Pumpkin Bliss & Tooth Aches

So, my tooth hurts.
It's hurt for a while, but now it hurts bad.
I've been waiting a very long time to get it fixed due to finances.
But now it seems the waiting has made it worse and now I'm pretty bad off in the mouth department.

I need to escape to my happy place.
I envision how happy I'll be when this is all over.
When my teeth are finally fixed.

Follow me to my Happy place:

I think about how happy I'll be when I'm playing with my new baby;
I'm in my new home;
I'm working;
Making money;
Making dinner;
Helping with homework;
Enjoying the company of my husband and sons.

I think about the peaceful bubble baths I'll take...
With my music on...
And my candles burning...
The sweet smell of pumpkin pie in the air...
Ahh...






(The world's best smelling pumpkin candle and I want one.)

Last night, while wrestling around with my sweetie, I got hurt. I'll admit, I totally had it coming. Joe was leaning over me shirtless grabbing for the remote and I bit him in the ribs. (I'd say more of a nibble than a bite, but you'd have to ask him.)

He said, "sweetie, don't bite me or I'll crush you."

I weighed the consequences and made the decision that biting him would result in hilarity. I decided it was worth it. Boy, did I decide wrong.

Now I want to preface this with, Joe would never ever try to hurt me on purpose. But here's what happened...

I bit into Joe's ribs while making my rabid monster noises. He grabbed me by the jaw, squeezed my jaw and put all of his weight on me.

Now, at any other time in my life, this would not have been such a terrifyingly painful experience. However, as I mentioned earlier, I have a tooth infection and his grabbing it and squeezing it made me cry like a little girl. Literally, I don't remember crying like that since I was little, 7 or 8 maybe.

The best part is I know it's all my fault. I instigated it and got what I deserved. Serves me right. :)

I wont mess with the Joe unless I can take what the Joe serves up.

Jeri's Jack O Lantern Tips

Tips for carving the perfect Jack O Lantern
By: Jeri Beumel

Finding The Perfect Pumpkin

• Go to the pumpkin patch! Find a local pumpkin farm, I think it adds to the Halloween experience and is great fun for kids. It's even better if you can cut them off the vine yourself. This way you can leave a little extra stem, (which adds to the aesthetics off your pumpkin)
• Check all sides of your pumpkin, looking to see if there are any soft spots. This is especially important if picking your pumpkin right off the ground at a pumpkin patch.
• See if your pumpkin will sit upright without tipping over. You cannot have a successful Jack O Lantern if he is going to fall over all the time. (However, don't rule out all imperfections. I think a lopsided pumpkin has a lot of character as long as it can stay up.)
• Make sure the stem on your pumpkin is sturdy. A missing or loose stem is not ideal for carving. Try to find a pumpkin with an unusually curvy stem or with a bushy top, it can add a lot of silliness to your Jack.
• Be sure to place your pumpkin in a cool and dry environment before carving. This helps maintain its freshness before you begin carving.

Prepping Your Pumpkin

• Clean the dirt off of your pumpkin before you begin.
• Lay out newspapers and have all of your tools ready. It's about to get messy.
• Have a bowl ready for the seeds.

• You'll need a set of tools to help you carve your pumpkins.
  
• I like the carving kits you find at any discount retailer. If you're heavy handed like me and break your tools, buy two sets.
• Don't be tempted to use the stencils they give you in the book. You'll feel a much better sense of accomplishment for designing your own, plus this is a great way for children to express their creativity.

• Cut the top of the pumpkin off. Don't cut straight down! You'll need to cut at an angle or the lid might fall through.
• Scoop the seeds and pulp into the bowl.
• Scrape the inside of your pumpkin to thin the flesh and make it even.
• Clean the outside of your pumpkin as to get a better grip for carving.

Carving Your Pumpkin

• Sharp objects should be handled by adults only
• After you have done a rough draft drawing of your pumpkin, spin your pumpkin around until you find the side that's best for carving.
• I either use a wax pen to sketch out the design or use the pounce wheel to etch it out.
• Let the kids that are too young to carve draw the face of their design on a sheet of paper and copy it to the pumpkin for them.
• Begin! I always start with the mouth then adjust the eyes to make sure the Jack is looking in the right direction
• If the kids are too young to carve, give them an opportunity to help by letting them pop out the pieces you've carved.
• If you accidentally cut out a piece that's supposed to be in your design, you can use a paper clip to snap it back in.
• For extra macabre, use the seeds and pulp for brains, vomit or guts. It adds to the gruesomeness of your Jack.

