Jack of all traits...

It is Halloween time and, most porches in the neighborhood have a pumpkin displayed. A Jack-O-Lantern with a scary, funny or mysterious face or with more artistic designs thanks to easy to find templates and pumpkin carving kits. Whatever the design, these "Jacks" are carved in anticipation of small (and, sometimes, big) kids coming by asking for candy.

If you refer back to previous posts, you will see that we do a traditional trek to the pumpkin patch in far off Willcox to look for the perfect pumpkins for Halloween. We usually pick one big one for T and I, Tay picks out one for her and, this year, we picked out a much smaller pumpkin for the punkin' in utero. We will probably carve our pumpkins Friday after we pick up Tay from school.

This year, I decided to get a couple of pumpkins to try and make pumpkin puree, thus pumpkin goodies, for a change. I got the idea from my mother-in-law who typically buys a couple of pumpkins for cooking purposes. I had never went through with this project but decided that I would give it a shot this year.

As all of you know, pumpkins are just another type of squash. How hard can it be to cook it and prepare it? Well, as with any new project, you learn as you go. First, get a nice sized pumpkin but NOT one that is one you would be drawn to for carving. In other words, not TOO big. Trust me. It will take a lot more effort to cut, gut and bake a large pumpkin.

I decided to take pics of my progress along the way. However, what I didn't do was to take pics of the two pumpkins that were my cooking pumpkins. After walking past them as they sat proudly on the counter by the coffee pot, I felt it was TIME to get to baking. And puree-ing. I did my research via good ol' google to get an idea of how to bake them - what temp, how long, etc. And then what to do with it after. Don't ya just love google?

The directions I found suggested cutting the pumpkin in half, gut it, reserve the seeds, and then place them, skin up, in a baking dish with 1/2" of water. I pulled out two 9 x 13 Pyrex baking dishes and placed 1/2" of water in each (there abouts). Then I started cutting into the smaller of the two pumpkins. I got messy by using my hands to sift through the seeds and strings. I reserved the seeds in a collander and then spooned out the "guts" and strings. Just as if I were going to carve Jack a face.

Once the innards were clean, I placed one half of the pumpkin in one dish and the other half in the other dish. The oven had been preheating to 375 degrees. I placed the pumpkin halves on the middle shelf and set the timer for 45 minutes.

This worked very well. When the timer went off, I poked the skin with a fork and it easily punctured the skin and I could tell the flesh was soft. I pulled the dishes out of the oven and let it cool. The skin actually buckled a bit which allowed T and I to have fun peeling it off of the flesh...it was very fascinating to do...like when your friend or significant other has peeling skin from a nasty burn and you want to slowly pull it off for them. Trying to keep it in one sheet! This, too, was so much fun!

What I learned from this process? It makes the dish a complete mess with burn spots in certain places (on the Pyrex) which was kinda a bear to clean. My revision for the larger pumpkin baking? Line the pyrex with foil and still add the 1/2" water (which keeps the flesh moist).




After you cook the pumpkin and it has cooled, either peel the skin or scoop the flesh out with a spoon. It is pretty soft so it comes out fairly easy. I put all the flesh in a bowl...looks like this:




Then I pull out the food processor. In medium batches, I place the flesh in the processor and puree until completely smooth. I don't add anything - no seasonings, no sugar, no nothing. This is just an ingredient to be mixed with different seasonings or other ingredients to make a final product. So keep it plain.

Once pureed, I used a one cup measuring cup to section out the pumpkin in ziplock bags. I did it in one cup measurements so that you only pull out what you need for certain recipes. If you aren't planning on making anything with it in the next week, put the bags in the freezer. They will last up to six months! I learned a trick out of a magazine when it comes to freezing liquids and even soups! Lay the bags flat so that you can "file" them after they are frozen. It saves space AND allows for faster defrosting! To freeze them flat, place in ziplock bags and place them flat on a cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, you can "file" them upright in a plastic basket. I am going to look for a basket for our freezer in the next couple of days. I am planning on making dinners/soups for us for December baby time and plan on freezing them like this. Here is what mine looked like:










I have two 2 cup containers in the fridge ready for the pumpkin pies I am attempting for Halloween night. We are having T's family over for costumes, dinner and trick-or-treating with Tay. I am planning on making a big pot of chili, salad, corn bread and pumpkin pie (homemade other than maybe the crust).

Even with my eye on the pies, I decided that I really wanted to try the fresh pumpkin in SOMETHING and I really wanted to try it tonight. So I found a recipe for pumpkin quick bread. It took only two cups of pumpkin and made two huge loaves. It was a complete and TOTAL success! It is sooo tasty! T says it is better than Starbucks (well, consider the source - biased maybe?) and, I tell ya, a small swipe of cream cheese and SHAZAMMM! Very tasty pumpkin bread!!! I am very proud of myself to see the project from start to finish. The big pumpkin is now part of a pumpkin loaf and yielded a good amount of seeds that we will be toasting for Saturday night pickin's.

