*Good Surprise*

Youngest son called (last night at 11:00 pm.  LOL) to say he is flying home to visit for the weekend.  (He lives in Atlanta.)  I'm outta here to pick him up at the airport.  

YAY!!

Look-See

Isn't this a Beauty?!

Look what a beautiful crown

it has.

It is a little big for the table, but
there was a nice gentleman at the store
helping with the sale of the pumpkins and he took
such joy in finding this BIG one for me,
that I just couldn't say "No" to it.
They were all the same price, so what the heck.

Mister usually buys lots of pumpkins for our yard but this year he is not "in the mood" since Princess has left.

I think we need to push ourselves forward any way we can.  With that thought in mind, this big ol' punkin' reminds me that it's important to see joy, even if it's simply in an inanimate object.  Soooo, for $3.99 I've placed  this big, ol' Beauty here for us to see each day.

This is what "Joy" looks like for me today.

Do you see it?

(Have I mentioned that Green and Orange are

my favorite colors?  Yep.)

What have you seen today that represents "Joy"

for you?

Hello. Billy?

"The ittsy bitsy spider" may have gone up the water spout, but his Daddy came lookin' for him! YIKES!

Look what I happened upon last night on my walk
through the neighborhood.

I barely got away with my life!!
I exaggerate bit.

This spooky spider's head even moves 

from side to side while his eyes blink.

Gonna have to put in a call to

"Billy the Exterminator"!

I'm wearin' my "Smarty Pants".

I don't like to brag, well maybe just a little. . . but you can call me -

'Cause you're gonna be down-right jealous when you see what I did today.

THIS!!

I prepped all this food to be put into the freezer
to be eaten on a day I'd rather play than cook.
"Thaw, Heat, and Eat".

I know it's not an original thought, but it's new territory for me as I'm figuring out how to cook for just two people.  I browned 3 lbs of ground beef then assembled these items.

I used the canned "Manwich" and simply added some Liquid Smoke, garlic powder, and a dash of cayenne pepper.  Mixed in some ground beef and it was ready to be "bagged"

Oops!  I notice I put the wrong date on the label.
Sure hope the "Sloppy Joe Police" don't come to take me in!

This is simply a Mexican concoction that I heat and serve over rice.  I top it with Sour Cream and diced tomatoes, but it is good "as is", sans toppings.  It is a 1/2 jar of my favorite Salsa, (which happens to be the mild "Best Value" brand from Walmart), and a drained can of black beans.  I spice it up by adding some Pace Picante to the mix - then stir in some ground beef.  "Yes sir, Yes sir, I made 3 bags full".

Two pasta dishes, ready to go into the freezer.
Think Lasagna, except with the corkscrew pasta I had on hand, rather than lasagna noodles.  I used my favorite type jarred spaghetti sauce, ricotta and parmesan cheese, etc. etc.

I should have a "Guess what this is?" contest -
cause this lame photo really leaves one to wonder.
Pie Crust!
That's what it is - "pie crust", the type you make in the food processor.  I only made my own because if our arteries are gonna clog I want them to clog with butter, rather than Crisco.  I don't know why I have a preference, but I do.  I'll use this when I make a quiche.  

I'm channeling my inner Chef Boyardee and Betty Crocker today, a strange type of psychological blitz, if I do say so myself. I seldom post about cooking, but when the occasional mood hits I think it's good to go with it.  I'm thinking about making "chicken" recipes the next time a cooking mood comes along.

Now I've got to figure out how many WW points are in each of these items - a project for another day.

To the left of Happy

Mister and I are both trying to find that something special that will make us feel happy again.  These are difficult days.  Yesterday he said we were "not going to sit home" like we did last Saturday.  So we got in the car and he just began to drive - no thought of where we were actually going...We ended up in Leesville, La, about 3+ hours from home.  Ironically, Fort Polk Army Base is located there.  This is where Mister took his basic training for the National Guard many years ago.  We drove to the entrance of the camp and were given a visitor's pass and allowed to go onto the base.  It turned out to be a very interesting, restful, day.  I had never been there and Mister had not been there since he left way back when.

Mister @ Ft. Polk

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Our life continues to be very bizarre.
Most days bring a new 'punch" of some type.
Bad news knocks us down, but it doesn't seem to
keep us down quite as long as it did at first.
Most of you write happy blogs and I enjoy
reading them, especially since my life is
to the left of happy at the moment.
I take joy in being able to live vicariously
through your sunny days.

Bloggy ((HUGS)) to each of you
and a special thank you for staying with
my blog, even when it is not a happy read.

I wonder why . . .

 Oatmeal is a great diet food.

I've eaten it plain.

I've dressed it up with berries

and I've  even played mind games with myself

and pretended it's an oatmeal cookie.

But the truth is, I'm plain "burnt out" on the beige stuff.

I just can't eat another bite of this stuff for a while.

I wonder why no one ever says, 

"I'm totally burnt out on ice cream 

and can't eat another bite of this stuff!"?

Another one of life's great mysteries!

"That's sooooooo Cheesy!"

Today I met with friends
to celebrate a BFF's birthday.

One of my very favorite things to do is
to celebrate "people"!

I know it sounds "cheesy",
but everyone who is special to us,
in any way, should be celebrated, IMO,
and birthdays are the perfect time to do this.
Birthdays are not just for kids, ya know.

What would we do without the great
people God has gifted our life with?
I can't even imagine!
And who doesn't enjoy being celebrated?!

That said, I was so "in the moment"
enjoying the birthday celebration
that I forgot to take a photo.

I hope you each have special friends who

celebrate YOU on occasion.

"Happy Birthday special FRIEND!",
you know who you are.
(she reads my blog!)

Got a favorite way to celebrate birthdays
or a favorite birthday memory?

I'm at D.P., and I don't mean Dr. Pepper!!

I've been here for 3 weeks now!!
And.I.Hate.It.

I'm at a
"Diet Plateau"!!
There are no happy campers here.

My dieting experience is not anything I can brag about.  I began this sucky, awful, lame, never-ending diet on June 9.  As of 3 weeks ago I had lost 13 lbs - I have gained one of those lbs back.  Horror of Horrors!!  So now I'm stuck at a 12 lb loss and I can't seem to get the scale to budge.

The weather has cooled a bit which

has allowed me to begin walking/exercising.

I don't mean to be a baby about this, 

but I don't like walking/exercising!!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

*giggle*

Dear Weight Watchers,

I thought I would look like Jennifer Hudson by now.
I want my money back.
     ~Sweet Tea

I've missed you.

I've been on a Bloggy Break, 

and though I've not posted or left comments, 

I've been reading your words 

and following along.  

Does that make me a 

"Stalker" OR a "Lurker"?
Regardless, 

I've missed you.

Princess has left home.

She's moved to another state to live with her boyfriend and his family.

Growing up is harder for some

than it is for others.

Mister and I are heartsick, but moving forward.

"Nuff said, at least for now,
but I felt I had to disclose this since
I blog about my life
and this is where I am in my life
at this moment in time.

I know part of moving forward is to return to blogging and visiting with you, which is something I enjoy doing.

Look at this!

I saw this gaudy rainbow of Christmas trees in a store last week.

It SHOUTED to me and caused me to take notice. "Things that make you go hmmmmm".

It feels good to Blog again.

What made you feel good today?