Boo!

We baked up our annual batch of ghost cookies, a tradition from my childhood. But this year, instead of using store-bought cookie dough, we made the delicious sugar cookie recipe from Brian's great-grandma. Call it a blending of family pastimes.

And, yes, they were scary good.

Another silly Lily

We had our annual newsroom trick-or-treat event at work today. Here's one of my favorite costumed cuties, Lily the Ladybug. There were so many adorable kids: a cowgirl, Statue of Liberty, sunflower, more bugs, ninjas.

Silly lily

Around our house, this weird little dog is our Silly Lilly:


But I don't think our confused day lily realizes that today is Oct. 29th:

Belle Plaine beautiful

Tonight was the second annual fall book club meeting at the Belle Plaine Arboretum, hosted by the lovely and gracious Robin. The weather was chilly and wonderful, and it was such a nice, relaxing evening with friends.

We had an outdoor fire, sunshine, a fun discussion of "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls, tons of tasty food, including chili dogs, deviled eggs, pumpkin bread and S'mores. There was a random "Sound of Music" sing along, too. Very entertaining. I also learned that my friend Denise is willing to pay $20 to watch a high school video of Brian and me singing "I Am 16 Going on 17" as Rolfe and Leisel. Maybe I should have a showing and make some money off this!

It seemed most people liked "Glass Castle," which is a fascinating memoir. The author writes about her childhood and her parents, who are dually brilliant and reckless when it comes to their children. You almost feel ashamed being entertained by their story. But I'd highly recommend the book. Walls is a very talented writer. On the other hand, another book I finished this morning, "Best Friends" by Martha Moody, is probably the worst book I've read all year. It's a novel with a bizarre story line that just droned on and on about 200 pages too long. I'm the kind of reader who likes to finish a book before I form my opinion of it completely. I'd say don't waste your time.

Pumpkin paradise

Late this morning, I cajoled my "baby punkin" (a term of endearment Amanda uses regularly to refer to her beau) to join me for a pumpkin spice latte and a trip to the pumpkin patch. He eagerly agreed, thanks to two reasons: (1) the Chiefs don't play this afternoon; (2) we need pumpkins in order to carve jack-o'-lanterns in time for Halloween.










This afternoon, I also whipped up a new pumpkin recipe (picking up on a theme yet?) that I'm going to bring to book club this afternoon: Pumpkin-Spice Spread. The recipe is from Pillsbury, but I added the brown sugar and doubled the amount of pumpkin because it didn't taste nearly pumpkin-pie-like for me. I'm going to serve it with cinnamon graham cracker sticks. Here's my adapted recipe:

Pumpkin-Spice Spread

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Beat cream cheese, pumpkin and sugar. Stir in everything else. Top with more pecans. Fat and calorie count purposely omitted. (You're welcome.)

Sweet blazes

"Change is in the air. It shakes the leaves and shakes the soul. It opens a window not only in the house but in potentially any area of life. Anything can happen."
-- Annie Calovich, The Wichita Eagle


The leaves on the trees in my neighborhood are finally turning. And they're beautiful. If only our silver maples would do the same ...

We didn't plan this, part 11

This week's matchy-matchy examples are somewhat disturbing.

On Thursday, Theresa and Sherry, the top dogs calling the shots in the newsroom, came dressed in uniform. The similarity was quite bizarre ...







And today, my boss Lori and I followed suit.

Two complete coincidences or wardrobe displays of power? Hmm ...

Which is better: Waffles or pancakes?

After an hour of power yoga tonight, Brian and I enjoyed breakfast for dinner. And since it's my week to cook (we alternate the responsibility of choosing meals, making a shopping list and cooking), waffles won. Unfortunately, our joke of a premarital counseling session didn't uncover the one major flaw in our compatibility: Brian prefers pancakes.

My love of waffles began during childhood, when Dad almost every Saturday cooked crisp, tasty waffles for breakfast. Jenny, Mandy and I would sit around the kitchen table, ready for the next hot and crispy disc to finish cooking on the waffle iron. Dad could hardly keep up: Sometimes we'd each have two! A creative breakfast chef, Dad would surprise us often: He'd use chocolate milk instead of white or top them with Neapolitan ice cream or peanut butter and bananas.

Tonight, I added some multi-grain waffle mix to good ol' Bisquick and served the waffles with a sauce I sort of made up. It had a cooked Braeburn apple, golden raisins, cider and some secret spices. Mmmm!

So, I want to know: Are you a fan of waffles or pancakes? And puh-leeze don't tell me you like both. Take a stand. Speak your mind. And if you say you prefer pancakes, I promise to still be your friend. I'm still married to Brian, after all ...

All that and a bag of Meow Meow

Why do pets love the cheapest toys? And why do pet owners keep buying toys nonetheless?


And who let the cat out of the bag?

It rocked

I met members of Kutless, one of my favorite Christian rock bands, last night after a concert with them and Aussie singers Newsboys at CII last night. Brian and I went with Tony & Nicole, and it was a great show. It was fun, powerful and entertaining. I loved it.

