Why it's the Great Pumpkin!

This post is overdue but with the drama of Thursday night I just didn't have it in me to post.

So my plan on Thursday night was to come home sit on my couch and not move...at all. I was exhausted and just not feeling it. There was a change of plans though when I walked through the front door and saw Joey on the couch with this...

Yep, the pumpkin we picked up the night before. Sigh. There went my plan for doing NOTHING.

You see, pumpkin carving is like winning the lottery for Joey. He loves trying to draw up the most terrifying jack o lantern he possibly can.


Then he brought home a special "pumpkin carving" tool from work and insisted that he needed a special box to keep this amazing tool in. (I offered him a very lovely shoe box that I would write "Pumpkin Carving Box" on. He declined.) So he got to carving



- due to my lack of precision I am banned from partaking in the carving. So Blue and I watched.


Finally, he was done carving. Can you tell he was proud of himself?


I do however get to be a part of the gutting!


Mmmm... yummy!

This was one of the ants that decided to bite me during the gutting process. Fire ants are clearly the higher species in Florida!

Then Joey needed to rinse it...and drop it in the sink while he was rinsing. :)


Finally - our Great Pumpkin was complete!





Yea, yea, Joey did a great job..blah blah blah..

For me it's all about - THE SEEDS!!! We started with this -



and ended up with -


Garlic and Herb seeds and Cajun seeds

Now I'm sitting here hoping that our pumpkin isn't so frightening that kids don't happen to show up at our front door. If that happened I would be forced to eat all this -

by myself.

We wouldn't want that to happen now would we?


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Prayers please -- Updated!!

I was planning on writing a happy cheerful post tonight about the pumpkin Joey carved full of pictures but instead I'm asking for your prayers tonight. My nephew was rushed to the hospital tonight with an open head injury. He was at a school carnival and running and smacked his head on a pole. He was alert and able to joke, never lost consciousness but with head injuries you just never know. I'm waiting on an update from my sister to see if I need to drive down there. I was there at the hospital with my sister when he was born. Like I've said before - I love these kids as if they were my own. So please - pray for Austyn tonight like you have never prayed before. Pray that some stitches take care of everything and that he is good as new by tomorrow. I will try to update when I know something more. In the meantime - just send your prayers out in force.


****Austyn got two staples and is on his way home! Praise the Lord. Karolina will be watching him like a hawk for the next few hours just to be sure!

It's coming...

Oh yes - its coming. I am heading out to pick up my early birthday gift to myself (A NEW CAMERA!!!) in the next hour or so. Calm down people - I know we have all enjoyed the lovely green tinged alien pictures my cell phone puts out for the past few months but its no reason to get you panties in a knot.(As I cartwheel through my living room) So look forward to lots of snazziness in the weeks to come. Oh and stay tuned for a super nostalgic post tomorrow. I came across a box filled witrh some great memories today!

"Not me" Monday

Not Me Monday was created by MckMama -- It's an opportunity to get a little therapy for all those things you would never do, but did :) Click here for all the rules.

This week's Not me will be short but sweet - just like me! (haha - those that know me personally can stop laughing anytime at the sweet part!)

I did not spend half of my time at my niece's cheerleading competition feeling all weepy for reason's unbeknown to me. I would never be such an emotional wreck. I did not almost burst out crying when we got the results and her team had placed first and qualified to the next competition. My weepiness did not turn into irritability later that day - which I am not blaming on sleep deprivation - and I did not then run through possible arguments I could have with the hubby in my head. I would never actually think about what I could fight about due to my bad mood and wanting to share it with someone else. I would never be such a b**ch!

I did not almost scald my dog with burning hot water when draining ravioli the other night due to using too small of a strainer. I would never be that lazy and risk injuring my dog when the water started pouring over the sink.

I also defintely did not have 3 doughnuts for breakfast yesterday along with two 100 grand bars later in the day and a snickers to top it off. I am also not hiding said chocolate from my hubby, now. Nope, Not me!!

Serene Sunday

Sometimes you have those days that just don't need words to describe them...




