Sunday Happenings

Around the cabin the weekend was busy, as usual.

The Huntingtons came for dinner on Friday night...Barry picked up Der Dutchman broasted chicken, real mashed potatoes & gravy, and green beans on his way home. It was soooooo good! I have a real weakness for their chicken! They ended up staying until midnight, and it was really fun. The kids had a ball!

Barry had gone to a tree sale on Friday and also got up early to hit a tree auction on Saturday morning. JACKPOT! He was so pleased with his purchases! He got us a BEAUTIFUL shingle oak that is just huge! He then planted it just off the corner of the deck, so we will have some shade in the future. Here are the kiddos standing next to it...

He also picked up quite a few large trees at the auction and will be picking them up from the nursery tonight. So, it looks like he will have some heavy duty digging to do this week, poor guy. A surprise massage just may be in order for my hard-working hubby! Oh, and speaking of the deck, check out the progress on the rails...(doesn't he do amazing work?)
Then it was just the kids and I on Saturday evening and night. Barry went back home to NK to see a high school friend that was in town for the first time in like 7 years. He ended up spending the night with our friends Chad & Beth so he wouldn't have to drive after what I'm sure were quite a few beers while watching our Buckeyes spankin' Penn State. I hear they all had a great time, and to be honest, the kids and I had a great time hangin' here at home too. Kendall had a birthday party to go to (GREAT party, Amy!!!), and then we just hung here at home, playing.

Barry made it home early on Sunday because...well, he had work to do of course! Then the kids and I decided to go on a nature walk all around our property to collect and identify leaves. I took my camera along, just in case there was a good shot I had to have. Just one, you might ask? Well, no, not exactly.....

On our walk, we stopped over to our neighbors' house, where the adults sat and talked while the kiddos jumped on the trampoline. Check out these pics...especially the one of the static in Kendall's hair!

Southwest Taco Pie

Here's a little something I made for dinner this week! I used to make it a lot before we had kids, and to be honest, I'm not really sure why I stopped! It's super easy, and really good! Plus, a little less messy for the kids than regular tacos!

Behold! The Southwest Taco Pie...
It's a Pampered Chef recipe, so I'm sure you could find it if you wanted to...but since you're here already, I'll just go ahead and post it!

Crust:
1/4 c. + 1 tbsp cornmeal
3/4 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Filling:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 c. chunky salsa
1 c shredded co-jack cheese
1 c. shredded lettuce (I use spinach)
1/2 c. chopped tomato
1/4 c. sliced black olives (optional!)
sour cream, for garnish

Preheat oven to 450. Lightly spray 9" stoneware pie plate with vegetable oil. Sprinkle 1 tbsp cornmeal evenly on bottom and sides on pie plate. Combine the remaining cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Add milk and oil, stir with fork until mixture forms a ball. Roll out to create crust, shape into pie plate.

For filling, brown ground beef, drain. Stir in salsa. Spoon beef mixture into pie crust; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 12-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown & cheese is melted. Top pie with lettuce, tomato and olives. Garnish with sour cream & additional salsa, if you'd like.

ENJOY!

Christmas Goodies!

Ok, so I'm going to participate in Logzie's little challenge...posting my Christmas Wish List! And, like some other bloggers, I am dreaming a bit with some of these, but that's ok...it's all in good fun! So here we go!



Fairytale Brownies...the best brownies in all of Fairyland! Yum, Yum, YUMMMMMM!!!






Stainless steel measuring cups. I have 2 plastic sets, and they just don't get it done. Plus, I lost all of my 1/4 c. cups. I really want a set of these! Oooooo, they're so shiny!









We LOVE The Office around here...even Kendall does! We don't watch much TV, but this is a must-see for us every week. I already have Seasons 1 & 2, so it only makes sense to want Season 3!!!








A totally awesome new hot tub for my totally awesome new deck! Hot tub party, anyone???





I love photography, but have never really taken the time to learn any real techniques. I would love to have the time to take a photography class!




The massage therapist needs a massage...
Enough said!





You can't go wrong with a gift card to Whole Foods...I LOVE that store! I could spend hours in there ( and a ridiculous amount of money!) I would also like to take one of their cooking classes...Fun, Fun, FUN!


And this is my fave this year...a juicer. I am very interested in juicing, and I think the kiddos would love it. Sheri is a "juicer", and she has made me some tasty little concoctions that are so good for you!

So Barry, if you're reading...take note!






A cast-iron skillet...I wanted one last year, but didn't get it! So, I"ll try again this year!


