You better eat it before it eats you….

My mother ate bagel’s from Whole in the Wall before the store even existed: when she was in college the original bagel baker, Elliot, sold his bagels right on campus. These are not Bruegger’s bagels’; they’re denser and chewier and made entirely with whole wheat.

I toasted my bagel and topped one half with apple butter and pecan butter and the other half with goat cheese (I was experiencing some conflicting savory/sweet feelings).

Yum! Perfect fuel for my morning and an excellent start to the work week!

I work at an elementary school, so my schedule is in tune with the academic year. And that means Labor Day marks the end of freedom.

It’s back to the grind for us here in the apartment. The three of us have opposite schedules with work and school, and it’s hard to remember who’s walking the dog in the morning, who went grocery shopping last, and whose turn it is to do the dishes.

Sporadic grocery shopping means weird meals. It’s all about getting creative in the kitchen, throwing odd snacks and scant leftovers into a bag for lunch. My mother, who is constantly pushing food on me to take home whenever I visit her, was the force behind last night’s dinner. Not that I’m complaining about the food-pushing: dinner last night was homemade baked macaroni and cheese. And since I’ve been lacking in the veggies department lately, I did my best to supplement last night. I sauteed onions, mushrooms, and spinach in olive oil, then added some white kidney beans and added it to the macaroni and topped it with lots of pepper and paprika.

Not too shabby! I was happy to be eating somewhat healthfully again. (My roommate later killed it when she made the most deliciously hot and chewy cookies, but that’s another post).

So summer is over and now everybody’s working for the weekend. To celebrate Labor Day/mourn summer’s end, The (wonderful) Boyfriend planned a surprise date for me! He wouldn’t tell me where we were going or what we were doing. But I was excited when I saw this sign:

Pardon the drive-by photography. That’s a sign for Lake George, my friends. We talked about going all summer but I didn’t think we’d get the chance, so I was very excited when I figured it out. Our first stop was a date I’ve always wanted to go on: miniature golfing.

I love, love mini golf!

We had so much fun, too! A lot of people were out put-putting away the last days of summer. It was sunny, there was ice cream involved, we took pictures. I won’t dwell on who won (it was me!!), because all that matters is the special time we shared together.

Our next stop was to Million Dollar Beach. In my opinion, it was a little too chilly for swimming, although that didn’t stop some people! Sitting on the sand, watching the lake and the families savoring their day off was enough for me.

We drove around a lot, too. Even after My Summer in the Car, I still enjoy driving and sticking my face out the window like a puppy.

We stopped to admire Santa Claus and Uncle Sam (they both summer on the lake, apparently).

I absolutely had to take a picture of this street sign:

Creepy. We were slightly lost when we stumbled upon this road, so we high-tailed it out of there!

The day concluded with some of my favorite things:

Coffee.

Yummy sandwiches. Oh, and The Boyfriend.

Sunset.