You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October 2008.
So, I had this brilliant idea to make special treats to take to Fabul-O’s school for Halloween.
Step one: Bake brownies. Actually, Will and Olivia did this step last night. I had him put them into cupcake papers, filling about 1/3 full, so they would be uniform in size.
Step two: Place one large marshmallow on top of brownies.
Step three: Melt vanilla icing in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds. I put it in a paper cup and used a plastic spoon to drip over the marshmallows. (No pics, Will wasn’t here and O hasn’t quite mastered my camera. By pic quality, neither have I!)
Step four: Use piping gel to dot eyes and make mouth. I couldn’t find black, so I used blue cookie icing. Next time I won’t be lazy and I’ll tint some icing and use my tips and pipe it. Will look much better.
Without further ado, I present to you, blue-eyed brownie ghosts. And they look absolutely NOTHING like the inspiration picture. They’re 3 yr olds and I’m taking toddler crack as a snack. They’ll be fine!
Shannon and Tony are now hitched! Shannon was beautiful, Tony was so handome and Emily was so stinking cute!!!!
My pocket digi camera didn’t want to cooperate so my pics are few. Shannon even saved me a dance at the reception. It was the same Journey song we danced to at the Second Chance Prom. Good friends are the best and I am honored to have them as friends. Our visits are few and far in between, but we never miss a beat.
Congrats to the new family.
A few Sundays back, we took a trip to the local pumpkin patch. Needless to say, Olivia was less than thrilled for pictures, so I broke out the mommy card: I bribed. Yes, I did. This is what took place:
Me: Olivia, all we want are just a few good pictures. I’ll buy you ice cream if you smile pretty.
Some other mom: *Gasp* You’re bribing her with ice cream for a picture with pumpkins?
Me: Yup. M&Ms stopped working a long time ago. Say ‘cheese’!
Enjoy the pictures.
Hi. I’m not sure what word to use to describe life at Chateau L right now, but easy ain’t it. While our problems aren’t along the lines of some others, it’s been kind of rough at our little piece of real estate. It’s all relative, so please keep that in mind if you think our issues are drivel.
First: Will still isn’t better in regards to his back. After he failed physical therapy and rehab, his other specialist said it was a kidney issue and to go back to his family doctor. I have heard every theory on kidney issues. Kidney function tests are fine. It’s not his kidneys. I swear it’s not. So, he has seen another specialist who is referring him for more MRIs because, apparently, Dr. Quackers didn’t have them scan down past the area of Will’s back that is injured so there is no way to get a good, in depth view of what’s going on. Good news was we met all of our out of pocket expenses on what was done previously. Bad news: Our deductible reset October 1. Can you say begin again?
Second: This one’s pretty touchy…As a direct result of the first, Will is not going to be deploying with his unit. PLEASE save your woots, hoots and hollers and all the words of excitement about him not being in harm’s way. Yes, I’m thrilled to not have to go to bed and wake up and live every moment of my day wondering what is happening and going on. I’m sure he’s relieved to not have to wear full battle gear and wonder how far they are away from those who want them dead. There is no guarantee they won’t kick him out of the Guard, but, for now, it looks as if he will be reassigned to another drilling unit or he could possibly be put on rear detachment to support his unit from home. We don’t know yet. We’re hoping they won’t kick him out. Fourteen years of his life will come to a screeching halt. Hopefully soon. Where is my giddy you wonder? For those who have had to prepare to send their loved ones off for a deployment, you know how much mental preparation goes into it. For those of you who don’t, it’s a lot and I’m sure some of the military spouses who read here will agree to that. Remember: we have been mentally preparing for this, and gearing up, for a year and a half. The past 18 months have plagued my mind of what-ifs and preparations. The good: Will’s are up to date. The bad: The money that goes into buying things that will make life more comfortable for him. The military doesn’t deem them necessity, so they don’t supply them. The ugly: Life insurance assignments, benefits instructions are in order. The really ugly: Planning your husband’s funeral. All this stuff is stuff that should be done anyway, but a lot of it is required and it makes it harder. Most people, if they ever do it, take their time and might do little bits at a time and wrap it up when the mood strikes. I promise you that getting unready for deployment is a lot harder than getting ready. One would think it would bring with it a HUGE sigh of relief and a weight lifted off your shoulders. No, it doesn’t. Now I watch my soldier husband as he gets ready to WATCH his fellow soldiers pack up to leave for the next XX months. I hear him talking about taking time off work to make sure he’s there to see them off. I hear how my soldier husband recites a request from a squad leader to help his men get geared up and ready at drills because he’s been sent on special training. I see disappointment in my soldier husband’s eyes as all this unfolds. He has been labeled “non-deployable.” I’m going out on a limb in guessing I know how that makes one feel. I’ve never been labeled as non-deployable, but I have been labeled as non-reproducible. Stings like a bitch, let me tell you. His commanding officers are concerned that, even if he does get healed, he runs the risk of being re-injured. His concern is putting his men in harm’s way. Both valid, but neither softens the blow. It’s hard. It’s hard on him. It’s hard on me. It’s hard on us. I think the “us” is what is taking the brunt of it. We’re working on that.