Today has turned into a lazy day. I just got out of the shower. Joey and all the pets are still in bed. At 2:45 in the afternoon. All motivation and energy seems to have left us after our busy Friday and Saturday. I left for my Mom and Dad's after work on Friday so I could be a part of my niece's hair party for her cheerleading competition on Saturday. That wrapped up around 10pm and then we were back up at 6am for the cheer comp. Meanwhile back at home Joey cleaned the house until 2am with his mom. We trudged over to the cheer competition and sat through all the routines, cheered our heads off and then waited....and waited...and waited.. over an hour for the results. Then the announcer skipped announcing first place in Kali's division...it was all worth it though in the end her team took First Place as did the older squad and now they are heading to regionals. My sister and I screamed as if she had just been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. It was amazing!!

Karolina also finally got to stop by and see our new house for about 7 minutes on Saturday! :) They were heading to some halloween parties so it had to be quick.

The big plan today was to go fishing in the jonboat we have had for two years now and never put in the water. I ruined that this morning by making the mistake of asking Joey -

So, did you get a paddle or life jackets since we've never had this thing in a lake before?

Silly question, right? I just didn't feel like having to swim back to shore at 6:30 this morning. Joey went back to bed after that.

I guess I need to go and conjure up the motivation to brush my teeth, buy dish soap, and do other exciting things like fold laundry.

Because I would love an Ipod

I know you were all looking forward to a real post with some real news and I promise one tonight. I've been suffering through some pretty nasty back pain for the past few days so I can't sit that long to concentrate on a blog but Katie over at Confessions of a Young Married Couple is having a contest and the more people I let know about it the more chances I have to win so this is what you get. I am probably the only person in the US that does not have an Ipod yet so maybe this would give me cool points?

Honestly though - if you don't follow her already you should. Katie keeps me laughing, reminds me of my hubby and me and hasn't turned me off of wanting to have kids with Joey yet.

(Psssst... I want the pink one!)

Church and Bribery

About this time last year I finally convinced my hubby to go to church with me. I begged, I pleaded, I nagged, I griped and somewhere along the way he broke down. I hadn’t thought it would be so hard to get him to go. He was raised going to church somewhere around 3 times a week. His uncle is a pastor. I mean it’s not like he was unfamiliar with the concept of church but I guess he figured with all of the time he put in as a child he no longer needed to go.

He finally agreed though and so we set out with our shiny new bibles every Sunday at 10am. We sang along, we hung out and they gave Joey a Hershey bar. He was thrilled…..that lasted exactly a month. After a month of church going he no longer wanted to get up early on Sunday to go sit in church for 2 hours. I pointed out there was a Saturday evening service. No dice. He just didn’t want to go anymore. I kept nagging, I would plead some more. I’d talk about all the wonderful people we could be meeting and making new friends with.

Finally, I gave up.

Until we drove past Joey’s favorite place to eat last Friday - the Deland Fish House – and I saw a huge sign saying “Now Open on Sundays!” Talk about divine intervention! God came down and gave me a way to get Joey’s butt in church – I just had to wager in a little bribery. So I laid my trap down…

Hey honey?

Yes dear.

Did you notice that sign that said The Fish House is open on Sundays now?

Wow, Really? That’s awesome.

So…I was thinking…

Hmm…of what?

Well – if you’ll come to church with me once a month I’ll take you to eat at the Fish House afterwards. I won’t bug you to go more often either.

Really? That’s a deal I just might be able to live with.

So you see – bribery isn’t always a bad thing. It really will be a win win situation and one which would do us a world of good. I feel like attending church together is really an important part of any strong marriage and if I have to finagle to get Joey in there well – so be it.

"Not me" Monday

First off - Sorry for my lack of posts. We had a very busy weekend doing things around the house and I just didn't have a moment to spare!



Not Me Monday was created by MckMama -- It's an opportunity to get a little therapy for all those things you would never do, but did :) Click here for all the rules.

