Happy Halloween!

We just got home from a VERY nice evening of trick-or-treat fun with pal Alex and mom, Miss Sabrina. The boys have pounds of candy that will surely last the year. We may not even need to go out next year. The new hood is very generous and with houses so close together it is really way too easy to get loaded down pretty quickly. Next year I may drag a wagon just to lighten the load. Here are a few pics of my boys in their costumes... Will the Best Buy Video Game Specialist and Nic the Game Stop Manager. They had fun, were comfortable, and it didn't cost me much. All good. I am off to put my feet up and see if the boys got any Reese Cups.Here they are as we arrived at Alex's house!

Here they are about 3/4 of the way through the night. They were so worn out from walking and carrying such heavy bags that they pulled up a patch of grass and took a rest. Sabrina and I decided they might need to do some conditioning to prep for next year. It's intense!

Here is Nic making a Halloween Angel in his stash.

Oops, I forgot the SUGAR!

Can you believe that I ruined not one but TWO batches of Payday this past weekend. I could not for the life of me figure out what I did wrong... Well, I was talking to my MIL tonight and asked her to check the boiling time for the corn syrup used in the recipe. She starts reading off the recipe, all for 4 ingredients! I only had three, yep, I forgot the cup of sugar. Corn syrup, peanut butter and vanilla do not make Payday coating. It takes SUGAR! UGH! I am so making more tomorrow with all ingredients taking their rightful place in the recipe. What a dork. I guess I was more sick that I wanted to acknowledge.

Well, we have had a great start to the week. I am feeling a bit better each day and should be 100% in time for trick or treating on Friday. The temperature on Friday will reach 80 degrees and that should make for VERY nice trick-or-treating weather. Nic has asked if he can go off with a couple of friends and meet up with me later. I just don't know if this group of boys really has enough self-control to trick-or-treat responsibly. I don't want Nic to earn a rep in the hood before we really get a chance to prove ourselves as competent parents. I think I'll call another mom tomorrow and see what she is going to let her son do....

Tuesday I got a call at 1:40 asking for a showing of the vacation home between 2:30 and 4:30 UGH! Yes, grumble, groan, moan... I dropped what I was working on and set to cleaning the house up a bit. I swished and swiped and made beds and hid piles and hoped for the best. I left a few minutes after 2:30 to get the boys from school and thought that I had brought enough for them to be able to do their homework in the car while we waited to get back in the house. Well, we left school, went to the QT gas station and got snacks and went to the parking lot near the neighborhood pool to do our homework. As we were getting started getting busy the phone rang, the scheduler, asking if they could see the house between 4:00 and 5:00 UGH! They hadn't even been there yet. I told them I was going to run in the house and get all the stuff the kids really needed to do their homework, like the math book that stays at home and the spelling list from the fridge. The nice scheduler guy said he thought we should just stay home until they show up and sneak out the back, so that is what we did. It worked out so wonderfully because my pal Kirste called while we were home so I chatted with her until the Realtor showed up then I practically hung up on her and we ran out the back. In the time it took for us to drive around the block the viewers had been in and headed out of the house in less than 5 minutes.

So we went back home and waited for the truly anticipated call of the night from.... Cousin Dan! He was in town on business and worked it out so we could get together for dinner and celebration of Nic's B-day just one week early. We gave him the 10 cent tour of the area and ran him through the crispy house and the vacation home. He and the boys played with the Air Hog helicopters long enough to land one on the perch far above human reach. About that time we headed out to Peter Piper's Pizza for dinner, some gaming and more visiting. After pizza Nic talked me in to stopping at Marble Slab Creamery where he and Will imbibed in cool treats while Dan and I let our dinner settle.

After the ice cream Dan gave Nic some really cool b-day presents that included a Wii game, a Circuit kit and a model airplane kit. Perfect gifts for my almost 10 year old. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???? I CAN'T!

So we ran Dan back to his hotel and then landed at our place about 9:25. The boys went directly to bed and I followed by about an hour. All good.

We were all on the tired this morning but for the best reason. I took the boys to school and then I came home, got myself presentable and headed back to school to put my copy certification to work. Can you believe someone actually asked me if I had been trained. Um, yeah. I'm good thanks!

After I completed my copy tasks for Will's teacher I ran a couple of errands then went and grabbed Dan from his hotel and we went to a sweet (ie FREE) lunch at Panera then I ran him to the DFW airport for his return flight to Indy. It was so nice to talk with him, catch up hear him gush about his AWESOME wife Tracy. They are celebrating 3 years of wedded bliss today! (I hope you are reading this guys!) (Tracy, he really did brag on you!)

