Feeling Sick

So, I started feeling a bit under the weather the other day and was just hoping that it was a 24 hour bug that seems to be going around. The next day I got worse. So, I finally dragged myself to the doctor after work yesterday and I had a 101.8 fever and strep throat. Not fun. So, I got some meds and am hoping they kick in soon. I slept awful last night. I just kept tossing and turning. Hopefully tonight will be better.

Mason had a football game on Saturday and it was so cold and rainy and the wind gusts were so strong that it blew my umbrella backwards and broke it in about four places!! I guess I shouldn't buy cheap umbrellas (or maybe even the expensive ones would do that, so it's better to buy the cheap ones!!).

Here is a story about Trails the cat:



So, my friend, Cherie and I were walking on the trail and I thought I saw a little animal up ahead and I was thinking to myself, please let this be a cat that has a good home, has a collar and tags on and is in good health and neutered and he just wandered away from home and I could just whip out my cell phone and call the owners who are probably distraught that their beloved cat has gone missing. Yeah. Right. So, as we approach this little guy, he is so super friendly that he just plops down to get a good belly rub. I try to pick him up and he doesn't like to be held, (at this point I knew he was coming home with me so I had to figure out a way to get him into my car), so we try, for about 1/4 of a mile to have him walk along side us. He does for awhile, but he gets tired and plops down for another belly rub! So, just as we are approaching the car he decides to not cooperate and he has claws, so who do you think is going to win! I ask Cherie if she would kindly keep the cats attention as I go get the car. The funny part is we are next to this community building that is apparently having a class in a room that is all windows and we seem to be the side show! So, all these people are watching us (laughing, no doubt) and we finally got him into my car and took him home, much to Jason's dismay. I thought about calling him Lucky, but then Cherie suggested the name 'Trails' and I like that so much better, plus I owe it to her for the embarrassment I put her through!! I took him to the vet and he had a pretty severe eye infection, if left untreated could certainly cause blindness, so here he is, making himself comfy and now he has a family for the holidays! I know I can't save them all, but for the time I have here on Earth, I want to do my best.

The annual Potato Fest was this past Saturday, yes, the day it was freezing and raining. I felt so bad for the vendors. It was a really bad day for them, I'm sure. We went up and Jason wanted to get some potato soup, I couldn't leave without stopping at the Fudgie Wudgie booth. Bad, I know. Fudge is my weakness, so is chocolate. So is cheesecake. So are brownies. So is....
Here are some highlights from the big Potato Fest:

Mason, stay out of the puddles (we must have said that 100 times!)


Mason got this cool picture:


Mmmmm Pulled Pork, right up my alley:


Cotton Candy at 10 am, hey, it was Saturday. You know, no rules on Saturdays:


Look how handsome Mason is! He is just getting so 'grown up'.


That's all I've got for now! The next 24 disc is due to arrive today!! YAY!

September 3rd Was My Last Post???

Wow, I would like to have some fabulous excuse like, I've been on an exotic cruise eating delicious cuisine, or I won Publisher's Clearing House and I decided to spend what would have been blogging time on some amazing shopping trip, but none of them apply. I can't really say what I've been doing. Facebook takes up a lot of my computer time, too much actually. We've been catching up with 24 on Netflix, just now finishing up Season 2, and can't wait to start Season 3. It has to be one of the best shows on TV, it took me eight years to figure that out!! Jack Bauer ROCKS!!



Football has started-I LOVE IT!! Not just watching Mason's team, but of course, the Steelers.





I have been working in my scraproom, not so much on projects, but organizing (I'm so awesome at that...not). I wanted to put all of my layouts in albums that have the same theme, (ex. football pictures in the football album, baseball...you get the idea), so now I have all these albums that were once filled and now they only have a few 'themed' layouts in them. Not sure I am really liking it, but it is very time consuming, so I don't know if I am going to change it back or not, so who knows??

That's all I've got for now, not too many exciting things going on, but I will blog again soon! In the mean time, here are some funny pictures:

[Cuteness Overload] & Other Fun Stuff

Here is the latest addition to the 'rescued' crew:



He's just here for a little while, I know it won't be hard finding this guy a home. He was rescued from a trailer (tied outside) and when the rescuers picked him up, there was no doubt that they saved his life. His ribs were bulging out of his sides and he scarfed down food and water like he'd never seen it before. So sad. But you would never even know he was here. He walked into the house for the first time on Wednesday, like he had lived here forever. My other dogs and cats just walked by him like they've know him his whole life (they are probably so used to seeing new pets in and out it doesn't even phase them anymore!!). His name is supposedly 'Andy', but I can't get used to calling a dog Andy, so I've been calling him 'little guy'. I'm sure he doesn't care, he's getting more attention than he's ever seen. He's just snoozing right next to my feet right now!

