Halloween

Since we are now a week away from Halloween we decided to carve our pumpkins on Sunday. I actually had two to carve this year- I am not sure if I will do that again. My hand has scratches all over it from trying to scrape, clean, and cut out the pumpkins.

We carve pumpkins every year for Halloween. I think it became a tradition without us even realizing it.

I made the owl and the flame face and hubby made the skeleton- which is fitting considering how much he loves Slash from Guns and Roses. This was the first time I made a pumpkin where the nose is the stem- it was not easy. You get so used to the convenience of cutting around the stem that it was odd doing it another way.

Also for the first time this year I took out our pumpkin seeds and roasted them. I don't think I have ever had pumpkin seeds before. They taste a lot like sunflower seeds- without having the annoying part of taking off the shell.

You just lay them out on a cookie sheet to dry for about 24 hours. Coat in a few teaspoons of olive oil and season. I just used some seasoned salt and a little normal salt. Then you put them in a low heat oven for about an hour.

The Pioneer Woman calls the pumpkin seeds pepitas and she has prettier pictures than me. Plus she has ideas for other seasonings to use if you are feeling adventurous. Plus her blog is the best! She is part of why I thought blogging would be fun to do.

Oh and I almost forgot! I passed my clinical therapy exam on Monday! Thanks for the prayers- I'm sure they helped.

Whoopie Pies

My husband's dad and step- mom live in the New England area. His step mom was raised in Maine and the first time I went to visit them she introduced me to an amazing thing- The Whoopie Pie. I had never even heard of a whoopie pie. It is a dessert that actually originated in that area.

It is basically two mini cakes squished together with icing- and it is sweet and delicious! I really don't understand how the south has not learned about this. I mean pretty much anything sweet, decadent, and loaded with calories is a Southern food staple.

Lately I have seen a lot of recipes for whoopie pies, especially pumpkin ones- like this one from Martha Stewart:

The bad thing about these recipes is they all seem to have a cream cheese frosting in the middle.  I could live off of cream cheese frosting but as much as I love cream cheese equals how much my husband abhors it- so no yummy pumpkin whoopie pies :(

At the grocery store yesterday I was amazed to find a whoopie pie kit and I just could not resist. So for those of you who don't know the wonderfulness of a whoopie pie, there is now even a boxed version for your eating pleasure!

First you mix your batter:

Then you place teaspoon size dollops onto a cookie sheet about two inches apart:

Side note- your whoopie pies taste better if you prepare them with soaking wet hair. Its a fact. After they are on your baking sheet you kind of squish them down some:

Then they bake in the oven for about seven minutes. When they come out they are nice and pouffy.

Then you smear your frosting, squish them together, and learn about the best part of this kit! If you don't know what funfetti icing is you have missed out in life. When I was little they sold funfetti icing- which is basically vanilla icing with rainbow colored chips in the icing. It was amazing- and when I wasn't having cheesecake for my birthday many times funfetti icing was involved instead.

This kit is completed by rolling your icing in funfetti sprinkles- now you know you want some!

They are pretty cute if I do say so myself!

*P.S. Tomorrow morning I am taking my, very intimidating, therapy licensure test. The test is $300 to take and I really can't afford to pay that again- so please send prayers that I pass on the first go around!

Saying Goodbye

I have never been great at saying goodbye. This weekend I made the plunge and decided to 'say goodbye' to my long wedding hair. I have been blessed, or cursed- depending on how you look at it- with extremely think wavy hair. Once it gets to a certain point it becomes difficult to manage. I guess that point is around here:

On a daily basis I was having to rip out tennis ball size tangles and, well, that gets painful and old quickly. I decided to donate my hair to Locks of Love since I knew I had at least ten inches I wanted to cut off. 

"Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces for financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis".

So next week off it goes, my insanely thick braid of hair. This weekend I also have to say goodbye to my oldest friend. We have been friends for about 18 years- that is pretty amazing in the girl world. She is moving up north for a really cool opportunity for her.

Tonight, we had her going away party and while I am very sad to see her go- I hope she enjoys the new life! 

But I hope she comes back soon- it is hard to find such amazing friends!! 

Stealing

When I was little I was very, freakishly, moral. If I saw someone smoking I thought they were pretty much the devil. My black and white line had no grey area. Luckily, I have lightened up in many aspects- although I am still know as being "opinionated" to put it nicely.

Now I have taken up stealing other's ideas. Oh, how far I have fallen. A girl I went to high school with posted the cutest wreath idea on her blog- and, well, I copied. I know that is so not cool but I loved her wreath. She found the wreath idea from pinterest. Pinterest, by the way, is a very cool website!

Basically, you take a foam wreath, wrap it in yarn, and glue on some flowers.

Notes:
1. I had to go around with the yarn twice because I was too lazy to make it tight
2. Hot glue guns are evil things
3. This photo is proof that my new camera was SO worth the money as this picture sucks- those flowers are really orange and yellow.
4. It helps to have 4 hours to wrap a wreath when your husband has a new batman video game

Oh and to be a good girl I will now cite my reference!
Plus her pretty pictures:

http://pureappiness.blogspot.com

I May Have Lost My Mind

I am usually highly stressed and, quite frankly, weird about money. I worry about bills and I am constantly thinking about how to get rid of debt. I know that compared to most people I have "normal debt"- i.e= car payment and student loans.