I got done at the airport in time to run one more errand before getting the boys from school and heading home for a quiet afternoon. That got slightly interrupted by the fact that tomorrow is "Cool dudes don't do drugs!" Day as part of Red Ribbon Week at school. My cool dudes did not have sunglasses so I needed to run to the Dollar Tree and pick up some disposable ones. No big if they lose or drop or share these cheapo glasses, they are cool enough to know not to do drugs!

I have a HUGE project that I just decided to take on tonight that has to be done.... tomorrow so I need to get busy. I will take pictures and try to post my success tomorrow. There is no doubt that I will complete the project, the question... Will I get to bed before midnight? and When will I do my MOMS group homework?

I'm sick

I am fighting my annual change of season cold. It hit me Friday evening. I took the requisite NyQuil and went to bed before anyone else. Saturday started really slowly and any plans that I thought I'd made got thrown out the window. I did go out and run an errand to get stuff for the Halloween Block party at the crispy house. I made two batches of Pay Day and neither turned out and I made Puppy Chow but none of it got eaten. I guess the well iced cup cakes had more appeal. No big...





The boys had lots of fun and we got home before 10. We were the only ones who had to drive home, next year I will crawl to my bed. I tried to get some pics so I could reveal the costume choices but my batteries were dead. Bummer. Guess you just have to wait till Friday!





We got home in time for the boys to shower up and get to bed then I did the same. Sunday started early but I was still draggin. I took a mid-morning nap them realized that I could no longer avoid what needed to be done so I broke out the laundry baskets and the insurance receipts and got busy. I stopped long enough to make some dinner and put laundry away then got back to business. I didn't even get to watch my shows. I will do that today after lunch.





Fred found some errors in our reimbursements to date that add up to about $200. I have another batch of receipts to submit that will only add to what they owe me. We are hopefully going to get a look at our bedroom furniture this weekend to see if we can swap out the rental stuff. I also need a plan for Nic's birthday. Yikes, that's a week away!





The week ahead is pretty mellow. We are hosting a special guest for dinner tomorrow night. Not that I am cooking, we are going out to celebrate Nic's b-day. I will take pictures I promise. There is no DI meeting this week and it is the last week of MOMS on Thursday. I am hoping to get past this cold, my little nose is so red. I have about 100 potential projects on my list and I think I need to come up with some paint colors for my house in the next week or two. Let real life continue. Oh yes, and I need to buy some more Kleenex!

Friday is a good day...

And so were Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday started off a bit slow but I eventually made it to the mall in search of the Halloween costume articles. I walked the ENTIRE mall and finally found what I needed at a price I was willing to pay. All good. I went and got the boys after a quick run to the Container Store for some stocking stuffers. They sent me a teasing e-mail and I bit! Fun stuff at that store and really not too expensive for the items I picked up. Yes, I could have dropped thousands on organizing stuff but I think I did well for my little bag of goodies:)

By the time I got to school the temperature had dropped to about 60 and it was raining. UGH! Never fun to do pick-up in the rain. We got home, did homework, tried on the mall purchases then headed back out to participate in a fundraiser for the middle school that Nic will attend next year. A neighbor had told me about it and I am always willing to support a good cause if it gets me out of cooking. We had a nice dinner at Willies Burger House and got to see our neighbors from the hood and that was a real treat.

We made it home with little time to spare before bed. We had an early call at school on Thursday. Will's position in Student Council means, among other things, that they help advertise for big school events. Next week is RED RIBBON WEEK and there were posters that needed to be made. We got to school by 7:20. Student council kid did his thing and safety patrol guy did his gig and I went home. I had to get ready for MOMS group, errand running and volunteer time at school. I needed to get "certified" to run the copier. MOMS was good, we got nice comments from our fellow moms then a new friend of mine invited me to join her for lunch. I threw my errand running out the window and had a nice filling lunch at Olive Garden. Thanks Erynn!

After lunch I zipped through the car wash and library then on to school for the big copy machine orientation. I was the star pupil in my class of one. I was actually the guinea pig, the first trainee so he had nothing to compare me with. I have actually been copying for a few weeks at school so I thought I knew what I was doing. There were a few tricks I picked up and I even earned a certificate. I don't think I am eligible for CEU's but I am in the know all the same.

