HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Happy Halloween to you all! In honor of this day, I am posting the below photos of the Boy in his power ranger costume, his pumpkin and his goofy daddy. We also carved the Boy's initial into the side of the pumpkin.

Have a safe and happy Halloween.

Halloween Party Blues

As most of you know, the hubby unit is a chef by training, though he no longer works in a restaurant.

That of course didn't stop his boss-man from requesting his skills to cater a Halloween party for 140 people. How could DH say no? Major brownie points were there for the taking, afterall.

140 people, out of my kitchen. Can I tell you how tired we are? Cause I did a lot of the grunt work - I made some of the dishes - including my signature chili, and I did all of the pretty stuff, i.e. getting the tables set for food.

The menu, was interesting but I had nothing to do with it - the Boss picked it all.

Korean BBQ style-beef short ribs
Pork Spareribs - (DH signature style)
Lemon-Rosemary chicken breasts (also DH style)
Hot Dogs and fresh smoked Kielbasa
Chili (my recipe)
Macaroni and Cheese - can I tell you this was a major hit?!! And, I used Richmond's recipe so I must send major props to her!
Squash casserole - Let me stop here for a second. A request was made that the said squash casserole not be "sweet and savory" so my husband - literally made up a recipe in the kitchen. He made a béchamel-like sauce and topped with crackers and baked. Everyone raved about this damn casserole. You'd have thought he'd just invented light - seriously!
Roasted Potatoes
Broccoli salad
Spiced carrots

For the broccoli and the carrots, I hollowed out two large pumpkins and lined them with crockpot bags - and served out of the pumpkins.

Also, instead of name cards for each foodstuff, I used mini-pumpkins and I wrote the names of each dish on them.

The party was a success, we each pocketed some much needed christmas cash and I'm still dead on my feet.

How was your weekend.

World's Best Wakeup

My three year old son still sleeps with me - don't leave me comments about that, I don't care . . .

So this morning, as I was snuggling waiting for the alarm to go off - my husband was out on an early morning firecall, the Boy burst out with the most delightful belly laugh. Not a giggle, a full on belly roar. He woke himself up too. I asked him what was so funny and he said "I not know, I sleep now." He promptly fell back asleep.

Folks let me tell you, there is no sound sweeter than a child's laugh. The innocence, the joy. When they are sleeping it is so much sweeter.

So, I woke with a smile and a belly laugh to start my day, how about you?

Leon Frederic

I recently bought something with which to adorn my off-white office walls.

Prints of one of my favorite art pieces - actually not one but four. It is a series of four panels entitled "The Four Seasons". The artist is Belgian Symbolist painter: Leon Frederic. The paintings are housed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art where I once stood admiring them for several hours. I no longer live in Philadelphia so I cannot indulge my absolute love for these panels.

Anyway, "The Four Seasons" depict cherubs bringing in each season. They are in order here: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. There is a fifth painting which is in the same series called "Nature" Mother Nature suckling these four cherubs. Some think his painting is amaturish or comical. This post doesn't do them justice. They are beautiful paintings. Simply beautiful.

Tell me - do you like them?

I got your fireman right here!

Do firemen make you swoon? Well, then do I have a picture for you . . . brace yourself ladies!
This one will make you ohhh and ahhhh!

Cute as a button he is!

What I Did With My Pumpkin

We took pictures!

It is fall here too. A little chilly but fall. That means, picture time! Here are a couple good ones.

What a cute little pumpkin!

Stretched Thin

Pretty soon I'm going to be see-through . . .

The Line

Ok, so last night I was standing before one of my most beloved eateries, finishing a very fun telephone convo with a friend whenout walk to nice looking men.

They were a little rough, looked as if they had enjoyed a brew or two but altogether not bad looking.

As the shorter of the two passed me he said "How you doin?"

People, it has been a long time since I got a "how you doin" and remember, I live in the woods - not Jersey.

