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Spooky Life Updates

First of all, in case you missed it, check out my guest post on Elisabeth’s blog yesterday!  I was so excited (and slightly intimidated) when Elisabeth reached out to me… really?  Little old me?  Elisabeth’s blog is incredible, and I’m really happy with how the post came out.  Thanks, Elisabeth!

One of the things that came up in the post is my love of waffles, and someone asked in the comment section for my favorite recipe.  Well… I’m not sure anyone would really want my favorite recipe, but here it is:  two cups of oats, two scoops of protein powder, one banana, two cups of water, salt and cinnamon.  Blend it all up and voila!  Waffle batter.

However, if I really want to live it up, I make this recipe for pumpkin waffles.

YUM!

I still tweaked the recipe- used whole wheat flour, left out the sugar and used stevia instead, and substituted 1/2 cup of coffee… heh heh… for some of the soy milk.  They were so good!  Even my husband liked them, and he’s usually dubious about my “healthified” recipes.

Anyway, on Sunday after I finished my pumpkin latte waffles, I got out the Halloween decorations!

Wait a minute…

My first thought was, “WHO put that Christmas decoration in with the Halloween stuff?”  Then I remembered…

That’s our Snoopy “countdown to Christmas” ornament, and last year on December 26th my son suggested we start the countdown right away.  I explained that the earliest you can set it is October 1st, and he said “Let’s put it in with the Halloween things and start the countdown on October 1st then!”

Of course my son isn’t here to experience the start of the official countdown, but I sent him a picture.

As of October 1st.

Just for the record- I really don’t want to start counting down the days till Christmas, because it reminds me that time is ticking away and eventually it will be December 26th, which is a very, very sad day!  On the other hand, 84 days is a lot.  I love this time of year.

Now that it’s October, I can get out my new Halloween mug…

The last thing in the world I needed is another holiday mug, but I couldn’t resist.  Snoopy!  Purple!  Here’s the other side…

I’ll be drinking lots of tea out of this mug during the month of October.

Are you embracing the spooky season?  Do you like holiday mugs?

Is it too early to start the countdown to Christmas? – Yes.  Yes it is.

 

More Posts

October Ultimate Coffee Date!

Hooray!  It’s the first Friday of the month, which means I’m linking up with Coco and Deborah for the Ultimate Coffee Date.  It’s obviously time to get out the Halloween mugs.  Pour yourself a spooky beverage and join me! The first thing I would tell you over coffee is, tomorrow is my son’s senior recital. We can’t be there in person but will be able to watch it via livestream.  I’m dealing with a cocktail of emotions here: disbelief that he’s a SENIOR in college, nervous for him (I mean, I’m sure he’s well-prepared and will do well, but a mom has to worry), sad that his time at Baylor is coming to an end, and of course- so, so proud of him.  The baby whose nickname was “Li’l Sumo” is now a MAN. So what else is on tap for the weekend?  My husband and I are planning a little at-home “Oktoberfest.”  I’m not quite sure what that will entail, other than beer of course.  My husband is very enthusiastic about the beer- “Let’s make it really cold!  We can get a bucket and put all the beers in it with some ice!”  WHOA THERE.  I’m not sure how many beers he plans on drinking, but my limit is probably 1.5.  We’ll have to have something to eat as well- I’m looking at this website with vegan Oktoberfest recipes. In other news, I got a letter saying that my request to postpone jury duty has been granted.  PHEW!!!  Interestingly, I’ve talked to three people who told me when they get a jury summons, they just throw it away.  They figure since it’s not registered mail, no one can ever prove they got it.  Huh!  Now I’m feeling virtuous about getting out of jury duty the “right” way.  Or, maybe I’m just a fool. Lastly, thanks to everyone who complimented me on fixing my blog.  Unfortunately I did NOT fix it (yet) and the only way it looks “normal” is if I include lots of photos (to make the post long.) Here’s one of me in my element…     What would you tell me over coffee?  Do you have any plans for the weekend?      

