Being Thankful

This blog makes me smile every day.

And, this is a a great way to recognize the people who are important to us.

I'm planning a hybrid of the two to take a little time each day of November to be thankful for the people who are important in my life.

Stay tuned.

I owe you.

Once again, I owe you a blog post.

You'll have to settle for these pictures instead. How stinkin' cute are they?

Dreaming of Pumpkin

I am all about pumpkin-inspired recipes right now. I haven't gotten around to actually making many pumpkin-infused goodies, but I sure have bookmarked a lot.


Pumpkin Spice Granola
Pumpkin Pie Fudge
Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Caramel Bars with Bacon
Pumpkin Pancakes
Pumpkin Cupcakes
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin Cake with Butterscotch Filling
Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins with Streusel

(Fall) Weekend in Review

Short road trip.

Comfortable temperatures.
Sunshine.
Pretty Leaves.
Pumpkins.
Friends.
A perfect fall weekend.

We stopped for a little dairy on the way to Madison.

Then, Memphis and I dropped Brad off to go to the Badger game with a friend.

I had dinner with my mom and sister and stopped for a little pie and some shopping (tights, cloth napkins, and an Advent calendar).

Sunday was when the real fun was had.

We didn't quite make it in time for the pig races, but we did catch the pumpkin cannon, hayride, and small maze.

Lunch was oh-so-healthy.

Behold, the magic pumpkin cannon. It doesn't look like much, but this baby can launch a pumpkin seriously far. Justin used the lure of the pumpkin cannon to be sure that Brad understood just how cool the pumpkin patch really is.

We took a hayride to find the perfect pumpkins.

Then, we tried the corn maze. Correction - we tried the "small" corn maze which somehow we never managed to find our way our of. Well, that's not entirely true. We did find our way out of the entrance.

Even though she was pretty shy, Miri was totally irresistible all day long.

Em took tons of shots with my camera. I don't usually end up with any pictures of myself, so it was fun to look through and see that there were pictures of me.

 And, a couple more fun fall shots - compliments of Em.

We finished the weekend with a great dinner at home (chicken with pinot noir sauce and mushroom, leek, and lemon risotto).

Thinking about. . .

. . . new shoes.

. . . Thanksgiving.

. . . how strange it felt not to wear a watch today.

. . . my grandma.

. . . Christmas shopping.

. . . new living room furniture.

. . . Luke drinking syrup for breakfast - right from Mrs. Butterworth.

. . . miners being brought to safety.

. . . needing new tires before winter.

. . . weekend plans.

. . . a friend who suffered a terrible loss.

. . . the impressions I leave on people.

. . . what I want to do when I grow up.

What I'm Reading

I wrote two months ago about what I was reading and what I wanted to read.

It seems like time to update the ideas.

Bookmark made for Midnight Rooster design team submission.

Here's my to-read list for now.

What I'm Reading Right Now:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Little Bee

White Tiger
American Wife
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks


What I Finished Recently:

The Help Done 10/2010
The Monstrumologist Done 8/15/10
Tender at the Bone Done 8/2010

Fiction:
Out Stealing Horses (added Summer 2010)
She's Come Undone (added Summer 2010)
Her Fearful Symmetry (added Summer 2010)
Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It (added Summer 2010)
Great House (added today)

Non-fiction:
Kitchen Confidential
Girls from Ames
And the Pursuit of Happiness (added today)

Fiction based on Frank Lloyd Wright:
Loving Frank
The Women
Death in a Prairie House

Young adult pile:
Marcelo in the Real World
Wintergirls
Flight
Catching Fire and Mockingjay
Because I Am Furniture (Added 10/2/10)

Keeping Corner (Added 10/2/10)

Work-related:
Savage Inequalities
Six Secrets of Change
Why School?
Mindset




What are you reading? What should I add to my lists?

Meal Plan

(A dinner guest from last week)

Sunday: Menu by Natalie
Chicken Alfredo with Grilled Vegetables
Garlic Rolls
Brownies (from a box)

Monday: On Your Own
Barb - conferences
Brad - frozen pizza

Tuesday: A Lazy Dinner
Homemade Hamburger Helper

Wednesday:
TBD - A visit to Green Bay

Thursday:
Fried Rice

Friday:
Beef and Vegetable Soup
BLTs with Chicken and Avocado

Saturday:
Pork Tenderloin
Stuffing and Potatoes

Thanks, I Think

I put on my favorite Brewers hat, swapped my pajama pants for yoga pants, and went out for bread and coffee this morning.

It's about as close to a crazy hippie place as my town gets, so I was quite surprised to see little bottles of Kemps milk in the cooler. The owner was helping me, so I started talking to him about Sassy Cow Creamery's chocolate milk - seriously the best chocolate milk I have ever had. Ever. And, it can't be bought anywhere near me.

He humored me and wrote down the name of the place.

Then, he commented on my Ben and Jerry's t-shirt. He actually said, "Wow! You really know your dairy."

I started babbling, clearly embarassed. Is it really a good thing to "know your dairy"?

Then, he gave me a free cookie. He said anyone showing Milwaukee pride gets a free cookie. I think he was trying to cover up for his awkward dairy comment.

Running 8 Days Late.

I've been on a bit of a blog hiatus. . . not quite sure what happened there.

In case you were wondering, though, I did finish my "Learn Something New" for September.

My last two lessons. . .

Lesson from Day 29:
Make an old favorite into something new.

We had Greek pizza for dinner. I added some wheat flour to the pizza dough I've been making for awhile and covered with pizza with all kinds of goodness - chicken, red onions, green olives, yellow peppers, spinach, feta. Delicious!


Lesson from Day 30:
Try things even if you think you don't like them.

We had sandwiches for dinner - BLTs with shredded chicken, avocado, and garlic mayo. They were incredible - even the avocado.

Stay tuned this weekend for some fun things from the last few days.