Autumn Resolutions

Autumn is surely my favorite season. I love the feeling of warm sweaters & heavier blankets, the coziness of shorter days, and the toasty sensation that comes with a hot chocolate*. I also love the advent of schedules, and what with Anna beginning preschool and dance class (the latter now at the rec center), we are scheduled up the wazoo. With the beginning of our fun and busy fall, I also found myself making a few resolutions for this season. Some are big, some are banal, some aren't even mine. Here they are, in no particular order.

• Baking my own bread: I've done this off and on, and now that I'm better rested and more ambitious, I'm trying to bake all my own bread instead of buying it. This was partly spurred by a newspaper article on simple ways to save money, and partly because homemade bread is more interesting. Recent successes include: Cinnamon Prune Bread, Zucchini Lemon Bread, and Carrot Bread with Crystallized Ginger (all from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook).
• Cooking leafy greens weekly: This is harder than it sounds. In terms of veggies, my kids are more into orange beta-carotenes than green folates. But I keep trying. I've found some great recipes for swiss chard and kale. This week it's spinach, with the understanding that at least Jon likes (i.e., doesn't hate) spinach.
• No longer leaving the kids at the child care center at my gym: This decision was spurred by our last visit, wherein Anna picked up the nastiest cold she's encountered in a long time. As a result, she missed out on her very first day of preschool. Terribly sad. Also sad because it means that I need to lift weights on the weekends or early in the morning.
• Getting up early to work out: As in, before the kids are awake. This is to avoid (a) child care at the gym, (b) the physical violence that occurs when both kids are in the bike trailer, and (c) destroying my knees while pushing the double stroller. It also frees up our mornings so we can do more interesting things like play dates, visiting the zoo and museums, and possibly vacuuming.
• Isaac's scrapbook: I really really would like to finish this album, documenting Isaac's first year. After that, I'm switching to photo books created on-line, featuring the best pics from the year.
• Clothes: Last weekend I finally girded my loins and hired a babysitter so that I could buy some clothes. Many of mine were terribly old and falling apart. I hate buying clothes, but I decided it was time to move beyond t-shirts and shorts/jeans. So this season I'm going for the "not bag lady" look.
• Drink more... water: It's hard to stay hydrated in Colorado.
• Maintain sanity, and listen to my husband: Related to the bills accrued after the Tylenol Incident and an ineffective CAT scan, I shall attempt to use my head before any sort of medical adventures. Also, I will listen to the cool head of my husband who I find to be wise and even-keeled. And almost always right.
• Wearing gloves while washing dishes: Have I mentioned this is a dry climate?
• Climbing on everything just to see how high one can get: This is Isaac's resolution. I resolve to not make a big deal out of it. And maybe put pillows everywhere.
• Avoid getting every single virus that comes to town: This is my resolution for Anna. Out of my control? Yup. But one can hope.

In short, I'm looking forward to the fall.
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 * Please note that it is still too hot for any of these things in the Denver area. But the promise of them is almost as good as the real thing.