443 and counting....down....

Tonight I went to Tarzhay to stock up on Halloween candy. Our neighborhood is full of kids, so we always get tons of trick-or-treaters. I never want to chance running out of candy, so I always buy more than I need. Better to be safe than sorry, I say.

So, I picked up quite an assortment....check it out....

Now, I don't buy into the philosophy of only buying stuff you don't like. What's the point in that?

We've got:

• Hershey's Chocolate Bars
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
• Kit Kats
• Whoppers
• Snickers
• M&M Minis
• Skittles
• Milk Duds
• Almond Joy
• Mounds
• Smarties
• Tootsie Rolls
• Blow Pops

443 pieces in total...

Better make that 441....

Sound off....

Last night, we went to Dennis' parents for a big ol' turkey dinner, complete with all the trimmings. The dinner was great, but just like Thanksgiving, the best part is the leftovers.

Now, Dennis and I have differing opinions on the best way to have those leftovers. I'd like to put this one up to a vote.

Which would you rather have?

A hot, open-faced turkey sandwich on white bread with salt, pepper and gravy...

or, a cold turkey sandwich on white bread, with mayo, stuffing and cranberry sauce?

I won't disclose which sandwich belongs to whom, so as to not influence the voting.

Can't wait to see the results!

I'm finally responding

My sister-in-law, Allison tagged me last week, and I've been working on my response since then. I had to put it into a Word doc to capture my thoughts, and here's the result.

7 Things I Want To Do Before I Die...

1. Take a hot air balloon ride
2. Visit the towns in Sicily where my family came from
3. Take a photography class
4. Operate heavy equipment, like a bulldozer or backhoe or something
5. Make a million memories with Matthew
6. Learn to speak Italian
7. Teach Matthew all of our families’ traditions

7 Things I Can Do...

1. Find anything on the internet
2. Play a good game of chess
3. Laugh at myself
4. "Shoot the duck" on roller skates (or at least I used to be able to – haven’t tried in ages!)
5. Read people
6. Function pretty well on little sleep (so I’ve discovered!)
7. Cuss like a sailor

7 Things I Can't Do...

1. Whistle (except through my teeth)
2. Swim
3. Touch the tip of my nose with my tongue
4. Carry a tune
5. Tolerate my cat’s constant shedding and incessant talking
6. Sleep without my shoulder covered by a sheet or blanket
7. Be in charge of the alarm clock because I tend to just incorporate the noise into my dreams

7 Things That Attracted Me to My Hubby…

1. Those beautiful blue eyes
2. He’s so stinking smart
3. The way he really listens, and remembers what you say
4. He’s the most considerate man I know
5. The way he smiles at me
6. He’s a snappy dresser
7. The way he loves his family

7 Things I Say Most Often

1. How’s my boy doin’?
2. Are you serious?
3. No doubt.
4. Don’t be nuts.
5. Can you turn it down a little?
6. Love you. Bye.
7. What else?

7 Celebrity Crushes

1. Tom Brady


2. Al Pacino


3. Matthew McConaughey


4. Gordon Ramsay


5. Matt Damon


6. Brian Williams


7. Bear Grylls

I'm following suit with Gini and not tagging anyone. But, I'd love to hear from anyone who's willing to share. I have to say this one was very thought-provoking. They say you should have a list of things you want to do before you die, and prior to this, I'd never really given it any thought. Now I'm glad I did.....

Such a fun weekend

It's been a great weekend. Yesterday was Dennis' birthday, and after hanging out at home for a little while, we headed out for a ride to check out some foliage. We headed North, driving through Historic Deerfield, had a late lunch (or really early dinner) in Greenfield, and then made a stop at Yankee Candle on the way back South. Weird time for foliage - some of the trees are completely bare, with piles of yellow and red leaves beneath them, while others are still full of green leaves. Here are a few pics from the afternoon....

Today, we took a trip to Pell Farm for pumpkins. We had gone there last year, and knew we wanted to come back when we had Matthew. He had a fun time, watching all the kids running around. Last year, Dennis didn't want me to pet the little piglets on the farm because I was pregnant, so this year I had carte blanche!

Chris, Allison, James and Ella came with us. While Ella snoozed, James visited the animals and picked out some great pumpkins.

Chris took James on a fun little ride....check it out!

When we got home, Dennis made us some delicious hot chocolate - a perfect ending to the day.

What a great fall weekend!

Is it just me....

or is this picture AWESOME?!

Party like it's your birthday!

It's sad to go

It's always so hard to leave. Thanks for having us, guys. We'll miss you all so very much.