Wow! I didn't realize that I wanted so many things! I usually feel like I don't need anything and certainly don't want more "stuff" crowding my house. But, hey...once I got going, it was kind of fun! So if you're reading this and haven't done it already, I'll be looking forward to seeing your Christmas list soon!

Rain!

It is raining here in Ohio, and we are so happy! The pond desperately needs rain before the winter freeze... it's down at least 2-3 feet...and we don't want our fish to die this winter!

Too bad I am working today, or I just might hole up with my yoga pants on and a soft, fleece blanket wrapped around me, watching mindless tv and snacking. I just might make a big pot of soup and organize my cupboards and cabinets. I might even get crazy and take a nap. Maybe after my nap I would sit down and scrapbook. Then, after I pick Kendall up from school we could make some yummy cookies to surprise Noah and Barry with when they get home. After dinner we could all sit down and play on the floor together, eating freshly baked cookies and drinking milk. Barry and I could get the kids into bed and then sit under my soft blanket, snuggling and watching a movie.

But alas, that is all just imagination not to be realized.

Because I have to work.

Circleville Pumpkin Show

Today Kendall didn't have school, so we decided a month or two ago that Barry would take a half day and we'd all go to the Circleville Pumpkin Show. For anyone who doesn't live in Ohio, the Circleville Pumpkin Show is Ohio's largest and oldest festival. I have never seen so much food in my life!! We had corn dogs (Kendall's favorite), giant cream puffs, and deep fried pickles. There was pumpkin pie, pumpkin doughnuts, pumpkin fudge, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin ice cream, and the world's largest pumpkin pie! Also, various deep-fried items...it never ceases to amaze me the creativity people exude when trying to find something to deep-fry. There were pumpkins, squashes, and gourds everywhere. The winner of the pumpkin show weighed in at over 1,500 pounds!!!! Isn't that amazing?

We didn't stay as long as we would have liked, though. Kendall has been a little under the weather, spiking a fever on and off for a couple of days now. Barry carried her most of the time we were at the show, and finally she just said she wanted to go home. But on the way out, Barry, being the sweet Dad that he is, bought her a stack of rings for the ring toss and they won her a cane. That perked her up a bit! Not for long though...the whole trip just exhausted her. She slept the entire ride home, poor baby.

So, anyway...enjoy the pictures! It was a beautiful day! Hope yours was too!

Your view of my view....

I've been tagged by Kate to do this meme showing my desktop. Well, ok...here it is! This is our Christmas card photo from last year, when the Bucks were getting ready to play in the National Championship game. Maybe we'll get to do it again this year, eh, Rick?

Anyway, nothing too grand and exciting, but it suits me! I can't believe how much my hair has grown since then...now it's all long and curly! But alas, I did love that haircut so much! Don't be surprised if it ends up that short again this summer! And look at all Kendall's teeth! Now it's just all empty space in front. My handsome hubby looks just the same as he always does...your all-American guy. And just look at Noah's practically bald little head...I guess he's not a baby anymore. Time to get an updated picture I guess!

Don't you just love my gray icon labels? For the life of me, I couldn't get it to just be transparent over the picture. I just got sick of trying to figure it out and not being successful, so it stayed this way. No one was really looking at it but me...until now!

So here is who I tag...
Bonnie, Rick, Reggie, and anyone else who wants to!

Here are the directions:

A. Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun.
You can do a screen capture by:
[1] Going to your desktop and pressing the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key).
[2] Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and do a Paste (CTRL + V).
[3] If you wish, you can “edit” the image, before saving it.

If you have a Mac, here’s how to get your screenprint: You can take a screen shot by pressing the Command, Shift, and 3 keys all at once. You’ll hear the sound of a camera shutter. That means your screen shot has been created! You can find the screen shot in the main level of your hard drive. It will be called “Picture 1,” screen shots you take after that will be numbered sequentially: Picture 2, Picture 3, etc. Screen shots are saved in PICT format. You can open them with SimpleText, AOL, or any graphic editor.
B. Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of icons. Things like that.
C. Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well!

Enjoy, folks! Can't wait to see your desktops!

Oh, it feels so good....

To be ranked #1 in a rebuilding year!

That's right, ladies and gents...our Buckeyes have risen to the top of the BCS rankings as all of the favorite teams fell. How sweet is that?

GO BUCKS!!!!

Inspired!