Our small pumpkin yielded approx 8 cups of pumpkin puree and the large pumpkin yielded about 12 cups of puree! Pretty cool! Most recipes only call for one to two cups so you can go wild!

The fate of our big pumpkin:






Now THAT'S Jack!!

Speaking of Jack, T found a small Maltese dog in the middle of the road while he was riding his bike before lunch today. With our temperatures dropping to...yes folks...freezing, T decided that we should watch after the dog until we found its owners (at one point, T actually said that he would be ok keeping the dog if no one claimed him...he was really cute and very good). Well, I did a ton of calling and digging to FINALLY find his family. He was finally reunited with his family around 6 this evening. Such good karma...

His name? Jack...

It's been over a year...

Time is funny that way. Sometimes it feels like it is creeping by and sometimes it feels like it is slipping through my fingers. I just realized today that this month (October) marks my one year anniversary of becoming an official housewife (or domestic engineer). It has been an interesting year. I have had tough times adjusting to my new role outside of corporate America and inside the home. I have had to learn to create new success factors that differ greatly from the ones that I strived for in the corporate industry. I have learned patience, cleaning and organizing tips, the importance of scheduling my chores and errands, and, most importantly, how incredibly fortunate I am to be in such a great place in my life.

I think the hardest adjustment is/was adjusting to my new role in general. I think this is still a challenge for me. Not everyday. But it is still something I struggle with from time to time. I have worked full time in some capacity ever since I was 16. My goal was to have a great career, make money and be the biggest and best in the field of my choice. Luckily, I can say that I did accomplish this goal in many ways during my 20's. I was full on career driven and worked my way to a great position in the meeting, event and production industry. My career peak was owning my own company and bringing over high level clients from the company I left to start it. I have worked with big names such as Intel, GE Appliances, Wal-Mart, Arby's and many others. I felt very confident in my abilities and brought in a substantial income.

This leads to success factors. I have always held high standards for myself. I wanted the biggest and best clients. I wanted them to challenge me on out of town events to make me work hard and be a hero for their team. I wanted to make good money and I wanted to be the best at what I did. Those were my success factors. Add in that I worked from home when I owned my business and I believe I can say that I hit many of the success factors that I set for myself.

Being a housewife is a little challenging in this regard. You no longer have a client other than yourself and your husband. Even your own stepdaughter doesn't really give a rats butt what you accomplished for the week. And, really, how hard is it to dust a table or scrub a john? It sure isn't rocket science and it really doesn't lend to a "successful" feeling. Not like the ones I am used to in the corporate world. You know, the client that sends you the awesome "atta boy" about how you saved their ass from certain elimination??

Instead, I now rely on feeling good about accomplishing my chores throughout the week. Fixing dinner every night and hearing T talk about how much he enjoys my cooking and how much he appreciates a clean house has become my new "atta boy" message. Instead of keeping them stored in a file folder in my desk drawer, I try to keep them locked in my brain for those days when I just don't want to think about mopping the damn kitchen floor.

I have definitely learned patience in this new role. Patience with T's expectations (he actually doesn't have many if any at all - therefore, it is probably patience with my perception of T's expectations), patience with my expectations and patience with my anxiety of wanting to get out there and bust some freelance meeting planning ass again! Just as I am human, not everyday is a stellar day for me in the area of patience. I am very hard on myself and expect myself to run circles around this house and make it spotless clean every day of the week - that IS my job, is it not? I NEVER watch TV during the day, I only take a 30 minute break for lunch (and that is when I try to check my useless emails), and I don't stop working until well past 5 PM (punching in at 7 AM or earlier) and not until dinner is cooked, served and cleaned up.

The days that I feel that I fail are the days that I don't get certain chores done that I feel should have been done that day. They aren't in stone anywhere (except maybe my Outlook calendar) but they are in front of me all day. They are in my mind's eye and are the EXACT chores that I MUST get done in order to reach my own success factor that day. I make it a priority to myself and I am my own worst/best critic. If I slack, I feel it. And I will beat myself up over it and work even harder the next day to make up for it.

Being pregnant hasn't helped matters. To be fair, I am sure if I were working at a desk job during this pregnancy, there would be days that I would be slacking in the office as well. You know, sneaking a day of Facebook chatting or taking a long lunch to nap in the car. Especially during the first trimester when I felt like I had the eternal college hangover! I certainly cannot imagine going into the last place I worked feeling like I did then. Especially since I felt so sick just driving to that place when I wasn't pregnant at all!

I feel very fortunate that T and I are in such a great and stable financial place that I can stay home, take care of the house and, eventually, be home to take care of our child. I feel that, part of my role as housewife, is to make the house run as efficient as possible. Reminding T of important appointments, when Tay has a half day at school or when we are to meet friends or family.

