November flurries

What started as a total surprise of snow flurries while I cleaned out the rest of the garden paraphernalia, turned into HUGE fat snowflakes that actually stayed on the ground and roofs. I'm such a big talker when it comes to getting outside, but as I have gotten older, I am a total grump when it comes to winter. Gavin and Benji were too excited to don snow pants and boots and get out there. I went with them, begrudgingly, and after 2 minutes *I* was the whiner who was cold and wanted to go back in. Pbbt. Winter. It's November 11th for pete's sake.

Ummmmmmm

What's better than two pans of homemade Apple Chai Spiced Cinnamon Rolls ready to rise and hit the oven?

There could only be one possible thing better. Said cinnamon rolls, fresh out of the oven, with browned butter icing. Ready to ROCK this cold Monday morning.

Fall party action

One of the new responsibilities I have taken on for Jack's new school is classroom coordinator. I am in charge of putting on all their holiday parties this year. The first of the year's parties was the fall party, and it was fun to get into the classroom and see his friends dressed in their costumes, having a good time.

good food takes time

I keep telling my kids this. They don't seem to believe me. I have great hopes that they'll someday grow into food appreciation. 

One of my favorite foods is lasagna. Our family lasagna recipe has made itself the centerpiece of many Christmas eve dinners over the years, and still is one of my favorite meals. I tried mixing it up a bit a couple weeks ago in an attempt to get through the piles and piles of fall vegetables on our counter. This recipe began as a failure, when my first attempt at making homemade lasagna  noodles did NOT work out. But Trader Joe's came to the rescue, and I have to say, Butternut Lasagna with Sage & Goat Cheese is a lovely dish. Really, though, lasagna is too beautiful (and takes too much time to prepare) to taste bad. 

Whenever we lose Jack...

it can be assumed he has locked himself  upstairs in a bedroom with a cat.

Benji's Biking

Benj taught himself to ride without training wheels a week ago, and he hasn't stopped biking since.

I thought it would be fun to take his photo in the same location (and on the same bike) that Jack learned on a couple years ago. Here's Jack's pic:

Halloween 2013

The red power ranger, the chef, and the Hawkeye baseball player were really happy to have Uncle Adam and Jenna back to join them for trick-or-treating this year.

All good things must come to an end

I'm always taken back by how short the warm months seem and how L-O-N-G the winter months seem. It feels like just yesterday I was trudging into newbie gardening territory, with tremendous anxiety and high hopes that it would turn out okay. Now it's already time to pull the plants and look back on this summer of gardening, wrap up the gardening journal and reflect on what went right and what didn't. 38 lbs of green tomatoes leaves me looking for more canning opportunities, which is surprising since I felt pretty burnt out on canning at the beginning of this month.

All in all I'm very happy with my first garden here. It was very productive and joyous for me, and I look forward to doing it again next year! I did feel a little melancholy, though, pulling out all the plants. But I guess all good things must come to an end. Or, at least, a long winter's rest.

Sigh. A green tomato graveyard.

Look at this "little" guy!

13.1

It feels good to have a Half Marathon under my belt. My time was better than I anticipated, and I met my goal of running the whole thing without stopping to walk. It was a bit of a reality check when I was completing mile #11 and the full marathoners passed me with a police escort on their mile #24.....but hey, I am much more into endurance than speed anyway :)

Happy to share this fun experience with Ernie. Before the race...

After the race...

I don't think I've been bitten by the runner's bug in the same way as other friends. I didn't finish this race and think, "Half down, onto the full!"  I don't plan to ever run a full marathon (come on, that's just plain crazy, right?!) I not against doing another half in the future, but for the time being, my runs will probably be less consistent, and will rarely--if ever-- go over 6 miles. It was nice to have a goal and a deadline by which to meet it. I work much better that way. I guess now I need to find a new goal!

Officially Fall

I've slid into my acceptance of autumn slowly this year. But visits to a couple pumpkin patches, and morning runs in 49 degree weather, have finally convinced me. Now I'm all in.

I had the opportunity to chaperone Benjamin's class yesterday on a trip to a local pumpkin patch. It was a fun trip and he had a great time with his buddy, William.

Today our own family went to another pumpkin patch/orchard. I was grateful not to have to buy apples this year, as Mike's dad has been bringing me giant 5-gallon bucketfuls from a tree near his workplace. I've made applesauce and apple pies and cobblers. We could probably use more applesauce for the winter months, but I think I burned myself out a bit with the canning this season because of all the tomatoes. Phew. Still, I bought five sugar pumpkins today so hopefully I can give it one last push and can some pumpkin, as the fall recipes start to build up on my counter...many of which will require pureed pumpkin!