You know how sometimes you get so caught up in the day-to-day stuff in your life that you can sometimes lose the passion you have for what you do? In my case, massage. Bodywork. The science of the body and the way it works. I am completely intrigued and interested in things pertaining to these subjects. But, life gets in the way...A LOT. And recently, I have felt like I am just going through the motions at work instead of being 100% focused and present with my clients. I was not feeling that passion that drove me to make this my profession of choice! And that was worrisome, to say the least...because I believe that people need something to be passionate about, something that makes them want to LEARN. Without it, we are just going through the motions, and sometimes feeling like we have no purpose.

It's not a good feeling.

So, I was getting worried. Time to shake things up a bit. So Sheri and I registered for a continuing ed class (we are required to have 24 c.e.u's every 4 years, and we were due) that we found to be interesting, and it was this weekend in Cincinnati. We really weren't sure what to expect, as the details about the class were a little sketchy, but it seemed to apply some completely different techniques and philosophies than we normally use. That is why we took it!

Well, let's just say that we are SO EXCITED! This technique has the potential to completely change the way we work! I won't get into all the technical stuff here, but let me just tell you that if we have the success with this that we expect to, I just may have all the passion and intent that I need to keep me engaged in my work. I am fascinated with this and cannot wait to start documenting results. We are like kids in a candy store!! So now I am out looking for people to treat...people with lower body issues. I doubt I'll have much trouble finding any!

The weekend was fun, too. We went out to dinner, and lunches, had plenty of Graeter's ice cream...and laid in bed in the evenings and watched mindless cable channels, since neither one of us has cable at home! It was fun, and nice to be away just for 2 days. And it was great to use my BRAIN!!

How else can I say it?

I feel INSPIRED...........

Sad Eyes

Why, oh why, does my dear sweet puppy always look so sad? We love him so much!

We try to keep him happy! We only crate him when we must (and never for more than 4-5 hours), he has free reign on 18 acres, 2 active children to play with, a pond to swim in at his leisure...

It always makes me wonder what else he needs from me...and leaves me just a little sad. Maybe I will pick up some rawhide bones for him today. He seems to like those!

It's not summer anymore!

Well, that last go-round with the popsicles just may have been the last hurrah of our indian summer. On Tuesday night, the temperature around here dropped from an unseasonably hot weekend in the 90's to the mid 50's yesterday. Boy, did it feel cold! I took the kiddos outside last night to play soccer and just basically run around to dispel some excess energy, and I had them in jeans and sweatshirts! What a change from the tank-tops and shorts they were in on Monday and Tuesday!

But it's all good. I love fall!

The chill in the air.
The colors of the leaves changing.
The clean, crisp smell of fall.
Jeans and sweaters, long-sleeve T's and big comfy socks.
Sitting on the couch wrapped up in a big fleece blanket.
Apple crisp, apple pie, and baked apples.

Ahhhh, it's finally on it's way. Now maybe I can officially make it to the pumpkin patch! You truly cannot go picking pumpkins when the sun is blazin' and it's damn near 90 outside. It just doesn't fit!

Why I Love Ohio

I love Ohio. I know there are awesome places to visit and live in this wonderful country of ours, but I really like it right here. Oh believe me, I really do like vacationing in all of those places! San Diego is awesome, for example. But I don't really want to live there. I entertain the notion every time I visit, but I know I wouldn't be happy there for long because there are no seasons. Arizona is really beautiful in a vast sort of way, with lots of interesting culture, but again...visiting is fun, but not the place to live! I've never been up the east coast, but would love to travel the whole thing some day. Texas was fun, but not for the long-term. Hot, and too many big bugs. Florida has too many retirement villages for my liking, and it's too freakin' hot. The Carolinas are too touristy, and WAY too much golf there for my liking (sorry Reggie!)....

But Ohio? Yes. I like Ohio. I realize that I am a bit biased about that, since I have always lived here, but we really do have it good.

1.) First, and most importantly, we have a full range of seasons. Or temperatures swing a full 100 degrees throughout the year. We have snowstorms (which I love), awesome foliage in the fall, a long summer, and a beautiful green spring. Just about the time you start getting sick of the heat, or the snow, or the rain, the seasons change. Like right now. I am ready to be done with summer. My jeans and yoga pants are calling me!

2.) We are home to Graeter's Ice Cream...the best ice cream on earth.

3.) There is no football experience that can compare to a home game in the 'Shoe. NONE. Brutus, The Best Damn Band in the Land, Script Ohio, tailgating, the drum major dotting the "i", Carmen Ohio, Papa Joe's (a moment of silence, please), buckeye necklaces, High Street, Gordon Gee and his embroidered buckeye pants and bowtie....and I could go on and on. Those game days are the biggest attraction in central Ohio throughout the fall!

