Happy Halloween!!! {cackle, cackle, cackle}

Witching you all a very Frightful Halloween!

We have a busy day ahead - Stephen's playoff football, home to make treats and chili and get dressed up. Then trick or treating around the town with family and friends. Finally, back to Sister Jill's house for Chili and snacks!

Hope your day is filled with goblins, ghosts and good times!

mmmmm....hot chocolate

So, it's High School Football nite in the ville. I can't go because I have three essays due by midnight tomorrow. And tomorrow being Stephen's playoff game and Halloween...I gotta get it done tonight.

My guys are going to the game. I decided to fill a thermos with some hot chocolate to keep them warm! And, I saved a cup for myself which I am enjoying as I type this. See my "new" mug? A Birthday gift from V and Ste. I love me some vintage Fire King!

This is our favorite Hot Chocolate:

Rich and Creamy Hot Chocolate

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

a dash of salt

1/3 cup hot water

2 cups whole evaporated milk

2 cups 2% (or whatever you use) milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp cinnamon

Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in a saucepan until well combined. Mix in hot water. Stir until everything is combined, smooth and thickish. Cook over med to med-hi heat stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 2 minutes - stir constantly. Slowly add evaporated milk, then regular milk. Stir to combine. Add vanilla and cinnamon. Stir to distribute spices. Let warm on medium heat. DO NOT LET BOIL AFTER MILK HAS BEEN ADDED. Stir often to ensure there is no scorching. Once well heated serve in a wonderful cup with marshmallows or a cinnamon stick for stirring!

Which old witch...

Lost her shoes?

Aren't these adorable! My photo really doesn't do them justice. Go here to see where I got the idea! Mine are filled with Halloween M&M's for a couple of witches I know!

Halloweens Past

I love this time of year! Such a casual time filled with football and falling leaves, hot chocolate and Halloween, and the anticipation of things to come!
I love the sight of flickering Jack-O-Lanterns as I wind my way through my neighborhood on my way home from work.
I get excited thinking about Halloween costumes and letting Stephen decide just what he wants to be THIS year, and helping him bring it to fruition.
And I get a little nostalgic thinking of Halloweens Past:

1997

19982000
2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Do you wonder what happened to 1999? True to the "terrible twos" Stephen refused to don a costume!!!

~tasty soup recipe~

I made this last night and it is a fabulous tasting soup. We sprinkled it with a little parmesan and enjoyed thick slices of crusty French bread on the side.
Sausage Bow-Tie Soup
1 ½ lbs Turkey Italian sausage

1 medium green bell pepper, sliced into 1 inch slices

1 medium sweet onion, diced

1 clove garlic minced

6 cups water

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper – more or less to taste (you just want a little hint of spice…don’t go overboard)

½ to 1 teaspoon salt

Black pepper to taste

2 ½ cups bow tie pasta, uncooked

Remove turkey sausage from casing and “crumble” into soup pan. Brown sausage. Before completely browned add green bell pepper, onion and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes or until veggies become soft and sausage is cooked through.

Add remaining ingredients except pasta. Let mixture come to a boil. Add pasta. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes or until pasta is tender

13 years of wedded BLISS!

Happy Anniversary Sweet Husband!

Can you believe we've been doing this married thang for 13 years?!

I Love you SO much!

kisses and hugs and stuff

~@my

**TWELVE**

October 23, 1997 @ 5:43 a.m. I received a wonderful blessing:

Virgil Stephen Woods

came screaming

into the world! He was a big, squalling, red ball

of

DELICIOUSNESS!

He's been blessing my life daily for 12 years!

And he rarely screams anymore...

Happy Birthday Stephen! You are my delight! My Joy! My Reason!

My excuse to do all the fun things in life.

You are a wonderful blend of your Daddy and Me.

YOU have taught ME kindness and acceptance.

YOU have given ME a wealth of happy days.

MY cup runneth over!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

hearts ~ momma

Looky Here!

Normally, I would never, ever, ever post a picture of myself on my blog. At least not one SO close up! {Please disregard the sloppy joe stains on my shirt} However, yesterday I read this post on Miss Jenny's, blog. And, yesterday just happened to be my birthday. AND for my birthday my sister, Jill, made me this awesome beanie and even MORE awesome scarf. SO, I decided to share the picture Stephen took of me trying it all on!

I also want you to look at this:

My cool blog and chick pal, Carol, awarded me this! Carol is awesome fun, has great stories and wonderful photos and recipes. You must check out her blog!

