Why Halloween Is Bad

Hi folks. Things have been totally nuts here this week. I've had guest lecturers coming in and tests to write, nevermind the fact that I'll be in Philadelphia for most of next week. Whew! It looks like I'm going to try to stay just one step ahead of every deadline for the rest of the semester. Kind of like Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom when the boulder is chasing him and he keeps peeking over his shoulder. I haven't been flattened by my work yet, but it's getting a little too close for comfort these days. Perhaps I should start bringing a whip with me to work.

Anyway, I've missed a lot of Parker's holiday activities this week, but fortunately, his Nana (my mother-in-law) has been here and has been taking pictures to help me stay on top of what I've missed. Well, yesterday was the Halloween party at his pre-school. Two sets of parents were in charge of "snacks" for the event. They translated "snacks" to mean "treats" and brought sugar. Lots of sugar. Here's the Irishman helping Parker decorating his sugar cookie with icing and sprinkles.



Parker is fortunate that he had his father with him there because the second that I saw the mounds of icing and marshmellows and cookies and chocolate, I would have faked an illness, snatched up Parker and made a run for it. There's good reason for my fear of sugar if you'll recall his second birthday party.

Parker was very proud of his decorated cookie.



And then. And then. Well, just look.



Oh dear. Parker, mind yourself, you're in public. As I was scrolling through the pictures, I was afraid of what came next.



This, ladies and gentlemen, does not look like my child. These are the eyes of an addict. He's on his high and he's looking for another fix. It's a frightening look to see on your child's face. Come back to us Parker. Move away from temptation.

After they left the party, they took Parker to the playground to get it all out of his system. When I got home yesterday at 6pm, Nana and the Irishman looked like they were about to fall over and Parker was jumping on the couch.

I've come to a conclusion and it is this. Sugar is evil. Particularly in a concentrated form and in high doses.

Off To The Races

Well, it's that time of year again. After taking about 6 months off from racing, I've added two half marathons to my schedule to get me back in gear. Oh and by racing, all I mean is that I have an event to attend. There will be no "racing" in these events, only finishing. I didn't want you to think that I actually had a chance to finish in the top 25% or anything like that. Nope, I'm like the turtle - slow and steady.

The first event is the OUC half marathon, which takes place in Orlando. I'm attending this one with brother Dean, who will smoke me (as usual). But, it will be a chance for me to visit him in Orlando and enjoy a run in relative warmth at a time when the average temperature in North Carolina is hovering in the 40s.

The second half marathon will be the Disney Princess Half at Walt Disney World in March. I'm running this one with my running confessional buddy Kasey. It will be so great to revisit our marathon stomping ground, but to actually have fun and not be in anguishing pain at the end.

The half marathon is kind of like a summer fling. You get all of the benefits of falling in love without all of the baggage that comes with actually seeing the relationship through. Youth (and summer flings) are definitely wasted on the young, but fortunately, we can run half marathons forever. Or something. Nevermind.

The best part of having races planned is that all of a sudden, your workouts have a purpose. Fortunately, I've stayed on top of my middle distance runs, so jumping right back into 8 miles this weekend won't be that big of a deal. Sure, I'll have ridiculously tight calves and some foot and hip pain, but that just comes with the territory. I didn't really start getting significant ankle pain until we had hit 16 miles so hopefully, I won't have to revisit that anytime soon.

Yup, there are new races on the horizon and I've gone back to my favorite slogan: Just do it, baby! Come rain or shine, sleet or snow, get out there and pound the pavement...or the treadmill for wimps like me.

Egg And Cheese Bagel

When we were in Tallahassee last weekend, there was a single, simple breakfast item on my list of must-haves. An egg and cheese bagel from Breugger's. More specifically, I order a salt bagel with egg and American cheese, with a little butter on one side. I have ordered that exact breakfast sandwich for 13 years and now, it's time to start making it at home. Which, of course, means that I have to pass on my obsession to you. I'm so giving.

First things first, get your bagel in the toaster. If you can get your hands on a salt bagel, I highly recommend it (but only if you're a salt fiend like myself), otherwise any bagel of your choice will do.

Next, beat one egg in a bowl. You want to give it a good scramble now so that once it's in the pan, we can just slightly nudge it around and flip it instead of breaking it entirely apart.



Next, pour your egg into your pan over medium heat. After letting it set up for a couple of minutes, gently fold it and flip it until it's cooked through and roughly in one round-ish piece.