I refuse to use a credit card if I can't pay it off. I rarely buy new clothes or stuff. I think I am living on the edge when I go get a coffee at Starbucks. Seriously, I need to lighten up. I am always making new plans on how to pay off the next big bill. It is kind of an obsession.

And then, sometimes, I turn into a girl. I need to go shopping, I need a hobby, and I want to buy something. Well this week I think I may have lost my mind because I decided I needed a fancy camera. I have no real reason why, I just wanted it.

I guess I can claim that I bought it as a late "happy graduation" gift or a "you are about to get out of your hell-hole job" gift. Honestly though, I just lost my mind. But I am quite happy with my purchase.

As per usual though, I didn't exactly think the purchase out. I forgot that my beautiful Mac desktop has out of date software- so right now I can't even upload any pictures. Nice thinking- I know. So now I have to go to the Apple store and see if I can update my software so that my fancy smancy camera will actually work.

This is why random, fly off your seat, purchases are never exactly good ideas but ultimately awesome- once you work out the kinks.

When "I'm Sorry" Isn't Enough

Do you ever have those days. Days where listening to the chaos is just not cutting it. You are exhausted and you are just sick of trying.I guess it is one of those mornings for me. As usual, my kid who was rude to me tried to apologize for it. Is it wrong that I don't accept that apology?

After awhile an apology becomes- well, not enough. When you attempt to make your amends but repeatedly have the same behavior what is the point of the apology? It makes the person getting the "I'm sorry" numb toward your atonement.

I am at that point with these kids. I am sick of hearing- I'm sorry, you really are a good teacher, I shouldn't have acted that way, etc. I have run out of sympathy. Acting like a wild animal with no manners can only be excused for so long.

In my head my clinical side tells me- they have had a rough life and have experienced trauma. The problem is that regardless of what you have gone through in your life every person on this planet has to learn how to be part of society. Considering my classroom is full of teenage- almost adult- boys I am over the justifications. You are not a little kid anymore. Learn how to have manners, be respectful, value your life and your behaviors.

Be more than what you were taught by your parents, foster parents, guardians, whatever. It is up to you to make a change. Society does not owe you anything, you owe it to yourself to make your life different- and better if you try.

Until you make that change in your behaviors I don't want to hear "I'm sorry" anymore. I'm over it.

Pumpkin Pickin'

After another long week of work where I made sweet, sweet memories- sweet memories such as a teenage boy calling me a c*#t. Ahh, this is why this job will always be cemented in my brain as the hardest job ever! Am I counting down the days- you bet! 3 more weeks to go and maybe I will be able to retain some sense of respect and dignity again.

Anyway, after all of that I needed to plan at least one fun activity this weekend. So hubby and I went to a local pumpkin patch to choose some more pumpkins to carve this year.

Pumpkin Patch

This ended up being mine!

The bad thing about us going to a place like this is that we both become convinced we need a farm. Seriously, we are the king and queen of being home bodies. We would be perfectly content owning a farm and doing fun stuff like this with the community. This farm even had a fun little shop with homemade ciders, jams, honey, etc.

We had to buy a jug of apple cider- not only was it homemade with their apples but it had a cool glass jug also. We couldn't resist.

I could totally do this!

The farm even had old neat looking tractors- which of course we had to pose with:

Even my inner hippie was appeased with this awesome painted chicken coup. If I ever have a farm I now fully believe that I will need a rainbow painted chicken coup- it's a must.

And now our front stoop looks super cute with three happy pumpkins just waiting to be carved.

It's fall- if you haven't gone out in this perfect weather to do something fun like this- you need to! Not to mention you can feel all warm and fuzzy inside that you supported local produce and products.

Gotta Love Fall

It is finally fall- my favorite season. Right now, I am listening to my husband and his friends scream at the football game. I used to hate football but now it is just another part of this great time of year. Although, I also lose my hearing every Sunday as the hubby uses his "thunder claps"- trust me I did not name the clapping but it is an appropriate name. Seriously, I think my ears are bleeding.

It is finally cooler- after another heat-stroke inducing southern summer. You can pull out your cozy sweaters and your fuzzy blankets. Plus, the need to nest and decorate always hits me this time of year. I always feel like fall and winter make every home warmer and more inviting.

I bought a pumpkin- the grocery store made me do it. The displays of fat happy pumpkins are just to enticing!

Hubby then got irritated because he thought we could have a fun outing and go to a pumpkin patch together. I am still game though because we BOTH need a pumpkin to carve. I only bought one so surely we need at least one more.

In 2009 we carved these beauties:

I love carving pumpkins so mine is the more detailed monster one. Hubby stuck with the classic jack o' lantern face- boring! When I went to Blowing Rock I even bought some decorations for the house. I usually don't let myself decorate much- I don't like "stuff". This time of year though I just turn into a girl I guess. I must decorate!

Even more importantly this time of year is the 'yummiest food' time of year- does that even make sense? Right now, my kitchen smells delightful- the first chili of the year. Soon to be followed by beef stew and a roast!

I am a firm believer that the CrockPot is the best kitchen appliance EVER created. Have you ever eaten anything out of a CrockPot that is not good? Exactly- point proven.

Fall also brings about Halloween- and Halloween forces me to do things like this to my puppy:

She is not amused but I sure am! This picture is also from two years ago and it still entertains me. She looks miserable- that jersey is WAY to small for a dog with as much fur as she has. Oh well, she'll get over it.

Just kidding, just kidding! Jeez....what do you take me for?