Third: And on a happy note, my cookbook has an anticipated ship date!!! Yay! A Second Helping will be available mid-November. Proceeds will be used in support of our troops. $20 and includes shipping. 430 recipes, hard back, comb binding so it lays flat. Yay!
Fourth: This is a question…when did almost 4-year-old’s get such minds of their own? Be on the look out for a post of conversations with Olivia. They’re doozies, let me tell ya’.
Sorry for being MIA. I will get back in the groove…I have to.
Until then, be well.
Vixen has been way crafty with her mad sewing skills and has a new etsy shop, Apron Frenzy. She’s got some super cute halloween aprons up and says she’s going to be adding more soon – holidays, etc. I’m secretly hoping she’ll throw one in a nice flag pattern up for grabs because I know one super hip, way cool gal who would lurve to have one.
I made sausage. Yes, I did. Well, sort of. Some time back, I bought some sausage seasoning from Penzey’s.
I lurve most things bad for me, including sausage. Fry it up and slap it in a fresh homemade biscuit and I’m in pork heaven. That being said, my jeans do not appreciate the culinary delight so I don’t indulge as much as I’d like. That and the weird tuby things that you sometimes see in bulk sausage kind of scares me.
I bought the seasoning and was going to grind my own pork with my handy dandy KitchenAid mixer with the food grinder accessory that I don’t own. Yeah, minor detail. So, rather than spend the $65 (plus shipping) to buy the grinder, I opted to buy some pre-ground meat. Pork is still loaded with fat, so I bought ground turkey. Just so you know, I had a tough, tough time with that one; my friend Amy will testify to that (Hi, Amy!) I’m not a ground turkey girl. It’s a cross between a psychological and a texture issue for me; more psycho than texture, truth be told, but I did it. Will swears he doesn’t eat turkey sausage because, [insert manly-man voice and attitude] “I can tell the difference.” Whatever. Yesterday I made sausage with:
1 lb. ground turkey (uber lean)
1 Tb. sausage seasoning
couple shakes ground red pepper
three shakes red pepper flakes
Mix it all up really, really good and you have faux-sausage.
I fried a piece to taste and it was good. It doesn’t brown, of course, like pork sausage does, but once I got over the look of it, I enjoyed its taste. Sgt. I-Can-Tell came home and I gave him the rest of it and he enjoyed it. Nice taste. Good texture. “It’s good.” My reply, “It’s turkey.” He seemed okay with it. I cooked it tonight and it was better today than yesterday.
Bon appetit, folks. Can’t get much simpler, or healthy, than that.
Remember I wrote a cookbook? If not, here’s a reminder: I wrote a cookbook! It’s self published so you won’t find it in Barnez and N0ble or on Amaz0n, but I’ll be pimping it hot and heavy soon to raise money in support of one of my favorite organizations, of which I am proud to be a part, The Blue Star Mothers of North Carolina who support our troops and in support of Will’s unit that will be mobilizing in double digit days.
I have an anticipated ship date, but am hoping for it sooner than they are telling me so I’ll wait until I hear for sure.
430 of my favorite recipes. Hardback. And will make great Christmas presents – I’ll even wrap it for you, if you want me to. More soon.
Slightly giddy,
Susan
Yes, it’s been over a month since we came home. Where does time go?! Day one was spent at the petting zoo.
