The Boy and His Board

E has a new hobby.

It makes me nervous.

He's going to have to wear a helmet and bike gloves.

He's fallen twice. Welcome to the world of pain.

My nerves are already shot.

Geeking Out For A Moment

Rivendell

I want to move to Middle Earth. I want to see the sights as they appear in Tolkien's books and Peter Jackson's movies. I know, I know. I could just visit New Zealand. However, I want the real Middle Earth experience. I'd like to live in the real imaginative world Tolkien created, at least for a little while.

Middle Earth Map

I know this sounds absolutely nerdy. That is fine with me. We've just been Middle Earthing it at our house recently. Tyler is reading The Hobbit in preparation for the movie release. This may be one of the first times he's read a book before seeing a movie!! I am so excited. So, needless to say, he keeps thinking about Tolkien's world, especially in relation to the maps, locations, etc. of things. Also, our church is currently doing a Sunday school class about Tolkien and C.S. Lewis - focusing on Biblical Imagery in The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. So, another Middle Earth influence is coming in there. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to go to the class but once because I'm helping with the itty-bittys in the nursery.

Not to mention, Tyler and I decided to watch The Two Towers this past weekend. Since he owns the extended versions, we had no choice but to watch four hours of Middle Earth goodness. We had to break it up into two watching periods, because we are getting old and cannot stay up late anymore. This is sad but true.

I just get lost in the simplicity of the people. I love their lives and their pride in their culture. Granted, life was hard during the war against Sauron, but overall, they lived in a beautiful place, worked the ground, and enjoyed the simple act of living.

If we were to analyze the characters in Middle Earth, there is no doubt humans would be hobbits. We definitely like to convince ourselves we'd be in the legion of men, the fighters of Gondor, or like Eowyn of Rohan. However, we are more like the hobbits with our desires for nice food, clothing, drinks, and pipe tobacco. Ok, maybe some of us don't care about pipe tobacco. But we do have something that we just can't "live without," and it's usually something like boots or chocolate or our laptop. We're hobbits for sure.

Bag End

Best Friends Re-Unite

Seven Months. It's been seven months since E has seen one of his best friends, Greyson, and since I've seen one of my best friends, Linda. And it's always a good idea to get Dee and Tyler to hang out since they never got much of a chance to spend time together while I lived in Clemson. And Molly, well she is a benefit for anyone who meets her with her red hair and sassy attitude.

I lived across the street from the Tindals my second year in Clemson. It was pretty much a God-send that year for both families, I really believe, and I wouldn't have made it through that year without them. Tyler and Dee never really got to know each other though, because Tyler was in school the first semester and really busy all of the time. He did not come over and visit very much. And the second semester, Tyler was in Charlotte, and Dee was suffering from a few life-threatening situations, preventing him for being up for "hang out" time when Tyler visited. Though there was this one week when Tyler watched Ethan during a snow storm. It involved a snow fort and lots of thermal underwear for the boys. I'm sure that was a bonding moment for everyone involved. I was incapacitated because of some minor surgery and recovery time.

This past weekend was the designated time to remedy the problem that these boys hadn't been together in entirely too long. And being the over-achiever parents we sometimes all tend to be, the four adults decided to meet at Carowinds for a crazy afternoon of Halloween theme park rides and roller coasters.

Carowinds was everything the boys had hoped it would be, and Linda and I got plenty of time to catch up. We've decided the next get together needs to be more low-key, but the kids loved it and had fun. Needless to say, everyone was exhausted afterwards. Molly even fell asleep on Dee's shoulders on the way back out to the car.

G and E: BFFs

Miss Molly

She is so grown up these days.

Cheese.

Molly and Dee - High Five!

Instagram Pic - Linda, Molly, and Me

Today...

Today, I will have lunch with my sister.

Today, I will drive 160 miles, at least.

Today, I will wish I was making this soup.

Today, I will probably eat this instead.

Today, I will return the last three Harry Potter books to my sister. *tear*

Today, I will shower my niece with cute clothing from Target, which I couldn't resist buying.

Today, I will read about a woman's wisdom and pray with three friends.

Today, I will run four miles.

Today, I will dream of having a baby boy, so he can wear one of these.

Today, I will grade around 25 papers.

Today, I will enjoy the colors of leaves as they change and fall.

Today, I will be a mommy, a teacher, a friend, a wife, a house cleaner, a daughter, a chef, an athlete, and today I will have a peaceful heart.

What about you?

The Last Few Weeks in Pics

Our Life: Dates, Diners, Desserts, Dudes, Dog Sitting

It's been a few good weeks in October.