One of the coolest parts was when the Newsboys drummer's platformed tipped 90 degrees while he was playing a solo and spun in circles like a carnival ride. You've got to watch this video, which I found on YouTube from a concert earlier on the band's tour:

Flower power

Between cinnamon rolls and the Chiefs game today, Brian and I planted crocus, daffodil and tulip bulbs in a couple of our gardens in the front yard. We hope our work will pay off in the spring and early summer, as we've had mixed results with bulbs in the past.

Dakota, who was in the backyard while we were working, really wanted to join us out front:


When we were through, Tony & Nicole stopped by to pick up Nanook and Roxy and to deliver a thoughtful thank you gift for watching their furry pair. A perk: The ribbon from the gift looks really cute on Lilly:

Ground buffalo, anyone?

Brian and I had a dinner/KU game watching party with our parents this evening. Our still-undefeated KU Jayhawk football team beat the Colorado Buffalos 19-14 in Boulder.

On our dinner menu tonight? Grilled buffalo burgers. So appropriate, no?

Here are Mom & Meow Meow, Janice & Brian and Dad & me:












We were cheering and hollering so much during the game that we riled up the four dogs. They were freaking out, so we let them play tug-of-war with an old towel. It was hilarious. Yep. We're easily amused.

Dog day afternoon

Roxy and Nanook are staying with us this weekend. Look how much Nanook has grown since he shacked up with us last time:

Today

Aug. 14th

The dogs are all playing together and running all over our yard and house while we try to complete our Saturday chores. They're such a distraction, though. It's much more fun to play with them:

We didn't plan this, part 10

Reasons why I love October: pumpkin pancakes (I've already had them twice at IHOP in the last month), pumpkin bread (like the homemade loaf I purchased from a local corn maize) and pumpkin beer (yummy spicy flavor of cinnamon and cloves).

I also love pumpkin colors, including this knit shirt that I break out in October. Bonnie must've been thinking the same thing!

Tabling plans

Tonight I was Grandma's guest at an event called "Gather 'Round the Table" at East Heights United Methodist Church. The fundraiser event for United Methodist Open Door and Watoto was for women, who were "hostesses" of tables that they decorated in various themes. Grandma and Janice had a table they dubbed "Stitches in Time." We set it with Grandma's china, which she inherited from a relative, an heirloom Singer, family heirloom handwork, recent quilts, family photos, a collection of thimbles from several generations of Brian's family and more:











The other guests at the table were Aunt Lynn, Janice's good friend Chari and Chari's mother, Fay. We ate dinner, enjoyed each other's company and heard a speech by Rev. Kate Moorehead, the pastor at St. James Episcopal Church in Wichita. She was incredibly inspiring and spoke, among other things, about how women should not doubt their power and potential. I purchased her book "Between Two Worlds: Daily Readings for Advent."

The evening was especially meaningful to me because it meant so much to Grandma, who is scheduled to have surgery on her broken hip next week. She told her surgeon that she didn't want to have it before the dinner because it was so important to her. Pretty amazing ...

Meow Meow says relax

My silly kitty loves my yoga mat. (The mat and its coordinating yoga blocks have the kitty bite marks to prove it.) Whenever I unroll it for an evening stretch, she crawls right on. I shoo her away while I'm in Staff Pose. But she curls up next to me. She purrs against my ankle when I'm in Proud Warrior. She meows when I'm in meditative poses. I should be more understanding: I'm sure she needs the evenings to unwind from her long, demanding days of endless napping.


Can you say Downward Facing Cat?

Sweet suite

When I was telling several friends about my weekend trip today, they were interested in the place Brian and I like to stay in Overland Park. It's called Holtze Executive Village, and many people don't know about it. For about the same price as staying in a Comfort Inn-type place, you can get a king suite with a bedroom, living room (with a flat screen TV and fireplace), kitchenette, dining room and nice bathroom with a huge tile tub. In the morning, they offer buffet-style breakfast with employees serving. Very nice. The decor is tasteful and fairly neutral. One of my hotel pet peeves is bright, garish colors everywhere. Yuck.

Fun football weekend

It was time for our annual football road trip, so Brian and I packed our jerseys and headed north this weekend to cheer on two of our favorite teams:


Saturday afternoon, Memorial Stadium
Final score: KU Jayhawks 58, Baylor Bears 10






















We met up with Brian's brother Eric and his buddies and waited out the thunderstorm that delayed the KU kickoff 90 minutes. (Thank God for goofy golf to help pass the time!) David, Eric's college roommate, was visiting from Chicago with his wife, Carrie, and their 11-month-old son, Murphy. It was Murf's first time to tailgate. He must have loved it: He smiled the entire time.

After the game, Brian and I hit Mass Street, the Lawrence hot spot with bars, restaurants and shops. We saw two familiar faces: Our Wichita friend Teresa and her sister, Laura, in town from Dallas. Then it was off to dinner in KC and dessert from the Cheesecake Factory.



Sunday afternoon, Arrowhead Stadium
Final score: KC Chiefs 27, Cincinnati Bengals 20









We tailgated again with Eric and his friends. Then we hiked up to the nosebleed section, where we did the wave and watched the game (mostly through our binoculars).

Good food, good games, good company, great weekend.