Wait...I got my events out of order!

Back in the Good Old Days

We look exactly the same, don't we? Just kidding, hopefully we are a little wiser since we have to be a little older.

I have two very very BFFs. One lives here the other lives in the DC area until 3pm tomorrow. Scott and I have been friends for so long. Truly through thick & thin and I am not just talking about our butts (ba dum bum). He is leaving to work and live in Dubai for the next six months. I am so excited for him on this adventure but so nervous for him too. I am a little sad too because he has just recently met the most wonderful guy and I know it will be so hard for them to be apart over the next few months. So anyway, weekend before last we met in Winston-Salem, NC. It is almost exactly half way between our homes. It was such an easy drive we were mad that we had done it before now. Kelli & I rode together and her BFF, Shannon (who up until this trip was considered an imaginary friend- she really exists), who lives in Baltimore drove down too. We had such a great time. It was over too soon.

Kelli & Shannon

We had a very busy weekend but it was fun. Saturday was Emma's birthday party and then Saturday evening was Bella's Halloween Party. The kids had so much fun getting to be together and play Halloween games in their costumes. Mom's birthday was Tuesday and we got to celebrate her birthday a little at Bella's party too. I am still tired from the weekend. I have started keeping Justin's cousin, Cristen's, litttle baby Avery during the week while she works. He is 10 weeks old and a really good baby. I don't know how people do it with 3 small children.

Tuesday night Bowie & I got soooooooo sick. The sickest I have been in a long time. I wanted to cry. We were both up all night throwing up and then were just miserable all day Wednesday. I mean every muscle burned and ached. Awful. But today I feel so much better and so does Bowie. So far no one else has gotten but I still have my fingers crossed.

Check this out...

Super cute giveaway on Calico's blog

5 Things

5 things...

Erin tagged me...here goes.

5 JOYS

~my boys
~my husband
~the ocean
~growing my own food
~A Night Out With My Husband

5 FEARS

~something bad happening to my children
~something bad happening to Justin
~not ever finishing school
~losing my parents or Gram
~not enough $$

5 OBSESSIONS

~canning
~facebook
~the ocean
~feeling bad about throwing away recyleables
~freecycle

5 SURPRISING FACTS

~I was born in Denver , CO
~I can't sing
~I can draw with the proper equipment & time
~I usd to want to be Madonna (not so much anymore)
~I have seen Duran Duran in concert 6 times

5 PEOPLE TO TAG
Mom
Kelli
Leslie
Scott
Carrie

I am looking for fun, relatively easy homemade gift ideas for Christmas. If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear it.

We went camping last weekend. It was so nice. We went to the mountains in South Carolina, right over the state line off of the Chatooga River. It was the 1st time we have taken Bowie camping in the mountains. When we went camping at the beach we had the really big tent that is the size of my living room. We could let Bowie run around in there but this time we had the little tent. We kept him confined in the pack n play while we were at the campsite. He wasn't always so happy about that. Also, he is not really a snuggly sleeper. He kept waking up and trying to sleep up on the pillow instead of snuggling between mommy & daddy. WE went down to the river and fished a little, took a short hike up a waterfall, wnet to the SC Fish Hatchery and then to Issaqueena Falls.

I am mad that I missed Project Runway last night and just saw a preview for the season finale and saw that Jarel was not there. Humph...This season of Project Runway has not been good. I have not agreed with so many of the eliminations. Also, I am not loving any of the designers- work or personality. I thought of the 4 left Jarel was the best. That Kinley is a little turd. Alright, enough of my TV tantrum.

I have been so bad. I have not been to the gym one time this week. I have been tired and tired of dragging the kids there. But now I am paying for it. I have been on the verge of a mommy melt down for 2 days. Brady is exceptionally wild this week. It could be that I haven't had that "me" time to sweat it out at the gym or it could be that he hasn't had that extra play time that he gets at the gym. Anyway, we are going tomorrow and I will be back on track next week.

I canned some more pepper jelly,pepper sauce, and roasted tomatoes on Tuesday. That is the end of the tomatoes and peppers for this year. I still have a few eggplant that I will can as marinated eggplant the 1st of next week. Justin's friend, Theron is supposed to be bringing me some more banana peppers to pickle too. I put up a notice on Freecycle asking for some green tomatoes. Leslie has inspired me to make some chow chow if I get enough. Or I might just pickle them.



I talked to Gram this week. I really like talking with her and hearing what she has been doing. Papa Bill died in February and I just can't imagine how lonely she must feel. She told me that she hardly cooks anymore since it is just her. I talked to her about my canning craziness and we got to talking about how sometimes the simple or old ways are the best. She said that Daddy Ben (her dad) only ever used baking soda and salt to brush his teeth and that his teeth were beautiful. I also told her that I was thinking about learning to make cheese this winter. She told me about the farmer's cheese that Grandma Bill (her mother) used to make. She said that she would hang it on the clothes line to let it drain. I want to make mozzerella & ricotta. Maybe cottage cheese too, farmer's cheese. And we talked about cloth diapering. The thing with canning or diapering and I am sure cheesemaking is that it seems hard but in reality it isn't at all. No one can ever believe that I use cloth diapers. In fact I never would have even considered it if it wasn't for poor Bowie's bad diaper rash when he was a newborn. Now I wish I had done it with Brady.

I have been to the gym 4 times this week and I am feeling it. So tired & sore. I did Spin class monday & Tuesday and then a class called Ultimate Conditioning yesterday. It should be called Ultimate Smackdown or Ultimate Ass Beating or something. Killed me! We jogged & sprinted out of the gym down to the playground carrying a 5 lb medicine ball over our head. Then at the playground we did the monkey bars twice. Have you done monkey bars as an adult? OMG so hard. Then we jogged down the stairs (with the medicine ball) to the soccer field and then sprinted to the end. Then did all of these crazy drills and ran back inside to more crazy drills. Then today I just did the elliptical for a 25 minutes and then my weight class. I feel beat. But good!

I canned some marinated eggplant earlier this week. I know, I know. I am crazy. But I am tired of eggplant and you can't really freeze it or put it up any way so I found a recipe and tried it. YUMMY! I am going to make more with the last few eggplants. I think I am also going to do banana peppers this way next year. You use oil & vinegar and oregano, bay leaf, basil, garlic, onions. So yummy. I think it will be good on a salad and even use the "pickle" or brine for salad dressing. Justin put some on his pizza last night. I need to buy some more white wine vinegar. I pickled everyting else in white vinegar. I think next year it will be white wine vinegar & cider vinegar only. A little less bite. My radishes and beets are coming up now. Alton Brown had an episode of Good Eats on FoodNetwork about beets the other day. I am excited. I have never had them anyway except pickled from the grocery store. The radishes I think I will make radish butter to put it up. Apparently you can spread it on bread. Very french. The broccoli and green beans look good. I don't think my spinach or lettuce germinated. This is the first year I have planted green beans. I believe that it was the most satisfying thing in the garden. Came up so easy and strong, and kept making and making with very little effort on my part.