The rules for passing this on are simple ... show some bloggy love to the friend that gave you the award, link to them in your post, then pass it on!
I am going to do like Carol did and pass this on to some of my loyal followers, who will then find out about it when they read this post! :-)

If some of y'all have already received this award, that's ok...just showing you my love and appreciation!

Rummaging Through Junk Drawers

Scrappin' By Bliss

Jenny Matlock

Around Our House

Down a Long Country Road

"Lei" Off Drugs!

It's Red Ribbon Week at Collinsville Elementary. Today's theme was "Lei" Off Drugs. The kids were allowed to dress in tropical attire. Here's Ste's version! I'm so glad he likes to participate in these things because I just LOVE it!

Stephen's Red Ribbon Pledge:

I pledge to be drug-free and support the Red Ribbon Celebration
by taking a stand in my family and in my community
against alcohol and drug abuse.

I will not fall for drugs!

i HEART scarecrows

Stephen's second Halloween - 1998 (age 1 yr and 1 wk)

Fall and Halloween

A couple of weeks ago, I actually had a day to craft. So I made four sets of these:
One set for my friend, Becky G, a set for each of my Sisters, Carla and Jill, and, of course, a set for me! These are so easy and inexpensive too. The only thing I had to purchase was orange spray paint. I had everything else. Here's a link to where I got the idea.
I also made this cute-Y for Becky. I'm going to try to get a couple more of these made for myself in the next few evenings. I just love it!!

It's a lantern! Modge Podge, tissue paper and battery operated Christmas lights. So easy and SO fun! Here's a link to the instructions.

Happy Autumn Days!

~Rainer~

This is Rainer. He is a mixture of Chihuahua and Miniature Pincher (yep, don't know if I spelled any of that right...) We adopted him from that same shelter in Aubrey. It will be 4 years in December. Rainer is my first puppy love. After years of telling Stephen, "No, we don't need a dog", we gave in. We searched petfinder.com. We found Rainer. Who was found wandering the streets one day. At the shelter they called him Benny. My husband is known as Ben on his side of the family. We thought it would be weird to have our dog called Benny and my hubby called Ben. Just a little too cutesy. So, Virgil (Ben, hubby) came up with Rainer. It's weird. We like it. Rainer loves ALL people. He despises all other animals. Except our neighbor's great Dane, Zoey. (Added note: He tolerates Patch. As long as Patch doesn't take up too much of my lap!) He barks. Loudly. But not all the time. His favorite activities are chasing squirrels in our backyard, and cuddling under the covers. He can climb chain link fences. His three favorite words are Go, Squirrel and Cookie. He likes to be held on my shoulder like a baby. He is my puppy love!

~Patch~

This is Patch. He is a Miniature Long-Haired Daschund. He loves his people. I'm one of his people. He's slightly neurotic. We adopted him about 18 months ago from a shelter in Aubrey. He had been left there, along with his brother, because his previous owners locked them up in a pool house and were upset when they came home to find their pool house torn up and pooed all over. Patch pooed all over our house at first too, among other things. But now he is doing well. Never has accident's in the house and doesn't chew. He even shows emotions other than distress. He loves to have his belly rubbed. And wags his tale every time you say his name. Every time. I love that! He loves to GO....click here to see how much! If my hubby and I are sitting in a chair, he is on us. If I'm alone at the house, he follows me from one room to the next. He loves his people. And he's very tolerant of other dogs. He doesn't like his people to leave him. Just ask my sister Jill. She watched him while we were in Florida in June. He made her very aware of his dismay!

~stealing my JOY~

I've been letting people and circumstances steal my joy. STEAL my JOY! MY Joy. That comes from the Lord! And I'm stopping it. Right. Now.

There is sadness in my life right now, but I won't let it take away my joy. I will pray and I will love and I will have FAITH that my Lord will direct my footsteps and help me to be a support to my LOVED one who is in so much need. And I will have Joy.

There is ugliness in my life right now. UGLINESS, and anger, and Stench. Sometimes I feel it closing in on me. STEALING MY JOY! But starting now, 12:20 A.M. on October 13, 2009, I am saying, "No more!" I only have control of myself and my actions and my deeds. I know myself. I know the desires of my heart. I know my intentions. I know my LORD. I know he has plans to prosper me. I will Love and I will pray for those who are mired in anger and unforgiveness, accusations and pre-emptive conclusions. But I WILL not lose MY joy.

Thank you heavenly Father for opening my eyes to the blessings that surround me.

delicious autumn

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." - George Eliot

It's October!

October is my most favorite month of the year. My birthday, my wedding anniversary, the birth of my precious child! Not to mention cooler temps, turning leaves and HALLOWEEN!

I HEART OCTOBER!

1997- Stephen's 1st Halloween - 1 wk old