I did not have a meltdown this past week with full out sobbing and lamenting over just about everything. My hubby was not a total sweetheart through my meltdown and spend the rest of the week showering me with love and affection while walking on eggshells around me!

Our hot date night Friday night did not consist of a trip to Lowe's, McDonalds for dinner, and a walk around downtown which included a stop at Firehouse subs so I could pee. We did not then attempt to watch a movie when we got home only to fall asleep like the lame couple we are not.

We did not have cream corn, a lunchable, and soup for supper Saturday night because we were to tired to cook. This was not followed by a late trip to Walmart where we did not have McDonalds again. We would never be that unhealthy.

It did not take me a month to finish unpacking all of our clothing and I was not overjoyed to finally discover the box which held pretty much all of my favorite clothes! I would never procrastinate that much!

My floors are also not still waiting to be mopped. I did not finally find the mop while organizing the shed but then forget to buy a new mophead for it while at Walmart in the middle of the night. I would never be so forgetful!

What did you not do this past week?

Blueberry Bread and the Misadventures of Joey

I have been staring at a half empty package of frozen blueberries in my freezer for the past three months. The blueberries have lived in two homes now and have been used sparingly in oatmeal and some muffins. They were hanging out next to some frozen strawberries that had been around even longer. It was time to do something about it.

I gathered my resolves and took a quick inventory of the kitchen and decided some blueberry bread was in order with a few strawberries thrown in for good measure. There were dishes that needed to be washed and put away first though. Joey mysteriously disappeared as soon as he heard the word dishes escape from my mouth. I plowed through the chores, strapped on my apron and started on the bread. It takes about 10 minutes to make and then forever to bake. The baking time could probably be reduced if you did not have a husband who insists on peeking in the oven every ten minutes to see how the bread is doing. Finally the knife came out clean and it was time for the bread to cool. It had the prettiest and tallest crown on it I’d ever seen.

As I pulled the bread out of the oven I distinctly remember saying –

Don’t touch the bread! It’s supposed to cool over night and I want to take a picture of it.

The bread was cooling nicely while I made dinner and we ate our lemon pepper chicken stir-fry. Then I made the mistake of going in the office to work on the computer for a bit. I came back out to discover Joey devouring the entire top off the bread. After slicing some for breakfast the next day we were left with this –


Notice the gaping hole in the corner?


I promise it looked much prettier before my human Hoover got a hold of it. The rest will go in the freezer tonight since I finally made some room. So today I’ll leave you with the blueberry bread recipe and maybe next time I’ll let you sample the Chicken and dumplings we are having for dinner tonight!



Ingredients:
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 2/3 cups milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel or orange peel
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries – you can also add other fruit – just avoid anything with a high water content as it will increase your bake time
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preparation:

Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan; set aside. (Make sure the pan is the right size – THIS BREAD GROWS!!!)

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Make a well in the center and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine beaten egg, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract; add to the well in dry ingredients. Stir until batter is moistened.

Fold in lemon peel, blueberries, and chopped nuts. Spoon into prepared loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 60 to 75 minutes, until a wooden toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the loaf. Cool.

Still Newlyweds

One of the things Joey and I get asked most often is "So, how long have you guys been married?" The answer is almost a year and a half - to which we most often hear - "Oh, you're still newlyweds!" Yes, yes we are. We are still in that stage where it is exciting to be married and you look at that other person and just think how lucky you are to be married to them.



Being a newlywed truly is a magical time. In the past year and a half we have gotten to experience so many firsts together. We bought a car together for Joey, we bought our first house, we celebrated our first anniversary. For my birthday I'm taking Joey to the Magic Kingdom for his first time. All these events sure do keep life interesting and make our relationship stronger as we weave our family together.

As exciting as being "newlyweds" is I think what is more important to me is the things that don't change. It thrills me to no end that after three years of being together I still find Joey to be sexy as all hell. He still gives me butterflies, makes me laugh and turns me on. :) I love that at times it feels like we just started dating and the things that made us happy then still do now. I'm pretty sure he feels the same way too. Its so easy to fall into a routine and stop getting excited about the other person. You take your partner for granted or realize how lucky you are to have that person to come home to.