Day two, Thursday, we headed into Gatlinburg to tool around. It was uber crowded and very overcast, so we did what all good tourists do, we went to the Hard R0ck Cafe and bought our t-shirts.
We then walked around downtown Gatlinburg for a little bit stopping in some of the shops. Olivia and Will enjoyed a little daddy-daughter stroll through downtown.
Shopping with Daddy
I learned something this trip that I haven’t paid attention to in the twelve years Will and I have been together. His dad doesn’t smile either unless you make him.
Like Father, Like Son
Throw a super cute grandchild in the mix and he smiles. Go figure.
Papa, Daddy and Olivia
Friday rolls around and it’s time to go to Dollywood, baby…
We’re Here!!
Boobs or bust. Dollywood, here we are! It was the main point of interest for our family vacation. We arrived early to beat the crowds and the heat. We didn’t see any of the shows because Fabul-O wasn’t into them and you all know this vacation was all.about.her. Will and I rode a roller coaster, which is something we probably haven’t done in six plus years. I remembered why when we got off. So did he.
One of the things I was surpised to find was Fauxbo. He’s the knock off Dumbo ride from Disney world. Despite her ticked off appearance in the first picture, Olivia loved Fauxbo. You’ll notice the green fence at the bottom of the picture. The rest of the ones Will took of Olivia and me on Fauxbo have that green fence going through them so you won’t see any more.
Mommy and Olivia on Fauxbo
Olivia and Daddy on Fauxbo
Oooh, look. Teacups!
Dollywood's version of the teacups. Grandma and Olviia loved it.
Next it was off to the Busy Bees ride all the kids in line at Fauxbo and the cups were talking about. The bees were all the rage.
Busy bees were all the buzz in lines for the other rides.
After seeing the sign, I realized why….
A Mild Thrill Attraction. Yup. All the toddlers and preschoolers were raging about it.
The carousel is always a favorite ride. Except for Papa. He chose not to have fun.
Saturday our friends Danny and Wendy drove up with their two kids and we went to the Chimneys in Gatlinburg and climbed on the rocks and played in the water. The water was COLD, but the kidlets loved it. Will was attached to Danny’s unit in 2005 and they served in Iraq together. Wendy and I met online before realizing our husbands were serving together and instantly became friends. We had a great time with them and it’s always too much time in between our visits.
Emily and Olivia
Sunday afternoon, we visited the Apple Barn cider mill. We were disappointed to find out they didn’t allow apple picking and because it was Sunday, we weren’t able to see them make cider.
Thrilled to have another picture made
The picture I got after bribing with a dollar.
Sunday afternoon, Will and I visited the Mountain Valley Winery for a nickel tour and tasting. Yummo is about all I can come up with. We came home with 6 bottles and, I must say, they work some pretty awesome magic with the grape.
Monday was the drive home after breakfast with Grandma and Papa. We had a great time, but we were certainly glad to get home. For the first time in I don’t know how long, I got car sick! But we made it home safe and sound.
Thanks to everyone who donated to us! We achieved our very modest goal.
It was really hard pumping up the fact Olivia had to wake waaaaay before Mr. Golden Sun was to rise. We met Shannon and Emily early and rode the light rail into uptown where we walked several more blocks to where the race was. I’m not sure what word to use to describe the feeling I felt. The runners started very early and were beginning to finish when we arrived uptown. Seeing a man run in a pink skirt with a pink crown in honor of someone in his life is simply amazing. Then we saw another one. And another one. There were so many “In Honor of ‘Me’” tags people were wearing as well as those walking in honor or memory of their friends and loved ones. There were fraternities, sororities, companies, friends, and teams made up of all sorts of people. We were our team of four: Me, Fabul-O, Shannon and Emily. We didn’t complete the full three miles of the walk due to lack of interest from the little participants. Thanks Shannon and Emily for a fun time this morning. The next time I see Shannon she’ll be walking again, but it will be down the aisle getting married.
Susan and Olivia
Shannon and Emily
Be sure to look up to the left...LOTS of people. We were nowhere near the back of the pack!!Pretty in Pink. These folks let us know they were a fun crowd, but not in front of children. Their mimosas and Bloody Mary
