Halloween Eve

I am SO ready.

Ze House Next Door? Itza Still Ugly

Just a quick update on the saga next door. The trim has been repainted a really pretty wine color. OVER that ugly ass red. Ugh! It looks better but still not good. Why the guy didn't prime it first, better yet, why they didn't choose colors that would easily blend in with the houses around it is beyond this little country girl's ciphering. That would make too much sense. That might make the neighbors happy. That might line the stars up. Who knows?

I've had a headache for four days now. It's a lot better today than yesterday, feeling a little more sore than an actual headache. It hurt for so long, it's just sore now. How cool is that? That's right. Not very.

I'm cleaning my house tonight because it's a leeeetle hard to scrub a tub when your head's 'bout to pop off. I'm doing that tonight and watching "The Office" but that's as far as I'm gonna go.

That's what she said.

Monster Toes!

These are probably the grossest thing I've ever made in my life.

We're having a li'l Halloween party at work tomorrow and I made these to take. Since our menu consists of Blood Clot Salsa and Vomit and Human Skin (that's dip and chips), I thought these toesies would be right at home.

I thought afterwards about using strawberry jelly instead of ketchup. Then we'd have some toe jam. Yuk yuk.

I know you're dying to make some for your own freak fest so here's how:

Recipe Ingredients:

Cocktail wieners

6-inch tortillas

Ketchup or mustard

Toothpicks

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut a wedge into the end of each cocktail wiener to make a toenail.

2. Cut the tortillas into strips about 4 inches long and 3/4 inch wide. Discard the ends.

3. Soften the strips in the microwave between damp paper towels for 10 to 30 seconds.

4. Roll each wiener in a tortilla strip and secure with a toothpick.

5. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove them from the oven, then fill the toenail with ketchup or mustard. Remove the toothpicks before serving.

(It's NOT Good To Touch) The Hot Red Mess Of Home

Okay. So Tuesday, I come home at lunch and find that the condo next to me is being painted pink and red. I told the painter I HATED IT. Bless his heart. It's not his fault. He didn't pick the colors.

Wednesday, I come home for lunch. The painter is on the roof next door, he sees me drive up in the driveway and he hides behind the chimney! He KNOWS I'm finna say something. By then, he'd gotten the entire front painted. (See the pic above and try not to scream)

Today, he's almost done. Every day this week, I've told him how much I hate it. I've told everybody that I hate it. I'm pretty much a mellow person. I usually just roll with stuff. I cannot roll with dis heah. Ami suggested that I get a neighborhood petition signed to present to the owners. The folks living there now are renting so it's not their fault either.

The base color is okay, the red is, well, there's just no delicate way to put it, HOOKER RED.

So I called the owner today on behalf of the entire neighborhood and said WE ALL HATE IT, HATE IT WITH THE HEAT OF A THOUSAND HELLS, WE DO.

And he's gonna change it!! Monday!! To a deep wine.

A deep wine that I pray will not resemble Barney.

Stay tuned...

Something Blue

I saw this meme on a blog I read and thought it would be a fun thing to write about. I didn't realize how hard it would be! You're supposed to come up with seven blue things that you love, are in your home or define your life in some way, things that make you you. This is what I came up with.

Larry's beautiful blue eyes. I can't think of another blue thing (or things!) that I love more than my husband's eyes. In them, I find comfort, protection, desire and so much love that it takes my breath away sometimes. I hope that if we ever have a child, he has his daddy's eyes. I really wish I had a better picture of Larry in his gray fire department uniform. That color makes his eyes POP! Mmm mmm mmmm, I could sop that boy up with a biscuit.

Another "blue" in my life that I don't love so much but it's there and it does define my life in a way would be the blues Larry and I get when we're not together. :( Thanks, baby, for coming up with that one!

The ocean! I am truly a beach baby.

I love every-thing about it, even getting sand you-know-where. Give me beautiful blue water, a chair and...

...a sunny blue sky and I'll stay out there all day. I'll come in looking just like a tomato but I'll be happy!

Blue jeans!

I'm almost always wearing jeans. Even when I'm not. :)

Blue cheese!

I could just eat this wedge UP.

Nom nom nom.

My blue sofa!

This is where you'll usually find me at night, camped out with my laptop.

This was fun! Now all you bloggers try to come up with seven blue things in your hearts, your lives or your homes!

Lazy Sunday

I'm chillin' (literally! It's cold!!) at home today. I needed the rest. I am not used to working this many months without a vacation! When I worked for Citi, I had been there so dang long that I had four weeks of vacation and five personal days every year. I haven't had a week off since February! I took three days off in May when me and Mama went to the beach but that's it. I'm tired!

Larry had a party planned for a buddy of his today so I stayed home and slept late. I slept 'til 11:00! I had to turn my heat on last night and add another quilt to the bed. This little cool snap has been sooooo nice!! I slept extremely late but I haven't been a total slug with the rest of the day. The leaves are really starting to fall in my backyard and I LOVE it!! When I first moved here almost seven years ago, I let them stress me out so much until I just couldn't stand to look at them. I would just keep my patio blind closed all the time. But now, now they are so beautiful to me. I just embraced them about four years ago and we're getting along SO much better now. I do rake 'em and use the leaf blower from time to time to keep them under control but I don't put near the effort into them that I did the first few falls I lived here. I like looking at them now. They're just doing what the Good Lord told them to do. Can't do anything but love that, right?

So I tidied up a little in the backyard, fed my birds and squirrels and cleaned the bird bath. It had gotten a little funky from all that rain we've had. I found a few walnuts that the squirrels hadn't and used them in some curry chicken salad for lunch. Yum!!

