Is it fall yet?

Our very favorite season here at the Blakely household is fall!  Really, we love things about every season, but there is just something about the crisp air, the leaves turning bright hues of red, orange and yellow, the smell of cinnamon and cider, the pumpkin flavored everything (but especially pumpkin spiced lattes), and finally getting to pull on that favorite sweater.  Apparently we are longing for a little bit of fall because on this week's menu plan, Josh picked out a new recipe to try that clearly belongs in October or November!  And, after making it tonight, I think it will be made many times throughout this fall.  It was yummy yummy!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

I feel certain that Dickens was not talking about the Blakely family when he wrote "A Tale of Two Cities back in 1895. That being said, the famous commentary on the times seems no less applicable to us these days. The last 8 months have been pretty rough. First, my step-grandfather (Mom's step-father) passed away. Then my grandfather (Dad's father) passed. And now, my grandmother (Mom's mother) has passed away as well. At some point in my life I have known five grandparents and been blessed by that experience. Now, I have one living still. Needless to say, it's been an emotional couple of months for all of us.

My family of choice

You may not know this about me, but I'm an avid Buzzfeed reader. Some of the stories are wacky and not really "up my alley" but then some are very thought-provoking. Some, well some are just plain hilarious and make me laugh uncontrollably. Some of the posts are just plain wrong and I'll let you stumble upon them if you dare.

Heels are no joke!

Did you know that 1 in 4 college-age women report surviving rape or attempted rape? That is a staggering fact that sobers me every time I read it even as I am unable to comprehend a number that equates to roughly 400,620 women in 2010 (latest statistics available). That doesn't sound like too many until you realize that it is more than the populations of Richmond, VA and Newport News, VA combined.

Maybe the number would make more sense if broken down into something more meaningful. Longwood University has 4,355 undergraduates. Of them, 69% are women meaning that there are roughly 3,005 undergraduate women. If statistics hold true, then roughly 751 Longwood undergraduates have experienced rape or attempted rape.

Yikes.