Dreary Saturday

Its a dreary, blustery day. The temp is hovering just below 50 degrees, and there is a constant light drizzle in the air. No matter. Its just fine inside and I have no where that I have to be today (a miracle in and of itself for sure). We are trying our hand at making mulled wine. And after we get sufficiently tipsy, we intend to pick up sharp objects and have a go at carving our pumpkins. LOL. Don't try this one at home kids. We have stencils, and patterns in mind. Maybe I will post some pictures later if they turn out well.

And after that? I intend to have some pumpkin seeds toasting in the oven. Yum. I LOVE autumn. Its my favorite time of year. Happy week-end, ya'll!

He is pretty special

My husband is pretty special. I was feeling sad and sorry for myself because I haven't had time to decorate for Halloween. As I drove into our drive-way from work today, the first thing I saw was my blow ups out in the front yard. 8ft. tall ghosts, a vampire hearse....Frankenstein, a witch, and a Mummy in a hot rod. And when I walked inside, he was decking the halls with witches and skeletons, pumpkins and ghosts and monsters. All my favorite toys are out, loaded with batteries, and ready to be enjoyed. I know its only a week until the Holiday. Generally we decorate by the first part of October. But I am so happy to have my decorations up. I can't believe Bruce went to all that trouble. Because believe me, its a LOT of stuff to deal with. Stephen had bought pumpkins for the front porch, too. I was never going to have the time or energy to get it done this year. What a big surprise to find it all laid out and done.

Now just a few more things....I need to string up some Halloween lights on the porch, buy some candy, and I think we are ready to start the celebrations. Seriously, he's the best husband in the world.

The Un-Halloween Season

Although Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, we aren't really celebrating this year. No decorations, no costumes, no plans. Sad, isn't it? Oh well, its just that way this season. There is too much going on. We didn't make travel plans because we didn't know what was going to happen with Dad's illness. We didn't know what was going to happen with Erica's graduation and move to the UK. In fact her private defense, which we can't attend, is actually ON Halloween. We will go to the public one a few days later. We are running low on days to take off of work anyway, so a trip was out of the question. Maybe next year.

At first it wasn't bothering me. I have been too busy, too exhausted to worry about dragging out boxes upon boxes of decorations. But as it draws near, it really is kind of nagging at me. A little bit. Not enough to drag out those boxes, but still.....
Stephen and Hannia want to carve pumpkins. At least half a dozen or so. And we want to do some of the fancy stenciled designs. I am considering throwing up a bunch of spider webs all over the front porch, lighting the pumpkins and at least there will be that. Its better than nothing. And while I might not have decked the halls for the celebration this year, I sill love it.

We think a trip to Universal in Orlando would be a good trip for next October. Harry Potter World anybody???? Let us know and we can start planning.

In the Pink

October is breast cancer awareness month. I have 2 friends who are survivors, so its something that hits home with me. One of those friends wrote a book about her journey called : Bye Bye Ta Ta
I worked with Willamina for years before she finally had to retire because of the cancer. But she is still alive, doing well and enjoying her grandson. What a blessing.

On this coming Monday, the 24th, wear something pink if you can. To raise awareness, to remind people to get check ups and mammograms. To focus on the need for research. Places all over town have been selling pink tshirts for cause. I bought a couple, so I will be ready. If not a shirt, then pin on a pink ribbon, or a pink band on your wrist...anything at all to remind yourself and others that we have lost far too many people, both men and women, to this disease.

And while we are thinking about breast cancer this month, here is a link from the CDC to locate a low cost early detection program near you:

http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/cancercontacts/nbccedp/contacts.asp

Go fly a kite

We are back from Corolla. It was so nice to get away for a few days, and to see Chris, Jessica and Jeff since its been a year. Yep, a whole year. And that is inexcusable really. But we had a wonderful time. Corolla is further up the Outer Banks than I have ever been before. Its where the wild horses are, although I didn't see any of them. You have to have a permit, or a guide to go out there where they are now, since some time earlier some people were out there shooting at them. What the hell is wrong with people??? Hearing that just made me feel sick.

So no horses, but instead, it was the week of KITES. Chris bought a kite at the well-known Kitty Hawk Kites store, and it ended up being a real blast. Its one of the 2-stringed parafoil kites that you can control and do stunts and stuff. Well, I could barely control it and I certainly didn't do any stunts with it, but if you knew what you were doing you could. And we had so much fun with it that Bruce got "kite-envy", so he went to the kite store and bought a bigger kite. Still a 2 stringed parafoil. It occupied a good portion of our time.