Another part of my "job" is to be as cost effective as possible. I clip coupons from the paper, from the internet and I am always looking at fliers for sales. If I am not bringing in an income, my responsibility is to use our one income wisely. This includes cooking with leftovers, buying meat on sale and freezing it for later use, and always being aware of our inventory so that we don't overstock unnecessarily.

A third area of my job is to do research on cleaning and organizing tips. Finding ways to keep the house "sweet," as we call it, without spending a ton of money. Craigs List has become a very familiar site for me. I have put many items on the site and we have made quite a bit of loose cash from it. My contribution to our household funds!

We are very organized with our accounts and have no debt other than the house and, now, the family truckster! This has us living pretty well and not worrying about money. At least not yet. I don't know how a baby will factor in but, with T and I both being the "over the top" organized planners, we are pretty sure that we will be able to tackle the expense of a child pretty well. Especially with his experience of already having a little one!

Looking back, I still have some frustrations and hurt from my last place of employment. It was such a disappointment. I was disappointed in myself for putting so much effort into a team that didn't appreciate it. I was disappointed that I left such a solid job to take one with a small company that I didn't realize was managed so poorly. I was disappointed that I did so much to cover asses that should have remained bare. But everything happens for a reason!

And now, here I am - one year later - blogging about my success in the housewife role. As I slowly learn the ropes of this new position, I am finding that I can be successful here as much as I was in the outside world. I miss planning events but now I plan our week. I plan our menu, our grocery list, our chores and our lives. That's a lot of logistics! I am very lucky to have the best "boss" in the world and it doesn't hurt that he is super cute! And I don't think I have ever felt such appreciation from a manager as I do at this point in my life.

And the appreciation goes BOTH ways. I appreciate his willingness to be the sole supplier in our family. I appreciate his hard work ethic and his dedication to the company he works for. I appreciate his long hours at times and his frequent out of town travels. He works hard, not only because he enjoys what he does, but because he wants the best for our family. This helps me do the best I can to make the house as welcoming, comfortable, clean, organized and smoothly ran so that he can relax in a peaceful environment after a long day.

I appreciate the opportunity to try out the "stay at home Mom" concept. Not many women have that opportunity - although some don't want that opportunity - but those that do, but can't, makes me realize that I am very lucky to be in the position that I am. And I am truly grateful.

I am looking to broaden my horizons over the next year. I may join a book club that Jill is putting together, I am planning on putting together a Bunco group for next year, and I am looking into joining a Mom's Group here in town that also has a Board of Directors and many events to plan...maybe I could help in those areas! But I do want to get out there and be out there. It is very important to me.

So one year down with this new experience and here we are starting a new year with a whole new experience about to take place. I am excited to see how we grow. T and I talk often about how lucky we are that he works from home and I will be a stay at home Mom. He will get to spend as much time as he can when he isn't on a call or answering an email and I will be able to put Cashew in a stroller for a walk through our neighborhood walking trails when baby is screaming and T is on calls. It may not always be easy but it will be nice that we have such flexibility with our schedules. I don't have to worry about when I have to "get back to work" and T (with his Blackberry in tow) can multitask baby and work when needed.

Housewife Year Number One has been one of much adjustment and a learning curve for me but I wouldn't trade the time I have had here at home and with T for anything in the world. I am a very lucky woman and, for the next year (and many years to come), I will continue to appreciate the opportunity - AND THE LOVE - that T has given me (and continues to give me). Our future is bright!

Weekend adventures...

We have started a new "thing" with Tatum.  We have decided that, whenever we have her for a full weekend (which is usually except for this month), we will plan an adventure to somewhere we haven't been.  Last weekend it was Patagonia Lake which is South East of Tucson.  It took us about 1.5 hours to get there.  Can you believe there is an actual lake (with water) in our neck of the woods?  I mean, we have "rivers" in Tucson but they are dirt ditches.  I never have understood that concept coming from a place that has an ACTUAL river with water (that remains all year long!). 

Our conversation definitely turned to the usual.  T's desire for an RV and my desire for a speed boat (for skiing).  I think either or both toys would be great for our lifestyle and for the kids.  Tay proved herself to be a true lake girl so I know she would love it!  This lake would probably be a bit too small for skiiing in my book but there are other lakes that we are going to check out.  And a lake that we found back in the early summer - Lake Roosevelt which is North of Tucson (thus closer to us).  Maybe someday...

In the meantime, we rented a small, aluminum boat with a VERY small motor and paddles!  Tay asked several times, "can this thing go faster Daddy?"  But the small size of the boat and the closeness to the water really helped when she had to hang her fanny over the side for a quick pee break!  Haha!  She is really good at copping a squat - no matter where she is!!  When you gotta go...

