::faithful

Praying for

• Dad, who, in his own words is “Bored Out of My Skull”.
• Mom, who is holding up GREAT!!
• DirtBike, who is struggling with school and who needs more help with learning than we are able to provide
• the right education specialist for DirtBike, that we find one!

• Thanksgiving with my family
• work that is steady, challenging and interesting, all at the same time

::healthy

It’s still good!  I’m back below my scream weight, back to normal!

::creative

Creative Cooking this week. First, I’m participating in a Chili Cookoff Tomorrow.  Last year I made vegetarian chili, and won second place.  I’m still bringing a pot of non meat chili for the vegetarians in the office to enjoy, but I’ve also found an award-winning chili master willing to share her  recipe, and I have high hopes.

Secondly, I made the Best Cranberry Sauce Ever.  E.V.E.R.  Just one small ingredient to the pan and WOW!! It’s amazing.

Finally, I tried a new recipe for Spicy Butternut Soup. I made a huge batch and it’s on the menu this week.

::delicious

• Spicy Butternut Soup
• Pulled Pork Sandwiches
• Chili
• Thanksgiving Day – Brined, Roasted Turkey, Apricot Ginger Glazed Sweet Potatoes, Sautéed Green Beans with Caramelized Scallions and Mushrooms, Stuffing, Pumpkin Pie

::fun

That’s me and Kips the engineer who works for me, right after our annual company Turkey Bowl Flag Football Total World Domination Game.  We’re taking Pies in the Face for the bounty on our heads.  Yes, the bounty on our heads.  Much betting, trash talking, wagering and placing of bounties occurs around the office in the week leading up to the game.  All monies are donated to charity.  With the company match, we raised $6,000 this year!  And in case you’re wondering, no I did NOT play football.  I was the referee!! (Thanks to Tim May for the picture. I snagged it off your site, Friend!)

::looking ahead

Time off of work – Three and a half days of time with my family. Thanksgiving!  I can not wait to see my parents – and Dad is looking forward to the distraction.  His doctor says he can sit at the table for dinner!  Yeah! No school for the boys this week, and both girls will be coming home for the holiday.  We’ll go to the Parade of Lights on Friday, a long-standing family tradition. Mr. Pea and the Boys cut down four trees this past weekend and next Saturday will be spent cutting down more dead trees to prepare for Christmas bonfires.

Linking up at Suscipio – come join us!

::faithful

Praying for

• Dad, for an expeditious recovery from his ankle reconstruction.  I know it hurt a lot, and staying in bed and off the foot for eight weeks is going to be tiresome.
• Mom, because, well, because Dad being bed-ridden and cranky for eight weeks is going to be tiresome!
• Grandma Judy Darling, for stamina and healing as chemo continues
• Michelle, as she continues her battle against the cancer that is now spreading
• Students preparing for mid terms and finals
• Our country, that we finds a way forward

• cold!  frost!
• friends new and old
• opportunities to gather with family
• yarn and needles
• a sewing machine
• This:

::healthy

It’s all good.  More veggies on the table (and onto the plates!), no junk food in the pantry,  and back to regular exercise.  I don’t think I’m going to make my year-end goal of being able to do ten pull-ups, however, I can now do a hundred push-ups.

::creative

Mom’s Pretty Knitted Thing is almost done!  That’s a good thing, since I intend to wrap it up and carry it north when we all head to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving.

The Last History Fair Project EVER!!!  The school our children attend(ed) has an annual History Fair, and all sixth and eighth graders are required to participate.  Projects consist of an enormous research effort, rough drafts, a multitude resources to be found, a formal paper and a gigantic exhibit. It starts in September and ends in November. The projects will hijack an entire family, as research and writing of this magnitude needs a family effort for backup and guidance.  The projects will take over every computer and flat surface in the house, seemingly right up to the moment we stuff the Thanksgiving turkey and place it in the oven.  (Up until this year, the project was always due the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. ACK!!!)  There were a few years when we had two projects going at the same time.  DirtBike’s project this year is our eighth and final project. Doesn’t DirtBike look thrilled?  He’s barely awake, as the projects have to be delivered to the Parish Hall and set up before school, 7:15 am.

::delicious

• Beef and Vegetable Soup
• Pork Enchiladas
• Roasted Chicken, Green Beans
• Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Tomato Soup
• Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage and Zucchini
• Pizza and Salad
• Clear the Freezer and Pantry in Preparation for the Holidays – a smorgashboard of leftovers, odds and ends and random frozen bits (that ONE eggroll in the freezer…)

::fun

Okay, this fun is from a few weeks ago when the girls were visiting.  We went to the Dallas Arboretum to see the Chihuly exhibit.  I am absolutely awestruck at the sheer tenacity of these enormous glass sculptures.  Yes, glass.  Outdoors. In Tornado Alley.

The yellow sculpture is about 30, maybe 40 feet tall, and just as wide. I have more pictures, and am going to try to squeeze a few moments to make a complete post.

::looking ahead

Finishing a water distribution system model that has been tying up all of my brain cells at work for the past few weeks; bike rides this weekend; pulling down more dead trees and stacking firewood.

Linking up at Suscipio – come join us!

 

::faithful

Praying for

• Grandma Judy Darling – Chemo has begun
• friends and family in the northeast, as they clean up the mess, pick up the pieces and carry on
• Anthony, as he lost his mother this past weekend.

• seeing Cherry Ames and Princess Pea – two weekends in a row!!
• beautiful autumn weather
• Mom Pea’s safety during Hurricane Sandy

::healthy

Back at it.  I hit my scream weight last week, which means it’s time to buckle down and rein it in before it gets out of control.  Constant vigilance, my friends, constant vigilance!

::creative

Mom’s Pretty Knitted Thing is right where I left it a few weeks ago, more than half way finished.  I made a fluffy, curly scarf for my niece for her birthday.  I need to start another one for her younger sister ASAP, as she was eye-balling it and threatening to steal it the moment they got home.

::delicious

• Sliders, Tossed Salad
• Chicken Curry over Brown Rice, Peas
• Pizza, Tossed Salad
• Roasted Pork, Feta Slaw, Broccoli
• Beef and Bean Burritos
• Potato Soup, Spinach Salad
• Turkey Paninis, Celery and Carrot Sticks

I’m coming to the end of my stash of pre-assembled meals in the freezer, so it’s time to plan and restock.  It’s especially important to keep healthy meals on the table as we head into the germ infested craziness of late fall and winter.

::fun

Mountain Bike Trail Building!  Now this may not seem like fun to some, but for me and mine? A day of swinging tools and wielding chain saws = bliss.  Mostly because it burns off teen-boy energy in a major sort of way, which makes my day so much calmer.  That’s me, rolling up an abandoned barbed wire fence.

We did a quick ride on dirt this weekend – The Architect’s first dirt ride since the accident!  He did great and the leg appears to be recovering quite nicely.  We warned him to stick to the blue/green trails, no jumping obstacles and to keep the speed under 10 mph.

::looking ahead

History Fair Project completion, Mountain Bike club meeting, long walks at lunchtime to enjoy the spectacular weather.

Linking up at Suscipio – come join us!