to change your bday, you know...like how people change their name. I'll look into it. But actually, I want to have a child of mine be born on October so then I can throw a super cool birthday party. Maybe that's a little much. Oh well.

Look out world, Castober will soon be expanded to CASTAGNO FARMS {EST. 2020}

#ldsconf

This weekend, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we were blessed to gather together to watch General Conference.  As conference was starting, I got suuuuper emotional. Partially because I know that J and I do not live driving distance from the conference center. Also, because now that we don't live in Utah, we don't get to see or hear our leaders speak to us like we did when we were at BYU. And so I was happy that we had the opportunity to listen to our leaders!

As I get older, I have a greater and deeper appreciation for this specific weekend. I felt like E A C H and everyone of the speakers was speaking to ME. I have had many questions concerning our family { J + ME}. We have so many plans and hopes and dreams. But sometimes it's hard deciding which choice is the right one for us. Conference gave me the peace of mind to feel confident to go in the direction of our plans.

Every time I watch conference, I get the energy and inspiration I need to start new personal goals. It gives me perspective and reminder of what is really important in life and to not get caught up in the world. This was probably my favorite conference so far, IF I had to choose one. I am thankful for this blessing we receive every 6 months. I am thankful for the prophet of this church, President Monson. I am thankful for the peace I receive in my life because of this church.  I am thankful for my membership in this church.

I LOVE that we spend an ENTIRE weekend listening to talks about CHRIST. 

The questions of life

J and I took a walk the other day and the question was asked:

If you could live anywhere in the US where would it be?

J:
>>> Denver, Colorado
>>> Provo, Utah
>>> Boston, Massachusetts

N:
>>> Santa Monica, California
>>> Portland, Oregon
>>> Boston, Massachusetts

We don't know where life will take us, but if we had our choice,

 this is where we would like to go. 

Until then... Memphis, it is. 

Castagnos+October= Castober

People, the day has arrived. The day I wait for all year long. After the scorching heat of summer, comes something lovely, something worth rejoicing for. The crisp, cool air and the changing, crunchy leaves make this time of year my favorite. The time when I can finally wear my grandma cardigans. 

This day is October 1st. 

So, I will be doing a monthly challenge titled CASTOBER...get it? I will post all of our October festivities! Hopefully Jeremy and I will keep it up all month long. I know it will be hard because we are always so "tired" after a long day of work. Here is to October. Also, ever since Red and I became friends, we both knew we loved October. Every year we celebrate it together, however, this year we are living in different states, so we made a list of all the things we are doing this month! 

Come join Castober with us! 

• caramel apples
• cornbelly's/spooky nights
• carve pumpkins
• hayride
• Hocus Pocus
• pumpkin patch
• half marathon
• drink cider
• eat CANDY
• Halloween oreo cookies
• make Halloween themed foods/treats
• bake Halloween cookies/cupcakes
• roast pumpkin seeds
• dance to "Thriller"
• decorate the house inside and out
• celebrate Dia de los Muertos
• get scents from B&BW, BPAL, and Yankee Candle 
• visit a cemetery 
• scare roomates/husband
• pass out candy
• scary movie marathon night
• play in the leaves
• wear a Halloween sweater
• wear orange
• watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
• make pumpkin bread
• pumpkin flavored drinks at Starbucks 
• go on a hike
• watch Halloween episode of PLL

Day 1: We went to the dollar store and got us some goodies/decorations. They are so cute, can't wait to put them up! 

Today at work I read to my preschoolers some Halloween books! OMG. I wish someone would have taken a picture of me because it was the BEST. Seriously, who gets excited about reading Halloween books to kids? THIS GIRL. 

EEEKKK.