I watched a little of my girl, Paula Deen, and got so inspired that I spent two hours in the kitchen cooking! I made creamy chicken and rice, green beans and red potatoes, a big pot of gumbo and a pot of some of those fresh peas I got back in the summer. I steamed some brussels sprouts and fried some creamed corn. I am set for the week now!

This is what I did to my front porch. I love how the sun was shining so bright when I took the picture!

Fall Porch Inspiration!

What a cool idea to decorate pumpkins with upholstery tacks!

I LOVE these gilded pumpkins!

Martha Stewart. Of course.

I'm going to do something with my porch this weekend. I found these pictures so now I'm all inspired and stuff. I absolutely adore autumn. So while the commercial world all around me rushes Christmas, I'm taking my sweet time loving fall.

Ugly As A Burnt Boot

And actually, I'd wear a burnt boot before I'd wear these.

These pants? Leggings? Ugly ass trainwreck? are from Miley Cyrus' new line of teen clothes at Wal-Mart. Mileyware. Bless her heart.

But being a teen of the 80's, I can't say too much. We had the stirrup pants, the leg warmers and the acid-washed jeans. Bless our hearts.

I know that every generation has its own fads as far as fashion goes. I just hope this one crashes and burns. You know, like our MC Hammer pants did.

You should not touch that.

Hippie Dippy Crafty Day!

I went to a fall craft day this morning at the home of one of the nurses I work with. I had asked my Facebook friends earlier in the week for some ideas for an appetizer that I could take today and I went with Doghouse Dip! This recipe came from Dawn, my friend and local PartyLite candle lady. She's made this for candle parties that I've attended and it is SO good! It's called Doghouse Dip 'cause if you ever find yourself in the doghouse, this dip will sho' get you out!! It's chili mix, sour cream, cream cheese, corn and black bean salsa and shredded Mexican cheese. It'll knock your socks off and then put 'em back on for you. There were six of us ladies there, Lisa P, Lisa S, Heidi, Norma, Rosie and me. I work with five of them, everybody except Rosie. We had so much fun! And so much food!! We had my dip, a yummy Mexican dip, peach cobbler, chicken salad sammiches, a cold cuts, cracker and cheese platter and piggies in a blanket.

Here are two frames that Rosie and Heidi painted. They did such a great job! I was worried how my raggly little stuff was gonna look because I am not the least bit crafty. Ami got all the creative talent in our family!!

This is Rosie's frou frou pumpkin.

I LOVE it!!

Here's the pumpkin that I painted. I got a little foam one from Hobby Lobby so I could use it every year. It was Lisa P.'s idea to poke holes where I had painted berries and put a light inside. It's really pretty all lit up! Don't laugh at my leaves!

This is the picture frame that I painted. I have a picture of me and Ami that Brian took of us last year at the Fox in Atlanta when we went to see the play Wicked. I thought this frame would be perfect for that picture! And I can leave it out all year!

We had such a great time today! We're planning to do it again next month and make Christmas stuff.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas 'Round Here...

...and it's starting to tick me off.

It's OCTOBER. I went in Hobby Lobby today to get a pumpkin and a wooden picture frame for a fall craft get-together I'm going to Saturday at the home of one of the nurses I work with and they had ALL their Christmas stuff out! Not just the year-round Christmas stuff. ALL of it. Decorations, lights, wrapping paper, boxes, everything. I was most thoroughly disgusted. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas. Cannot wait for Christmas. If I wasn't already married, I'd marry Christmas, I love it so much. It's my favorite holiday of them all but gah, three months of it??! Plus seeing Santa and Baby Jesus with His mama and daddy right next to ghosts and witches cheapens Christmas to me. It might just be me. I don't know.

And then today after work, I went to Cracker Barrel to get some supper and Christmas has 'sploded in there, too!!

This putting Christmas stuff out early thing is relatively new. I remember when Larry and I were in Augusta in 2000 and I was at the mall the weekend after Thanksgiving. They were putting up the Christmas trees then. After Thanksgiving, like you 'sposed to. That was only nine years ago.

So what has happened in the past nine years?? I realize the earlier they put the stuff out, the more money they make but for me, it just makes me want to avoid stores that do that.

What do y'all think??

Wastin' Away Again In Robitussinville

As the two friends wandered through the snow on their way home, Piglet grinned to himself, thinking how very lucky he was to have a best friend like Pooh.

Pooh thought to himself, "If this pig sneezes, he's freakin' dead."

Y'all. I am still sick. Whatever touch of the flu I had last week has turned into a full blown cold and now I have this horrible cough and stopped-up head. I have been taking everything under the sun for it, Triaminic, Mucinex, Robitussin, Tylenol Chest Congestion and even my trusty Zicam, which ALWAYS works. I've also been sleeping with my humidifier on (so as Ruby says, "I am SO humidified!!"), drinking hot tea and honey and getting lots of rest. Nothing is helping. Somethin' bad done got a hold of me.

I left work early Friday and I've been home all weekend. Larry wouldn't even let me come see him. He's been calling checking on me but he wanted me to rest this weekend and get better. I'm trying!!

Waaaaaah. Y'all feel sorry for me. And then bring me some damn soup.

PS!!! For the first time in MY LIFE, I've lost weight and didn't even know it. I caught a glimpse of my profile in the mirror the other day and my belly looked flatter. I immediately jumped on that scale and hallelujah praise Jesus, I had lost EIGHT pounds. Wasn't even trying to.