The beach was fantastic. I LOVE the weather in September and October. We had warm sunny days, perfect for sitting out on the beach. The sand wasn't too hot to walk on, and there were no crowds. Perfect. I found it a bit chilly to swim in the ocean, but there were people doing it.

Anyway, it was good fun, wonderful scenery, awesome company, and a lot of delicious food. Whats not to love? And now we are back and today at work kind of kicked my rear end. Its always sad to have to go back to reality after a good time away.

Food Fest

Erica got home yesterday afternoon. And when we all get together, apparently the feeding frenzy never ends. I am laughing at just how bad we are. It started not long after Erica arrived. The kids went out for frozen yogurt. We have this place just up the road called Peppermints. Its a whole wall of frozen yogurt flavors, followed by another whole wall of toppings. You can have almost any fruit, candy, nut or sprinkles that you can imagine. Even cereals. And then you go to the counter and have your concoction weighed so you can pay by the ounce. Its kind of expensive, but absolutely delicious.

And while Bruce and I were still at work for the yogurt outing, we were home for Parker's at dinner time (eastern NC BBQ and slaw for those who don't know). Today was Dale's Indian Cuisine for lunch. Buffet-style. I only moderately tolerate Indian food, so at least I didn't eat disgusting amounts of it. I did decide that the curry chicken was pretty good but its not something I crave or go out of my way to eat. And tonight? Thai food. And that I do happen to love. I get mine really mild. I had the crispy chicken Pad Thai and it was as good as always. Stephen had the mango curry....at a heat level of 20. That's as hot as it can go. This is a different Thai place from the Thai 360 restaurant that we ate at last weekend with Jeanne and Calvin, but it is run by the same people so the menu is pretty similar. Stephen said that the 20 level at the place tonight was much hotter than the 20 level Mango curry he had last weekend. He didn't sweat, but he did get all red in the face while eating it. But he ate every last bite, and slurped up the curry broth afterwards, so apparently it wasn't too hot for him.

After pigging out on Thai food we went to yet another frozen yogurt place called Lo-Yo. The kids like it because the tart original flavor is really super tart. I think its good, but there are only about 5 or 6 yogurt flavors to choose from at any one time, and they did NOT have Peanut Butter today. That made me kind of sad. Peanut Butter yogurt is amazing. But I had chocolate with reece cup topping, so it was acceptable. Right now we are all stuffed and tired. Erica is going to be here until Monday morning, so.....who knows what tomorrow will bring. I might have to slow down with the feeding frenzy though. I am going to have to eat nothing but salads for the next week to make up for all of this decadence.

Trying Hard

We are trying hard to find our way back to normal after this long, heinous summer. I have a lot to say about Bruce's Dad's passing, the summer he spent so terribly sick. But not now. Its too much with me still. Its too raw. Maybe later I can sort it all out.

In the meanwhile, we get up and go about our days, go to work, run errands...all of it. We are finding our way, and eventually things will be ok again. I know this from experience. Erica is coming home to see us this weekend. Her visa was issued this week, and her plane ticket bought. She will be leaving for York at Thanksgiving. I get sad sometimes, but I am quick to push those thoughts away and think about how exciting its going to be visiting her over there. And the fact that her contract is for 2 and a half years. And how exciting its going to be for her to be able to spend her time off roaming around Europe.

And we are spending part of next week with some friends of ours. They have rented a beachfront house up in Corolla, NC. That part of the NC coast is our favorite. And its been a while since we have gone up there. We had plans to go up for our anniversary, but Dad was too sick. So this is a real treat, and I am looking so forward to it. That whole area: Corolla, Duck, Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, and Hatteras is such a nice combination of beautiful and remote (there is even a nude beach if you know where to find it...its not on any map), but with shopping, restaurants, and interesting sights just a short drive away. If you ever go, be sure to catch a sunset up on Jockey's Ridge. Its the largest natural sand dune in the eastern US. The climb up to the top is somewhat arduous....its climbing a tall mountain of loose sand. But the view is worth it. The Hatteras lighthouse is where a lot of people go, but I didn't find it all that exciting. Maybe because the one day we finally decided to drive all the way out there (its a long haul), the darned thing was closed, and it was hotter than hell that day anyway. At least I saw it up close from the outside, and it was kind of amazing to imagine how crazy it must have been moving that thing. We watched the moving of the lighthouse on the news, but seeing it in person...what a feat!

Love to all!