Another Random Post

Do you ever feel like you could have like four posts in one day, maybe more? Probably not. Sadly, I do. But then I start fearing if I do that, people will miss the things I wrote before because they aren't the first thing they see when they get into my blog. Egocentric? Me? How dare you? ;)

Anyway, I thought I would just write another random post to let you all in on the thoughts rambling around in my brain and the goings-on in our house.


-President Obama? I'm not sure the words will even roll off my tongue. Maybe I can just call him Mr. Obama like all the liberals have been doing PRESIDENT Bush for a while now. Although I have the utmost respect for the president, no matter who he may be (yes, that includes PRESIDENT Clinton), I'm just so bummed; not that I didn't see it coming and didn't half expect it. I just had HOPE. Sigh. I did sport my "Texans for McCain" shirt all day yesterday while I was in Amarillo at some training. I got tons of looks, and a few compliments. I knew the rules about not wearing any "gear" to the polls, so when I got home and raced over to vote, I slipped on my denim jacket over my shirt. When I got to the table to give them my information, I said, "Well, I did follow the rules and put on my jacket so you couldn't see this (at which point I opened my jacket with both hands to reveal my t-shirt)," and then giggled a little. The pollers weren't amused. I normally don't do things like this, but it was my last ditch effort to find some humor in this election, I suppose. And you know what? I didn't even get a sticker! I really wanted one, too. You know the one that says, "I Voted Today."

-I love Fall. I love the decorations and the crisp, cool evenings. I love the anticipation of Thanksgiving and then Christmas. I love planning what I'm going to fix to take to family functions, and I love that I am asked to make my special deep-dish apple pie every year (thank you, Martha Stewart). I love snuggling on the couch with Richard and the pups and most especially when it gets cold enough to build a fire. I love making big pots of stew and soup. I love the changing colors. I love pumpkins. Here are the decorations I have put up for Fall in and around our house!

Some front porch decor...I had just washed off the front porch so ignore the water.

I found these cute little pumpkins at a local nursery
and just had to have them!


Below is on our bar area between the kitchen and living room.

Our centerpiece on our table.

My new hurricane vase sitting on the piano...ignore the streaky
mirror, please, as well as the mannish looking arm behind the camera!

A Fall floor mat in front of the kitchen sink.

Some Fall-looking dish towels (actually a wedding present).

A pumpkin and pretty ribbon above the entertainment center.

The wreath I bought locally at Ballyhoo...love it!!

McH and I love our fireplace and mantle.

Just a little white pumpkin and some corn-maize. I love the funky looking pumpkins best!

-I also love partaking in the Lord's Supper, or communion. Growing up Presbyterian we celebrated communion Sunday the first Sunday of every month. My parents did not allow us to partake until we understood the significance and became a member of the church, which I'm in total agreement with for our kids someday. So, this Sunday at church was "Change" Sunday. Part of the service was the Lord's Supper. It was beautiful and powerful and recharging. It left me wondering why we didn't celebrate it more often. I am overcome with emotion each and every time I place the stale cracker in my mouth and tip my head back to taste the bitter juice. But I am also so grateful for what those two symbols mean. The lamb of God is my Jesus. He is mine, but He is also yours, if you want Him. He wants you more than anything!

-Speaking of soup, I made THE BEST corn chowder EVER!!! As a wedding present, one of my aunts threw a recipe shower for me. It was the best gift she could have ever given. She sent out recipe cards to all of my friends and family and then compiled them into a box. I use it all the time. This recipe was from my dad's cousin, Sarah Sahs. It was amazing. Here is the gist...

8 oz. Jimmy Dean Hot sausage
1 can corn with liquid
1 soup can of milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
tabasco sauce
garlic powder or salt
green onions
swiss cheese

I'm pretty sure that is it. I don't have it with me to see, so I'm going by memory, which is a scary thought.

You cook the sausage and then drain it. Then, add the onions and sautee them for about a minute. Then, you add everything else and stir until Swiss cheese is melted. I recommend chopping the cheese into small pieces so it melts faster. I also added pepper. I made a pan of cornbread and voila...we had an AWESOME meal! And Richard LOVED it!! In fact, I'm considering making it again for company this weekend!

-Here is another recipe I tried the other day. I can't remember it so I'll just show you the pictures. It was yummy. I got it from this blog, one of my favorites.

Baked Lemon Chicken (or something like that)

I also found some bananas in the freezer from a few months back. I finally made some banana nut bread and it was heavenly! Another thing that made it so much better I think is I used whole wheat flour instead of enriched. It is much better for you and I think it tastes as good if not better. I love it toasted with a touch of butter...yum!


-So, you'll never guess what I found Monday morning. My normal routine usually includes me racing out the door with about five minutes to get to work without being late. So, I back out of the garage, look for traffic, push the garage door button as I'm backing, etc...Monday, I get halfway through the routine and I hear and feel a loud crunch like I've hit something. I get out to find I have run over the top of the mailbox because it was laying in my driveway. Someone, during the night Sunday, had run over our mailbox and killed it. This did not involve a baseball bat, because the stand for the box was literally bent at the bottom and laying paralell to the ground. It was crazy. So, Rich is in Amarillo today getting us a new mailbox. Seriously irked me! And they didn't even tell us, that was the worst part!

-After many years of sitting in tubes and boxes, I finally had ALL of our diplomas framed, as well as a wedding picture of us with our Aggie rings. I had the doily reframed to match our house better and then Sunday Richard helped me hang all of it in the office. I'm still planning on getting at least two more things framed to hang in there, but this is a great start. It's finally starting to feel like a real office (and we've lived there two and a half years)!


Name doily made by a family friend as a wedding gift. I had it re-framed and I think it looks amazing! We have a great framing store here in C-town.

A closeup of the doily. Isn't it lovely? It is shadow-boxed with a black matte underneath and green above.

The office wall post-makeover. Now all we need is a nice desk and we're set! But it's really coming along. Oh, and after I took this picture, I decided to move the lamp on the right to the left.

-You'll never believe this, but I'll tell you anyway. Remember how a few weeks ago I had to take little miss to the vet to have her foot checked out because she was limping? And remember after some-odd number of dollars we discovered she had a broken toe? Well, two weeks ago big miss started doing the same thing and guess what? Yep, after an x-ray Monday afternoon we now know she has broken her toe, too! What in the world are they doing in the backyard while we're gone? Crazy schnauzers!

M&M: The Broken-Toed Bandits

-Lastly, in one of my recent posts I said I would add some other pictures once I uploaded them form our trip South. So, here they are!

Sami and Blake's dog, Maui begging to come in and get away from Maggie and Marlee. Marlee was torturing Maui, poor thing.

Aw, look at all the good friends. Sami is like a sister to me and I'm so proud of the mommy she has become.
McHotterson, me (sporting my Texans for McCain shirt), baby Payton, Sami and Blake.

While we were in CS, we stayed with good friends. They have a precious 3-year-old little girl named Sophia Claire. Here she is cheering in her Southern Mississippi Eagles uniform. Her parents are both alumni. Just less than a year ago if you asked her her name, she would say Fuppy Tare (Sophie Claire). Now, she says Sophie Tare and we're sad we've lost Fuppy.

If you have gotten to this point, you are a TRUE FRIEND!!!