Archive | October, 2011

A Hallowe’en Musical Monday …

30 Oct

Tis Halloween today or is it All Hallow’s Eve or even Hallowe’en?

No matter … in honour of this annual weird and wonderful holiday, I’ve picked songs that kinda go along with my sons’ costume choices this year.

But, first I’m only gonna say this once.  In order for us all to have a safe and happy Halloween, please steer clear of folk carrying  chainsaws, staple guns, hedge trimmers or any type of dangerous looking tool for that matter.  Also, avoid the woods, empty houses and looking in to a mirror that might cause you to say weird stuff that could maybe possibly open a portal to hell.  Thanks and you’re welcome.

The teen is going as a soccer hooligan, so it’s only fitting that his song be Lincoln Park’s Bleed It Out

My middle son wants to be a zombie so here’s the Cranberries song Zombie for him …

And, my youngest is going to be a ninja …

… and as I couldn’t think of any spooky type songs for him, I’ve gone with Jack Black and Cee Lo Green’s cover version of Kung Fu Fighting from my wee boy’s favourite movie … yes, before you start … I know it’s not very Halloweeny, but you’ll get over it.  If not, watch out or you’ll be first to go when the Zombie apocalypse occurs.

Silent Sunday …

29 Oct

Friday Food Fight … Pumpkin Soup to Seeds

28 Oct

As it’s pumpkin season here, this week’s Friday Food Fight had to be none other than pumpkin related.

Last week, my two youngest boys and I along with some good friends visited the pumpkin patch so they could pick out their future Jack o’ lanterns. 

All I could see looking at the rows upon rows of pumpkins were muffins, soup and seeds.

*sigh*

At the weekend, we carved said pumpkins …

… and with the guts, I boiled and pureed …  … and made pumpkin soup … which was yummo if I do say so myself …

Ingredients

  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 cups pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 5 whole black peppercorns
 Directions
  1. Heat stock, salt, pumpkin, onion, thyme, garlic, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.
  2. Puree the soup in small batches (1 cup at a time) using a food processor or blender.
  3. Return to pan, and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for another 30 minutes, uncovered. Stir in heavy cream. Pour into soup bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.

… as well as toast the seeds.  Something I do every year for my boys.

Ingredients

  • raw pumpkin seeds
  • olive oil to coat
  • 1 pinch salt
 Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F .
  2. Toss seeds in a bowl with the olive oil and salt. Spread the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.  Stir occasionally.

Photobucket

This month is the one year anniversary of the Friday Food Fight meme and we are celebrating it big style with a GIVEAWAY!!  One lucky reader will win a copy of the Joy of Cooking.  My oldest brother, otherwise known as Iron Chef Allan, gave me this cook book many years ago for my birthday and it fast become my favourite.  Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006 Everyone that adds a link to our Friday Food Fight linky collection blog hop will automatically be entered.  Add more links and you’ll earn more entries.

Can I get a woot woot?

 

========== The fine print … sorry, but this giveaway is only open to US residents. 

Halloween costume deja vu …

27 Oct

Come November 1st, it’ll be official.

All three of my boys will have been a ninja for Halloween.

What’s up with that?  Well, I’m calling it Halloween costume deja vu.

As a child, I only celebrated Halloween a few times and only when we lived in the States or on the base in Germany.  And, there’s only one costume I can really remember.  My Wonder Woman get-up of which the mask was hot and sticky and I didn’t like it at all.  The bracelets, on the other hand …

Anyway, I guess it is inevitable when you have three sons that at some point Halloween costumes are going to repeat.  After all, they are boys with uncanny, similar interests in swords, cars, trains, pirates and other scary, senseless stuff.

I’m not really the crafty type … I know, big surprise there … but when I became a mother I knew there were specific parts of their childhood that I wanted my boys to look back on and remember with fondness … and possibly a snigger or two.

One of them being that I was determined for them to get a homebaked and not one of those God awful store baked birthday cakes every year.  I’ve managed that. For the most part.