I worked really hard for a couple of hours, killed at least one tree while copying, and then came home to keep on keeping on. We were going to have homemade pizza for dinner but opted for leftover walking tacos instead. After the boys ate I ran to Target to get some batteries and ended up picking up some Christmas gifts for the boys. I came home and finished laundry that I had started earlier and once I got the boys to bed took some time and read through the Destination Imagination information for Nic's team. I am sure I will write more about that as the team develops and creates over the next four months.

OK, my boys would like to compute on my machine so I am going to prep for Fred's arrival. I am planning on working on insurance stuff throughout the weekend and maybe going to see HSM3. I think we should wait till next weekend but we'll see. We also have a block party at the crispy house tomorrow and that should be a great time. I may even reveal the boys' costumes.... Check back!

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That is what my brain feel like right now. I have been working on insurance receipts for about 6 hours today. I took a little break for lunch, a little break to talk to my mom and mother-in-law, and another small break to pick up the kids and make dinner. Other than that I have been at it since about 11 AM so I think I'm at about 6 billable hours. What do you think the going rate for this gig is?

Too bad I don't have this fun quilt to wrap myself in for inspiration to forge ahead...

I had stepped away from the receipts for more than a month. Now we have more money out than what we should and I am feeling the pinch. I can't carry my debt on my own, I need some cash from the ins. company. We are not in a bad place but I need to get another lot of receipts turned in so we can get some depreciation differential back. It all adds up.



Fred is back in Mexico. The boys were missing him today. Good news is that he should be home on Friday. Until then we will just keep busy and try to keep our minds stimulated.



I worked the Scholastic Book Fair this morning from 7:30-10:00. It was a lot of fun but also a bit expensive. I have a sweet spot for books. Luckily I think I can turn a few in on the insurance. We are still replacing a number of things. How can I say no when my kids ask for a book and the proceeds go to their school. I can't. I didn't. I wrote the check and smiled. I did manage to pick up a couple of things for Nic's b-day so that helped with the justification.



Tomorrow I am swearing off the insurance stuff. I think I am going to throw all of the piles into a tote and hide it in a close so I don't even have to look at it. I may head to the mall to work on those Halloween costumes and stroll. I could go to Ikea and get some meatballs, we are running low, and maybe stop in at Michael's and see if I can get any inspiration for Christmas Cards. I am struggling with homemade from scratch, homemade from a kit or just sign and send. Stay tuned...



OK I am going to go find that tote and hide the insurance piles then watch the DWTS results and head to bed. G-night all!

Totally keeping HIM too!

This is the official Will photo for fall 2008. He is usually a teeth smiler too but it must have been in the moon that day to smile with closed lips. As I mentioned before, at least they have lips! I think he has my chin too. Well, my old chin before I got my new chin as part of the total jaw/mouth renovation of 1991. I think it was 91? Anyone remember? (I am such a dork. I graduated Chatard in '89 so the surgery happened in Dec '86. It really did not happen in the 90's, I was in college by then. Thanks dad!)



We had a nice weekend here. The weather was good and the company even better. Will announced that last night was family game night. We played Whoonu and Uno Flash. The second game was a bit of a challenge because somehow the directions had gotten tossed. Luckily Mattel has a site just for people like us and we were able to find the rules. It was a real spin on Uno and I still think the original and Uno Attack are hands down my favorite versions.



The best news of the weekend that at about 12:30 this morning as Fred and I were chatting in bed I came up with the best EVER Halloween costumes for my kids. I was struggling BIG TIME with spending $40+ on each costume that would be worn one time. I didn't feel the need to go homemade but I was willing. I just wanted something that could be recycled or had been recycled. I hit the jackpot and am going to keep quiet until we have the official unveiling. It is going to be REALLY hard but I am going to try! I wanted to go to the mall today to get some components and do some research but life, oops I mean work, got in the way. I will have to go on the mall quest myself but we did get the research done tonight and have a really good plan! Oh, I hate keeping secrets!



I may just have to not blog this week to not spill the beans!



Enjoy Will's pic and stay tuned!

I'm absolutely keeping HIM!

So I was going to title this "I am definitely keeping HIM!" but you can't spell check the title and I can never spell definitely correctly. How sad is that?

So here is Nic's school photo for 2008-2009. The smile is not the greatest with his lips closed but apparently he smiles like his father but have what would have been their mother's lips had I not had this big cleft lip thing going on. Fred has no upper lip when he smiles so I guess it is a good compromise in this photo.

