Taking a break

My dear faithful readers,

Sorry that I've been so inconsistent about posting lately. I've been preoccupied with other things and haven't felt motivated to blog. I'm going to be taking a break and I'm not sure how long it will last. Who knows, maybe I'll be inspired again in just a few days, or it could possibly be a couple weeks or more. Thanks for understanding.

Please feel free to stay in touch by email if you'd like.

Brenda

Pumpkin Talk

Some of you already know that pumpkins are one of my favorite things about fall. I wanted to share a few cute ideas that I found online from Good Housekeeping: No-Carve Pumpkin Decorating.

Heap be-ribboned sugar pumpkins in a rustic bowl.

To make: Attach double-stick tape to lengths of black, orange, and white patterned ribbon, then wrap around each pumpkin.

Transform munchkin pumpkins into votive holders.

Snap off each pumpkin's stem, and position a candle in its depression. Cover with a clear glass hurricane shade. Insert floral U pins to hold the shade in place.

Jack-O-Lanterns

Freehand the features with washable markers (just wipe off and restart if you're not satisfied with the design), then finalize the sketch with a black permanent marker.

Photos and instructions from goodhousekeeping.com

Knock, Knock, Knock, Ding dong, Ding dong

Dear Mr. Electric Company Repair Man,

Next time, before you pound on my front door and ring the door bell over and over at the crack of dawn, jarring me awake from a sound sleep and interrupting my sweet dreams, please make sure you have the right house. Thank you.

Sincerely, Sleepyhead

Our neighborhood had a scheduled power outage this morning while the electric company performed maintenance and supposed improvements. I made my way quickly down the stairs to see what all the knocking and racket was about. The service man standing on my porch asked me if I was aware of the power outage that was taking place today. I replied, Yes, and all of a sudden he got a sheepish look on his face and realized he had made the terrible mistake of knocking on the wrong door. He instead needed our neighbor to unlock their back gate. He promptly apologized and said, "I just woke you up and you probably want to slap me in the face right now". I chuckled and reassured him that I did not want to slap him, however, I do recall mumbling a few choice words under my breath earlier while fumbling for my robe.

The night before I had unplugged the computer, fax machine, and television just as suggested in the letter I had received. It's amazing how much I take for granted on a daily basis the luxury of electricity. So many things I wanted to use this morning, but couldn't. Thankfully I had thought to set up the automatic coffeemaker to brew coffee early. After my steamy shower, I couldn't turn the fan on. I was unable to blow-dry my freshly washed hair. When I opened the refrigerator I was surprised when the light didn't go on. Oh no! I had forgotten about the food! Were they serious when they said the power could possibly be off for 6 hours? Would all my food be ruined? I went to run some errands and the automatic garage door didn't work. Couldn't use the paper shredder, iron my outfit, the light in the closet didn't go on, couldn't listen to music on the stereo.

Everywhere I turned was another reminder of how often I use electricity and what a precious resource it is. Two and a half hours later the electricity was back on and all was well again in my world.

Exercise Cards

While browsing through a discount department store, I came across this box of cards for strength training for only $3.99! The exercises are from the book, Strength Training For Women, by Joan Pagano.

There are 52 photo cards demonstrating correct positioning and technique of each exercise. There are 6 different categories and several exercises for each category:

Warm-up

Four For Life:
a squat, a push-up, a back extension, and a pelvic tilt.

Lower body

Upper body

Core body

Cool down stretches

On the reverse side of each card is a detailed description on how to properly perform the exercise including how many sets and reps. There are also trainer's tips.

Yesterday I put on some upbeat music and worked my way through the cards. It took about an hour and was a fun workout. These are so handy to pack along on a trip. I could have used them this summer when I visited a friend. Before we went running in the morning, we did some floor exercises. We each took turns coming up with a different exercise to do and it would have been nice to have had this deck along.

Autumn cooking

Cooler evening temperatures have arrived and I've pulled out my soup and stew recipes. Made this Tortellini Soup the other night and it was easy and very tasty. Not sure exactly where I found it, but it was off the internet and possibly off of someones blog. Sorry that I can't give credit where credit is due.

Tortellini Soup

22 oz. cheese tortellini
2 cans (14.5oz). tomato soup
1/2 cup half & half
1 Tbl. basil pesto
fresh spinach (5oz or more)

1. In large sauce pan, mix tomato soup with water (according to directions on can).
   
2. Heat on medium and bring to a boil.
   
3. Turn heat down to low and add tortellini, half & half, and basil pesto.
4. Simmer on low for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and add fresh spinach.

Enjoy!

The dentist and the accident

This morning I had a dental appointment. My regular hygienist, Kay, was out sick so a different girl cleaned my teeth. That was disappointing. This hygienist seemed to do a very thorough job, but she was sooo quiet. She asked me two questions and then was silent the entire time. Kay is such a talker and goes on and on about every little thing in her life. She's also very funny and it takes my mind off of all the scraping, poking, drooling, and suctioning.

While driving home, I saw a boy get hit by a car while riding his bike. It wasn't too far from the high school and he looked about that age. The girl driving the car was making a left turn across oncoming traffic into a driveway. I looked just in time to see the kid go flying through the air, his body hit the pavement, and completely tumbled head over heels a few times. I pulled over to call 911, but then saw a couple other people doing the same thing. The poor boy looked like he was in pain. I didn't see blood from where I was, but he definitely could have had broken bones or internal bleeding. Thankfully he was wearing a helmet. Since there were eyewitnesses to the accident I decided to continue on instead of gawking.

I felt so bad for the kid and prayed for him, but also for the girl who hit him. In a situation like that I suppose it was her fault since she pulled in front of him, giving him the right-of-way. Maybe the glare from the sun was blocking her view, or maybe she did see him and thought she could make it. Hope that poor boy is going to be okay. Accidents are always ugly.

Wordless Wednesday: My current project

Aren'tcha jealous?