punkin pie phase 1

The day after Halloween Steve and I went out to find some pumpkins to make pie with.

Bad idea.

All the pumpkins had been snatched up from the night before. We checked wegmans and they said that every.single.wegmans in the greater rochester area were sold out. Seriously?

So we checked a local farm market and thankfully they had a few left. So we bought two small ones and they've since then been marking a lovely centerpiece on my kitchen table.

The goal initially was to be all romantic and whatnot and make these together, but silly things like lack of time get in the way and we haven't had the opportunity to get around to it.

And since I didn't want to wait so long that either A) Thanksgiving came and went or B) the pumpkins went rotten (probably more realistic at this point) I decided that I would bake them yesterday and begin the process

I have discovered over the last few months that I am a knife brat. My parents have always had good cutco knives and I always thought their particular*ness* with knives was a little absurd. I however, no longer think so. Not after I've been subjected to the useless sharp objects I have in my drawer that are in disguise as knives.

Cutting these pumpkins in half was a beast.

At least I didn't cut off a finger (or two) in the process. The slimy seeds were shooting out from under it and the slipperiness created between the knife, my hands and the cutting board it was actually quite miraculous no blood was shed.

Can I just tell you, I've never actually scooped out a pumpkin before. It's true, call it deprivation or whatever you want, but I truly believe now that my parents spared me from that experience intentionally.

It is not fun, it is not clean, it is not easy.

But now I have pumpkin seeds and I want to bake them and eat them. Anyone have a good recipe for doing that?

Finally, the pumpkins made it into the oven. The smell that filled this apartment was almost more than I could handle. It made me want to curl up in front of a fireplace and drink hot apple cider while listening to Christmas music and drift off to sleep. I however did only 1 out of 4 of those things. The drifting part, ha.

Now I'm on to phase 2: pureeing the pumpkin. Not sure how well that's going to go, since my blender can only handle a little at a time... but we'll see. And hopefully I'll have a pumpkin pie before Thanksgiving next week!

it's not over

The traditional Easter baskets sit here filled with candy haunting me... well not really actually. But it sounds dramatic.

Yesterday, all Andy wanted to eat was candy... so after letting him have a couple pieces, I finally said, "ok, that's it. No more candy for awhile. Easter's over."

To which he replies, "no it's not. Why can't we just keep having Easter?"

Well, that ended our conversation about that. Until I got on the computer this morning and began reading Michelle's Easter post. She had linked to the video from my church this past Easter morning and I clicked on it to see the cardboard testimonies at the end.

In the very beginning of the video, Pastor Josh gets up and says his Easter greeting and includes this phrase, "Jesus came to tell us it's not over... the world said it was over, the devil said it was over... but Jesus said, 'It's not over!'"

That's the part that Andy grabbed onto and said, "Easter's not over!" and looks at me like, see i told ya so! now where's that candy...

HAHAHA!

Gingerbread houses (take 2)

As I sat down to commemorate this momentous occasion of creativity that has once again occurred with the children, I was very excited to link up to LAST YEAR'S POST about making gingerbreak houses. However, when I went back to that post, I realized that the slideshow I had created had somehow been hacked and now displays pictures of some mamacita and her boytoy on their cruise to timbuktowhoknowswhere.

Therefore, I am not linking to it. But if you care to go back in the archives and find it, you are more than welcome.

But fortunately for you, I have carefully documented the entire process in picture form and am now prepared to share it all. You're on the edge of your seat, I can just feel it!

The pieces displayed for all to see...


thanks to Wegmans! I seriously. love. Wegmans. Seriously, goodness knows I would have loved to be able to make the pieces myself... but that just wasn't happening this year. These are soooo much nicer than what I rigged last year. We did the whole mini milk carton and graham cracker deal last year... and the frosting did NOT work.

I had great plans of taking andy to school and going out to buy ingredients for frosting/mortar and then booking it back to the house whereupon I would assemble 3 gingerbread houses...


however, the best laid plans are all too often laid to rest when preschool teachers have "classroom gingerbread house making" planned already! So I couldn't get to the store and back to the house and then back to pick him up with enough time so I just went to pick him and his carefully constructed house up after picking up the necessary ingredients.