Baby Sh-owl-er for Katey and James - Owl Cake

Two weeks ago, some Florence people convened at The Meade House for a night to celebrate Katey and James McCoy and their baby Liam, due to join us all here on earth in just a few weeks. I was honored to be helping these lovely ladies give the shower. We're all long-time friends from a seemingly different era of Florence history, and it was great to get back and visit with everyone.

Hostesses(L to R): Taiter, Sage, Whitney, Me

We went with an owl theme for the shower, because Katey and James are decorating the nursery in earthy tones and owls. Whitney did a great job prepping her home. Instead of a traditional baby shower sans men, we decided to do a grill out and invite the guys. They definitely get shafted in the wedding and baby shower scene. Granted, I know most men don't want to sit and open presents, but they definitely miss out on some great food. So we did burgers and dogs, chips and potato salad, fruit, and lots of desserts.

Some of the gals (L to R): Me, Sage, KateyandLiam, Whitney, Taiter, and Kali/Jones

Really it was a great night. I even got to meet little Jones Dabney. I'll be honest. It was great to hold a 6-week-old again. I had forgotten how tiny they are and how much attention they need. Jones is definitely a cutie.

Tyler and my part of the preparation for the shower was 1. Tyler buys beer and 2. Melissa makes owl cake. Buying beer was easy enough, but I had to do a little research in order to decide which owl cake to mimic. Google searching owl cake and looking at the images is a little daunting. But I found a super cute plan for an owl cake at My Inner Need to Create. 

I decided we didn't need as big of a cake as she made, so instead of using 9" and 13" circles, I used 8" and 10" circles. It turned out just as well. I made strawberry marble and chocolate marble cakes. They were pretty and yummy at the same time. 

Marble Cakes

After baking the cakes, I trimmed them up and put them together to make the owl shape.

 Then I made icing and colored them: Tan/Copper, Brown(cocoa and coloring), Yellow, Black, and I saved a little White for the eyes.

E even helped me make the icing. He definitely enjoyed licking a spoon and eating lots of left over cake.

The finished product? A cutie owl cake, but not too girly for Liam. I was pretty excited about the way it turned out. I definitely had my doubts about my capabilities.

Meanwhile, Tyler was doing great things as well. He volunteered to help make E's Halloween costume. E chose to be a red ninja this year, so Tyler made it. He is such a Renaissance man. I think he even enjoys sewing more than I do, because he loves precision and putting things together. I do not. I like icing because you can cover up mistakes easily, and I can literally ice over something done sloppily. 

My Man Love - Focusing

All in all, it was a great night. It was great to see Katey with a baby bump, James, and crew. I am so excited about baby Liam and the future McCoy family. Tyler and I definitely had a "we miss Florence" moment. It really only lasted a few minutes until we had to drive through Sams Club and Wal*Mart traffic. Then we were over it, but we definitely loved the community time. Thanks Katey and James for the excuse to get together.

Mr. LaCross and Myself 

The Power of the Pumpkin

Just a few pumpkins. (Image from http://www.aftonapple.com/pumpkins.htm)

Is it just me, or is the pumpkin spice flavor taking over the world this fall?

Everywhere I look, at every grocery store I shop, and every blog I read, pumpkin is taking over. I love pumpkin, so I'm obviously taking advantage of it's presence.  But I also wonder if every company has seen what Starbucks has done with pumpkin and are now following down the same path. Or has it been like this every year, and I'm just now catching on?

Seriously, I've found pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie Pop Tarts, pumpkin chocolate bark, pumpkin muffins, breads, and pancakes, pumpkin bagels, pumpkin streusel, pumpkin cream cheese, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin hot tea, pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin yogurt, pumpkin pizza dough...Ok. I actually did not find pumpkin pizza dough, but it should definitely be up for consideration, especially with some goat cheese, spinach, and sliced tomato on top with a butter sauce. Mmmm. I may have to make that now that I'm thinking about it. I've seen pumpkin so many times the word is looking like I'm spelling it wrong. It's one of those words that if you stare at it enough or for long enough, you could double guess yourself on how it's really spelled.

I don't mind this pumpkin kick, though I need to ask if my whole family is in consensus with this or if it's just me. However, I have noticed that I fall prey to the whole scheme. I buy a few "extra" things at the grocery store simply because they are pumpkin, and these are things that we don't necessarily need. Therefore, it makes it much harder to stay within our budget for groceries during these fall months. All the pumpkin delights are never necessities, but the so-called Seasonal Specials or one place even called them Harvest Specials. It made me feel as though I was a farmer reaping all the benefits of my hard work. This may be an exaggeration, but I definitely felt like I was getting a deal, something special, something my family needed to enjoy fall in style.

I love pumpkin, but my wallet does not. It's time to work on self-control.