A Little Bit of This, and a Little Bit of That

OK, so I'm not quite finished decorating the house. Yes, yes, I hear you all gasping with shock and surprise. I'm just taking my time, being more methodical about it all, blah blah blah...whatever, it's just not finished. But the above picture, as poor quality as it is, is just a little taste of what's coming. Isn't it lovely? I did something a little different with the table this year. In years past I have put this long strand of garland with poinsettias, glitter, greenery and berries down the middle of the table. My men hate it. So, I tried something new and I like it. Go, me!

Angie and I had a great time yesterday and actually ran into another friend, Kris, the one I quoted yesterday about hump day, and had lunch with her, too! Isn't that funny? Anyway, Angie and I bought all the stuff for our wreaths, so cross your fingers that they turn out well. I think they will. The power of positive confession and all that...my pastor would be so proud if he read that statement!

On a less happy note, there's a lot of CYBER drama going on at Riley's high school. I won't go into any details, but it makes moms like me nervous for their children, even though Riley isn't involved at any level. It's too bad teenagers' hormones kick in BEFORE their ability to understand CONSEQUENCES does, huh? Geez...God, help the poor teenagers...

And, speaking of teenagers, our community parade is tonight, which I'll be attending with my Charlotte and my Katie. Riley's band is marching and it's supposed to be a "lighted parade." I have no idea what that means, but since it's happening after dark, I'd say lights are a good idea.

My take: This is a little on the short side today, but, you know, LOTS TO DO! See you tomorrow for a holiday recipe and hopefully pictures of a fully decorated house! Happy Thursday...there's not a littly rhyme about Thursday that I know of...sorry to disappoint...

Somewhere in the World, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I went to my first holiday party last night and it was a huge success.

It was the women's department's party at my church. We had it at one of our lady's house. Her house is absolutely gorgeous, not to mention her backyard, which is to die for. The party was really laid back and fun, my favorite combination in a party. I'd say a good time was had by all.

So, on today's agenda: working out, undecorating and redecorating.

First, we'll discuss working out. Uh, yeah, it's not going well, and here's why.

I have pampered this stupid foot of mine for the past couple of weeks, after having the shot of blazing flame and fire put into it. I'd like to pause here and say how DISAPPOINTING it is that my foot is still hurting after enduring the shot. That, my friends, should be against the law. I mean, if you're willing to go through all that agony, isn't it only fair that it should actually HELP? That's all I'm saying...

Anyway, back to the working out. My doctor said I absolutely could not run right now, so I haven't, but I asked him about the elliptical and the stationary bike and HE said after a couple of weeks, it should be fine. Then, why, may I ask, did my foot hurt worse than ever after doing the bike and elliptical yesterday? (Yes, I did both, but only 15 minutes on each...remember, the elliptical is my arch enemy.) I'm a little discouraged, OK? I mean, how am I supposed to be able to eat all that I want to eat during the holidays if I can't work out? It's just going to mess everything up! Well, today is weights day, so maybe that will go better...

Moving on to the undecorating and redecorating. Here's the thing: I love decorating! It's so fun and you feel such a sense of accomplishment when you look at your home and it's so beautiful and festive, right? Yes, but here's another thing: I hate undecorating. It drives me crazy just thinking about it. It's so boring and I can never remember how everything was packed and there's always some box that is missing. Yuck.

But here's the problem, and there's no getting around it: you can't have harvest AND Christmas decorations up at the same time. This, I have been told. So, somewhere I have to muster up the courage and strength to take everything down so I can shout "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" to the world...even though it was 75 degrees at our Christmas party last night and we were all sweating since we had a fire in the fire bowl and were wearing sweaters and scarves. It's kind of like living in a magical world of make-believe, is it not?

My take: It would be so nice about now if I could twinkle my nose like Samantha did on Bewitched and all my harvest decorations would be gone. Magical world of make-believe!

Fun Friday: Pumpkin Edition

So, it's Friday.

The best thing about this Friday is that it's here. It's been quite a long week for me. Plus, my house is all decorated for fall, which I love!! It's one of the reasons that I love the holidays...remember, I warned you...

Plus, the weather is amazing!!! It was in the 50's when I drove Son to school this morning. Love it!! I've even considered bringing out my boots and a sweater to wear today...not really, I can't get too carried away yet.

As I mentioned, my house looks great and smells like...pumpkin, of course! I took some pictures of my decor, hope you like them!

Here's my dining room table.

And, my front door.

Our game table.

And, my front porch.

So, what do you think? Leave me lots of comments telling me how wonderful everything looks, OK? Remember, I did all this decorating while taking lots of medication, so I feel I should be celebrated.

As far as Fun Friday and the weekend go, we actually don't have much planned at all. We don't even have a football game tonight, it's our bye week. And, I'm really kind of bummed because we could actually sit out there and not sweat to death this week. Like I said, bummer.

So, if I were you, I would try to do as much outside this weekend as possible, if the weather where you live is as great as it is here. I read about some bulbs I can plant now and have them bloom in the spring, guaranteed. And, a guarantee is what I must have before planting anything. My "green thumb" has always been more of a yellowish shade of green.

I'm also having a critique lunch today. As I mentioned, I'm a writer. I am. My only problem, as a writer, is trying to convince a publisher, any publisher, of my writing status. But, I'm trying hard. I have a friend who's been writing for about 10 years with some pretty good success. She's acting as my mentor and we meet with a third lady, another writer, about every other week and talk about what we're writing at the moment, get some ideas, etc. I enjoy it.

So, again, whatever you do this weekend, try to get out and enjoy this fall weather. To put you in the mood, I've chosen a fall recipe to share. I actually made this yesterday for my Young Life event, and it's a great one. And, yes, it's a pumpkin recipe. I am nothing if not predictable.

My take is this: I love fall! How about you?

Pumpkin Cookies


Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract




Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
4. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

If You're Happy and You Know It...

Today, I am officially back among the living, and when I tell you I've hit the ground running, you have no idea.

I've been planning this Young Life event at my house for weeks, and well, it's tonight. So, on my first day back to feeling like a human being, I've decorated for fall, shopped for the desserts I'll be making this afternoon, cleaned house...you get the picture...

In other words, this post is going to be fast...just like the rest of my day...so here goes:

5 Things I'm Super Happy About

#1 It was EVEN COOLER this morning when I took Son to school - which means, fall is here...hopefully

#2 The little pumpkin candy, that tastes just a notch better than regular candy corn, was out at the grocery store...a favorite

#3 The 90-calorie Fiber One brownies I've watched commercials for from my post on the couch all week are actually pretty tasty

#4 Green Mountain Coffee has released their seasonal flavor "Pumpkin Spice" Keurig pods, of which I am currently enjoying, along with my 90-calorie Fiber One brownie

#5 I felt so much better today that I decorated my house for fall, including changing my Scentsy warmers to fall warmers AND the fragrance to, yep, you guessed it, Pumpkin Roll...I like pumpkin, OK?

So, nothing earth shattering today for you guys, but a rather "happy" day for me.

My take: It's amazing how little things can make you "happy" after being sick all week. Am I right?

Come back tomorrow for Fun Friday...and, yes, it could include pumpkin...

What's your take?