I got Will's picture today but haven't managed to scan it yet. Technology can be tricky sometimes. I will try to get to it tomorrow between the million other things on my list. Fred gets home tomorrow and the house is a bit of a mess. That is what Fridays are for right? I wanted to go see the Secret Life of Bees but instead I will be cleaning my house. Now that cleaning can not commence until I help with book fair set-up first thing in the morning. Thinking about my day tomorrow.... I need to go to bed.

Quote of the day!

So I have this thing where I tell moms to keep their cute kids and I often tell my kids that they are cute and keepers. So tonight Will and I are hugging and I tell him how sweet he is and that I think I'll keep him.

His reply... "So you're going to get rid of Nic?"

Dead on that kids cracks me up!

Glad we made it through this day!

It didn't start out all that bad. I slept in a bit after Fred left this morning rather early. No school for the boys and our first commitment of parent teacher conferences wasn't till 11:00 AM. We got ready in plenty of time and headed to school. Will's teacher was very complimentary of him and he seems to be doing really well in all subjects. When he does make mistakes they are common and easily corrected.

Nic led his conference and had some good things to share about each subject. Basically he needs to work to earn his A's and that is not a bad thing. He needs to slow down a bit to keep himself from making silly errors and he most definitely needs to improve upon his penmanship and overall neatness.

After the conferences we went to Peter Piper's Pizza and had lunch then we went home for just a few minutes before we were off once again for a Destination Imagination Team meeting. The meeting ended up being about an hour instead of two so that made for a nice surprise. We got to go home for a few hours before our next commitment.

Well, the hours at home turned a little dramatic when Will was really struggling with his latest bout of constipation. Poor kid has been suffering with this for 5 years. I immediately called our new family practice office and they go us in an hour later! YEAH for late office hours on Monday! By the time we got there Will had gotten some relief but we will be pursuing this with a gastro doc as soon as I can get an appointment. We had gotten close to this in MI and again in IA and now we will be following through here in TX. He is such a different child when is comfortable. I love that kid. The other stinker is just not as fun or happy. It is harder to love that kid but I still do.

We got done at the Dr. then had time to grab Chick-fil-a for dinner as a reward to the three of us for getting our flu shots. Will was sure it was going to be awful but shed not a tear. THANK GOD! Last year the nurse was down right rude about the drama. This year the nurse had nothing to be rude about. YEAH!

After dinner we went to religious ed. or faith formation, or CCD whatever it is called these days at this parish. I sat outside and wrote some notes and waited. The quiet was nice and the sitting still.

Off to take out the trash and kiss and tuck. I think I'll spend tomorrow unpacking from the crop this weekend and cleaning toilets, tubs and showers. Nothing better on my calender so it is what it is. Happy Monday!

Hello Sunday!

Well it has been a hectic but good weekend over all. The boys went to a b-day party on Friday and Fed picked them up on his way home from the airport. I went from the party to a neighbors house to SCRAP! I had a goal on Friday of sorting a large pile of memorabilia and photos that all got tossed together after the fire. I was able to sort and contain what I had and then Saturday I actually completed some pages. I stayed until nearly midnight on Friday then went home to crash and see my hubby.

Saturday morning a slept in a little then threw myself together and headed back to the neighbor's to crop a little post 10. I stayed till lunch time then headed to the vacation home to get the boys so that we could all go to the 34th Annual Mexican Dinner and Cultural Days at our church. The weather was beyond perfect and we had a nice time at the event. None of us ate any Mexican food though, the line was too long, but we did make the rounds to learn about Catholicism in different countries. All good.

After the church event we went to the crispy house to track down daddy and I handed off the boys to him while I went back and scrapped some more. I left around 11 last night because Will was having some bowel issues and I needed to get involved. Unfortunately my presence did not relieve the matter at hand but I was home and that helped a bit.

This morning we were all a bit tired after staying up way too late last night. I went back up to my neighbor's to pack up my scrap stuff and am now back home. I am going to make Lasagna for dinner so I need to get that started. We are hoping to eat early then go to mass tonight at 6pm. The boys don't have school tomorrow so we should be able to putz in the AM then go the parent/teacher conferences before lunch. After lunch Nic has a meeting then we have Religious Ed. tomorrow night. The week is busy but not crazy. Stay tuned.

Bummer dude!