Reading and Eating

I finished the Ken Follett Century Trilogy!!!  Fall of Giants covered WWI, Winter of the World continued with WWII, and The Edge of Eternity starts in the 1960s. One thing I loved about these books is it showed me the continuity between these events.  I used to think of WWII as something that happened in the past, whereas events in the 1960s and 1970s were in more “modern” times.  Now I understand more the connection between WWI, WWII, the Cold War, Vietnam, and the events leading to the fall of communism. Edge of Eternity focuses mostly on the children and grandchildren of the original characters from Fall of Giants.  It was fascinating that a young man who fought in WWI, if he lived to a ripe old age, would also live through the Cold War.  There were characters in the book who endured Nazi Germany, WWII, the Soviet occupation of East Germany, and then saw the Berlin Wall come down.  It was incredibly moving to me that Black people who fought for Civil Rights in the 1960s could live to see Barack Obama elected president. I will say that, while I was reading it, Edge of Eternity was my least favorite of the three books, and I’m still trying to figure out why.  The first two focused heavily on Europe, and in Edge the focus shifted to the United States and Soviet Union.  There was a lot of detail about politics in the US, and while it was interesting, the story bogged down a little for me.  JUST A LITTLE!  I still enjoyed it, but whereas with the first two books, I didn’t want them to end, with Edge, I was kind of looking forward to finishing it. Then… I actually finished it, and the ending was so good that I cried.  There was an epilogue, which I was initially annoyed to see- I mean, the ending was perfect, what’s with this epilogue?  But then the epilogue also made me cry.  You guys- it was so good and I’m so glad I read these books.  I’ll be thinking about them for a long, long time. It was hard to move on to anything else, but I had to forge ahead.  I have some library books to get through, so I started this one: So far, so good!  I’m not very far into it, but I’m enjoying it. Eating-wise, I continued the pumpkin theme with some pumpkin oatmeal.  No special recipe- I just add a couple dollops of pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice to my regular oatmeal. For dinner on Sunday, I went to Nora Cooks and browsed through her “Fall Recipe” section.  I ended up making Butternut Squash Curry With Chickpeas. It was good!  The only problem was, I should have doubled the recipe.  I like my Sunday dinner to also feed us on Monday, and I should have known one can of chickpeas wasn’t going to do that.  My daughter wasn’t a fan of the squash, but she’s obviously insane.  You cube the squash and roast it, and add it to the curry at the end- it was delicious. I’ll echo Engie’s recent question- what was the last book that made you cry?   What are you reading now?

A New Month

It’s October!  Time to get out the Halloween decorations- how exciting. Like many others, I’m looking forward to the Girl Next Door Fall Extravaganza episode for 2024.  While I’m waiting, I’ve been amusing myself by listening to their old ones.  One thing I love about these episodes is, Kelsey and Erica live in Arizona. Arizona weather is not Florida weather, but there are similarities.  Mainly that neither place has a true “fall.”  While the rest of the country is (hopefully) experiencing beautiful, crisp fall days, we’re still sweltering in the heat. In this episode from 2016, Kelsey and Erica talked about how they adjusted to fall in the desert.  They went through stages of denial, acceptance, and said they are now living in an alternate reality where it IS fall, dammit, because I say so!  That’s the way I feel- I put up my decorations and light a candle, so therefore it’s fall. Switching out my decorations (fall to Halloween, to Thanksgiving, to Christmas) also helps make one month distinct from another.  In Florida, we pretty much have two seasons: Summer, and SuperSummer.  There’s definitely a difference between January and July, but still- most days in January you can still walk around in shorts and a tank top. There are many times that I temporarily have no idea what month it is.  I know we all have those moments, but I doubt most people up north get confused between summer and winter.  In the absence of external cues, it’s important to me to make one season distinct from the next.  Otherwise time slips by much, much too fast. In this week’s Best Laid Plans podcast, SHU discussed how she marks the start of a new month,  One of the things she does is switch her screen backgrounds.  I like that!  I’m going to switch the photo on my phone, and I’m thinking of using this “terrifying” one of Charlotte… Hee hee… actually, she was yawning.  But she looks ferocious.  Here she is looking like her beautiful self: Magical black cats really do guard my home this month! Do you decorate for Halloween? Do you feel like you need to do something to make your months distinct, or does it naturally happen where you live?  