Once the egg is done, turn the heat off and lay your slice of cheese on top so it gets a little melty. While that's happening, I usually take my bagel out of the toaster and put butter on one side of it.

Now, pick up your egg/cheese with a spatula and slide it onto the bottom of your bagel.



You can see that I've liberally sprinkled it with salt since I had a plain bagel instead of a salt bagel. (I put the pepper in with the egg). Just put the top half on and slice it down the middle with a serrated knife.



Man, this is so good! It's so simple, but so satisfying. If you've never had one of these guys, you must make it the first chance you get.

PS - I apologize in advance to my Tallahassee friends who must now go out and make a Bruegger's run immediately upon finishing this post.

Keg-O-Rator

Well, I think we've officially crossed over into being an exclusively beer-drinking house since we now have this thing in my kitchen and there isn't a single bottle of wine to be found.

This, my dears, is a Keg-O-Rator. The Irishman bought it from the couple that runs the boarding facility where we kept our dogs last weekend. That sounds completely random, but apparently in small towns, this is just how things happen.

Anyway, our Keg-O-Rator can hold either one 15 gallon keg or two 5 gallon kegs. These kegs of micro-brewed beer are kept ice cold and carbonated 24/7 (which is the true benefit of having it since one you open a growler, it has to be consumed in 5 days). I have to say that it's been a bizarre experience to just walk into the kitchen and pour a beer from the tap instead of grabbing a bottle from the fridge.

At the rate we're going, we are one or two novelties away from being able to operate a cool bed and breakfast.

Deep Thoughts

Last weekend, we went to one of our favorite brunch places in Tallahassee - Another Broken Egg. They're situated on a lovely lake.



On this particular day, it was cold outside, so all of the waiting patrons were huddled in the front room. Well, since we're stoic North Carolinians now (and since there simply isn't a way to contain a 2 year old in a 3" by 3" space), we headed outside to stand in the sun.

Parker decided that he wanted to enjoy the view. Of course, this was after he was running around like a maniac trying to go "swimming in the pool" in 40 degree weather, but I digress. Parker dragged a chair over from the table, settled in and proceed with his introspection...





...until he realized that I was taking pictures of him...



so I stopped and left him to his deep thoughts.

Pumpkin Patch

When we had Parker, it was important to me that I document as much of his life as I could. I wanted to be able to see the progression of my peanut growing into himself. So, we decided that we would go to the same pumpkin patch every year so that we could compare the photos. This past weekend was year three. Since Parker is a November baby, all three years are just before his annual birthday.



















Here's one more comparison for you.





I really wish Parker would stop making that face. Freaky.

CrockPot Sirloin Tips

Because it's cold out and because I don't feel like slaving away all day long in front of the stove, I've been making this wonderful CrockPot recipe for the boys quite frequently. Oh and that "don't feel like slaving away" part is a total lie. I'd love to be in the kitchen all day, I just wanted to sound normal and these days, I don't have the time to slave over anything but my classes.

Anyway, Here's another passed from one mother to another recipe that has been quite the hit around here. It's easy. It's tasty. It's warm. It only has 5 ingredients. Yup, definitely a keeper.

What you'll need:

2 lbs. sirloin tips
1 package beefy onion soup mix
1 cup Ginger Ale or 7-Up
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small can mushrooms (or a package of fresh sliced mushrooms)
(and egg noodles to serve it with)

How you make it:
Throw all ingredients in your CrockPot, mix together and cook on low for 8 hours.

How you serve it:
On top of egg noodles

What you get:
Yummy food. A good smelling house. Happy people.

Enjoy!

Leaves.

Hi folks. So sorry for the posting delay. We've been in Tallahassee since Thursday and I didn't anticipate that I wouldn't have internet where we were staying. To make up for it, I'm sharing with you what our little corner of the world looks like right now. Please don't hate us...just come visit as soon as you can (and bring a jacket because it is chilly!). Oh and this first picture is where our dogs were boarded. Even they get a gorgeous view!

Sunday Chicken And Rice

Since we moved to the mountains a couple of months ago, we've established a couple of new traditions. One of those traditions is to eat brunch at Cracker Barrel on the Saturdays that we drive into Asheville for shopping and playing.

