The summer will be officially over this Sunday. That means that fall is almost here. I can hardly wait. I love the fall. I love the colors and the crispness in the air. The fall is the only time I miss being up north. I love the changing of the leaves.

This has been a busy summer for me. So many changes. I have been so fortunate in all my endeavors. Everything I had wanted to do was accomplished.

First of all, in spite of all the rain, I got the new siding on my house. I was so fortunate to have Southwest Exteriors do my siding. They were so nice and easy to work with. And contrary to all the horror stories I had heard, they came in exactly on budget. Everyone was great. I highly recommend them.

Then it was time to take the plunge and add a car payment to my monthly expenses. So the kids and I headed out to Classic Toyota in Round Rock, Texas. I got the most beautiful 2008 Toyota Corolla CE. It's gray with beige interior. She doesn't have a lot of added features but she is exactly what I wanted. She is so much fun to drive. Plus the gas mileage is great.

The last thing on my to do list was a new mattress. You would not believe how badly I needed that. First we all headed to Mattress Firm. When I walked in the salesman asked what kind of a bed I had. I told him I had an adjustable bed but wanted to get a regular mattress this time for my bedroom suite. After finding a mattress, we made arrangements for delivery. I double checked that they would pick up my old bed and everything was set. Unfortunately, when the drivers arrived I was informed that they do not take adjustable beds. After much time on hold trying to talk to the warehouse, I was informed that they would not take my old bed. The thing that made me the maddest is that the salesman lied and said he didn't know I had an adjustable bed to be picked up. At that time I cancelled the order and had them take the new mattress away. The company has since been very good about refunding my money. I am very grateful to them for that but cannot honestly recommend them to any of my friends.

I called Missy & Terry and, being the wonderful kids they are, they dropped everything and came over and took me to another mattress store that evening. We went to Mattress Pro and found not only a better mattress but it was cheaper too. The salesperson was fabulous and made arrangement for the mattress to be delivered the next day. I have to tell you that everyone was so nice and there was no problem taking away the old bed. I cannot tell you how wonderful that new mattress is. The only problem is that the bed is a little high. Nothing that a good foot stool won't help. ;-)

So here I am. Totally broke and will be making payments for the rest of my life. But I'm happy. I got everything done that I had planned this summer and met some wonderful, professional and really nice people in the process. I got to spend lots of time with my family and some special times with Serif. All in all I'd say it was a good summer. Now I guess we'll have to see what the fall brings us.