Weekly Rundown

It was a great week!  That is, if you like heat, humidity, and hurricanes.  (If you don’t like those things, don’t come to Florida in September!)  Here in South Florida we’re sending love to those in the panhandle who got pummeled- while being grateful that we were spared this time.  As always, I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah (thanks, ladies!) for this Weekly Rundown.  Let’s just see how it all went down… Sunday 6 miles on the trail!  The first mile was walking, then 5 miles running.  It was hot, sticky, parts of the trail were overgrown and there were biting flies.  But I loved it. Monday Leg day at the gym!  Here’s how I found the squat racks: BOTH racks had heavy weights left on the bars.  Why do people do this???  I didn’t feel like dealing with it, so I went over to use an older squat rack in the corner.  Once again I avoided deadlifts because of my cranky low back, but did squats, some single leg balance exercises, and abs. Tuesday I continued my cautious every-other-day running schedule.  Today I walked half a mile and ran 2.5. I followed this with a MadFit standing core workout. Wednesday It was a strength day at home- upper body, Caroline Girvan deadbugs, and hip stability exercises. At 5 pm we got a call that school was canceled the next day because of the hurricane.  Wait, what?  This was the first I heard of Hurricane Helene (I really should start watching the news more.) In my defense, it wasn’t on track to hit us, but we still had a tropical storm warning. Thursday The good news was, since there was no school, I was able to sleep in a little and run in the daylight.  The bad news was, we had pockets of horrendous weather, and one of them happened during my run.  Wind, driving rain, and thunder and lightning in the distance.  I did 3 miles and then hightailed it back home- and as soon as I got there it started to clear up. I followed this with the MadFit standing core workout- except I didn’t realize it was a different one.  Apparently MadFit has at least two standing core workouts.  I like them both! Friday I was very proud of myself for getting to the gym twice this week for leg day.  This time I did squats and deadlifts.  My low back is still achy, but I just decided to carry on. Saturday 5 miles!  Well, the first half mile was walking, and then I ran 4.5.  I’m getting there… slowly but surely. Sunday On tap for the day- sleeping in and waffles!  I’ve decided to shift my “long” runs to Wednesdays (a day off from work.) Obviously there will be football as well, although the Dolphins play Monday night.  I’ll find a game or two to watch. How was your week?  Any “interesting” weather?  

44 Responses

  1. I’m going to say it is too early to start the countdown to Christmas and I will be ignoring Christmas until after I celebrate my birthday in early December.

    Halloween isn’t really a big thing in Australia although over the last few years there’s been more and more people getting into it, probably partly by it being pushed by shops.

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    1. My son’s birthday is December 8th, and when he was little we always used to hold off on Christmas till after his birthday. Now December 8th seems soooo late!

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  2. Doh! In all the excitement of getting Elisabeth back, I forgot to subscribe to her new blog. I’ve been missing out! But no longer.

    I feel like I need to try your waffle recipe. I’ve got all of the ingredients. I’m more of a savory breakfast person, but every once in a while I like to branch out.

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  3. What a great idea with the Snoopy countdown! Will your son be visiting any time soon?

    Ha, yes, it’s definitely too early for anything wintery! I don’t want to see anything Christmas-related before 1 November.
    Halloween isn’t a big thing in Europe, but, as Melissa said, it’s being pushed for commercial reasons.

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    1. My son will be home for Thanksgiving!!!
      Since we don’t get winter weather here, I have no problem thinking about “winter” holidays early.

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  4. I make a similar waffle recipe (oat-based) and it’s soooo good. Now I have a hankering for them. Maybe supper sometime this week?

    It was so fun to have you guest post and I’m so happy and honoured you were willing to do it <3

    As you know, I'm not really "into" Halloween. I put up a few decorations but that is it. CHRISTMAS IS MY THING. I just love Christmas but, like you, find December 26th through to even mid-January pretty brutal. Coming down off the high of my favourite season is hard. But it's still worth it. I like to start thinking about Christmas things after Remembrance Day (11 November here in Canada). It feels most appropriate to me at that point, but I do find I'm starting to decorate earlier and earlier. I have done nothing with purchasing gifts, though – but I'm hoping to be more minimalistic with purchases this year?

    Gah. Speaking of gift purchases, writing that last sentence reminded me that it's almost my husband's birthday and have nothing = either in terms of plans or gifts. Sigh.