This would be a picture of me not swearing while trying to keep these houses from falling apart...

Gluing these babies together proved to be a much harder task than originally antipated. The sides kept falling over, and I most surely did NOT let any cuss words slip out of my mouth during that time... nope, I didn't.


Let me tell you, last year I only used confec sugar and milk. That DOES NOT WORK. I found a great recipe this time and while it took awhile to dry, it was hard as a rock and PERFECT. It's all thanks to the egg whites and cream of tartar... seriously KEY ingredients. Here is the recipe I used. Leave the milk in the fridge, and do not use it if you want your houses to stick together people!


Once I finally got the houses to stick together, I moved on to organizing the candy. Look how much stinking candy we had! I may or may not have eaten enough to make a fourth gingerbread house...


There's something about the candy in these little ramekins that satisfies some sort of urge to be ocd. It's like all perfect, and untouched... yah, that didn't last for long.


All while I was preparing for this frenzy, I was playing my current favorite playlist off of pandora.com. And this also, my friends, is where the magic happens. I realized I've never taken a picture of my little lappie. I love that the wireless now works and I have a new battery that allows me to take it all over the house and have oh so much fun with it :)


Soon enough, claudia and syd got home from school and Andy got up from his nap and the decorating began.


The frosting had not completely dried, so I instructed them to be very careful while touching and placing things on it...


Unfortunately, being very careful to a 4 year old is not quite as careful as is necessary...

and we ended up with one gingerbread house beginning to fall apart at the seams.

This made for the beginning of a very sad afternoon. I explained that he would need to wait longer for his house to dry before he finished decorating it... but 4 year olds don't really get the whole waiting thing. Attitude ensued. Crying began. Irrational outbursts of emotion overtook the airwaves.

So I asked him what he would like to do that was special instead of decorating right now. And he said he wanted to play "sink or float" This is a game that we got from his preschool a few weeks back and he LOVES it. He would play it pretty much all day if i let him. And it's exactly what you think... you get a whole bunch of stuff from around the house and sort it into two piles predicting which will sink and which will float.

Well, when he was done playing, he decided that the nice warm water would feel really nice on his feet. So he stood in the tub, and then asked for a chair...


He then proceeded to sit there and ask me for various things such as gumdrops, chocolate milk, a backrub... you get the picture. and he did it all with this look on his face. What a little stinkpot!

I realized after I had left for the day that I forgot to take pictures of the finished works, but they were really nice. I would like to say that I'll take pictures tomorrow and then share them... but I just don't think i will! why make empty promises?

We had a lot of fun though, and I am going to miss doing this with them next year... :(

Happy Thanksgiving!

This has been the fastest year ever. EVER.

Even now as the turkey has been neatly put away for leftover fiestas, i still am having a hard time realizing that Thanksgiving has once again come, and now is gone.

Please forgive me for not making this a super sentimental post. I really do love thanksgiving and all it represents, but that's not what this post is about. It's just my ramblings...

speaking of ramblings, I've seen this cartoon many a time... it never ceases to make me chuckle


Last year at this time I was in the airport awaiting my flight to Brazil. Oh how I wish i could go somewhere like that again this year. I have so many places I'd like to go. I seriously hope that someday I will be a good enough photographer that people will pay me to go to awesome places and take pictures. how sweet would that be?

Anyways, this is going to be short and to the point. I have an action list of things that need to be blogged about. One of which is the outcome of my latest Best Buy fiasco. I hate that store with everything in me and am DONE making large purchases there. The whole story will come in a later post... hopefully tomorrow, but who knows.

I am going to bed shortly as tomorrow morning I am going to be arising from my slumber to participate in a beloved American tradition.

BLACK FRIDAY

That's right. Me. 3AM. The mall. Lots of money going down the drain.

I'll let you know if i get anything of note ;)

In the meantime, be thankful in every way possible. Give someone a hug before bed and enjoy the rest of this special season :)

Christmas pictures are imminent!

I have just posted my first official holiday special!