First day of school {Who you gonna call?}:



Well, as it turns out, I had to call my Dad. I was all prepared, got Mason's lunch packed, had some extra time, etc. The morning was going perfect. That is until I got ready to walk out the door. My keys were locked in the car that Jason took to work! Thank goodness it turned out ok, but what a morning! Mason was goofing off for the camera, so I told him I wanted just one serious pose. I finally got a serious pose. It turned out blurry-go figure!

Last day of summer fun. We were invited to go spend the day at the park with some friends of ours and wow! did we have a great time!! I have to admit, I didn't think it was going to be as fun as it was. I thought it was going to be hot and crowded, those two don't mix with me at an amusement park. Turns out it was cool and not crowded at all! The water park was the best. Usually, if it's a normal day, the lines to go up and down the water slides are sometimes an hour wait (totally not worth it!), but the kids (my husband included) ran up the steps and slid down the slides, up, down, up, down over and over again--NO LINES!! It was so much fun and what a way to end the summer.

Some highlights:



{This picture reminds me of that 'Unravel My Sweater' song for some reason}

But the fun doesn't end there. Oh no. I did something that I never thought in a million years that I would do. I rode this:



Yep. My friend Cherie and I got talked into riding this thing. Oh.My.Gosh. I will NEVER forget the feeling I had when I got on this 60 second ride that pulls you up in 56 seconds and then drops you 140 feet in 4 seconds. That's right, awwww yeah. The suspense was unbelievable. You don't know when you are going to fall and then when you reach the top (of which I couldn't even open my eyes because we were SO far up there the cars below looked like hot wheels) you hear a click and there it is, 4 seconds (it felt like 4 minutes) of pure adrenaline. I still can't believe that I rode it, but it was so much fun. Not fun enough to get on it again. But fun! Here is Jason and his friend John (they did it first, those brave, brave souls):




The look on their face is priceless, they were just coming down when I snapped this!

*I went to Wegman's* I went to Wegman's* I was browsing the produce department and I found these 'purple creamer potatoes'. Never heard of them, but wanted to try them. The deep purple color was so pretty:



See all the steam! I boiled them to make smashed potatoes:



I SO see these things popping up at my 'SpookTacular' dinner!

I'm out for now, Steeler game soon!!

Back Off, Would You??

Ok, Ok, I've only gotten like a ton of requests to update my blog in the past few days (ok, only 2, but in my blog world that's A LOT!!). The truth is, I did get an entire (and very lengthy) blog written the other day and just as I was about to post it, something happened. I don't know what, but my computer just started to go crazy and then kicked me offline and didn't save ANYTHING. So, I was mad. Really mad. But I'm over it now and so here I am.

I won't reject these apples:



I have been wanting to go to this farmer's market on my drive to work for some time now. It is always packed and very difficult to find a parking spot. I decided to find out what all the rage was (you know, all the rage that a farmer's market could generate). It was so well organized and clean and cheap that I soon understood why it was always so crowded. I bought some red and yellow bell peppers, cucumbers and sitting all alone under a sign that read, "Reject Apples $2.50" was this box of assorted apples that looked perfectly fine to me. All these apples for $2.50!! Wow, that's a deal. I knew that I could turn this into something tasty! I was so thrilled that I got to keep this little box that they came in that I never even told the cashier that she ripped me off a quarter (hey, I'm cheap) but I thought it was a fair trade. I decided to make some homemade applesauce:



It was a lot easier that I thought it was going to be. I sliced them up and cooked them down, I added a couple of pears (ha ha a pair of pears!!) and then added some Cinnamon and sweetened it with splenda. Delicious! It was best warm, but it is still really good cold.

Then, I got this really amazing recipe off of a new Food Network show and decided to try it, with a few substitutions. It called for a homemade pie crust, but honestly, I don't have the time (or ambition) to make a from-scratch pie crust. It was a Potato-Bacon Torte. You just layer sliced potatoes, crumbled bacon (I used fakeon) and Parmesan cheese and then pour heavy cream scented with thyme on top (I used light cream because I thought it would really cut down on the calories and fat because, you know, the potatoes, parm cheese and pie crust are SO healthy!). But anyway, it was delicious. I paired it up with some scrambled eggs and some of the applesauce that I made. Yummy!



Look at the delicious flaky layers:



I pass this look-out point on my route to State College and wanted to get some pictures. I pulled over and got out only to be met with two Penn State buses full of college kids, perhaps studying the potential effect of global warming on this cigarette-littered piece of history?? I don't know but nothing makes you feel old like a bunch of 18-22 year old's discussing the effect of not having health-care reform while sitting right next to you on the only available bench to enjoy the view. So anyway, I snapped a few pics before I felt like I was going to be pressured into voting for Obama in '12. Here it is:



It was pretty anyway!
Well, I've got a lot more to say and pictures I want to post, but right now I am scrambling around to get some things done for football and I really want to go walking. So, I will post again, soon!!