Another memory I wanted was for my boys to love board games as much as I do and that come hell or high water we’d have a family game night once a week.  Again, I sorta managed to pull this off.

And lastly, that I would attempt to make their Halloween costumes ever year.

Meh.

Sadly, I’ve only handmade a couple of my boys’ costumes which is probably a good thing although the first one I ever put together was the best.  It was a road for my oldest son’s 3rd Halloween and it was so original and adorable to boot.  But, a lot of work.  I hot glued my fingers together making that one.  It was a hit though and I still get a lot of friends and family commenting on how fab it was.   Other thrown together homemade outfits have been a pirate,  a zombie and a vampire.

As fun and rewarding *snort* as it is to make your kid’s costume, it’s so much easier to just buy the bloody costume.

Anyway, over the years, here’s a run-down of my Halloween costume deja vu … I’ve had …

  • two zombies
  • two pirates
  • one soccer player
  • one road
  • two pumpkins
  • two Scooby Doos
  • one Darth Vader
  • two Harry Potters
  • one Buzz Lightyear
  • three Thomas the Tank Engines

  • two ninjas
  • one dementor
  • one dalmation
  • two jedis
  • one stormtrooper
  • one Yoda
  • one vampire

And, this year, I will be partaking in goulish Halloween delight with one soccer hooligan, one zombie and one ninja. 

All made by yours truly. 

Go me.   

Oh joy.

*insert eye roll*

The Gallery … Faces

26 Oct

The Gallery: Every Wednesday

When I saw this week’s theme over at The Gallery was faces, I immediately knew that I would use this photo of some adorable pumpkin faces my boys and I carved over the weekend.

But, then I thought maybe that wasn’t quite what Tara was going for when she suggested the theme so I decided to use some of my favourite photos I have taken of my boys over the years.

This is one of my oldest when he was about 12ish.  When I look at it all I can see are how blue his eyes are against the backdrop of the sky …


This photo of my middle son aged 4ish makes me smile every time I look at his laughing, mischievous eyes …

This is one of my favourite photos of my youngest son when he was just a year old … I think because he looks so calm and inquisitive … as is his nature.  Sort of.

I love this one of all of my boys because they just look so darned cute and adorable, no?

And, last but not least is this photo I took of one of my brothers with my youngest son a few years back that I think captures the theme perfectly …

I’m xx and I’ve never … but I have …

25 Oct

I’m xx years old.

Barely.

*coughs*

And, I’ve never …

1.  Been in a flash mob.

2.  Rode on a motor cycle.

3.  Gone to the movies by myself.

4.  Given a hug, unless I wanted to.

5.  Had my wisdom teeth pulled.

6.  Danced on top of a bar — surprising, I know.

7.  Faked an orgasm.

8.  Seen an episode of Jersey Shore, although I can fist pump with the best of them.

9.  For that matter, been in a reality show despite a good friend of mine and I threatening to enter the Amazing Race.

10.  Got a tattoo.

11.  Gone snowboarding.

12.  Been in a hot air balloon

13.  Been to Mardi Gras and flashed my boobs.

14.  Hitchhiked.

15.  Learned how to play a musical instrument unless you count the kazoo I played in the two jazz bands I was in as a kid.

16.  Gone white water rafting.

17.  Gone to grad school.

18.  Sky dived.  Or bungee jumped.

19.  Swam with dolphins.

20.  Had botox.  Although …

21.  Broken a bone.

22.  Been on a cruise.

==========

But, I have …

1.  Had a mammogram — don’t forget to save the ta-ta’s.

2.  Helped out in a soup kitchen.

3.  Been in a dance competition.  Or two.

4.  Shoplifted.  When I was about five years old.

5.  Got lost in London on a 6th form school trip, wound up in a pub drinking the afternoon away and later had to blag my way through the group discussion of the museum I was supposed to have been at.

