My 'Think Outside The Box' Mentality...

Sometimes (well, most of the time) thinking outside the box is a good thing. That is until you want to create a haunted gingerbread house. Tell me, how does this:


Turn into this:



I'll tell you how. The directions for this fine, family fun project was about 8 pages too long. I don't like to read how to do something when all the pieces are in front of me and I can get to work right away (perhaps a little ADD). Pair that with the 'helper' only wanting to eat the black icing and you have one disaster of a haunted gingerbread house. This was my experiment for a future Christmas gingerbread house, but I have learned a valuable lesson. That lesson would be: Just don't. No matter what the picture on the box promises, just back away from the gingerbread houses, very slowly.

{Ew.} Really NOT Ready For Winter.

Look at all that snow on my car!! I needed 4 wheel drive to get out of my driveway this morning!

It is October 29th, there is no need for all of this white stuff (I really don't even like to say the four-letter word), we should be enjoying the beautiful fall leaves covering the ground now. I would rather have to rake than shovel right about now! I have the heat up to 75 degrees and I still can't get warm! I've got some hot tea brewing and if I would just give up my flip flops in lieu of nice warm socks (probably Jason's), my feet would be nice and toasty! Oh, boy am I in for a L.O.N.G winter. Well, on a positive note, it is supposed to be in the high 50's by the end of the week. On an even more positive note, maybe this will be the only snow we see all season {ok, VERY wishful thinking!}. Well, at least someone enjoyed the day:

*Isn't It Ironic*

{Now breaking into the Alanis Morrisette song...} I find it very ironic that we grew up on and instill in our kids the idea of 'Don't Take Candy From Strangers', however, one day out of the year is designated just for that. I guess the logic is to just not take candy from strangers in a car trying to lure you in. But, whatever the reason, I love to go Trick or Treating with Mason. Of course, in a matter of 25 minutes, he had enough candy to feed a small country. Then we had to go through the whole 'checking the candy for razor blades' ordeal. I read once that there has only been one reported case of an actual razor blade found in an apple, but it was put in there by the grandmother of the child! So, I don't really know how this myth has spun so far out of control. It was a beautiful day today to walk around. In October, you never know what kind of weather to expect. It could be sunny and warm, cold and raining (the REALLY cold rain) or it could be snow flurries. But, we really lucked out today.





Tara and Brian's Halloween party was pretty cool. The woods were set up to scare the kids (and adults) with really cool special effects, people hiding in places you wouldn't expect and 'monsters', that were homemade, but looked just like the one's you spend upwards of $40 or more at the Halloween stores. Aside from the bitter cold and my fingers feeling like they were going to fall off (yes, I'm a wuss in the cold), being one of the people in the woods was awesome. Watching all the kids (who thought they were tough and UNscareable{if that's a word}) going in and getting the hell scared out of them was really funny!! Jason was in the boat, rocking it back and forth and jumping up to scare the kids. He was in all black with a very creepy mask on.







Mason was a hippie this year and I think he looked awesome! A lot of people thought he was a girl, but that wasn't the first time! His entire costume, except for the accessories were all from the goodwill! I love the creativity of Halloween, although as we were walking around for Trick or Treating there were very few costumes that had any thought put into them at all. Most of them were just store bought with no imagination required, which is no fun. Well, this Halloween is coming to an end, which means only one thing--time to get ready for next Halloween!

Boys Will Be Boys.

Mason never, I mean NEVER liked to get dirty. Never wanted to catch bugs. Never wanted to pick up worms (I've picked up more worms than him, I pick them up off of the sidewalk in the morning so that the sun doesn't fry them...but that's another story for another day!). Anyway, Mason is now in aw with bugs, he loves to go outside and look for grasshoppers,caterpillars, beetles, etc. So, when I saw him playing in the dirt at the football party, I think I was more happy than he was! He was having a blast, he brought some of his action figures and monster trucks to play with. This group of kids from football were fantastic! I sure hope that they all get to grow up together and continue to play football. I can't wait (well, yes, I can) to look back on these pictures and see how far all of these kids have come. Time goes by too fast, way too fast.

This One Speaks For Itself...