4.) Reasonable traffic. Yeah, I used to complain about traffic...but that was before I visited California. It's all goooood here.

5.) Small towns and friendly people. Some of the friendliest you'll meet!

6.) All of my family and all of my in-laws live here.

7.) Relatively low cost of living!

8.) Lots of good routes for a drive...right, Rick??

9.) One of the largest Amish communities in the U.S. ... beautiful furniture and quilts, and yummy food!

Yeah, I know it may not be the most exciting place to visit. I'll give you that. Not exactly vacation material...but to live? Yeah, it's pretty good.

As they say... Ohio, the heart of it all...

Still summer???

Nothing says summer like popsicles! And if you ask Noah, summer is still here!

Picture Day!

Today is picture day at Kendall's school. After much deliberation about what outfit to wear, she decided to go with her favorite color, yellow. So here she is...ready for pictures!I think she'll do great, don't you?

Here you go, Rick!

Well, since Rick is over at his blog bitching about *some* people who don't update their blogs, I suppose I'd better get on it before he hunts me down. The weekend was insanely busy! On Friday, I went to a scrapbooking crop with Deetra. Now keep in mind, I have not pulled out my scrapbook stuff since March, and before that it had been at least a year. So, to say I am a little rusty is NOT an exaggeration!

We had a lot of fun, and I started on a new album that has been sitting there just waiting so patiently for like, 3 years. I got home from that at about midnight and was up by 7:00 am to get Kendall up and ready for her theatre class on Saturday morning. UGH. On the way back from that, we met Barry and Noah at Ms. Kathy's so she could watch the monkeys while we went to pick out our new carpet. See, we've only had our carpet for 3 years...and Stainmaster is replacing it because it is defective. Cool, right? Yeah, I guess. But picking carpet is never easy, and what a pain to move all of our furniture so it can be installed! So, anyway, after much deliberation, this is what we've chosen:
And this is the room it is going in...

Yeah, I know I should think more neutral. But I'm sick of neutral. This is my house, and I like to live a colorful life. Plus, that nice neutral carpet sure shows alot of dirt! So, anyway, that's what's happening there. After much stress about that decision, I am going with my gut...and green it is!

Then the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday were spent working on the deck, doing laundry, cleaning, going to soccer, and WASHING WINDOWS! Yeah, I know you're all jealous. Wish you all could have been here! Helping, of course! Hee-hee!

Then last night, I had some ladies over for a Lia Sophia jewelry party. Friends, food, and jewelry...what fun!Here is the necklace I got just for hosting the party:

So, I'll have to let you know what else I might order! The special of the month is earrings, so who knows what I may pick up???

Bedhead and Cookie Cutters

I took Noah for a haircut today...finally. He needed one so badly that one morning this week when he got to his childcare center, they actually took a picture of him because his bedhead was so out of control and funny! How sad is that?? I am pretty sure that picture will haunt him for the rest of his life, once I get my hot little hands on it!

So today we went to Cookie Cutters to get that little bit of business taken care of...and doesn't he look so cute today with his new big-boy haircut? Yeah, I know...and ornery too. But hell, that smile and those eyes will just melt your heart any day of the week!

Saturday Hog Roast!

On Saturday, we were invited to a hog roast at some new friends of ours. A lot of people we have met recently were there, so we really had a good time! Plus, Kirsten and Paul throw one heck of a party! Thanks, guys, for inviting us!

So here are just a few pics from the hog roast. Enjoy!Deetra, Shawn & Shea

Noah playing on the battery powered train in the toy room. This was a wicked-cool toy, but it kept coming off the track, so Noah would have to "fix" it.

Live music, even!

Can't go wrong with the bouncy castles! That was the kid hotspot, for sure!

Elena and Mary, showing off their beautiful smiles. Think their parents might be in for some big orthodontia bills? Hee hee...think we better file down those vampire teeth, don't you?

Just a tent full of people eating some yummy roasted pork. It was GOOOOOOD!

Barry and Noah, making the rounds. That is one sweaty little boy, right there, people! He ran the whole time. And don't you just love his little Buckeyes jersey? Gotta start 'em young, folks. We're serious about those Bucks around here!

Couldn't get a picture of the Kendall-bug. She wouldn't stop long enough for me to get one! Well, actually, that's not true. You can see her in the bouncy castle if you really look. She is wearing pink!

So that's it for our Saturday! Hope you had a good weekend as well!
FALL IS HERE! YIPPEEE!!!