Wed. Hodgepodge--All Things Fall

Middle of the week people!  after this is a downhill slide to the weekend!  How about some questions to help wednesday along?

1. Are the leaves turning color where you live? Have they begun to fall? Will you have to rake when it's all said and done? Is that a chore you love or loathe? The leaves are definitely changing here. They started about two weeks ago.  Vibrant yellows are every where with an occasional orange or red bush for contrast. With this color chage and some helpful wind, they are falling all over.  We will have to rake, but only if the snow doesn't beat us to the ground first.  We have had years where the raking came in the spring after the ice and snow melted off because the snow came early. We always hope for a helpful wind to move the leaves to, oh say, Nebraska.

2. When did you last shake like a leaf? The last time I shook like a leaf was when I got a chill while camping.  It took crawling in bed and piling blanket over myself to warm up and stop shaking.  From fear, well the last time I got all shaken up was when Bruiser slammed his face into the steps at a cabin we were visiting.  It scared me hearing that thump...

3. After 20 seasons with the NY Yankees, Derek Jeter played his last official game Sunday afternoon. Jeter has been described even by opponents as a 'class act', both on and off the field. The NFL is back in action this month too, with several players in that sport also making headlines. What are your thoughts on athletes as role models? Should a professional athlete be expected to act as role model or is that going beyond their job description? What responsibility do the organizations these athletes work for have when it comes to dealing with off the field behavior? Discuss.  They may not want to be role models, but they are.  Sadly, when that much money starts flowing, people start to believe that any activity can be covered up, paid off or made to go away.  It's not just about the game any more.  And yes there should be organization responsibility.  But not organization cover ups.

4. What season of the year is toughest for you in terms of your health? Why?  I'm not a fan of fall and spring weather changes. they give me migraines.  Spring brings with it allergies that last until snow fall.  Winter is the easiest, no allergies, fewer migraines.

5. The top six healthy food trends of 2014 according to Eating Well are-

clean eating (more veg, less meat, less sodium, limit alcohol and processed foods)
trash fish (you know those fish that get caught in fishermen nets and are thrown back? It seems chefs are finding creative ways to make them more appetizing)
cauliflower (this year's IT vegetable)
kaniwa (essentially baby quinoa, so like quinoa only smaller)
fermentation (think pickling except with twists on flavor we're not accustomed to)
community supported food (farms operating with community support/membership).

Okay-so how many of the hot healthy food trends for 2014 have you experienced, encountered, enjoyed? Any you've tried and said ewwww? Any on the list you'd like to try before year's end? We have trended toward clean eating.  I make more of our foods, we use less processed and we have reduced salt intake for years. We are not total fanatics, but we try to eat better in general. We have added more fish to our diet, but fish is a tough sell to the shorter people in the house.  I could go for some of the fermented foods, but nothing too odd.

6. In seven words or less, bid September adieu. As the leaves fall, we say goodbye.

7. What's something on your October calendar that makes you happy just thinking about it? Halloween of course, but we are also planning some trips to the mountains.  I like going to the mountains in the fall.  No mosquitoes, and all the lovely colors.

8.  Insert your own random thought here. We will be having parent teacher conferences in the next couple weeks.  I used to dread them as a kid, because, even though I was a good student, it was still my mom talking with someone in authority about me.  The conferences were good, but I dreaded them anyway.
Now I dread them for an entirely different reason.  Going to talk about how my kids are doing.  The conferences are usually good, but the whole talking about my kids with an authority figure still nerves me out.