Garage Sales, Pumpkin Candles & Football: Fall is Officially Here!

Is it just me, or is there something strangely thrilling about selling your old crap from the comfort of your own garage? Our neighborhood has two community-wide garage sales each year, and every year it's the same thing; My husband laughs at me saying, "No one is going to buy that! Are you kidding me?!" To which I always respond, "Oh, just wait and see! People will buy anything!"

This year, we literally went through every single cabinet, drawer, and corner of our house to pull out anything not being used. Our front hallway was beginning to resemble an episode of TLC's "Hoarding: Buried Alive." BTW, if you are a neat freak like me, I do not recommend watching that show. It's like a bad car accident you can't look away from! Ick

Garage sales in our neighborhood are so insane there are actually traffic jams near the entrances. As usual, there were people bombarding our driveway as the sun was still rising and I was scrambling to set everything up. Then towards noon, the real show began. I sat back in my rocker and watched people drive by with huge truckloads of furniture, toys...you name it, all bungeed together haphazardly. It's just astonishing to see how nuts people get for a good deal. That's about the time I usually make a table that says "FREE" which creates a frenzy I'd liken to the release of Cabbage Patch dolls in the 80's. WOW! Take it! Take it all!

4 hours and many "interesting conversations" later, we walked away with $750! Well, technically my husband was out golfing as I wheeled and dealed, but he donated some electronics, so we'll let him slide. If only I could have a garage sale every weekend my life would surely be more interesting. Oh, who are we kidding? The fact that I even find it thrilling probably means I should get a life in the first place. ha!

Why stop there? We have a small jar about 4 inches high in the kitchen that we throw all of our change into. It reads "Vacation Fund" but I am on the prowl for one that says "IVF Fund."

What, they don't make those you say? Still, that jar isn't fooling anyone. We all know damn well none of that $$ is going towards vacation. It's going straight to our two main cash funnels (a.k.a. fertility treatments & hubby's MBA.)

Needless to say, I was shocked when I emptied this tiny jar full of coins into the local Coinstar and out popped a voucher for $60. Hot damn! I love Coinstar! If you have never used one, please dig through your seat cushions immediately and try it out.  It's nothing short of winning on the slot machines in Vegas. Plus, with this there is no risk of losing. All that was missing was a flashing light and siren. It's like free money I tell you!

Even if we aren't planning a vacation anytime soon, we did not waste any time treating ourselves to a dinner out with friends and enough Moet to kill a small horse. You see, this is what happens when you are on such a strict regimen of no alcohol, no gluten, no dairy, no FUN for God knows how long...it's hard to stop once you finally have it! We had an absolute blast, but being that I'm normally such a rule follower while undergoing fertility treatments, I still felt a wee bit guilty waking up in a bit of a haze the next day. Oh well, I won't pretend to be perfect. We took our butts straight to church that morning, which helped me feel like a little bit less of a sinner, especially since we tithed 10% of the garage sale earnings. :)

We were also blessed with a little cold snap and some gorgeous weather this weekend in Austin! Lows in the 50's-60's at night and sunny 70's-80's during the day. Perfect weather for some Sunday lunch, shopping, and lazy football watching. I figured I'd finally make Fall official with this scrumptous addition...

I will admit that Fall, and more specifically November, have become a bit of a thorn in my side from an emotional standpoint. I've lost pregnancies the past two Novembers in a row, and still no baby or even hope for a pregnancy in the next month or two. My ovaries are basically put to sleep right now while I am on hormone replacement as part of recovery post-surgery.  I'm really going to try extra hard to stay positive during the holidays this year. I've got to keep finding joy in the little things...like pumpkin candles, fuzzy slippers, baking cookies and wine by the fire. I know the holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas) can be hard for many of us trying too long to start families, but I hope you'll be able to find joy in the little things too.

Speaking of Fall...As you may remember, I applied to do substitute teaching at my local school district right before the school year started. Well, I have STILL yet to be hired. I am beyond grateful to be a stay-at-home-wife right now, but I'm getting antsy and would love to be back in the classroom on a part-time basis. I would think I'm overly qualified; A former teacher (although certified in FL), and I graduated summa cum laude with an MS in Education. Either the school district is super unorganized, or they have a serious overabundance of subs here, because it's like pulling teeth trying to get hired as a freaking substitute teacher. It's not rocket science, so what gives? Hopefully I will get an offer for employment with them soon. It would really be nice to make some extra $ and still have the flexibility I feel I need to stay sane right now. Just continuing to pray for patience, guidance and peace here...