I politely responded. Then I went inside to eat with my family, telling them of my brief, yet ego boosting encounter. Through dinner, whenever I'd say anything to the hubby - he'd say "How you doin!" Made for some interesting dinner conversation.

Anyway, I'm doing just fine. That line was well appreciated, I can assure you!

Keeping a Friend In My Prayers

Whether you pray or not, can you keep a friend in your thoughts?

When you read the post, you will know why.

Though I know it is small comfort to her, the chill of the water likely caused the baby to lose consciousness upon immersion. Though it sounds dreadful, her untimely passing likely spared her a lifetime of misery and pain caused by that sorry excuse for a mother.

Michele, Heros come in all shapes and sizes. You ARE a hero. As we well know, not all heros are successful in their mission - if success is judged by lives saved. Not all heros come back themselves. You are a hero. I'm proud to call you friend.

You have done what few people would choose to do. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Heal quickly my friend, in body and spirit. Know that that sweet child knows from her perch above that you put your life on the line to save hers. Perhaps, just maybe, you have won yourself a new guardian angel this week. Clad in long blonde curls and forever smiling and laughing the way a child should.

Attention Guitar Lovers!

The Boy wants a guitar. I want one that I don't have to tune every five minutes for him so that he doesn't lose interest. I want one cheap - because Santa is on a budget - get my drift? Used is ok. Free is better.

Ok, so, if any of my readers know a guy who knows a guy . . . I have a little guy who wants Santa to bring him his very own guitar.

In my mind I've got:

AF20N 1/2 or Aria AK20 1/2
Taylor Baby, I know fat chance.
Hohner

But if there are suggestions better than mine . . .

Ok, I haven't actually priced, thought I'd get suggestions first, how bout it? got any?

Blame Bush!

Hear that? That is me laughing hysterically while just reading headlines for my daily news intake today.

Yep here is what I got - no links, it's my blog, I can blow you off if I wanna!

N. Korea Conducts Nuclear Test - Iran Blames U.S.

Hu and Abe Join Hands Over N. Korean Nuclear Test

N. Korea Tests Nuke - Wants Congratulations

Pa. Mom Allegedly Throws Baby at Boyfriend

Seriously, who needs to mess with these headlines? They are funny all by themselves, or maybe I'm just tired.

Observations

My cousin recently moved into my home to escape an overbearing and abusive boyfriend. It was through recent conversations with her that I have made some observations.

Her boyfriend would scream and yell and berate her at the slightest provocation. Nothing she did was good enough, nothing she said was right, you all know the type. The shouts were vile and vicious. He expected her to pay for everything in the relationship and as he drained her bank account, he continued to mistreat her. He treated his children as badly as he treated her, and they in turn treated her badly as well. So, she is with us for a while.

Our pool needed to be recovered last week. Afterall, it is turning fall and it is time to close it up. The cover takes two people at minimum. I was not home. So Cuz and DH and the Boy took on the task aided by the dog, cat, a random garter snake, a bevy of mice and the quad.

What my Cuz said that evening struck me. She said she didn't realize how badly she was being treated until she spent an afternoon with my husband covering the pool. The job is tedious and time consuming and awkward. The Cuz said that her bf would have shouted at her, called her names and been positively ignorant the entire time. My DH? Kind, patient, calm.

She was surprised that he never raised his voice to either her or our son, nor did he call her names or tell her she was an idiot for tripping over a chain. No, he helped her up, showed her how to finish the task and was nice-all afternoon.

To her, nice is an anomoly. To me? It is normalcy. I have been with DH for 13 years. Not once in the 13 years we have been together has he ever, never ever, once said something derogatory or mean in order to hurt me. Never has he called me names - except in jest. Never has he berated my abilities or lack thereof - except in jest. Never has he stood inches from my face screaming obsenities or vile things. NEVER. Afterall, he would have been in pain afterwards . . . byegones.

It is not his nature, nor is it my nature to accept such behavior. My Cuz, it is her nature. Her dad was that way, her bf was too. She simply took it as normal.

