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Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Adventuring!

Last Friday, My Little Family went on an "ADVENTURE!" (That's what we tell Little Leighton any time we hop in the car. She loves "adventuring.") We took LL to the Dallas Arboretum to see their incredible pumpkin display and pumpkin VILLAGE. Yes, you read right -- village. They have little "houses" made out of pumpkins and gourds! It's so much fun. The weather was lovely. My Little Leighton Pumpkin loved every second.

I wanted to share a few pictures with y'all that I took with my fancy-schmancy camera I think I've used maybe one other time. Oops. I've been hoping I'll just magically learn how to work it. I can turn it off and on. That's about the extent of my camera knowledge.










If y'all are in the area and have an opportunity to visit the Arboretum, we highly recommend it!

Happy Pumpkin-ing!

Saturday, October 12, 2013

shut all the doors...

…not just the front one...

 Let me explain:

“My name is ELC. And I’m a sugarholic.”
Guess I’ve known this for about 49 of my 59 years. I’m not proud of this addiction. I’m grateful not to have some other addictions. Truly. But this is not a good one. Every morning I get up and tell myself I’m going to minimize my sugar intake. (Trying none at all really is my only hope. Haven't succeeded in that endeavor very often.) Five out of seven nights a week I go to bed mad at my weakness.

I got home from two days at TLC’s casa around noon yesterday. Unloaded my car and then had to run to town to pick up two flats of pansies (One of my most favourite bedding/potting plants because My Sweet Nana adored them.) I’d bought from a friend’s daughter. A fundraiser for her school. I also needed to run into a drug store to return/exchange a broken mascara (The wand was, as I told the cute little Assistant Manager fella, “wonky” and didn’t work right. Y'all know I can't have this problem. TLC and I spend way too much time and effort finding the best mascaras made for the best prices. Not working properly is not an option for moi.).
After taking care of both of these errands, I should have headed straight home. Instead, I decided I needed a large VCZ (Vanilla Coke Zero). From Sonic. Would you believe My Sweet Hubby’s truck veered, instead, into a McDonald's? Why? I don’t know. (Let me admit this: I also have a sort-of-controllable junk food addiction. More controllable than my sugar addiction. I’ve always liked McDonald’s. Yes, occasionally, I’ll stay away. For a few weeks or even a few months. Worried the news’ reports about their meat, etc., might be accurate. But Big Macs? Yes, please. Grilled Onion Cheeseburgers? Absolutely. I can’t make myself apologize for this.)

While waiting in the Drive-Thru line, I noticed a new McFlurry flavor. Well, new to me. Pralines and Cream. Wwwhhhhaaaaatttttt? Pralines and Cream? Since I’d had a chicken sandwich on the way home with NO FRIES or TOTS, I made the decision I could have six bites of what sounded like a heavenly treat. (The pretty picture ad by the order-speaker said a snack-sized Pralines and Cream had 500 calories. 500. Calories. Sheesh.)

I did it. Also ordered a large Diet Coke. Clearly, I had no shame.

The first bite I took—as I drove away from the window—was amazing. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was one of the yummiest bites of an ice cream concoction I’ve had in a very, very, VERY long time. Especially one that didn't have any chocolate in it.

I decided I could eat a third of it. Then it became half. Did I manage half? Ha. Right. And then we all woke up. I practically licked the cup clean. Shut All the Doors!!! It was totally beyond exquisite.

{When TLC reads this, she’ll be a tidbit shocked and majorly disappointed in me. I’d lost ten pounds (that I’d gained back from my original 20-pound loss two years ago) recently. However, I’ve been back up five for three-ish weeks. She’s had to listen to my constant whining and complaining about my lifetime of dieting. She’ll be a little hurt, on my behalf, for my lack of self-discipline. We both can be a little too judge-y of each other. After her initial reactions, she’ll remember she went to her favourite local ice cream shop yesterday afternoon and had a cup of Heath custard. Okay, yes, she's lost more than her baby weight gain, at this point. She weighs what she did in her early high school years. I'm hugely proud of her. Possibly a little jealous. But I think she’ll understand.}

Today I’m doing my best to recover from my unfortunate slip in strength and good sense. So far, so good. True. It's barely past noon here in North Central Texas. I can only hope and pray this confession will be good for my soul. And scales. That tonight I get in bed not angry at myself, but proud.

