BYOP 2005

The 4th Annual Bring Your Own Pumpkin Party was a success—lots of pumpkins carved, drinks consumed, and no major knife injuries! View the photos from the evening, and for those of you who requested it, here's the recipie for the tortilla soup (courtesy of my sister Monnica):

Tortilla Soup:
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon pepper (I prefer fresh lemon juice and pepper)
3 tsp. tobasco (can adjust amount for desired heat)
1/2 cup flour
14 oz. stewed tomatoes (broken down into smaller pieces)
42 oz. chicken broth

1 lb. chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1/4 stick butter (can be omitted for lower fat)
1/4 cup oil (can be omitted for lower fat)
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, pitted (or use similar amount of sliced from a jar)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrots, sliced
6 stems celery, chopped

Instructions:
Simmer the first 8 ingredients for 40 minutes to 1 hour.
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes.
Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, fresh cilantro and tortilla chips, of course.

Happy Birthday!

Two years ago today, the cutest birthday present ever arrived! I won't lie, it's been hard to top that one since. Rumor has it they are celebrating with a special trip to the Denver Zoo. I'll be celebrating by taking tomorrow off and hosting the 4th Annual Bring Your Own Pumpkin party.

How to Melt My Heart?

Spoil me with some early-morning-nephew time during a visit through Cincy, and say, "I wuv you," as I sadly tear myself away leave for the office.

Calorie-Free Pumpkin Pie

Knowing me as a best friend would, Tracy bought me a perfect early birthday present: Philosophy's Pumpkin Pie 3-in-1 shampoo, body wash and bubble bath.
From the Philosophy website:
You need this product if: you want to indulge in pumpkin pie without the calories.

Dog Days

Doug and I are keeping his sister's golden retreiver, Sadie, while she and her husband try to sell their house. I have had a strict no-dogs-on-furniture rule, but when Doug decided to let her up on the bed one day, these are the sad looks I received when I asked her to get down. I'm a sucker that will be vacuuming couches and washing bedding more often now.

Targeting Mommies

Is Target trying to tell me something? I recently received the following package in the mail. Why would Target have me profiled as a mom? The best explanation I could muster is that I've been known to purchase Johnson & Johnson's Creamy Baby Oil, which is wonderful for sensitive-skinned adults. I think these goodies will find their way to Monnica.

In Case it Gets Cold

If I had a laptop (esp one like these that I've been eyeing for a while), I would totally make it a comfy sweater sleeve like this one. Although, it might be difficult to purposely cut up such a cute argyle print.

Pumpkin Patching

Guess who went to the pumpkin patch yesterday?! Doug sacrificed viewing the first quarter of the Bengals game (no small feat) to take me to Iron's Fruit Farm, where we hitched a hayride to the fields and searched for the perfect pumpkins--5 to be exact!

Sometimes You Need a Nap

Doug and I were returning from Sunday night dinner at his parent's house, it's dark, and as we pull into his driveway, there is something on the walkway in the front lawn. Turns out to be a large man in a black leather jacket and ski cap, laying on his back on the walkway/stairs with his hands folded across his chest.

Me: Holy crap, that's a man! Is he dead?

Doug: Dunno, looks like he's sleeping or passed out. (note, we live in a semi-urban area, so bars are not far away, but this is NOT normal).

We honk the car horn a few times just feet from his head and the dude doesn't even stir, but it looks like he's breathing. Perplexed, we call the cops. They show up a few minutes later, and it takes several minutes to wake the man up. They finally get him to his feet.

Cop: Sir, I need to see some ID. Do you have any on you?

Man rummages through pockets and shoves anything he finds at the cop. Cop shakes his head and looks past him towards us (of course, keeping our distance) trying to stifle a smile.

Cop: Sir, do you have anything else that might pass for ID besides the weed you just handed me?

Doug and I lost it, laughing. To top it off, the guy nicely asked the cop if he could get the drugs back. Besides the obvious of having a creepy, drunk/drugged up stranger on the lawn, it was a pretty funny evening.

Obviously a Time to Break out the Lawnmower

The snow has hit Denver already.

Paint Like Pollock

My masterpiece from the website that lets you paint like Jackson Pollock. Coincidentally, the maker of the site has a fondness for orange, so it fits right in with the rest of my Ocotober posts.

Stuff My Nephews Eat

Monnica and Brad keep the boys on a strict diet of lime-colored plastic and marshmallow fluff.

The Lightest Pumpkin

Note: October is upon us, and my pumpkin-obsession is in full swing.

Many months ago, the cancellation of my subscription to Martha Stewart Living followed the fateful issue with the 10-page layout on 'Decorating with Bird Cages.' I finally conceded that real people just don't find that kind of feature useful or interesting. But this paper lantern pumpkin project might single-handedly redeem my faith in the Martha empire. I'm wondering how many orange paper lanterns the local Cost Plus World Market has in stock...

Spooktacular Soda

Jones Soda, the premium beverage company responsible for such unforgettable holiday favorites like the 2004 Thanksgiving Pack (Green Bean Casserole Soda, Mashed Potato & Butter Soda, Fruitcake Soda, Cranberry Soda and Turkey & Gravy Soda), is gearing up for Halloween:

Jones has introduced a line of spooktacular 8oz cans, to be found exclusively in the candy aisles of Target stores nationwide. These cans feature two new flavors, Candy Corn and Caramel Apple, and two old standards renamed as Strawberry Slime and Scary Berry Lemonade.

Need some convincing? These people did their homework:
I-mockery Extreme Beverage Tasters
X-Entertainment Halloween Soda Review

Leaf the Dishes to Me

As long as I must hand-wash all of my dishes (alas, no dishwasher to be found in my 'charming' older home), I might as well make the task more aesthetically pleasing with fall-themed towels like these from Crate & Barrel.