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    1. Oh I know- we should have some sort of plan for December 26- mid-January, although I don’t know what that would be. I agree with you- it’s worth it though.
      Good luck with John’s birthday! It’s around this time of year that I start to think about Christmas gifts, but so far I haven’t done anything about it.

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  6. I am so happy that your waffles are gluten free. I love waffles and pancakes and french toast but lately they have not loved me….so sad, but I am always looking for alternatives and this is a good one! I will have to try it soon!

    I have to admit, although I am probably in the minority here, that holidays are not that exciting for me. My Mom is a Christmas ambassador, and she makes her own ornaments and decorations and my parents have a huge day putting everything up, and that is very fun, but I don’t really decorate personally. Do you all hate me now? Maybe I am just lazy or maybe I figure my Mom does enough for two of us… either way, I will live vicariously through all of you!

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    1. Ha ha, I know other people who feel the same way. I doubt anyone hates you! Your life is definitely more simple (and you’re saving a ton of money.) It sounds like you get enough Christmas from your parents (who sound awesome, by the way!)

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  7. I love your Snoopy mug!
    My husband gave all of our outdoor decorations to our old neighbour in Calgary, the one he used to compete with for best house, and the neighbour has been sending us updates. Their house looks great and I’m so glad he’s carrying on the tradition! We won’t get any trick-or-treaters out here in the middle of nowhere, but I am planning to host a costume party! So that will be fun. And yes, I am thinking about Christmas too!

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    1. Oh, I love the story of your husband and his rival neighbor! I’ll bet the neighbor’s house is looking pretty amazing.
      Since I have a deep fear of hosting parties, I’ll have to live vicariously through you- I hope you post photos of yours!

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  8. I am in deep denial that Christmas is anywhere near. Heck, it’s still in the 80s around here, so it must be summer (fall colors and falling leaves not withstanding). But I love your Snoopy mug!

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  9. Oh yea, now I remember you had a thing for Christmas! I love how you sneak it into Halloween! But countdown to Christmas is way too early! Although here I bet that if Halloween wasn’t in the way, they would totally start advertising Christmas in the shops.
    I usually try to embrace the spooky season and prep costumes for the Halloween music session in the pub, but not this year since we’ll be in Italy most of October. But Halloween is huge here… obviously, since Halloween/Samhain originated here.
    I like your waffle recipe. I’ve been looking for ways to make protein waffles but have been too lazy to try any. How important is the banana? I’m definitely no fan of bananas (unless you eat them in their natural state).

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    1. You could use applesauce or pureed pumpkin instead of the banana! I’ve done that. I would add a little extra sweetener then.

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  10. We are having an unseasonably warm streak right now, so the Halloween decorating has been put off until I can stand being outside for longer than ten minutes. BUT. It’s going to cool down by the end of the week and I’m going to bust out our decorations and we’ll be all in.

    I am very impressed with the Snoopy ornament in the Halloween decorations idea. That’s some real forward thinking.

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    1. Well, to be honest I haven’t put up the outdoor lights yet- I just couldn’t get myself to do it in the heat. But I can’t wait too long for it to cool down here, because Halloween will be over. I’m planning to do it this weekend.

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  12. I’m not ready for Halloween, much less Christmas! I’ll have to pull out the giant spiders I decorate the house with. I do love October because of the trail challenge I participate in!

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    1. Okay, giant spiders sound appropriately creepy. And, I like October because I get to hear all about your trail challenge.

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  13. I love Christmas but I don’t love decorating for it/thinking about it until probably mid-November. It’s still in the 90s here which barely feels like fall, let alone Christmas!

    I am loving pumpkin things though and your waffles look so good! It’s been too long since I made my own waffles so I may have to try these.

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    1. The waffles really are good- and if you made the recipe exactly without substitutions, I bet they would be amazing.
      Yes, it’s still hot here. I know they’re getting a big cool down in Texas this weekend- will you get one as well?

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  14. We have been slowly easing out our Halloween decorations, as well, and begun the search for our Christmas Eve matching pajamas (always a negotiation across the 3 of us)! We use holiday mugs year-round – my daughter’s favorite mug is a BELIEVE one she received at her drama school’s holiday sing-a-long and my guy’s is a Mother’s Day “Save your drama for your LLAMA” one I received a few years ago (mainly for how much coffee it holds). My mug is a Anna and Elsa Frozen mug that my girl got me for my birthday when she was 4 (because if she loved Frozen, we ALL loved Frozen, haha)!