As a rule, we generally get breakfast items, but the last two trips, the Irishman has elected to get the Sunday Chicken and Rice dish for lunch. Apparently, chicken and rice casserole dishes are comfort food for him. Really? I thought everyone was raised on grilled octopus and lentil soup. Weird.

Anyway, he was raving about it and being the loving and attentive wife that I am, I had a taste of the rice part of the dish to see what was in it. Ok, so I'm not really that attentive, but I'm always looking to add easy dishes into our dinner rotation for the boys and it generally doesn't get much easier than a casserole; however, I allow my husband to think that I do these things to be a doting and kind wife. All wives do that, right? Catch more flies with honey and all that. Of course, it could just be my diabolic nature, but I digress.

What I tasted in the dish was mushrooms (both whole mushrooms and in the form of cream of mushroom soup), celery, onions and pepper. So, with that for a beginning, I got to work searching for recipes. After seeing a couple that looked promising, I picked the best mix of what I thought would work and I put it to the test.

Here's what you need for this one (you can multiply the ingredients depending on how many you're feeding):

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup rice
1 cup water
1 can mushrooms
1/2 packet Onion Soup Mix
2 chicken breasts
Sprinkling of garlic salt and pepper

Now, for the insanely easy part. (Oh yeah, go ahead and preheat your oven to 325 degrees.) In a casserole dish, mix together the two cans of soup, water, rice, garlic salt and pepper until it's thoroughly combined. Next, lay the chicken breasts on top (they'll probably sink, but that's ok). Sprinkle the half packet of Onion Soup Mix over the whole thing. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for about 90 minutes. Viola!

This is how I dished it up for the Irishman. Of course, mine looked like this, but without the chicken.



I just have one word for you. Success. Warm, comforting success. My silly husband had a smile on his face the entire time he was eating it and I have to say, I guess the warm richness of the dish is in fact comforting even if there's no octopus to be found. I'm actually making this in a couple of days when I'm in charge of feeding both sets of our parents and Parker's great-grandmother. Hopefully, they'll be as charmed by it as the Irishman was.

Arachnophobia

It's no secret that the Irishman is afraid of spiders. Now, I don't mean that he'd rather not deal with them, I mean that when he's surprised by the appearance of one, he is literally paralyzed with fear. Yup, he's arachnophobic. This is actually a bit of a situation since in this part of North Carolina, spiders are as common as cockroaches are in Florida. We've been seeing a lot more of them as the weather has turned cool and they're seeking shelter in our house.

Parker has definitely noticed his father's freakouts in relation to spiders and as two-year-olds are prone to do, he's exploiting this new information. Please see exhibit A.



At the fall festival a couple of weeks ago, Parker requested a "scary spider" be painted on his face. Here is his "scary" face to go with it.



"Daddy, look at me! There's a scary spider on my face!" Oh dear. (Notice the face painting girl laughing at his threats in the background.)

Then, there's exhibit B.



Parker chose these Halloween pjs and they're his first choice when they're clean. Then, he proceeds to chase the Irishman around the house saying, "Look daddy, spiderssss!"

Is it wrong that I laugh? Is it wrong that I'm amused by the fact that my child is trying his hardest to torment my husband? Probably, but it's still funny that Parker actually thinks he's scary.

As for me, well, I do a much better job keeping my phobias close to me. Of course, it's easier for me since there aren't really aliens hanging around the house...are there??

Louisiana Boil

So, the Gators played Louisiana State University yesterday in a very important football game. Truth be told, I had no interest in the game itself, but just hearing the name "LSU" countless of times on ESPN made me seriously crave a Louisiana-style boil. If you'll recall, something similar happened last summer. I'm sure it means something that I associate everything with food, but thankfully, I don't care what that "something" is so long as it keep inspiring me to cook.

Louisiana-style boils are so simple to make and actually quite cost efficient. Here's what went into mine (I got the basis for this recipe from Old Bay itself), but you can certainly add whatever seafood suits you.

1 Hillshire Farms smoked sausage ring (about 1 lb.)
2 lbs. large shrimp (peel still on)
4 ears of corn, cut in half (I just bought these frozen)
1/2 bag baby new potatoes, cut in half
1/2 large onion, cut into thin wedges
1/2 cup Old Bay seasoning
2 bottles of beers
2 Tbs. salt
10 cups water

If you have fresh corn, you're good to go, but in the event that you bought frozen corn like me, just make sure that it's thawed before you begin. I just left mine on the countertop for about 3 hours before I started cooking.