Well the first item, I was late for Friday Live and totally missed Nic's class performing Stop in the name of love with all of the words changed to talk about math strategies. In my own reality I was not late. I walked in at 2:30 on the dot. It was the school that started the assembly early because there was so much on the docket for the day. Yeah, they could have shared that somehow...

Second item, Nic did not win his class election. He was beat out by two girls, that might make it even harder for him to accept. The class is heavy on girls though so his chances were slightly reduced considering the alliances that are formed in elementary school elections. He was bummed but seems to be moving on.

Both boys are looking forward to attending a b-day party for friend D across the street. They are going to Amazing Jake's and are hoping that it is beyond AMAZING!

I am off to try to pull some stuff together for my crop this weekend. I will be in and out all weekend but need to take something to keep my hand busy and off the snacks! Tonight I am going to spend time sorting photos and memorabilia that got tossed all together after the fire. I have sorted by boy and parents but need to get it sorted by year and event so that then I can come up with page kits etc. What a process!

Migraine is also sneaking in so I have taken two pills and I think I can lay down for about an hour and hope it takes a hike! G-night!

Been a good couple of days!

Yesterday started off well and before I even ate lunch I headed to school to accompany Will's class on their first field trip of the year. We went to the Frisco History Museum. Our group ate first and had to kill an hour. Do you know how long it takes a 3rd grader to eat their lunch sitting on the ground in unfamiliar territory. Not an hour! Once they were done we wandered around some outside building that we could only peak in the windows of. That took about 10 minutes and there was still time left. I pulled out an old faithful and taught the 4 kids in my group how to play TV tag. I think that I didn't share the rules right but it worked for a few minutes. Once it was all said and done and they had a chance to think about it this was a real question from someone under the age of nine. "So was it hard for you to think of a TV show when you played since there were not many shows? I mean TV had just been invented right?" That particular kid may not see 9.

Once we got into the museum, Richard, our tour guide did a great job with our group. He was a wealth of information as any tour guide should be, and explained it all very well to the third grade crowd. We finally wrapped up and headed back to school. I just hung out until it was time to head home.

After school we had a Destination Imagination Meeting for Nic and then Will wanted to go to a special event called Frisco Reads. The DI meeting went much more quickly than I thought it would so the Frisco Reads event was easily squeezed in. We made a stop at the Barnes and Noble book fair and then each boy had a book signed by the author. Once we had the autographs we headed down to the book walk, think cake walk without the sugar, a BOOK instead and then wandered in to see The Singing Cowboy. He was really funny and we helped him sing a song about Pico de Gao. Good times, good times!

Once that was done we snuck out before the talking part commenced and called in a dinner order to Hungry Howies. YUMMO! The rest of the evening went really smoothly until it was 9:07 and I had totally lost track of time and the boys weren't in bed yet. Thursday is our early rise day so a late to bed night on Wednesday is not a good thing. It was evident this morning that I had slipped. Better luck next time.

Today started a little slow but the boys finally got into gear. Nic had safety patrol and Will had Library Lions so they both had some motivation to get out the door. I had MOMS this morning and needed to take a snack so I whipped up some pumpkin muffins and got myself ready once I got them settled at school. MOMS group went really well, since I did find my book very late in the evening and was able to get my homework done. We had a good discussion and got done right on time.

After MOMS I ran to the USPS and treated myself to Subway for lunch. I totally forgot that it was Chick-fil-a fundraiser for dinner. I kept busy for a bit at home then went to school to volunteer for the boys' teachers. I spent about an hour there then we were headed home for a bit before the Chick-fil-a fun. We ran back out for dinner, made a quick stop at Target then back home for the rest of the night.

I should be prepping for the crop this weekend but I am just not sure what to work on. I have pictures to sort and ideas to sort and paper to use but I need a little more motivation. Maybe tomorrow. Not that I don't have three other things on the calender. It will happen or I'll just grab a couple of boxes of pictures and start out slow.

BIG ELECTION RESULTS TOMORROW! Check back to see if I will be living with two politicians.

Gratitudes

I was inspired by a blogger to be aware of blessing and share gratitude so here goes!

1. Fred working hard for his family here, there, and everywhere.

2. Will getting REALLY excited about doing a book report at school and even announcing that he is planning to do EXTRA CREDIT. Will I tell you!

3. Nic doing on AWESOME job on a collage project for his GT class. They had to pick a quote and make a collage to represent that. He chose a great quote, "Always shoot for the moon because even if you miss you land among the stars." and the collage looks great!