The other cool thing was that we ran into a pretty big art festival with live music and rides (you know, the scary carnival rides!!).  We ended up stopping by there on the way out of town.  T and Tay rode the swings...TWICE...much to T's dismay.  He ended up as green as his shirt!  But Tay had a BLAST and so did we! 

Here are some pics from our adventure:
Our picnic at Patagonia Lake


Embroidered table cloth, picnic basket and cloth napkins were wedding gifts from my Dad and Smom


Our view from the picnic area


The adventurers!


From the boat rental marina - the pedestrian bridge over REAL water


Captain T taking his girls out sporting a very fashionable orange vest!


The princesses on the boat


Row faster Daddy! 


Woohoo!  Successful pee break!


A beach with swimming!!


The strangest sight...there were pelicans (at least 8 or 10 that we saw) at this lake!!!!


Hittin' the beach with my sweetie


And cashew's first visit to the lake (29 weeks, 4 days)


Tay lovin' the lake!


Awesome shot!


The infamous swing at the festival...T's stomach was not the same after this...


But Tay LOVED it and hit it twice!


Nothing better for a swing sick belly than some yummy roasted corn!


And what would a festival be without a face painting!?!


The next day was the pumpkin patch.  An even further drive than the lake!  We couldn't believe how far it was...we didn't remember it being that far.  But it is tradition and, other than being pretty wiped out from the previous day, we had a pretty good time. 

First stop, Circle K for a paper, ice tea and a Yoohoo for Tay



Our tats ROCK!  Thanks Grandpa Dan and Grandma Twila for the pumpkin tats!


Farmer Tay looking for peppers


Cashew's first trip to the patch...in utero


CHARGE!


Tay up to her eyeballs in kernels!  Thanks for the cute ponytail holder Grandma Carolyn and Papa John!


The search is on...


Tay next to two pumpkins!!


My loves


The last bit of energy


Long arm of the lens


Looking forward to our next adventure...

Slackin'

I can't believe it is already Friday and I feel like I haven't even TOUCHED a chore all week.  This week just flew by!!  I am going to try and get some of my daily chores done today before T and I have to get ready to pick up Tay.  She has a half day at school today which means we pick her up at 11:30...which means we have to leave by 10:30.  So I really only have about an hour to get something done.  Which probably won't be much.

I was planning on hitting things hard next week starting with ALL chores done on Monday.  However, I just found out that T is off on Monday so we will probably be hanging out together - maybe get more Christmas shopping done?  I guess Tuesday will be my ALL chore day.  I am planning on getting every one of my big chores done on Tuesday so that the rest of the week can be focused on making Christmas gifts.  Wednesday Steph is coming over to help me finish my window treatment sewing project.  That will take most of the day, I'm sure.  So I am left with Thursday and Friday which doesn't give me much time at all.  *Stress*

Do you realize that we are about 11 weeks away from Christmas???  And we want to have everything done before December ever even becomes a "tomorrow".  So I am really trying to bust it out to get everything done.  And I do want to make these items that I keep telling myself I am going to make!  And I will need to bake some things in December as well as make prepared meals for the freezer!!  Wow.  And I thought time was going slow.  Not anymore!  I will be having a beer thirty before I even knew what hit me!!  Which isn't all together a bad thing!

Ok, off to do my dailies.  We will see how much I get done before I have to jump in the shower and put on my SMom hat.  Where did I put that hat, anyway??  =P

To my surprise...

My trip home to Louisville has got me a bit behind on my chores.  And, with the amazing weather we are having (welcome FALL), it has been very hard for me to get my head back into the game! 

I did come home to a BIG surprise!!  T worked hard while I was gone and I couldn't believe my eyes when I returned! 

Our master bath was repainted by yours truly about a year ago.  My goal was to make it the color of "rust" almost so that it would "match" the sconces leading into the bathroom from the bedroom.  Well, the color wasn't quite what I had intended it to be, the gloss factor was not what I had intended and my paint skills are just as horrible as they always have been (and I think I had a few beers while painting as well).  So, as T put it (in the nicest and most loving way possible), it looked like a yak got slaughtered in our bathroom!  We had talked a few times in the past about painting over (or fixing) the mess that I had made.

Well, T did it!  He had enough of the blood soaked walls and made a change.  Here are before pics:







And here are some after!


Check out the awesome new light fixture!!


Another shot of the light fixture which is on a dimmer!


So you can see the metal work better - can you tell I LOVE the light fixture??




A "splash" of color with the rugs.  T impresses me with his impeccable taste!  The "leaves" on the rug really tie into the "nature" posters and other decor in the bathroom.


A new toilet paper holder.  I love it...it is the small things in life!


We are planning on changing the decor on the vanity.  Maybe a stainless vase with stems and more contemporary cotton ball and Q-tip holder.  Maybe some hand towel holders on each side as well.

What a man!!!