Jack-O-Lantern Time

Tonight my dear husband and I carved pumpkins. We had an exciting day of shopping, looking at Christmas items at Home Depot and Lowes, looking at paint for our bedroom and bathroom, and walking through the aisles of BJ's. This is my first year of celebrating Halloween with carved pumpkins and handing out candy, so I am pretty excited.

We took the 2 pumpkins out to the back deck and started carving away. He sawed the top off and skimmed the inside, I helped take out the stringy stuff and seeds. The dogs were fairly well behaved until we started scooping the pumpkins. Harry was so excited that his teeth were chattering and he was grunting. Although I have seen this on little dogs, it is hilarious to see it on a large dog, he is just so dog-gone CUTE!

The transfer of the patterns to the pumpkins took a while and then we started carving. I wanted to scrape the dog paw design so my carving took a little longer than his, even though his (a Golden Retriever) was more intricate. It was so much fun just carving the pumpkins, watching the dogs race around the back yard, listening to the Rat Pack (we don't have a Halloween CD yet). We finished around 8:30ish, took the pumkins to the front, put candles in them, and left for dinner at Chili's.

After a great meal we headed back home. The pumpkins look great but my dog paws will need to be cut out instead of having a window pane effect. When we first put them out front it could not be readily seen from the road and when we got back the candle was not lit. It was a good idea but not for the paw print pattern.

Am I back to my normal routine yet?

Today I went to work, school, and home again. The Goldens were anxious for me to come home since I went straight from work to school. I stopped at the Dollar Tree to get glow-in-the-dark bracelets for Halloween. Luckily they were in packages of 6, $1 per package. I am hoping that 9 packages is more than enough for our neighborhood.

After I got home I did a little cleaning, started peeling apples for an apple pie (I had been planning to bake it last Saturday) and put pork chops in the oven. The pork chops were on the menu for earlier in the week but I was just too stressed to make them.

The Goldens were very nice and quiet while I peeled and sliced apples. They wanted to get in the way of the pork chops (of course, raw meat) so they could have a snack. The funny happening was when I was cooking the pasta, I boiled the milk, water, and butter. Opened the seasoning packet and poured it into my pan. Sam immediately started looking on the floor because I had poured something out, it should be on the floor. He looked for a couple of minutes before he gave up.

I left my husband's and my lunch in the microwave to cool, he will put them in the fridge when he gets home. Yum, tomorrow's lunch is pork chops and angel hair parmesan pasta. And a slice of apple pie if we remember to take it with us.

Apple Pie, Take Two

I tried making another apple pie yesterday, this was my second attempt at making it from scratch. The pie looks wonderful coming out of the oven and smells delicious during the mixing and cooking. However, on the first cutting of the pie, the juices were not congealed. This is very disappointing because I had so much fun peeling, slicing, watching the dogs lounge around on the kitchen floor.

I used gala apples, and Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust.

Anyone with a good fail proof recipe for apple pie filling made from scratch?

Car Theives

Today my car was broken into at work. Between the time I came back from lunch and the time I left for home someone tried to steal my car. The passenger side window was broken yet nothing inside the car was missing. My theory is that someone either was driving on the same parking level or was walking to their car and the thieves were spooked and left quickly.

I went to the back of my car to put an empty box (I am sorting through and storing items at my new home) and when I closed the hatch-back I heard something fall. It was one or two pieces of something very light. I looked up and it was my passenger side window. I stared in disbelief, locked the car, and went to flag down the security driver who just so happen to be passing by in his truck. I swear, I think the building management has one truck for three building parking lots. He was very kind and helpful, I now have a police case number, and called the insurance.

My original belief was that someone hit the car. My dear husband found where a screwdriver was used to pry the window. Sure enough, there are three impressions from a screwdriver on the inside portion of my car door where the window travels up and down. Ok, so I don't know what that is called, I just know where it is located. Grrrrr. I can't believe people can be so mean!

Although the car thieves didn't steal anything, the have stolen my time, my husband's time, money to repair the damaged window, and money for a car alarm.

Lost Wallet

Yesterday I lost my wallet. I went to work, home again. Let the dogs out and ate supper. Got the dogs back inside, kennelled the youngest ones, and left for school. After school I stopped by the grocery store to get milk, eggs, and a few things we needed for lunches this week. I was a little frustrated with the cashier at Kroger. She put a blotch on chubby people's reputation. She didn't put the bags in the grocery buggy like Publix employees do, immediately after she bagged the last item she sat down to read the inquirer, and she let me walk away without my car keys. So I was distracted, I had to put all the bags in the shopping buggy.

I drove home, unloaded the car, put away groceries, let the dogs out, cleaned the kitchen and bathroom with my 15 minute cleaning system, checked email, was about to get ready for bed when I realized I couldn't find my wallet. I searched everywhere, the bathroom, computer room, kitchen, around the leather sofa and chair (I had cleaned those tonight too), in the trash (to be sure it wasn't in a grocery bag that I tossed), and the car. I called Kroger, they didn't have it in lost and found. Because of my previous experience with Kroger, I didn't trust them so I drove to the store. It wasn't there.

I called my husband, he was worried. He even offered to come home from work to help me look, and it being an opportunity for him to work overtime too. I declined, after all, we have to pay for having trees cut down and overtime is important. He was at the computer and looked at my check card records, no one had used it since I did. I had previously checked with Discover, they canceled the card so if anyone tried to use it they would be denied access. Discover is nice, I call back within 90 days and the card is reinstated.

I drove home frustrated and upset. I parked outside the garage, searched the garage, living room, kitchen, bathroom, computer room again. I searched the CR-V one last time, reaching up under the drivers seat, nothing. The passengers seat concealed my wallet. After all this searching, frustration, worry, and panic, I had the wallet all along. Now I just need to call Discover and reinstate my credit card. Today I just need sleep, I didn't get to bed until midnight, waking up at 6:30 for work, ok, so I woke up at 4 when my husband came home . . . .

Cleaning cleaning cleaning

I am not from a 'neat' household so cleaning, although I know how, is a mystery to me. I want to be able to clean the house during the week and leave the weekends free since it is the only time my husband and I are able to spend quality time together.

So far I have tried 'Real Simple' magazine's minutes a day technique. Well, ok, so it was one day. But it seems like it might just work. I only tackled 2 rooms, the master bathroom and the kitchen.

In the kitchen I made sure that all pots, pans, cutting boards, food, etc. was put away. I made sure the stove was clear, all papers away from the stove. Ok, so the area to the right is a gathering place for misc. papers, wallets, coins, cash, coupons, keys. We are still trying to figure out where to put everything. I scrubbed the sink, used an all-purpose spray on the cabinets and the stove, and washed a couple of cabinet doors.

In the bathroom I cleared the sink area (I tend to spread out a little more than necessary with make-up and hair curlers) and wiped the counter and sink with disposable wipes. I sprayed the shower with an after-shower mist, wiped the toilet tank and seat with another disposable wipe.

I called it an evening after all that work, hopefully to repeat until it becomes a habit.

http://www.merrymaids.com/cleaningtips/ http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/gallery/0,21863,1033650,00.html
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/homestyle/07/27/wlb.rs.clean.plan/index.html