My goal is that twenty five years from now we hear people telling us that we act as if we are "Still Newlyweds" I hope that we never stop experiencing those "firsts" together. I know that we still have many firsts to look forward to from finding out we are pregnant for the first time to Joey's first trip to Ny or even Poland. I'm going to venture a guess and say that those couples that make it to that 50th and even 75th wedding anniversary understood the importance of those "firsts" that drew them closer together and just kept on finding them. I'm going to go start my list of firsts I want to experience with my hubby now...

"Not Me" Monday

Not Me Monday was created by MckMama -- It's an opportunity to get a little therapy for all those things you would never do, but did :) Click here for all the rules.


I did not get suckered into making grilled cheese sandwiches at 10pm on Sunday night for Joey and his friends and not even make one for me. This did not make me feel somewhat like a short order cook at a diner.

I did not accidentally get clocked in the nose Saturday morning by Joey as he was getting dressed. This was not because he was conducting an obscene dance move that I felt necessary to reach in and smack him for right as he was swinging his arms up in this fine move.

Saturday did not see me suddenly become a very, very active and vocal fan of Pop Warner football at the game my niece was cheering at. This was not because it was 95 degrees out and her team was about to tie it up in the last 3 minutes of the game which meant we would go into overtime. I did not start praying, crossing my fingers and casting magic spells that they would get the extra point because I did not want to spend another half hour in the sweltering heat. I also did not cheer like we had just won the Superbowl when they did score the extra point. Nope, not me.

I did not simply sweep dirt into the corners of my house this weekend and Windex my floors because I still have no idea where my dustpan and mop are. I would never take such a lackadaisical approach to house cleaning.

My dog did not escape out the front window again. My husband and I did not figure out after almost a month in the house that there is nothing electrically wrong with the flood lights in the back yard as we had long suspected and that it could not have been something as simple as burned out light bulbs. We would never be that dense and overlook such a simple solution.

And as always, one for the hubby. He did not get schooled by a bunch of 12 year olds on Saturday at Austyn’s birthday party and is not feeling his age now. His loving wife would also not be laughing at him every time he moans and groans.

Just saying

After my lovely sister implied that I am not country enough due to my temporary weekday moratorium on Sweet Tea I felt the need to post this.



I'm just saying its only a weekday thing. It's not like I would swear off sweet tea completely! (I also had BACON for breakfast. mmmmm)

Stay tuned for Not Me Monday tomorrow. I promise I managed some real doozies this past week!

How about an IV drip of caffeine?

You know how some people can be just a bit too healthy? They take a regimen of 56 different pills, steam everything and don’t add salt to any meal. Yea, I’m not one of those people.

Generally, I eat pretty well. I’m not a huge fan of junk food per say. If I eat like crap for two or three days in a row my body lets me know. I get tired, irritable, I feel sick and I start craving salad and broccoli and oh Brussels sprouts. (Warning: Do not ever let me loose at a Farmer’s Market – I am like a kid in a candy store. I will buy vegetables I have no idea how to cook simply to have them in my fridge!) So then I go on a health kick for a few weeks.



One of my greatest faults is that I LOVE to grocery shop. I was excited beyond belief to fill the pantry up in our new house. I go and buy groceries at lunch and plan out what new and exciting things I’ll be making for dinner. I Google recipes all the time. In the past week, I’ve made my first ever Peach Pie and Chicken Pot Pie. The week before it was black bean enchiladas. I have a binder full of recipes that I peruse like it’s a Tiffany’s catalog. I may be a foodie in disguise.



It’s not all high end in my world though. My favorite dinner ever – TACO NIGHT!!!!! I do not wait for Joey to be ready when it’s TACO NIGHT – I dive into that baby like it’s my last meal and hopefully there will be something left over for him once I’m finished. If not – tough cookies baby – you should’ve been quicker!