6.  Learnt to snow ski.  Years ago.

7.  Chatted with a movie star.

8.  Had a spray tan.

9.  Stayed out all night and later went to work and college the next day still a little inebriated.  More than I count.

10.  Kayaked, water skied, jet skied, tubed, knee-boarded and swam in the Gulf of Mexico.

11.  Set a high jump sports record at my secondary school.

12.  Gone skinny dipping.

13.  Peed in the intercostal waters of Tampa bay.

14.  Been kissed in the rain.  And the snow.

15.  Gone camping in an RV.

16.  Gone scuba diving. Sort of. I hated it.

17.  Played in an all women’s soccer league.

18.  Done cartwheels and hand stands on the beach.

19.  Danced in a bird-cage.

20.  Sang in public.

21.  Seen the queen up close and personal.  Twice.  Sort of.

22.  Been truly lucky enough to see so many wonderful places and landmarks here in the States and in Europe.

And, just because I’m a troublemaker, I’ve added one more most important thing I’ve done in my 41 years on this planet and that is …

23.  Given birth to three wonderful boys.

In writing this blog post, I realised that while there are so many things that I’ve never done, there is loads that I have been lucky enough to say I have.  Makes me go all gooey and appreciative of my life thus far.  Let me know if you give it a go and I will pop by your space for a lookie loo.

Musical Monday …

23 Oct

So, I just re-downloaded the Pandora  app to my iPhone and have been listening to it non-stop ever since.  If you’re not familiar with it, Pandora is part of the music genome project — it’s like your very own personalized radio station built on own your musical choices.

And, I forgot how much I luvred it — probably as there’s no need to faff about making playlists from my iTunes library.  Really, I’ve got enough on my plate and way too many important decisions to make these days without having to agonize over what fecking songs to pick for a playlist.  I can never narrow it down so end up with either fifty million songs on one playlist or 50 million playlists.  I’m not saying I’m indecisive, but sometimes, one can have too many choices and it’s nice to have them made for you. 

For some reason, it’s not available in the UK so I’d deleted the app when I was over there.  Anyway, thanks to the quick re-download, I think I caught X-Factor cutie Matt Cardle’s latest one on it the other day and thought I’d choose it for this week’s Musical Monday.

It’s called Run For Your Life … kinda makes me wanna shout back at him saying, don’t worry, mate I am.  Anyway, enjoy …

Silent Sunday …

23 Oct

Saturday is Caption Day …

22 Oct

Saturday Is Caption Day

What’s the caption?

Friday Food Fight … Carnie Food

21 Oct

 Photobucket

Carnie food.

I don’t really like it.

But, then again who does?

I find it all very weird and strangely wonderful … much like a carnival itself, I suppose.

An assortment of strange colours and textures, smells and sounds that put your brain and taste buds on overload.  I’m a bit fearful about carnivals myself, but I still go and take my boys because it’s a right of passage for every child though, isn’t it?  Going to the fun fair. Riding the rickety ferris wheel, getting fleeced by the carnie workers, walking away with some piece of crap prize and eating the food.

They’re so crap yet we love them. I think my apprehension comes from getting lost at some massive fair I went to as a kid in Pennsylvania, almost falling off the you-wanna-go-faster-speedway and snogging a local carnie boy.  Eek.

Anyway, last night, friends and family met up at the local carnival to see the tween’s middle school band play at its opening night.

The kids had a fab time catching up with their friends as did I.  The little one came away with a blow up Spongebob and a light saber, my tween gave a brilliant performance and the teen rode all the rides for the first time.  I was a bit nervous about that, but he was fine and very proud of himself.  What was I saying about carnivals being a right of passage?

And, they all ate some of that weird and wonderful carnie food.  Sadly, I only snapped a photo of the gyro that I’m flinging at y’all for this week’s Friday Food Fight.  So the fries, funnel cakes and deep-fried everything else that was noshed on will have to be left to your imagination.



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