Go check it out and let me know if you're interested!

autumn favorites

I read a post the other day about autumn. This girl is such a sweetheart and was explaining how she prefers the word autumn over fall.

I think that is so romantical :)

Anyways, it got me thinking about why I love autumn...

As much as I love summer and the warm weather, there is something intoxicating about the smells that you start noticing when the windows close as the colder months approach.

All year round, I enjoy a good frappacino every once in awihle... but only when it starts cooling down do I really enjoy the lattes... I especially love the chatting that occurs while said drink is consumed :)



Now's also about the time the fire's start burnin in the wood stove. One of the best feelings in the world is curling up on the couch with my WIRELESS internet that now WORKS! and doing my lovely internet activities such as blogging, or chatting or emailing or photo editing... all whilst enjoying the burning flames of the fireplace and possibly multi-tasking even further and watching a movie.

I gotta take my breaks where i get 'em ya know!

Each season brings its own unique colors... but autumn... mmmmm... autumn brings the most vibrant array of colors. I think I appreciate it more because we only see these colors for a very short time.



In the early autumn i love watching the colors change daily. Then as the season shifts the leaves begin to fall and cover the ground with their amazing color. Then... they start drying up... and make that super amazing crunchy sound under your feet.

Yah, and then there's the fact that i'm allergic to leaf mold and dust etc... so playing too long in the leaves results in sinus pressure... that's always fun haha

What else do i love about autumn... oh! I almost forgot the BEST PART! the day that daylight savings ENDS! A whole extra hour to sleep... does that ever happen... mmm, not really :) but it's the psychological part that helps :)



When I was little, my mom would take us to mendon ponds at different times through the year. but my favorite and most memorable time was in the autumn when the cattails turned and the milkweeds were popped. I tried doing that again about 3 years ago and ended up with enormously puffy eyes and a runny nose that wouldn't quit. It was pretty sick. I'll just let that one stay a nice memory :)

So what do you love about this time of year? Is it the on-set of the new holiday season or maybe the diligence that is inherent as school sets in? Do you have memories of what makes this time special? it's important to remember these things... and write them down so when you feel like you don't have good memories, you can look back and remind yourself that "oh yah!" you really do! :)


post from one year ago today: fall appreciation

Happy 4th of July! (autopost)

If you're reading this, then the auto post thingy really does work! I have been sitting around a good portion of today and yesterday trying to come up with stuff that I can write while I'm "in Mexico" because as you see, while you're currently reading this, I am currently in Mexico... however, while I'm actually writing this, I'm in front of the same computer I use right here in good ole NY. Hopefully there will be a few of these... just in case I don't have internet access the way I hope to... but I am going to be trying desparately to get online down there because I know how much you will all miss me and my amazing pictures *cough cough*

and so you can tell the difference between the real time posts and the fake "auto posts" i'll spell it out clearly in the titles. For example: this post is titled "Mexico day #1 (autopost)" where the real time posts will NOT say "autopost" get it? ok ok i'll stop... enough is enough.

So today is Thursday. It is currently the 5th consecutive 4th of July that I have not been at home. And out of those 5 away for the 4th, I have only once been able to take in that great American tradition of fireworks. (i'm secretly bummed that this is the 5th year only because it would have been really cool to write "4 years on the 4th" *blah*)

So lets begin with a little lookback shall we?

5 "4ths" ago was 2004. It was my first year as a camp couselor. I was chest deep in role playing as Alice in Wonderland. We had tea with the Mad Hatter, and consequently on our WAY to tea, we did a "4th of July" parade down the main road of the camp... the caterpillar kept coming apart... it involved two 6th graders and a large green sleeping bag... maybe a pipe thrown somewhere in there. But THERE WERE NO FIREWORKS.

4 "4ths" ago was 2005. Year #2 as a camp counselor. Honestly, that was kind of a bad summer all around, and I have NO idea what we did on the 4th of July. I vaguely remember burning a flag... but I'm not sure. And lest you think that burning flags is some sort of Nazi/America hater tradition, let me assure you that in this case it was not. There is an actual ceremony for flag burning and a proper procedure for doing so. It's not a disrespectful thing at all, in fact it's intended purpose is to "retire" an old flag so that a new one can take it's place. But anyways, I digress...