No Animals Were Harmed In The Making...

Of this delicious 'chicken' pot pie. I got a mini recipe book on my way out the door at Sam's Club the other day and it was filled with some really great recipes. Jason made the easy chicken pot pie recipe (well, I made it, he just cooked the chicken!) and it looked super good and smelled good, too. It was also very easy to make, so that's a bonus. After reviewing the recipe, all I had to do was make a few minor adjustments and it would become a cruelty-free dinner! I swapped out the real chicken for this:



This is possibly the best meat alternative on the market. It's so delicious and it works in any chicken recipe. Then I used veggie broth instead of chicken broth and here is the result:



It was delish!

Here is the project that I made for my Aunt who is currently at home, resting after being in the hospital. I bought this shadow box at a yard sale for a couple of dollars and I couldn't wait to tear it apart (I mean WHO would buy something like this for their home??!).

Before:



After:



I made a template of a tea cup and switched the placement of the smaller box, added some hand curled paper flowers and pulled it all together. She is an avid tea drinker, so I am sure she will enjoy this!

FOOTBALL PRACTICE STARTS ON TUESDAY!! I am so excited I can hardly contain myself! I love to watch Mason play football. He got his uniform the other day and yesterday was picture day for the team. He looks so awesome in his uniform! There are only 15 days left until school starts, although I will miss him dearly as he starts 3rd grade, I am ready for school to start!! It has been a long summer. I will miss the pool days that are coming to a rapid close. We didn't have much of a summer, although I preferred the cooler temperatures, it didn't make much for a great pool season. There is always next year, the borough is upgrading the pool and adding some water features and slides, how cool is that going to be?? As the summer wraps up, I can almost smell the cool, crisp fall nights spent at football games and preparing for the holidays. I happen to love fall, it's my favorite season. In the summer the windows are mainly closed because the air conditioning is on (and I can't live without that!!), so I love to have the windows open in the fall to let the fresh air in (the kitties like it, too!). I love to plan Mason's birthday party (November) and of course, my favorite holiday--Halloween! I love pumpkin pie, Black Friday and the kick-off to the holiday shopping season. And how could I forget, Steeler Football!! So, here's to another summer, not that I want time to pass so quickly, but I am always ready for the start of another fall.

Yard Sale Finds & Chillin' @ The Pool

I went to a yard sale on Saturday in hopes of finding a treasure this summer as yard sales are dying down for the season. This one that we stopped at (ok, the only one that day), Mason found a bag of used stamps (the postal kind).



It was a great find because, although they have no monetary value, they have artist value. Some of them were postal stamped as far back as 1954! I think that is pretty cool! There were hundreds of stamps in this bag and I sorted them into categories such as patriotic, flowers/fruit, animals, Christmas and people. I will be able to use them for card making, scrapbooking and other projects. So, great find, Mason! I have always thought about keeping stamps for this purpose, but these fine yard sale people did all the work for me!

I also found this:



I have never been a history buff, but this struck me as very interesting. I mean, it's been around longer than I have (so it must be old!). It is dated August of
1977. It's full of pictures of the J-town flood and ads for really old movies. It was a pretty interesting read. The paper sold for 15 cents back in the day and I paid a dollar for a 32 year old paper, so I guess you could say it's a great investment to keep old newspapers and sell them three decades later for an 85 cent profit!!

I have a project to show that I am very proud of but I can not post it until the recipient receives it. That should be in a couple of days.

Here are some fun pool pics, it's finally getting hot enough to swim (not that I enjoy the heat or swim for that matter).





Some self-portraits that made me laugh:




What a goofy-goober.

Perhaps My Middle Name Is Idiot

I had to get a new cell phone recently because old one would no longer hold a charge (which really wasn't the entire issue with it) and then one day when I went to answer it, the entire flip top flew off! I am still tied into a contract with AT&T, so getting a new, free phone was out of the question. So, Jason went to Walmart and bought a 'GO' phone for $30! You can use it with your plan, just pop in the SIM card, who knew? However, that happened about a month ago, so what I'm leading up to now is this cheapy, yet reliable Nokia cell phone, that I just got used to using is now headed to cell phone heaven. I opened up a cooler that I had taken to the pool a few days ago and it had melted ice in it. I was on the phone at the same time. Can you guess what happened?? Yep, the phone slides right off my ear and into the still cool water! I frantically pulled it out and dried it, turned it off and back on and it worked! Or so I thought. I quickly put a hair dryer to it and dried it all up. It was working just dandy until about an hour later. I started getting 'Error' messages. Then the phone just would not power back up. So, Jason is back at Walmart getting me another cheapy phone and I will once again have to add all of my phone numbers back in!! Oh, well!

This reminds me of the time years ago that I washed my brand new cell phone that was in the pocket of one of my zippy's! Do you see a pattern?