This entire food obsession is nothing though compared to the Sweet Tea addiction we have in our household though! (Note: If you live in the South it is not Iced Tea; any true Southerner knows it is simply Sweet Tea. The ice is implied and if you wanted Hot Tea – that needs to be specified; not vice versa) We were going through a gallon or more of Sweet Tea in our house a day. That’s a cup and a half of Sugar a day or about a 5 lb bag a week. Then I started noticing things, like how I kept waking up during the night. Repeatedly. I needed coffee to get me going in the morning more often than usual. I was fading by 2pm each day.


I had an epiphany then. I was addicted to the Sweet Tea. This wasn’t just a passing fancy either. I was into it hardcore – much worse than my simple Foodie addiction. I craved the stuff and if I couldn’t have it I was substituting with Dr. Pepper or Cherry Coke. I knew it was going to catch up to me – I just didn’t think it would be so soon. Once the headaches started to hit I knew it was time to make a clean break.

So now I’m on the path to being a health nut. I swore off the Sweet Tea during the week. It’s water through most of the day except for an iced green tea at lunch and one at dinner. (Yes – I know that green tea has caffeine too. I’m making progress here people. Don’t judge! Pfft.) I manage to make Joey his coffee in the mornings and not get any myself. That caffeine is sneaky though – it almost convinced me I needed a delicious Vanilla Iced Coffee this morning but a traffic jam and an accident up ahead rerouted me around the Mickey D’s that would have led to me downfall. This caffeine addiction I can kick.


Maybe next I’ll work on my BACON addiction. (Ha! Yeah right!)

Sorry Excuse for a New Yorker

I was born here-



and I lived here –



until I was almost 9.

Yep – Brooklyn, NY. So you would think that I was a pretty hardcore city girl right? You know bright lights, big city. Shopping fashion – the whole nine yards.

Oh wait – when I was 9 we moved here –






Ormond By The Sea, a one stop light kind of town. We spent most of our time at the beach or riding our bikes, so even then I started to lose a little of that city girl vibe, but I was from NY so I didn’t want to give it up completely.

That plan was working out pretty well for me up until the age of 13 – when I met one of my true loves – country music. Faith, Tim, Garth, George, and Brooks and Dunn all led to the downfall of this formerly city girl. I could blame it on my sister meeting Shane next – I mean how country is tubing down the Itchetucknee Springs.

In college I was able to reclaim some of that city girl. I was living in Orlando, going to shows and clubs all the time, and I dated someone who lived in Philly for awhile. I even thought I wanted to move away to a big city after I graduated.

I have a confession to make now. It was all an act. It took meeting him –



For me to realize it.

The hubby is from Mississippi. He says things like Reckon and yunder. He’s all about fried chicken, hunting, fishing, four wheeling, dipping and don’t mess with my spit cup.

I can’t claim to be anywhere close to his level on the country scale. There are things he says and does that just leave me scratching my head. I do know this though – I will take riding around in his truck with “My Big Green Tractor” blaring, the dog in the back, fishing poles strapped to the top and not a care in the world over the hustle and bustle of a city any day. I’ll take camping in a tent and four wheeling with my family over a 5 star hotel and a guided tour.

I’ve realized where you are from does not make you who you are. I don’t mind being a sorry excuse for a New Yorker because I know that I am still a devoted wife, caring friend, little sister and loving daughter. Maybe I’ll write a country song about it….

"Not Me" Monday

Not Me Monday was created by MckMama -- It's an opportunity to get a little therapy for all those things you would never do, but did :) Click here for all the rules.

I did not indulge in a Food Network watch-a-thon for most of the day yesterday while working on some bakery market research for work. I do not secretly wish Paula Deen was my grandmother so I could have her come cook for me whenever. I also did not do this while eating a lunchable as that would just be blasphemous to poor Paula.

We did not stay up way too late both Saturday and Sunday due to our new movie night tradition. I did not rewatch Walk the Line for the 947,621 time because I just don’t think that movie can never get old. I also did not once again consider dying my hair the same color as Reese Witherspoon’s in the movie even though it is almost exactly my hair color now.