3. Pete the dog didn't dig outside today!

4. I have toilets to clean and I cleaned them.

5. My washer and dryer work, with my help of course, and we now have lots of clean clothes.

6. I had YUMMY leftovers from The Cheesecake Factory for lunch today.

7. I got to go back to bed after taking the boys to school this morning. Just a little bit longer...

8. I saw actual workers at the crispy house today!

9. I got happy mail today. Secret stuff for Grandmother Christmas presents. All good stuff!

10. I get to go croppin this weekend! Not sure how long I will stay and how much I will get done but I am excited about the possibilities.

3 Movies in 3 days

I don't think I have EVER been to three movies in a week, rarely even three movies in a month, but this weekend... 3 movies in 3 days.

Friday I took myself to see FIREPROOF. It was a tear jerker and a christian look into saving a marriage. I enjoyed it.

Saturday Fred was working although he was home and I was getting a little frustrated listening to him on his phone. I decided that if the boys and I left then he could work hard in peace and we could enjoy a kid flick. Well, the choices were Igor or Beverly Hills Chihuahua. We picked the silly dog movie and the boys enjoyed it thoroughly. No comment from the mom.

Last night we crossed the ally to spend a little time with our neighbors. They have three kids 15-20 yrs, two of whom babysit. We spent about 3 hours poolside with them drinking and talking and drinking and talking. I did some listening and very little drinking in comparison. The boys started out at home and then joined us over there and played Wii with the 16 yr old son. In the conversation I mentioned that Fred and I wanted to go on a date today so a little after 2 this afternoon I took the boys over there where they would stay until a kid sitter returned home then she would bring the boys here. So Fred and I ran off and saw EAGLE EYE. Scary stuff if you really think about it but all the same, likely true on some level. The world gets a little more scary by the minute.

So three movies in three days and I am beat. I need to get the boys cleaned-up and ready for their week. Fred leaves in the AM and I think i have some VERY busy days and some mellow ones. I should go check my calender to be sure.

Visual update and some EXCITING election news...

First, election news.... I believe that the obvious winner of the VP debate was my very own candidate.... NOT!

WILL WON! I have no idea why he found out today but he did and he is a little excited. Just a little.

Nic's class voted today and then had to do an immediate re-vote, not a recount, a re-vote. There was a tie and somehow they expected that someone, not sure who, would change his or her mind and break the tie. We wait. That is all we can do.

So I am throwing in a few pictures of my last couple of days. I seemed to have forgotten my camera at very pivotal moments and have multiple pics of the quite mundane, like my thrice weekly trip to the USPS and Chick-Fil-A. Fred is landing about now and I have NO IDEA what we will end up doing this weekend. It may include fried food, it may be taking in a kid friendly movie, it may be figuring out why the sprinkler system isn't kicking in and then mowing the slightly browned grass. Stay tuned...

Drinking my H2O in the October appropriate container. MOMS group without the MOMS. They just came later. Dinner at Peter Piper's Pizza the night we had a showing at the house. Me on hold with Huntington Bank dealing with the whole lease return and threatened collections deal. UGH! And finally, a less than stellar TX sunset. They just don't compare to the sunsets across the horizon of farms in IA.

Just babble...

OK, the jury is still out on the State Fair. Lots of "YOU SHOULD GO!" from the out of state people but the locals say not so much. We'll see what the weekend brings.

Fred ordered our new HVAC set-up today though so that may just make our decision for us. Even with his Lennox deals that stuff aint cheap. I am just so happy that at least the HVAC sub-contractor seems to be moving forward. There has been no noticeable work at the crispy house over the last couple of days. Despite the lack of work there had been someone at the house. I drove by yesterday to find the front door wide open but no one there working. This is the second time the door was wide open and the third time it was unlocked. I was not a happy camper. I lit into my site manager (who was not ONSITE at the time) with a nasty tone but I wasn't too sorry. Of course no one has called me to update the who and why of it, it probably doesn't even matter, but it would be nice to hear from the incompetent people anyway. This is one of those times that I heave OPTIMISM out the window and ask God to intercede with progress and peace. I better get on my knees tonight!

OK, off to watch Grey's Anatomy and then get straight to bed. It has been a LONG but mostly positive day. I'll try my best to post more of my life in pictures tomorrow.