First, get your beer, water, Old Bay and salt going and bring it up to a boil in a large stock pot. We're actually going to stay at a boil (hence the name). Your first ingredients to go in are your potatoes and onion wedges. Cook these guys for about 8 minutes or so.

Next, throw in your sausage and corn. Since your sausage is already cooked, you're just heating it through and giving it flavor. Boil for another 7 minutes.

Finally, add in your shrimp and let everything cook together for another 4 minutes. Yup, it's just that simple and that fast.

Now, just drain off the liquid and serve it up either in a large bowl or if you happen to be outdoors, just line your table with newspaper and dump it out on that (which is the traditional way). This is what our table looks like when we're ready to eat.



We've got a plate for both me and the Irishman; a bowl in between for the shrimp shells; a couple of ramekins of melted butter and a sliced lemon for the shrimp. A huge baguette would have also been wonderful here. Then, you're ready to dig in!

Talk about a flavor explosion here. It's spicy enough to be interesting, but not so spicy as to prevent Parker from enjoying it as well. The corn is amazingly flavorful and makes me question why I don't boil it in Old Bay on a regular basis. The peel left on the shrimp helps absorb that delicious flavor and getting your hands dirty peeling it is half of the fun. Oh and the Irishman said that the sausage was delish as well, but of course, I didn't have any of that.

This Louisiana boil would easily feed a family of 4-6. We all three ate big helpings and we have a ton leftover. I have to say, I'm annoyed at myself for not thinking of making this while brother Dean was here because this volume of food would have been right up his alley.

So good folks, the next time that you're in the mood for a little bayou, give this one a go. It won't disappoint.

U2...And A Dream Come True

So, I finally made it to a U2 concert and it was everything I could have hoped for. I would have given a kidney to have been in the 10th row of this one, but our seats certainly weren't bad. Here are some pictures from the concert.

The set was huge and it certainly filled the middle of the Georgia Dome.



Here I am waiting for the opening band, Muse, to start. They came on 45 minutes late, but I really didn't care...I was going to see U2!!



After Muse played a very good set, the magic happened.











I've never been the groupie type, but I could seriously attend that concert every weekend for the next 10 years. It was simply amazing. Now please excuse me while I put my headphones back in to continue listening to every song U2 has ever written.

Georgia Aquarium

This past weekend, we went to the Georgia Aquarium with uncle Dean. Parker is really into "fishes" at the moments, so he was eager to see everything.

As you first walk in, there's a circular tank with tons of fish swimming by.



It's quite impressive.



Then, you enter into a tunnel that takes you under the huge tank with lots of different sharks. The Irishman hoisted Parker up for a better view.



Check out these guys!



Parker was certainly taking it all in.



Once you get through the main tunnel, there's a huge rotunda with a series of different exhibits extending out like spokes on a wheel. This particular exhibit related to tropical fish (I think).



Those fish look tropical, right? Parker was fascinated by a lecture on sea urchins and starfish.



Do you see this Thomas backpack?



Parker's aunt Meg gave it to him and it's his favorite. On this particular day, it was loaded down with a change of clothes, pull-ups, snacks and water. Remarkably, he wore it the entire 4 hours that we were there.

There was also a tunnel that the kids could crawl through to peer back at their parents through the inverted lens.



I'm certain that I was screaming, "Be careful Parker!" which is what I always do when there are more than 3 kids in one place. It's a good thing that his father doesn't have a phobia of lots of children in one place, otherwise I'd be forced to give birth to a hoard of children so that Parker would have "friends." I need help.

Anyway, here's uncle Dean supervising Parker in front of the alligator tank.



My mother went to South Africa this summer and she brought Parker a book on crocodiles. He's currently fascinated by them, which I think is pretty cool. I do not, however, approve of his kindred love of the alligator, a most putrid university, er, animal. I swiftly covered his eyes before he saw the gators in the gift shop because the Irishman and I are in staunch agreement that there to be no gators of any kind in our house.

Then there were the electric eels, which are hideous looking things.



I'm sorry, I know that they too are God's creatures, but they truly are uncomfortable to look at. This is in direct contrast to jellyfish, who are completely mesmerizing to watch.









Seriously, can I just have a tank of jellyfish in my house? So beautiful...and painful, but still. So all in all, a great day was had at the aquarium.