I did not sit on the couch in the air conditioning most of the day yesterday while Joey and his mom built this –


for the bunny. My excuse was not that I was doing the work mentioned above and thus I could not help with the condo. I would never be so selfish.

I did not go grocery shopping and to Walmart this weekend and still forget to but laundry detergent. That would never happen to me because I make lists for everything and remember to get each item I need. I am also not down to my last roll of paper towels due to this.

My GINORMOUS dog did not squeeze himself out a window this big |-| by popping the screen out and go roam around the neighborhood while Joey and I were out at breakfast. The cat did not stay inside the house the entire time and take joy in the fact that the dog had flown the coop. The dog did not just come sauntering up the sidewalk casually a minute after we came home as if he hadn’t done a thing and then pass out in his crate for the rest of the day. His crate is also not being held together by cable ties because he has not managed to bend, twist and break the metal on it.

Rituals

I'm one of those people that really loves traditions/rituals. I come from a family that is HUGE on them. As I mentioned before my parents came over from Poland and we still held on to many of the traditions they had over there. Our Christmas Eve dinner is about 13 courses and served in a particular order, we bless Easter Baskets on Holy Saturday and so many more things that are true to the old country. While all those traditions are so dear to me I truly think the ones you establish within your families yourself are the most meaningful.

I remember when I was a child going to the library every Saturday with my parents - they would let us pick out anything we wanted and however many. I once cleared out the Brooklyn Public Library of every Berenstein Bears book they had. My dad had the joy of carrying all of those back for me! (I was 5 and they were heavy!) After the library we would always head to Carvel. I would get a Chocolate Chocolate Chip cone (always a cone - to this day) and then only eat half of it. Simple treats but they stuck with me until today.

Joey and I recently started our own simple ritual that we both have grown to love. When we moved into our new house we decided not to take our couches with us. They were in pretty awful shape and there was a couch and chair left behind by the previous owners at the new house. (In a lovely 70's palm tree print) I've thrown some fabric over the furniture until we buy our dream set and we were alright. Until it came time to watch a movie on our new TV. This couch was not made for snuggling. It fits one person semi-comfortably.

Solution - we grabbed all our extra blankets and made a pallet on the floor. The dog curled up at our feet and we had our own little mini date. Ever since then every time we go to watch a movie one of us grabs the blankets and starts making that pallet. These dates don't cost us a thing - we watch a movie off the free on demand channel and we already had the blankets. The important thing is that its our own tradition - I have a feeling even after we get the new furniture, you'll still find us stretched out on the floor watching the movie of the week.

What are some of your favorite rituals or traditions with your family?

Come on Over

Note: I apologize in advance for the quality of these photos. They were all taken with my cell phone so deal! :) I promise my entire house does not really look green! Better pictures will eventually show up!

I am not a makeup wearing kind of girl. I'm more of your wash and wear variety which is why about every six months I end up with this -


Yep - that would be PINK EYE. In me, its caused by not washing my makeup off. Stupid, I know but if you never wear it you forget to wash it off. So that meant no work for me yesterday. As luck would have it my primary doctor was also out sick yesterday so I had to trudge to the next town over to The Little Clinic but I also managed to get my tetanus booster at the same time so at least I got my money's worth!

So since I was stuck at home all day I figured it was time to give you all the grand tour of our new home. First the outside view -


Then there's the living room...

There is still alot of this left to do.


But our bedroom looks pretty good right?



Until you notice this -


and this...

and that we are using these for nightstands


because our dresser and nightstands are in my sister's garage.

We finally have our own bathroom



My favorite part of the kitchen is this -

Many thanks to Joey's parents for buying it for us as a housewarming gift.

I also love having an actual dining area -


and one of these -

Blue keeps losing his tennis ball under here


when he isn't living in here because of this.


We have an actual office/tattoo room now.

It's so nice having a second one of these.



Devin has his own room now too.





But our favorite part of the house is -

Hope you enjoyed the mini tour. I'll make sure to have better pictures soon.