Saturday, October 10, 2009

Mother Nature's Sense of Humor...

For weeks my oldest daughter has been rehearsing and practicing to dance as the Tin Man in her ballet company's production of The Wizard of Oz for Mumfest. An annual weekend long, glorified street fair in downtown New Bern. Today was the only scheduled performance. Make-up was applied, hair was in place, props were moved to the venue, a special dance floor was put down to dance upon. The music was cued and the Heavens...opened up. They delayed a little bit and when it seemed to have stopped raining, towels were brought out to dry the floor and a leaf blower helped. Miss Laura decided it was too dangerous to dance on Pointe, so ballet slippers were now the footwear of choice and the dancers would modify their dances. Once again the heavens opened up just as the first song began to play...and steadily became heavier with every passing note and step. After the second dancer nearly fell, it was decided that it was not suitable to perform and the show was cancelled.

...and of course this was one of those days when you look at the umbrella in the garage and say, "ah, I won't need it." ...and you also park 1/2 mile away from the dance venue, thinking the entire time, maybe I should have tried to park closer in case it rains...and you also think to yourself, as you're letting your 2 small children down a LARGE lemonade and noticing that the cup is now empty, I wonder if there are any bathrooms around? You betcha.

Yeah!

After a crazy week of a zillion different activities, today I woke up to an email from Paul. It said, "C U next Sunday"!

Woo-Hoo!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The Silent Joys of Deployment...

My nightly routine...a GIANT spoonful of pre-made cookie dough and a modest glass of wine...to be enjoyed when most of the kids are in bed.

...and the best part is, I don't have to share.

Home in Less Than 2 Weeks!!! (How could that be?)

Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009

It has been 266 days...

8 months, 23 days...

266 days...

22,982,400 seconds

383,040 minutes

6384 hours

38 weeks

I'm tired.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Fall Recipe...

Since it's October, I thought I'd post a recipe courtesy of my mother-in-law. My kids love it and it just screams Autumn! Enjoy.

Pumpkin Bars

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup applesauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
4 eggs
1 can (15 1/2 oz) plain pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 11x17 cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Mix all ingredients until well combined and spread onto cookie sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz butter, softened
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
1-2 Tablespoons milk

With electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until well combined, gradually add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla mix well. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and mix well...see if a second tablespoon is needed. Spread on pumpkin bars and cut into squares. Keep refrigerated.

Happy October!!!!

LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!
18 Days.