Are You Ready to Get FESTIVE?

OK, this post is going to be short.

Not that you guys aren't ultra important to me, but I have somewhere to be 9:00. And that's already not going to happen.

Tonight is the fall festival at our church. I'm so excited! I promised I'd be there around 9:00 to help out, so...

I'm late, I'm late for a very important date!

The above picture is one of my contributions to the cake walk at the festival. They are ginger pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing and a candy corn on top, and, honey, they are good! I thought I'd post them even though there is the possibility that some of you may think I need to go to a support group for pumpkin fans.

My take: Hey, I love pumpkin, what can I say? Also, whatever you're doing tonight, I hope you're doing it with family and good friends. Have a great time and be safe!

I'm Baaaacccckkkkk!

Good morning, world, I haven't fallen off!

Yes, I'm back in my happy, little home after a very successful trip to Dunwoody, GA. In case you missed my last post, I drove my mom and great aunt to Dunwoody to visit my cousin for the weekend.

It was so good to see my cousin, Kate. I don't think I'd seen her since Riley was about 3, which is almost 13 years, so, you know, it was time.

Anyway, we had a great time just hanging out at their house, shopped a little, AND ate really well, which is always a plus in my book. I even learned to make pesto sauce and I'll be sharing that recipe with you on Friday, so don't forget to check back for that.

Kate is married to John.

And, they have two daughters, Meredith on the left, Victoria on the right.

Victoria is a senior this year and Meredith is a sophomore. They both play softball and are actually going to the championship tournament this weekend!!! Go, Wolves!!! They also play LaCrosse, which kind of frightens me, but hey, "Go, Wolves!"

The girls were great because they actually hung out with us old people and didn't really act like it was too painful. I wonder what Kate's secret is? I sure would like to cast that spell on Riley!!!

My mom and Aunt Jeannnie seemed to have a great time, too, and we're hoping Kate's family might come to our house between Christmas and New Year's.

So, with all of that said, I'm going to close for today. I have a writing project that I'm in the middle of and don't have much time to finish it. Yikes!!

One more thing: if you're wondering why I keep posting the "Welcome Fall" pumpkin picture at the beginning of my posts it's because I thought maybe if I keep welcoming fall, maybe fall will GET HERE ALREADY! I mean, please, I think my car said the temperature yesterday outside got up to 90 degrees. Are you kidding me? It's almost November, for crying out loud!

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?

It's Beginning to Feel...Less Like Summer

Quick Update: yeah, still feel pretty yucky. Trying to decide whether to call the doctor, take the rest of about 3 different partial antibiotics I have in the medicine bucket, or just brave the storm with Dayquil, Nyquil and Sudafed PE...and lots of Kleenex.

Even though I am sick, like lots of other moms, I'm sure, I still have to drive Son to school in the mornings. I only get that opportunity until February, when he gets his license, so I'm happy to do it. So, when we stepped out into the garage this morning - him all dressed for school, me in my nightgown and sweat pants - we were met with a wondeful surprise - it was A LOT COOLER!!

Now, I don't know what the weather is like where you live, but, as I've mentioned, where I live, we basically have only 2 seasons: HOT and LESS HOT. And, I'm happy to tell you that I think the LESS HOT season is beginning!!! Yay! With visions of sweaters, boots, jackets, and scarves dancing in my head (honestly it could just be a combination of the congestion and medication), I'm really excited to start thinking about fall.

I mentioned yesterday that I had purchased some new decor over the weekend. If I survive my cold, I'm going to decorate this week. I'm also going to make my first batch of pumpkin bread - it's one of Son's favorites.

Also, I was very pleased to see that the grocery stores are stocking the Halloween cereals. Now, some of you may not know about the Halloween cereals - Count Chocula, which I've started with this fall, followed with the berry ones. I remember them very vividly from my childhood. They really aren't the world's best tasting breakfast cereals, but since I'm sick and in dire need of comfort food, I had a bowl of them this morning.

It's strange to me that sometimes some of the things we did as children, then do again as adults, don't seem to carry the same magic or awe as they did as children. For instance, Friday night, as we sat in the stifling heat, sweating to death at the football game, I turned to Hubby and asked, why do all my memories of football games as a child include Brother and I being wrapped up in heavy coats, stocking hats, mittens and blankets? To which he said, "It'll cool off." True, but not sure we'll be breaking out the blankets any time soon.

Nevertheless, fall is the beginning of my favorite time of year: the holidays! So, here's a fair warning: you're going to be hearing a lot about the holidays!

Well, my brain is starting to get fuzzy, probably time for more medicine, so I'll close for today. Hopefully, tomorrow I will return to the land of the living. Here's my take: when you're sick, you eat junk food, including a bowl of Count Chocula cereal, and lay on the couch and watch the Hallmark Movie Channel all day. It lessens the feeling that my head is going to explode.

What's your take? What do you do when you're sick?