3 "4ths" ago, 2006, I was in Michigan at the Cherry Festival in Traverse City. That was a lot of fun... and it was also the year I got to see fireworks!

2 "4ths" ago was last year, 2007, and I was on my way to India. Not IN India... in fact I'm pretty sure that I spent it in Dubai. There is a long tale of the troubles I had on my way over there... here is the condensed version and the only part that really matters anyways. From the time I arrived at the airport to leave to the time I reached the base, 112 hours had passed by and I had slept for approximately 12 of those. That is INCLUDING fitful rages of attempted sleep on the airplane/bus. Maybe sometime I'll write about that trip...

1 "4th" ago - oh wait, that's today! - is RIGHT NOW!

I'm fairly certain there will be no fireworks for me today either, but that's ok, because there's nowhere else I'd rather be at this moment.

Memorial Day... a little late

Kohima is a cemetery located in northeastern India bordering Burma and Nagaland. In the centre of the city there are graves of soldiers from India, British Africa and other commonwealth provinces who fought with the Indian Army in the Burma campaign. At the foot of the cemetery reads this inscription:


"When you go home, tell them of us and say, 'For your tomorrow we gave our today.'"


Typically, it would make sense to write primarily about America being that I'm an American. But this quote pricked my heart when I heard it a couple weeks ago. It did such to the extent that I looked up the history behind it and learned where it is written down. When I realized that it was in a cemetery that has nothing to do with an American war, it's impact did not lessen.


In fact, it made me begin to think about the fact that there is war all over the world. Wars and battles have been fought that I've never heard of, that have never affected me directly. People die every day to save the lives of others. I would like to say that I wish there was no war and that people didn't have to die for sometimes ridiculous reasons, but I know the world that we live in.

There is nothing good about uniformed men informing family members of lost children, siblings or spouses... which is why we respectfully attempt to remember those who have fallen for our sake.

No matter how many times I've seen this salute to the dead, I will continue to always be shaken by the sound. I try to brace myself for the shots, but I jump each and every time... and I always will... but I will never forget. Never.

and here he is again

The ox gave me some pretty good material today, but this was by far the best pic. I thought about putting them all up, but i didn't want to exhaust you with pictures of him doing crazy things... that would be no good. So i decided on this one. The story behind is is that we (and when I say "we" i mean my mom, dad, dan and I) went to the Lilac Festival today. The first order of business was: FOOD.

We ended up getting a blooming onion and it was *oh so tasty* I squelched (sp?) all feelings that i was eating pure grease and soooo many germs as i savored every bite... and it was gooooood.

There will be a later post outlining the more beautiful parts of the festival and some lovely Mother's Day pictures... but like i said, that will be later. As in tomorrow, or maybe the next day... or even like later? I have no idea when that will be because i have like no time left anymore. Oh well... at least i'll have a lot of money when i'm done!

This one was too classic to leave out of the mix.

Mother's Day is coming

Oh my goodness... can i just say that i'm one of the worst when it comes to days like this. I mean seriously, I can barely remember my best friend's birthday... in fact, i don't think i can recall the exact date at this VERY moment. Mother's Day is no exception. it seems like every year these types of dates sneak up on me and then i am flipping out (only on the inside of course ;) trying to come up with a good idea.

Generally, I am not content with going out and just buying something... unless it's something i know they really wanted. I like to come up with something sentimental, and some people may think that comes easy to people like me, but i can assure you it is NOT. I mean i've even go so far with my drive to make it special, that in the midst of not being able to think of anything good, i'll can the whole thing! Terrible I know. But this year is different...

I think.