It Just Wouldn't Be Right If I Didn't Go Over Board In The Cupcake Department!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to bake and decorate. I hope to make a living out of it someday. I have toyed with the idea of going to the Culinary Art Institute in Pittsburgh for a while now, (in search of the ever nagging question, "What do I want to be when I grow up?") however, I always have the Debbie Downer voice asking me, "Where would you ever find a decent paying job around here in that field?". It's true, I don't plan on moving, I like where I am at, so where here in small town PA am I to find a good job that could display my culinary artistic abilities. Nowhere. So, for the time being, I am just going to do it as a hobby and hope to make a little money along the way. I am gearing up to make Mason's 8th (oh, my gosh-8 years old!!) birthday cake. We are having a beach party theme in November, and I have this mental image (along with about 5 sketches) of how I want his cake to look. I hope I come close! Sometimes they turn out better than my mental picture, sometimes not. However it turns out (even if I am up until 3 am getting it right) I am sure Mason will love it. He helped me decorate some of the (120) cupcakes for his football party. I hope the love of baking (even though it may not be manly) sticks with him for a long time.

Just For Fun.

moar funny pictures



moar funny pictures

Newsie Bear. The Cat That Rocks {Like Gravel}

I have 8, (yes, 8) cats. All indoor and spayed/neutered. All of them are pleasantly plump. But Newsie Bear has to be the best cat this world has ever seen. She is smart, funny and very trustworthy! She will only drink out of the bathroom sink. I want to teach her how to turn on the faucet, however, I don't want to come home to a flooded bathroom. So for the time being, she will only be allowed to drink from the faucet if I turn it on (or Mason, Jason somehow doesn't seem to get the concept of a cat drinking out of a sink). She likes to finish my breakfast for me, she will eat anything, but she loves peanut butter and vanilla soy milk the most! We found her one VERY cold morning in Altoona in March of 2007 and she has shown us her appreciation ever since. I was 'supposed' to put an ad in the paper for a 'found cat', however, I knew that the cat had found us. She's just plain awesome!

{Sunset}

I love this picture. It is from the 9/11 memorial in Bucks County. It was so peaceful when we went there this past summer.

I {LOVE} Halloween.

Halloween is, by far, my favorite holiday. I am gearing up for my 3rd annual Spook-Tacular dinner. Here is the menu:

* To Be Served Boo-fet Style*

Finger Foods:
Pumpkin Cheeseball
Devil Eggs
Mummy Dogs
Monster Mash Dip w/ Putrid Pita Chips

Main Corpse:
Fowl Chili w/ Abracadabra Hats
Snake Stromboli
Monster Claws
Bat Wings

Deadly Desserts:
Creepy Cookie Cauldrons
Tombstone Brownies
*A Surprise Dessert* (to be revealed that night)
Fang-Tastic Fruit Salad

Drinks:
Vampire Punch
Ghoul-Ade

Of course, I will have pictures, so I will post them as soon as possible.

In keeping with the Halloween theme, we ventured out to Pittsburgh for a night at the Scarehouse, rated the 5th scariest haunted house attraction in the US. Well, I thought it was OK, but far from exceptional. The special effects were good and the costumes were pretty cool, but it just wasn't all that scary. I did get scared a few times by the actors jumping out, and I did get called Tater Tot, for some reason (which was pretty funny!!), but I was just surprised that this haunted house was ranked 5th in the nation. I have made it my life mission (maybe that's going too far) to seek out the best Haunted places in Pa (or surrounding states) every Halloween. I saw a few that I am hoping to get to soon, like next Halloween. I would love to find something that actually SCARES me! So, hopefully we can get a big group together next year and make a weekend out of it.

So Sad To See The Season End.

I couldn't wait for Mason to start playing football. Now the season has come to an end. It was so much fun and we met some really great people. I am so glad that he was able to start this early. Had we still been living in Altoona, he would not have been able to play until he was in 4th grade. He enjoyed it a lot more that baseball {thank God}!! and he can't wait to play next year. Here's to a great season, great coaches and great players. Can't wait 'til next year ;0)

Top: Team pic @ the Portage game. Middle: Mason and Curtis. Last: Time to P.A.R.T.Y!!