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  15. I’m not a huge fan of Halloween but Fall is my favorite season of the year. My friends make fun of me because of my love for all things Fall, especially anything pumpkin flavored, lol. That being said, I need the “crazy pumpkin lady” mug Hahaha.

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    1. Yes, you need that mug! Unfortunately I can’t tell you where to get it- my sister gave it to me as a gift years ago.

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  16. This time of the year does always seem to fly by and is super busy. I am trying to start planning for Thanksgiving because we will have a house full of people again-just the way I like it

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  17. Your waffle recipe sounds like it might be good…I haven’t had waffles in ages. I liked your guest post over at Elisabeth’s place!

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    1. Thank you! By the way I’m reading your Alaska posts but I’m too late to comment- I’ll comment on one of your more recent ones.

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  18. I’m very behind on blogs since I have been extra busy but I am looking forward to reading your guest post on Elisabeth’s blog! I love your snoopy mug. It is so cute! We don’t have much Halloween decor. I intend to buy one thing each year in the coming years to grow my collection. If it was up to me, we’d have a skeleton on our front porch bench. But that is not Phil’s kind of thing. 😉 I love all the outdoor decorations we see on walks!!

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    1. It took me many years to build up my Halloween decor, and I still don’t have a ton compared to some people. I put up outdoor lights and hand some ghosts and skulls from the palm trees. Then I have a fair amount of indoor decorations which I really enjoy!

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  19. How fun! I’m glad you have decorated for Halloween. I decorated in SEPTEMBER, lol, because I was just ready for some festivity in my apartment even if it was 90+ degrees outside.

    I am NOT ready for a Christmas countdown just yet. But I have started thinking about gift ideas…

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  20. I am LATE on getting my fall and Halloween decor out and up!! I guess I have a good excuse- I would have done it this past weekend for sure, but with getting the PUPPY, well, I didn’t. Trying to get boxes of stuff out that he would inevitably get all into would have been a mess. Usually I put up some of my “fall” decor in mid-late September. I used to always do it on a Friday afternoon/evening with the boys, around Sept 22nd or so. Then anytime after October 1st would be fair game for getting the Halloween/ spooky stuff up. But I just totally haven’t this year! All I have up is my basic outdoor decor (but not my Halloween lights- just the mums, a few pumpkins and my fall door wreath). At this point I’m almost like, ugh, should I just skip the rest this year?! It’s been so nuts with family and now the dog… should I just pass this time?? But I do love how my house looks all decorated, too…. hmm. I’m just very behind on everything (including blogging and blog commenting, obviously, haha). We’ll see! Love your mug!! Happy halloweening Jenny!!

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    1. Ha, it’s almost like you have a toddler- and I might choose to skip decorating if I had a toddler! That’s okay- a puppy is better than decorations.

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  21. Oh, as a fellow mug lover, I love your new mug. I was tempted to buy a ghost mug at Target last weekend but I didn’t… (I did order another non-seasonal mug on the Internet though. Psst, don’t tell anyone).

    Your talking about waffles really made me crave waffles and I might make some next weekend. I am super-intrigued by your substituting of 1/2 of coffee for soymilk.

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  22. I… have never liked pancakes or waffles or (bleargh) French toast. Yours, however, sound like waffles-that-aren’t-waffles. I’d actually make them with pumpkin or unsweetened applesauce, because the idea of a savory waffle is more appealing to me.
    Yes, I am weird. 😉
    I am not a holiday person, but I love your Snoopy items. Are you a big fan??

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    1. So you’re not a pancake, waffle, or holiday person- hmmmm! But, we do have Peanuts in common. I LOVED Peanuts growing up, I read all the books and watched all the movies. So I still have a soft spot for any Peanut-related items. Now that I think of it, we do have a lot of Peanuts holiday decor (shower curtains, tree decorations.) And the kids and I always watch the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving movie, and OF COURSE we watch the Peanuts Christmas special every year (“That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!”) Yes, I love them.

      Reply

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