I have a picture frame at home that was intended for my mom's birthday (oops I forgot she reads this) and i'm thinking about busting it out and finishing it up. In the event that there is a lack of time, which is HIGHLY likely, I have another idea up my sleeve. But due to the aforementioned fact the my mom does indeed read this, i'm going to keep that to myself (for now)

But onto the real reason for this post. G over at This Girl's Pilgrimage is hosting a little something for remembering the fun things about our moms on Mother's Day. She's giving away 2 pairs of earrings that she made herself and has posted pictures of them. If you'd like to join in, head on over by clicking the link and post your memory :)

Easter Morning

Yes, that's what this morning is... and while I should be in the shower and worrying about what i'm actually going to wear, i'm here instead blogging. Oops. Anyways, I thought I would share a few thoughts on Easter. Reflection if you will.

I love that we have the same holidays every year. I used to think that as I got older they would become more and more monotonous, but I have found just the opposite. I see that each time a holiday, like Christmas or Easter comes around, I actually am able to stop and think about the reasons that we celebrate them to begin with. It's a time to remember all the reasons I live my life the way I do.

As much as it makes me cry when I actually think about what Jesus did on the cross, I find myself returning to that place of rememberance every year. Last night we went to a passion play and upon seeing the sight of Jesus on the cross a few thoughts ran through my mind. I thought that this is kind of sick that we so often reenact such a gruesome story... but then I realized, that what Jesus did was horrible. And we need to be harshly reminded at times...

Jesus death on the cross was so much more than death. In fact, it's not even about death. It was all about life. He died so that we could live! and the best part about the whole thing was that he didn't even stay dead! How awesome is that!? I'm not serving some dead guy in a tomb. Nope, I'm serving the one who rose from the grave on the third day and is still alive in my heart!

Enjoy this glorious Easter morning!

the surest sign of spring...

... is when the Easter bunny comes hopping down the lane and the little colored eggies all start getting hidden!

in maryland

to visit family for Easter! there will be pictures coming soon... egg coloring and other adventures! i may or may not make it to DC, i'd really like to take some there too, but that might have to wait til the summer. But get ready...

roses are red

Still beautiful from Valentine's Day

a marketing company's nightmare

Ok, so after reading everyone's fabuless accounts of their lovely and romantic love lives, i really felt the need to say something about my own... or lack thereof.

I know this is a late post, and if you're reading it, it's probably no longer V day. But that's not the point. the point is that i DID write it on V day, so there.

So basically wanted to write about my feelings about said day... and they are this. I think that valentine's day is an adorable holiday... especially when it involves children. and i think that the age old tradition of passing around valentines in elementary school is so cute. but when it comes to the big leagues, it's a different story. Now please don't take my tones of bitterness/sarcasm as the rants from a 23 year old spinster. this is how i feel now, and will most likely always feel. I really like to hear romantic stories about V day... i love seeing other couples in love and hearing what wonderful things they do for eachother on V day. However, my personal feelings about the day are that it should not be a day that is special at all.

this is my theory: when one expects something on V day, they are almost always disappointed. One thing or another doesn't match up with the expectations and said person is let down. When one does not expect anything on V day, ultimately someone will screw it up with an unexpected expectation! It's an all around lose-lose situation. i've struggled through my share... with and without someone to share it with... and i've NEVER liked the day for myself.

I'm the girl who the marketing companies hate... and that's just fine with me :)

V Day Cookies

I felt an uncontrollable urge to take some cool pictures last night, and since Melissa was going to bake cookies today and had invited me over to help it was the perfect opportunity!


This past weekend my small group from church did an outreach where we decorated Valentine's Day cookies together and then delivered them to different people in the church. Mostly elderly single or widowed people, but a few others who we thought could use a little cheer this time of year.


The recipe that Melissa used was a basic sugar cookie mix. In fact, I believe that it was actually a mix that you can buy and then add maybe butter and an egg or something. Whatever it was they were great! At any rate, I went on a little icing adventure with Alicia this weekend in the midst of our great cookie baking experience. We mixed up more icing that i've ever seen and or used in my whole life. So I broke the icing down into a *manageable* amount and wrote it down here for you.


It's kind of a combination of the icing that my family uses for Christmas cookies and basic buttercream frosting.