Considering the TX State Fair

So Fred and I had talked about going to the TX State Fair this weekend. I was just on the site checking things out and look at what I found! I had no idea that you could deep fry so many interesting things. Now after seeing this menu and considering just the price of admission I have mixed feelings about going. I see it as a MasterCard commercial...

Parking: $10

Tickets for Entry $48

Mid-way Fun $40

Food $40

Indigestion... Priceless

State Fair of Texas New Food Locator
Chicken Fried Bacon – Thick and peppery Farm Pac® bacon is seasoned, double-dipped in a special batter and breading and deep-fried. Served with a creamy side of ranch or honey mustard sauce. Served at N30 located on Nimitz at MLK. Winner of Best Taste in the Big Tex Choice Awards competition.

Fried Banana Split – A mixture of banana and honey peanut butter is rolled in balls, battered and deep-fried and topped with assorted, delicious fixings, including powdered sugar, caramel and chocolate syrups, chopped peanuts, whipped cream and banana split flavored ice cream bites then fittingly crowned with the traditional cherry. Served at the Auto Grill inside the Automobile Building. Winner of Most Creative in the Big Tex Choice Awards competition.

Fernie’s All-American Fried Grilled Cheese Sandwich – An American classic with a State Fair twist. Two slices of white bread filled with a blend of American and cheddar cheeses, dipped in an egg and milk batter and lightly coated with panko bread crumbs for extra crispness. Served with a side of shoestring potato sticks, a pickle spear and tomato soup dipping sauce. The All American Meal! Served in the Dock Restaurant inside the Embarcadero Building. Finalist in the Big Tex Choice Awards competition.

Texas Fried Jelly Belly Beans – Jelly Belly Beans are rolled in funnel cake batter and fried to a crunch. People can share the treat with friends and try to guess the flavors before biting down. Enjoy at the Granny’s Funnel Cake stand C6 at the south side of the Coliseum and at Rico's Burgers, stand C7, behind Gateway Pavilion. Finalist in the Big Tex Choice Awards competition.

Deep Fried S’mores – Marshmallow cream and chocolate chips are sandwiched between two graham crackers, dipped in a feather-light batter and fried to a golden brown. The campfire-inspired treats are dusted in powdered sugar. Included in the menu at stand N9 located near the Embarcadero entrance. Finalist in the Big Tex Choice Awards competition.

Fire & Ice – A pineapple ring is battered and deep-fried, then topped with banana-flavored whipped cream that’s been frozen in liquid nitrogen. The smoking concoction is ladled with strawberries and syrup. Fire & Ice is served by Abel Gonzales at the family-run stand on Nimitz Drive. Finalist in the Big Tex Choice Awards competition.

Fried Chocolate Truffles – A silky-smooth, handmade, dark chocolate truffle is rolled in cocoa powder before being battered and deep-fried. The melting chocolate goodness is dusted in cinnamon, sugar and cocoa powder. Located at N24 stand located on Nimitz near the entrance to the Creative Arts Showplace Theater. Finalist in the Big Tex Choice Awards competition.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Waffle Balls – Plump fresh strawberries covered in a thick chocolate shell are dipped in a sweet, waffle batter and deep-fried. Dusted with powdered sugar and served on a stick. Served at the Belgian Waffle stand G39 located on the NE corner of the Esplanade. Finalist in the Big Tex Choice Awards competition.

Fried Pop Rocks Fundae Blast - Ignite your senses with this explosion of Tastes. Fried Ice Cream covered in Hershey’s Syrup and Pop Rocks. Your fuse is a Twizzler rolled in Pop Rocks. While you disarm it, you’ll find an Atomic Fireball inside . . .“Fire in the Bowl”! Stand FW-22 located on Fun Way across from Lost Children Building.

Fried Dinner Roll – A savory dinner roll lusciously filled with cream cheese and covered with a sweet batter, placed on a stick and deep fried to perfection. Stand TB-14 located in the Tower Building.

Fried Cake on a Stick – A delicious, chocolate covered white cake filled with strawberry jelly and cream, dipped in sweet batter and deep fried until golden brown and served on a stick! Stand TB-14 located in the Tower Building.

Green Bean Fries - Fresh Green Beans lightly battered, deep fried, and served with a side of cucumber ranch dressing for dipping! BW’s Fried Ribs stand TB-1 in the Tower Building.

Texas Bar-B-Que Eggrolls - BW’s Chopped Beef in an eggroll wrap, deep fried to a delicate crispness, and served with BBQ sauce for dipping or ignite your senses further with a splash of Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. BW’s Fried Ribs stand TB-1 in the Tower Building.