Preserving Your Jack O Lantern

• To preserve your carved pumpkin, you will want to soak it in cold water for at least an hour after it has been carved.
• Petroleum jelly (Vaseline) can be rubbed on the edges where the pumpkin is carved to help prevent shriveling.

Displaying Your Jack O Lantern

• Put the Jack in the front of your house proudly for everyone to see.
• One of the best choices for lighting your carved pumpkin is a votive candle placed in a clear glass. This makes lighting your Jack O Lantern safer and will help the pumpkin last longer.
• A tea-light candle works well for smaller pumpkins.
• Of course, manufacturers have come out with lights for pumpkins, which you can purchase, these will cost a bit more than buying candles but are a safe alternative to an open flame.

I hope you enjoyed your pumpkin carving experience as much as I did! - Jeri

Pumpkin Pictures

Here's some of my various Halloween pictures

Pumpkin gathering in apple Hill: This was great because we got to cut the pumpkins off the vine!

Pumpkin Carving With Trevor: We had a lot of fun. I think he has a knack for design.

Trevor Is Spiderman

We went to the pumpkin patch.
It was amazing!
We picked our pumpkins right off the vine.
Trevor got his costume.

Halloween 2009

"He did the mash...
He did the monster mash...
The monster mash...
It was a graveyard smash..."

I've already picked out next years Halloween costumes. I will be a bottle of mustard, Trevor will be a bottle of Ketchup, Evan will be a hot dog, and Joe will dress up as a concession stand worker pushing Evan in the stroller that we will decorate to look like a hot dog cart.

It will be awesome. This year, I think I will either forgo getting a costume or, if the weather is nice enough, I will paint my belly to look like a pumpkin.

As seen here.



I love Halloween!

Pumpkin Madness

Here's what I plan to make this holiday season.
Let's just say, I'm crazy about pumpkins! *maniacal laugh

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients:

One 9-inch pie shell.
6 ounces of cream cheese, softened.
¾ cup of cooked pumpkin.
2 medium sized eggs.
1 ½ cups of sugar.
¼ cup of flour.
½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Preparation Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).

Beat the cream cheese, eggs and sugar together until the mixture is smooth.

Add the pumpkin.

Stir in the flour, nutmeg, and the cinnamon. Beat well.

Pour into the pie shell and bake for one hour.

Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:

COOKIES
1 medium egg.
2 cups of flour.
1 cup of butter.
1 cup of sugar.
1 cup of pumpkin.
1 teaspoon of baking powder.
1 teaspoon of soda.
1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
1 teaspoon of vanilla.
1/2 teaspoon of salt.

ICING
1 cup of powdered sugar.
1/2 cup of brown sugar.
4 tablespoons of milk.
3 tablespoons of butter.
3/4 teaspoon of vanilla.

Preparation Instructions:

COOKIES

Cream the sugar and the butter.

Add the pumpkin and the egg.

Add the dry ingredients.

Bake at 350F for about ten minutes.

ICING

Combine the butter, the milk and the brown sugar.

Boil for three minutes minutes. Allow to cool.

Stir in the sugar and the vanilla.

Apply icing to the cookies.

Pumpkins!

I can not stop thinking about pumpkins.

I want pumpkin pie, a pumpkin spice latte, some of that pumpkin beer, (I know I can't have any of it) and most of all PUMPKIN CARVING!!!

I want Fall so bad! I want the all the things associated with it; leaves falling off the trees, the smell of fireplaces, going to the pumpkin patch, picking out costumes, trick-or-treating, cloudy days, big full moons, and having to snuggle up because it's chilly.

Karlee says my house smells, "weird"...

We just moved into an older house in Rocklin. This house is about 15 years old. We have only been here for 3 weeks. Today she comes over and says it smells bad. I have thought this once or twice myself, so I plugged in my potpourri. It does have a "musty" smell. I don't know what elce to do about it though. I hate insense. It reminds me of hippies. I dislike hippies.

On a good note we got our refrigerator today. The guys who dropped it off were cool. I didn't get the impression they were "casing" our place. One guy even complimented me on my pumpkin carving abilities. That's cool. I love my pumpkin and am very proud of it.

Yep Yep. I like my pumpkin.