Y’all have a Sweet Saturday—full of happiness, joy, fun, laughter and, what the heck, maybe even a few sprinkles of sugar—Wherever in the World you are…

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Tuesday with TLC...

It's fall, y'all!

Hallelujah. This past weekend in Texas actually brought cooler temperatures, too. In fact, it was downright "brrr-cold." I. LOVED. EVERY. SECOND.

Last week, Little Leighton and I ventured out to Trader Joe's. This is only the second time I've been to one. Hubby and I shopped around the one in Santa Fe. Let me tell you what -- they are quite charming! And have you tried their "Speculoos Crunchy Cookie Butter?" One word: WOWZER. I officially have ELC addicted now, too. Just schmear a little (a lot?) on an English muffin. We call that the "Breakfast of Champions."

ELC only thought she could keep my pumpkin mentions to a minimum. I'm here to prove her wrong! That's right! It's time for a PUMPKIN RECIPE. These are delicious and easy-peasy muffins. I'm sure you've seen the recipe floating around Pinterest. Do yourself a favor and make these STAT. (And maybe even spread a little Cookie Butter on them. For good measure.)

3-Ingredient Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Muffins
recipe via Mix and Match Mama


1 box of Spice Cake Mix
1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin puree
1 cup of chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 12-count muffin tin with cupcake liners.
In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix with canned pumpkin and work it with a spoon. The batter will be pretty thick. Once the batter has been combined, stir in your chocolate chips.
Fill your muffin liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for about 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool in the pan 5 minutes before removing (and devouring).


And what would a fall-ish post be without a "seasonally appropriate photo" of My Little Pumpkin:

BOO!

Chow for Now!

Sunday, October 6, 2013

twittergram...

It’s a BEAUTIFUL Sunday in North Central Texas! At our country casa yesterday, we had half an inch of rain. Unfortunately, we’re still in severe draught conditions. So we’ll take that with grateful hearts.

Today I’m puttering. CeeCee and I are going to a wedding in the Stockyards (near downtown Ft. Worth) later this afternoon. I’m piddlin’. In my home office. Paying bills. Wishing I had the incentive to do filing. For me, filing papers and getting my desk organized is like dusting: very futile. Sigh.

My Sweet Hubby (MSH) recently joined Twitter! (TLC signed me up a few months ago. I still don’t understand it. Post something maybe every two to three weeks. At one point, I had seven Followers. I’m down to four. I try not to take that too personally. I won't lie: It's sometimes sad.) Our third (of four) sons helped him sign up a few weekends ago. I was at TLC's for a couple of days and I'm fairly certain they were bored. Anyway, MSH has informed TLC and me that he has no intention of ever posting anything. Never. We’ll see.
 
He also cracked us up when he asked TLC to explain “hashtags.” She tried. He looked at her with mostly a blank stare. When she’d felt like she’d done the best she could, he quietly and calmly said: “I don’t like them. I don't like them one bit.” (That evening, and all the next day, TLC and I used hashtags every time we sent him a text-message. #wecrackourselvesup)

And I am now officially on Instagram (is that spelled right?)!  As of yesterday. Which is ironic. Since I don’t know how to post pictures on this little ole’ blog we’ve had for getting close to three years. I do know how to post pictures on Facebook. So maybe it won’t be too complicated for moi. Mostly I just want to follow TLC and Friends. She’s got some positively Fabulous Friends that have cute, cute, CUTE kids. Not to mention they’re all very creative and wonderfully witty.

So there you go. At 69 and 59, respectively, MSH and I are getting too smart for our britches. We’re bordering on the verge of being close to understanding High Tech Thingies. I’m sure y’all are tres impressed, right?

Have a Sweet Sunday…Wherever in this (sometimes cRaZy and often sCaRy) World you are, Silly Friends!

p.s.: If you'd like to follow me on Twitter (have very low expectations, of course, and please, please, PLEASE don't unfollow me because my self-esteem is currently low-ish), here you go: @theleightons327