“Jalapeno” Deep Fried Gorditas - Jalapeno flavored gordita cooked on the grill and then deep fried, stuffed with beef, chicken, or bean & cheese, and finally topped with lettuce, tomato, guacamole, and cheese. Festival Mexican Foods stand FW-25 located on Fun Way St.

Fried Apple iPie – A warm, delicious crispy fried apple pie with just a hint of cinnamon, is smothered in rich vanilla ice cream and topped with an edible iPod “like” mp3 player and whipped cream. Real working souvenir “ear-bud” earphones complete this tasty iPie experience! Desperado’s stand N-19 located on Admiral Nimitz Circle.

Fried Snowballs – Fresh from the fryer! A lightly battered Snowball (cupcake) dusted with powdered sugar! Shirley London and Sons stand M-19 located on The Midway at the intersection of The Midway and Martin L. King Blvd.

Fried Honey Bun – A lightly battered Honey Bun, served fresh from the fryer with a light dusting of powdered sugar! Shirley London and Sons stand M-19 located on The Midway at the intersection of The Midway and Martin L. King Blvd.

Deep Fried Apple Bites ­– Fresh cut apples dipped in a homemade batter, deep fried, and then covered with a caramel sauce and cinnamon topping! Puff Palace Concessions stand FW-9 located on Fun Way Street near the intersection of Fun Way and Martin L. King Blvd.

Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce – An old favorite returning after several years absence! Warm bread pudding chock full of real butter, cream, and rich cinnamon flavor served with a creamy rum sauce. Newport Concessions stands G-13, G-23, FW-33, FW-1, M-22 located throughout the grounds.

Mini Chopped BBQ Slider - Sweet, tangy and juicy chopped barbecue beef brisket on a mini bun. Just the right size for a taste of Texas barbecue. N-11 The Dock and N-10 The Cantina located inside the Embarcadero Building, and at G-1 The Funnel Cake Stand on Grand Ave. across from the Old Mill Inn.

Mini Chicken Fried Steak Slider - A miniature crispy chicken fried steak patty served on a mini bun with a side of cream gravy. A bite size version of "Big Texas Taste". Stand N-11 The Dock located inside the Embarcadero Building.

Dessert Shooters - A 3 oz. serving of rich and decadent desserts. Your choice of three fabulous flavors: Chocolate Oreo Mousse, a layer of Oreo cookie crumbs, creamy chocolate pudding, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, sprinkled with more Oreos and a cherry on top: Strawberry Cheesecake, Graham cracker crumbs, classic cheesecake filling, strawberry sauce, whipped cream and more graham cracker crumbs: and Vanilla Caramel Supreme, crushed Vanilla Wafers, creamy vanilla pudding, rich caramel sauce, whipped cream, sprinkled with more Vanilla Wafers and a cherry on top. N-11 The Dock and N-10 The Cantina located inside the Embarcadero Building.

Jalapeno Tamaritto – Ignite your taste buds with two Pedro’s Tamales wrapped in a warm flour tortilla, topped with chili, cheese, and Pedro’s spicy Jalapeno relish! Pedro’s Tamales stand TB-18 located in the Tower Building.

Ignited Moon Pie­ - The Original Moon Pie, lightly battered and deep fried, then gently sprinkled with powdered sugar! Stand N-9 located near the Embarcardero Building entrance.
Fruit Bag Drinks ­– Fruit, juice and ice combined in a clear bag with a straw for slow sipping. Savor the flavor of the juice and then eat the fruit! Benz Food Company stand CBP-1 located in Cotton Bowl Plaza.

Beefy Fried Queso Bites ­– Queso mixed with taco meat, breaded in a zesty batter and deep fried. Stand FW-46, Guacamole Paradise, located inside the Thrill Way Area.

Chick-a-Mole Bites – Guacamole mixed with a taco-flavor shredded chicken and cheddar/Monterey jack cheese, breaded in a zesty batter and deep fried. Served at Stand FW-46, Guacamole Paradise, located inside the Thrill Way Area.

Crispy Fried Cantaloupe Pie – Diced cantaloupe seasoned with brown sugar, cinnamon and coconut milk, rolled in a flaky pie pastry, and then deep fried. Topped with powdered sugar and whip cream. Gigi’s Food stand TB-22 inside the Tower Building