Who was I kidding buying a giant bag of fun-size Snickers "for the kids"?

Wavering mid-aisle between putting the heaping helping of nougat-y delight back onto the shelf or into my basket, my rationale went something like this: come Sunday evening, droves of costumed crusaders will knock on my door expecting candy -- think of all the trick-or-treating Twilight vampires and mini Justin Biebers -- and for goodness sake, what kind of crotchety neighbor would I be if I didn't have Halloween goodies to fill pillowcases and pumpkin pails?

Truth is, I live in an apartment and I've seen approximately 1.5 kids since moving in a month ago (and the .5 is for the pregnant lady down the hall).

Six crumpled fun-size Snickers wrappers and a sugar high later, it's fairly evident that there were some gaping holes in my "rationale."

(And please tell me, you're just as creeped out by this commercial as I am? But not creeped out enough to stop gobbling Snickers. Obviously).

- B.

Well, I'm not putting Martha Stewart to shame or anything...

but I am pretty proud of my new vase & flower arranging skills.

(And really, how can you pass up hydrangeas & gerbera daisies for $2 a bunch? Harris Teeter, you cut a mean deal).

The most wonderful mail day in the history of checking the mail...

Katie, Kyle & Mamasita (yet again), you will never know how much

I appreciate surprises like these.

This long distance relationship brought to you by... Skype.

(At least until Friday night, when I pick that

handsome face up from the airport!!)

Quick Pic

Leaves are starting to fall here, so I saved a few from the sidewalk.

(They're too pretty to trample!)

View from my porch this afternoon.

The Rangers are going to the World Series for the first time ever...

What better way to celebrate than vanilla victory cupcakes?

Lost my favorite "Brooke" ring somewhere between Texas and North Carolina...

Got it in 6th grade at the State Fair from this adorable Fredericksburg silversmith.

But Mamasita found its exact replacement and look what showed up in the mail today!

- B.

You know you've slept through your alarm when you show up to the office with fresh pillow marks still creasing your face.

The mad dash that was my morning? Foreshadowing. (If I knew it was physiologically possible, I'd say I didn't even exhale until I collapsed into my car to drive home). Suffice it to say that live TV is fast-paced. And three hour shows are excruciatingly long. And the combination of the two is wild.

Ok, whew. Don't anybody go calling the wahhhhmbulance. I'm done whining.

Going to sit on my porch (wrapped in my burnt orange blanket) and let my neighbors think I'm creepy for taking pictures of nature. (I'm only interested in the flowers, lady. Not trying to peep through your blinds!)

- B.

Ok, so I had this really, really good story to tell. We're talking textbook awkward turtle moment. But because it involves a co-worker/work situation, I will refrain from recounting on advice of, ahem, counsel.

Me: "Hey Kyle, is it totally inappropriate to blog about blah blah blah...?"

Kyle: "Um, yes."

Smart kid, that one is.

Let's just leave it at this...

I suppose when you spend the day sitting in a 5' x 10' editing room (closet might be a more appropriate word) next to someone, that someone begins to feel like they can "open up" to you. For future reference, physical proximity does not warrant unnecessary personal disclosure.

And if you want the rest of the juicy G, email me.

And if you're wondering what juicy G is, ask my sophomore year roomies.

- B.

You know what seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me? Watching the sun rise as I drive into work on my day OFF for an "exclusive" three hour Avid training session. Exclusive, as in, you'll be the only person in the building (besides Tony, the security guard) because no one comes in this early. (*For those of you who didn't spend a giant chunk of your college days in a media lab pursuing a broadcast or RTF degree, Avid is the big boy editing system that turns raw video footage into the pretty montages you see on TV).

Working Girl Revelation 101: Days off are a precious and blessed thing, never to be taken for granted. Snatching them away with minimal notice (aka: an email alert on Saturday evening) just ain't right. And hello, it's Columbus Day! When it did become so passé to brush that off? (I kid, I kid).

But to give you an idea of what I see every day...

Graphics control room.

(Buttons!!)

The 1/2 cube, complete with name tag. A real beaut, eh?

And a little eye candy to break up the corporate monotony...

(Ahhhh, fall, I'm in love).

- B.

Most days, I thank the good Lord that I have a job -- a fantastic job. To complain that it's too far away from Texas would be pretty selfish. But yesterday, that's exactly what I did. Feeling downright blue, I burst into tears while telling Kyle goodnight (on Skype, nonetheless. Certainly can't hide tears while video-chatting). Maybe it was hearing all his fun stories from the weekend? Maybe it was the weather (cold and rainy)? Or maybe I was just being a big girly baby? But Sunday night, I've never felt farther from home. Bound to happen.

Cue the sun shining and the birds chirping this morning... Happiness is a choice, I thought to myself. (Well, aren't I a regular Buddha?) So I slicked on some bright red lipstick -- to match the changing bright red leaves -- and marched myself over to the Harris Teeter. (That's what the grocery stores up here are called. And if you follow me on Twitter, you know I call 'em "Hairy Teets" for short). If anything can pull me out of a funk, it's baking. And what better time to break in my kitchen?

Because October has arrived and temperatures are settling comfortably in the mid-60s, pumpkin and cream cheese took top-billing on my grocery list. Flipping through my recipe arsenal, I dog-earred the Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins. Ahhh, comfort food.

As my fingers fell into a familiar rhythm -- mixing, stirring, cracking, scooping -- and the warm smell of baked goods wafted through my place, the distance between home and my heart began to shrink.

- B.

Flashback

This weekend last year...

Painting coolers consumed my life.

Texas was on the verge of 6-0.

(I was fantastically hungover).

And oblivious to the fact that the work I put in then

would land me a job ten months later.

Happy TX/OU Weekend, friends.

Though I have to be at work tomorrow, you better believe

I'll be wearing my Longhorn boots and watching the live game feed.

(Someone have a fried Oreo for me).

- B.