1 bag confectioners sugar
3/4 cup butter
milk to desirable consistency
1 tsp flavoring of choice

The milk is variable, since i never actually measured that. Or the flavoring for that matter! So basically you would put the butter in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up. Then add the confec sugar and mix it up with a mixer adding milk slowly to make it mixable. Depending on how thin/thick you want the icing will determine how much of the milk you actually use. And if you add too much milk and it's too runny, you could always add some more sugar... that is if you have any left!


The flavoring is my favorite part, because that's what gives cookies a true "signature" taste. I made some cookies later on this afternoon as well for my cadre tomorrow and used almond flavoring in both the mix and the frosting. They are sooo yummy!

The super amazing cookie decorating experience

While we were at Melissa's today baking cookies, A decided that he wanted to decorate them. I was envisioning a complete mess... however, i was not going to let that stop his creativity from flowing forth. Sometimes you just have to clean up a little... and there's nothing wrong with that!

So when i told him he could decorate some for his sisters and his mommy and daddy this is the face I saw.


And wouldn't ya know, the kid actually produced awe worthy art! Not just the kind that you say is so beautiful because he made such an effort to produce something wonderful, this was actual bona fide, pretty darn good decorating!


And I am very proud to say that I literally did not help him with any of it, except for the one that has writing on it :)

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today is the Chinese new year. The year of the RAT. And I was born in the year of the rat, so it is a very special year to me indeed. However, i have been unable to keep up with the traditions of the Chinese new year... as i already had to wash my hair today. I will explain.

To my understanding, there are many traditions in the Chinese culture that have to do with luck. Good and bad. I have no idea whether this particular bit of information is true, but i heard that the year of the rat is bad luck. So this morning on the radio i heard that in order to keep the good luck in your house one of the things you need to do is NOT wash your hair on new year's day. OOPS. my brother and i discussed the possibilty of not washing our hair this morning and both came to the same conclusion... we were in need of an oil change... or that it might potentially cause a bio hazard if i did not wash it. All not good options. So i washed my hair...

i suppose i just washed all my good luck away...

Anyways, Happy Chinese New Year...

notice the music in the background

this was supposed to be posted LONG ago around the time it was taken... that would be Christmastime. however, i am somewhat technologically challenged in some areas and it took me awhile to figure out just how to do this. So here it is.

--> For those of you who know my brother Dan at all will totally appreciate this clip. Heck, even if you don't know him you still might appreciate it. We were setting the table for Christmas dinner when this took place. He is completely OUT OF CONTROL... or am i because i took the video?

gettin back in the groove

All of yesterday was spent doing... well nothing. it was so boring, and i didn't really care. but i did think a lot about how i wouldn't want every day to be like yesterday. Today A and i are going to the strong museum and i'm happy about that. i'm hoping that it will be fun. well i'm sure that A will have fun, i'm thinking selfishly, because it's just the two of us and i think that i will get bored. oh well though. i've been looking forward to getting back to taking trips up there since the end of the summer. We had a membership the expired at the end of august, and when i came in yesterday i found a brand new one on the counter.

Anyways, i've been feeling like i need to write some reflective thoughts down. I mean that's what you're supposed to do this time of year right? Well i'm not going to write the whole new year's resolution bit, or the one about how i'm not going to write about new year's resolutions. i'm just going to write about my life and how things have changed and how i am praying that it will continue.

i am a very analytical person, and for so long this has been a huge thorn in my side. it's taken me a long time to get comfortable in my own skin. So here is a sort of "list" of things that have happened for me this past year.

> this is the first year that i've really begun to realize who i am and what i was made for.
> i have begun to let go of my obsessive tendencies that tell me i have to do things perfectly, or not at all.
> i have started realizing who God is in my life, and that is huge because for a long time i had no idea where he fit.
> i feel stable and like i am learning how to commit to the things i am doing.
> i stopped obsessing about finishing school and decided to just do it at my own pace.
> i began my life as a jet-setter... and it changed my life.

Those are pretty much the big things. There's like a million other little things, but i can save that for now. I am praying that in large part, this past year repeats itself in a lot of ways. i feel like this past year has really enriched my life. I wouldn't wish for a year to repeat itself often, because i realize that that's not always a good thing. But there were a lot of cool things that began that i would like to see continue on