Happy Halloween

Oh, the things we do to our pets...

Can you tell that Ringo HATES this?

Do I get my treat now?

Pumpkin Carving

Our friends had a pumpkin carving party at their house.  The weather was perfect for fallish things like pumpkins, soup, chili, and cider. Sadly, I forgot to bring my new fancy camera with me, but luckily I had the trusty point and shoot in my purse.

The husbands did most of the carving work 

 The kids had a bunch of fun running around and collecting pumpkin seeds.

I even helped Josh...just a little...

Andy's creation

 Five little pumpkins sitting on a deck...

Weekend Update

Over the weekend my parents took Brittany to visit Auburn University for a college visit 

(is she really old enough to start thinking about college?!?!  I mean...didn't I just graduate from college?!?!)

While they were in Alabama we kept Beau dog!  The three pups had a fun time and Beau did great for his very first sleep over

We also went to the wedding of Josh's coworker at the Greek Orthodox Church in Columbia.  This place was beautiful!

PW Lasagna

There is something about fall that makes me want to read The Pioneer Woman's blog.  Maybe its because when I think of cowboys I think of chili and hay and fallish things...who knows!  Now, I am a girl of habit.  If my mom cooked something a certain way, that's how I do it too.  BUT I went out on a limb and looked up PW's lasagna and decided to give it a try.


The ingredients were simple enough and I already had most of what I needed.  Her recipe called for ground beef and hot breakfast style sausage but I'm scared of change and spicy sausage in a lasagna was too much for me.  Maybe next time.

Her recipe called for two cans of whole tomatoes and two cans of tomato paste.  I have to say I've never made lasagna without the help of a large jar of Prego sauce...I felt so authentic!

Now comes the tricky part...you see P-dub makes everything look so easy, but for those of us who lack certain kitchen skills its a little frustrating.  She said to simply lay the noodles on aluminum foil to keep them flat as you are getting the sauce ready.  UM...they stick together and don't look at pretty as in her picture.

But the noodle issue wasn't the end of the world and minus a burnt thumb it ended up ok.

The next part did make me happy...rather than using ricotta cheese, PW uses cottage cheese and eggs!  Just like my Mamasita!

This is how I cook...laptop used as recipe book

After you layer everything (which I was so busy doing that I forgot to photograph it) you pop it in the over for about 30 minutes and voila!  Yummy Pioneer Woman lasagna!

I used the "food" setting on my camera for all of these pics...who knew there was such a setting!

Carolina vs. Kentucky

When the alarm went off at 6:45 Saturday morning, I was regretting the whole Breakfast Tailgate thing.  I mean come on...its a Saturday!!  But the Gamecocks were playing at noon so early morning it was!
We had quite a spread...bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, biscuits, gravy, grits, fruit, and donuts.  Pretty much the best breakfast I've had in a while. 

Oh...and mimosas!  

We had such a fun time hanging out, eating, playing cornhole, eating, and more eating!  Tons of friends stopped by throughout the morning.  

"Sisters"

My first cornhole game...super fun!  AND...it turns out that I'm pretty good too.

Even Aimée was surprised by her cornhole skills!

Blessings

46.  Grad school...now I'm not really enjoying grad school at the moment because it has completely taken over my life...but I am thankful for the opportunity to continue my education.


47.  My loving husband who is putting up with me and my ridiculous amount of papers/homework/reading I have been doing as of late


48.  A great school year with a wonderful bunch of kiddos...I really have the best class!


49. Tailgating with family and friends at Carolina football games. Breakfast tailgating...while its not fun to get up that early on a Saturday...makes for a long and fun day!


50.  Starbucks caramel mocha...my new found love!


51.  Homemade milkshakes made by the husband...a little paper writing pick me up!


52.  SC State Fair!!  I haven't been yet because it just opened today, but I'm totally going...multiple times...for the corndogs!


53.  Friday=no school!  A day to rest, relax, and sleep in!

Friday Night Lights

This post takes me back to 2000...Friday nights at Wildcat Hollow!  Except...we weren't at Wildcat Hollow (LHS has built a new stadium since I graduated) and I never went to the games with Josh (we were only casual friends back then) and I never went to the games with my parents or sister (they just weren't cool enough) and Brittany was like five years old!  So...the experience pretty much was nothing like being in high school!  Haha!


Lexington was playing Lugoff-Elgin so our good friends Andy and Jessa came along because Jessa is a Lugoff alumni.  Sadly for Jessa, Lexington won by 40 something points...but I think she still had fun anyway!

Silly dad!

Sisters! It's hard to tell which one actually goes to the high school...hehe!

(ps......this is my 100th post!!  thanks for reading!)