Five for Friday

1. Can you believe it's already October? Where has 2009 gone? I feel like the older I get, the faster the time goes by!

2. We have a super busy couple of months coming up to round out the end of the year. Next weekend, I haven't given up hope in getting tickets to the Ohio State vs Wisconsin game (hint, hint to anyone out there trying to get rid of theirs!). The weekend after, we travel to Minneapolis for my great-grandmother's 100th birthday and then travel to Seattle for a few days to celebrate our second wedding anniversary. Halloween weekend, one of my best friends is coming to visit from Florida. The weekend after that, my Dad is coming for a quick visit. Two weeks after that is Thanksgiving, which we'll be spending in New York City with my family, and a month after that is Christmas. Whew! I am super excited about all the traveling we're going to be doing though.

3. So I mentioned Seattle. I am so, so, so beyond excited to visit the emerald city. It is a place I have always wanted to go... literally my entire life this place has been on my list. I've already gotten great recommendations on what to do (take a ferry out to the San Juan Islands; go on the duck boat tour, where you sail past the houseboat from Sleepless in Seattle), but if any of you have other recommendations, please let me know!

4. We had some layoffs and restructuring this week at my job. While it's always a difficult time for everyone, I am thankful to say that my team was not negatively affected this go-around. Hopefully that trend will continue (despite the fact that I just overheard on CNN that the nationwide unemployment rate is up to 9.8% - yuck).

5. Fall is officially here. I love fall. Largely because of the large amount of pumpkin-flavored items available: Pumpkin lattes. Pumpkin coffee. Pumpkin scones. Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin muffins. Pumpkin soup (mmmm, my favorite!). Heck, I even saw a recipe for pumpkin lasagna yesterday! All hail the great pumpkin!