This is not to suggest that DH and I don't have our moments of loathing. Afterall, that is normal too. But that is out of earshot or with friends where it doesn't sting one another on the hearing. We respect one another and each other's feelings too much to be so callous. The key of course is respect.

Oh, and love. We love eachother. Life is better because DH is in it. Life is wonderful because our son is a gift to us. The Cuz? She has never felt that way or seen it up close in her 26 years.

How is it that something so normal to me can be so foreign to her? We are in the same family. My dad was the polar opposite of hers and she knew it. When we were kids, she and her brothers would come for the summer and tell my dad "we wish you were our dad". How sad. Look, I'm not trying to oversimplify this. I'm not being idealistic. I know there are undesireable people out there. I just refused to settle for that.

I tried to explain to her, for the last several years, that she shouldn't settle for familiar just because she couldn't find fantastic. This is a huge lesson!! Teach your kids this lesson - DO NOT SETTLE FOR FAMILIAR JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN'T FIND FANTASTIC! Unless of course familiar just happens to be fantastic! .

Seriously, your heart should leap when your love touches your hand. He/She should look at you as if "you are the reason the sun rises."

I've got a very strong personality, I'd never settle for less. But, why should anyone? I don't want my son to ever settle for less. I want him to grow into a man and to meet the woman who thinks the sun rises because of him. I want his woman to feel that he thinks the sun rises because of her. I want them to have little baby stars . . . OK, you get the picture - sappy, yes - but not unrealistic.

The man I married is all of those things. In a month or so we will be married 10 years. Ten years of feeling like no matter what I look like on the outside I'm sitting on a pedestal to him. What a wonderful feeling. I hope Cuz feels that way one day too.

Here is an old pic from last year of the hubby and the Boy. If I do say so myself, big nose and all - he is a dish. *smile*

Pumpkin Time!

There are memories I have of my childhood that I cherish. Trips to the beach, the zoo or the fair. Picking out Christmas Trees in the snow with my daddy. Sled riding, hay baling, swingin out over the creek on a vine.

My dad or my family factor closely into each one of these memories. I can close my eyes and see my Grandma hand me a fresh cinnamon roll or I can hear my dad singing a song he made up to make us kids laugh. I catch a glimpse of my younger self swinging through the air on the tire swing my dad hooked to a pully so we'd get more air!

So I try to make the time I spend with my baby boy memorable. He is growing so quickly that I don't know where the time has gone. We are a close family. We three snuggle on the couch together and eat popcorn or ice cream. We lay, splayed out on the floor together and read books or color. We roll down the hill on a crisp fall day, because we can.

I'm blessed to be married to a wonderful man who makes certain that life isn't monotonous. I'm blessed that he cherishes every moment with our son as much as I do.

Now, I'm not always with it on these days. I usually forget the camera to capture those special memories. But I try. Even absent pictures, I hope the Boy remembers these days fondly, like I remember my childhood. I hope he can close his eyes and smell a campfire and hear the crickets chirping. I hope he can look off into the horizon and remember flying kites with his daddy. I hope we've given him a platform from which to jump off and enjoy life with his future children.

So, this past weekend we indulged. We shopped at the penny candy store, we got a toy at Toys R Us and we went on a hay ride to fetch a pumpkin or three from the pumpkin patch. Yep, it's that time of year and I forgot my camera.

So, what you get are three hazy pictures from my camera phone. They are not the best pictures, cause, well, the sun was bright, the wind was crisp and the camera was a phone. . .

Here is my Boy and his dad (doing his best redneck impression) in the pumpkin patch. They are looking for the elusive "tiny pumpkin".

Here is the Boy who has found said "tiny pumpkin" and is elated, though in this picture he looks strangely constipated . . .

And lastly, Boy and daddy with three "tiny pumpkins" a pumpkin booty to be sure!

What do you think? Will he remember these days whilst as a three year old he trudged through mud for the perfect pumpkin? Or will he forget these times which were so magical for me?