It's your day!

ImageChef.com Poetry Blender

Can you say oink?

Today we went out to breakfast to a place called Hash House A Go Go. To say that the portions are huge would be an understatement. See for yourself....

Here's Dennis' Corned Beef Hash...

My Tractor Driver Combo (with a Bacon Waffle - the strips of bacon were baked into the waffle and hanging out the edges)...

Matthew's kid-size flapjack...

Gini's Chorizo Hash...

And Bill's Brown Sugar Banana Flapjack.

Needless to say, we skipped lunch....

Some dedicated athletes here

We've been having a great time in Nevada - too good to take time to post, really, but I thought I'd share a few pictures from today. It was chill-ay, with the high only around 58 - but Hannah and Connor weren't about to let that stop them.

Connor had a soccer game this morning, and man, was it windy!! The Scorpions won as usual - 5-1. Nice job, Connor! Matthew had an absolute ball. Hah! Get it, ball? Ba-dum-bum.....

Then, this afternoon, after a 2 hour workout in the morning, Hannah returned to the pool for a private lesson. That water looked waaaaaay too cold...not to mention that she was working on starts, in and out of the water repeatedly. And all without a single complaint. You rock, Hannah!

More to come soon......

Just a quick note

We're waiting at Dulles for our connection to Vegas. Just wanted to share a quick picture of Matthew from Bradley. He was so excited! We're on our way, guys!!!

Six Random Things

I've been tagged by my sister. The rules are as follow:

• Link to the person who tagged you


• Post the rules on your blog


• Write six random things about yourself


• Tag six-ish people at the end of your post


• Let each person know he/she has been tagged


• Let the tagger know when your entry is up

So, here we go.....

1. I have never been stung by a bee (or a wasp, hornet or yellow jacket). Probably because I freak out so maniacally when I see one around me that they fly away terrified.


2. I'm annoyed because I can't find my apple peeler. It's one of those ones that peels, cores and slices them all at the same time. Dennis bought it for me years ago from LL Bean, and I can't seem to figure out where the hell it's hiding. So all these apple dishes I'm cooking lately? Yeah, I'm peeling, coring and slicing them by hand. It sucks.


3. I love doing the Numbrix puzzles in the Parade magazine in the Sunday paper.


4. I like to twirl my thumbs a lot, especially when I'm riding in the car.


5. I've mastered the fine art of parking the Pilot in the garage in a way that allows the back hatch to be opened all the way without hitting the garage door handle. I am very proud of this, despite the fact that it's taken me 10 months to figure this out.


6. I have a humongous curl in the middle of my forehead right now. More about that in an upcoming post.

Scintillating stuff, no?

OK, here's who I'm tagging.....the rest of you who don't have blogs, let me know your six random things in a comment - I think it's OK if we break the rules!

Allison

Liz

Jay

The Mehan's

Claire

Have fun!

Doesn't this look yummy?

Just wanted to share the treat I made today. A co-worker made this German Apple Cake for a celebration we had recently, and it was delicious. She shared the recipe with me, and since I still have more apples to use, I thought I'd make it. The batter is really beautiful. Yes, I said beautiful. It's thick and glossy and smells delicious. You layer it with apples tossed in cinnamon and sugar. Here's the finished product.... you've got to click the picture to get the full effect...

How do you like the size of that piece?

At some point, this is gonna become crazy

Yesterday we took Matthew for his second haircut. The place we take him is an hour ride from our house. I know...I know...it's nuts to drive an hour for a haircut for an 8 1/2 month old, especially with gas prices so high. For now, at least, he doesn't go very often, so it's not completely crazy. It's been about 8 weeks since his last haircut, and it probably could have gone a little longer. In any event, we enjoy the place and enjoy making an afternoon of it.

And so we did yesterday. We asked Nanna and Poppy to join us, to watch the haircut and have some lunch afterward. We had a great afternoon. Matthew got a real short cut - I wasn't terribly fond of the girl cutting his hair, but she did a fine job. (I'm admittedly a bit partial to the Italian woman who cut his hair last time.) Here's a shot of him with a fauxhawk mid-cut....

After the haircut, we went for lunch at Flatbread Company, just like last time. And just like last time, we stuffed ourselves with pizza, and couldn't resist dessert - gingerbread and apple crisp - perfect fall flavors! Here's a picture of Matthew hanging with Nanna and Poppy on the couch...

After lunch, we did a little shopping and then headed home. Somehow, we were gone for 5 hours! Not sure how that happened! Thanks for coming with us, Nanna and Poppy!