Happy Halloween!!!

Got me a lovely pumpkin spice latte and I'm getting ready to roast pumpkin seeds. I love roasted pumpkin seeds. We had a total of 4 pumpkins this year, one I carved for work and 3 for the family. I already roasted (and ate!) the seeds from the work pumpkin. So yesterday while cleaning out the family pumpkins so we could carve them that evening, I carefully saved all the seeds. Except for the last pumpkin, which had some funky mold growing in there, ewwww. I still ended up with a full cookie sheet of seeds.

So last night I rinsed and boiled them in salted water (serves the dual purpose of cleaning the seeds a bit better and salting my seeds). I spread them out on the cookie sheet to dry over night. Unfortunately, they were still quite wet, so now they are in a warm oven drying. In a little bit I will melt some butter, add some seasoning salt and pour that over the seeds, then stuff them back in a 300 degree oven to roast until nicely brown and crunchy. Yum!

I'd show you the carved pumpkins but our tripod has wandered away and the pictures I took last night sucked. Gotta find that tripod today!

Instead, I'll show you a picture of the F & F scarf blocking ;) It's not real straight, lol, but it turned out nicely. Now to start the kiddo's Baroness Beret. Hopefully this one won't take me as long as the scarf did, since it's getting cold and the kiddo really could use a hat!

Ouch.

Had to suspend someone at work this week. After getting caught working on some highly inappropriate personal material at work, this person was written up and told a second offense would lead to termination. The type of personal work on the clock changed, but it was still using company time to do their own thing instead of helping out in other areas when needed. After repeated warnings to all my staff to discontinue personal work, I finally had to say something to my supervisors. Then another person complained and we started taking screen shots and copying files (which were slyly hidden where no one would look, but duh, Publisher shows you the last several documents that have been saved...). Everything was sent to HR. More warnings about personal work followed, and were ignored again and again.

We had to get the person's written statement about the activities and finally got word back that we were to "suspend pending investigation." It's highly unlikely this person will be coming back.

Part of me feels terrible, because I know this person has health issues and needs the insurance provided. But the other part of me wonders just how many times we have to warn people before they get a clue! I mean, knowing that you needed this job (especially since the economy is still crap here) wouldn't you try your damnedest to not screw up?? I gave so many informal warnings (chances) before I finally had to say something.

Woot!

The Feather and Fan scarf is done. Well, ok, it still needs blocking, and the ends woven in, but the knitting is complete ;)

Really??

I think I am going to have to stop watching TLC. L.A. Ink turned into a total soap opera. And putting the Duggars on TV was bad (I wasn't a big fan of Jon & Kate either). But then came Sister Wives. Nothing like giving money to and glorifying people who are blatantly breaking the law. What's next? Pot Growers, Inc.? (Oh wait, news channel in Denver did that and the guy that bragged about his "legal" pot income of $400k a year was busted by the DEA right after *g*).

But now they've really done it. They've given Sarah Palin a mini reality series. Puh-leaze.

Looks like it's going to be a good day...

I love all things pumpkin. This morning started on a high note with a lovely pumpkin pie latte and an English muffin slathered in Pumpkin Apple Butter. Yummy!

Pumpkin Apple Butter

15oz can pumpkin
1 3/4c applesauce
1/2c brown sugar
1t pumpkin pie spice

Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat, simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Chill. Keep refrigerated. It freezes well too.

In a bit I'm going to run off to the library and pick up the 5 books I have on hold (and the video of the BBC programme on the 6 wives of Henry VIII). And none too soon, either, the books I grabbed last week left me cold.

The kiddo had her first parent/teacher conference at the new school on Thursday. It was good. Her teacher wants her to start reading some non-fiction books, because the level of fiction books she should be reading are most likely not age appropriate (She reads at at least an 8th grade level). So we shall be searching the juvenile non-fiction section at the library today as well.

I also need to buy a new day pack today. My poor North Face backpack has served me faithfully for 20 years. It was given to me as a gift by my mother when I started college. It's toted text books and numerous library books, it served as a diaper bag when the kiddo was small, a carry on on every flight I've taken in the last 20 years and it totes my junk to and from work with me every day. Which makes it the best damned gift my mother has ever given me! But all that work has finally caught up with it and the zipper has blown out :( I will definitely be shopping for a new North Face bag today.

Going to start Christmas shopping today too :)

And I found Glee Radio on the net too, so now I am happy musically too, lol.

Update: Got a nice new backpack. It's this one, though I didn't get it at Sports Authority, and mine is red. It was on sale too, so that's even better :)

Really

Looking forward to Glee tomorrow, lol. Kurt sings, "Le Jazz Hot" from Victor/Victoria and what I've heard is brilliant. And he has two songs with Rachel too, so it's a Kurt-licious episode :)

YUM!

I love fall. One of the reasons I love fall is because the pumpkin spice latte comes back. But it's a habit I don't like to indulge too often, because it gets expensive. But now I just bought this. Davinci Pumpkin Pie Sauce! I bought a half gallon a few years ago and it was devine. But I was annoyed because I bought it through that link, paid shipping and then found out the vendor was local!!! Like just a few miles from my house local.

So just for the heck of it, I went to their website today and found that they are offering free local delivery on orders over $25. So now the hubby gets some White Chocolate syrup as well, and I get my pumpkin fix ;) (I'd rather pay a few $ more to get something more than pay for shipping, and I had a 15% off coupon code too, so that helps). Yum!

Oh noes!

Our air conditioning seems to be on the fritz. I walked in and it was 77 degrees inside, I thought maybe hubby has turned it off and only just turned it back on again, but no. It's been running non-stop all day from the look of things. No wonder hubby didn't sleep well. This sucks, because neither of us sleep well in a warm house, and the idiots below us are from Louisiana and already have their heat on, which keeps the house warmer than I'd like right now. Come winter this will be a good thing, but not right now!

At least it's someone else's money that will pay for repairs but it also means we have to wait for the property service to send someone out.

BIG Month

I love October. But there are too many things I want to do for the month. I love Halloween, and I want to decorate my blog to match. But I think Breast Cancer Awareness is a huge thing and I want my blog to reflect that too.

So don't be surprised if I switch back and forth all month long :)