Scarecrow fun...

 

The Perfect Evening

Stuffing mushrooms

What do you get when you combine a slow cooked dinner simmered to perfection, a good bottle of wine, and the enjoyment of an open fire outside on a cool Fall evening? You get the perfect end to a long lonely week. Sitting outside on my patio brought all my positive feelings about this home to fruition. The dancing flames and the bright stars made all of my stress melt away. What gives me even greater peace of mind is knowing there will be many more evenings such as this one and I have someone dear to share them with.

2010 Late Night in the Phog

 

 

"So this is what it looks like when Skittles throw up."

Everyone says I am crazy for letting Gen do this to her room but 1. It's only paint, 2. the finished product actually looks pretty cool (if you are a pre-teen girl), and 3. she promised that wherever she is when I sell this house, she would come back and help me paint over this monstrosity. Most importantly this is what she wanted and it makes her happy. That's good enough for me.

I am downright giddy today for a multitude of reasons. One of which is that my mom is coming to visit today to deliver some Halloween decorations for the girls and to see our new place. Tomorrow would have been dad's 68th birthday and I know that is one reason mom is coming to visit. She silently mourns the 22nd of every month saying, "Well you know what today is don't you?" since that is the day of the month dad passed away. I refuse to acknowledge that fact every month; it's just too much and I wish she didn't either. It's just ironic that he was born on that day as well. My dad loved this time of year. We loved spending our Sunday afternoons watching football on TV and yelling at the officials. The last game we watched together was an Alabama game; right before the SEC Championship. Another reason I'm giddy is I received my confirmation yesterday and all the arrangements are made for December to go to Nashville to watch the Titans. Absolutely nothing compares to the South during the holiday season and I can't wait to get back down there and soak it up. As far as 10-22-2010, there will be celebrating, reflecting, and some sadness. Unfortunately, it is all in the process of moving forward and I am so thankful to have the months ahead to look forward to.

In the past five months I have packed and unpacked two houses. I am so ready to tear down all these cardboard boxes and put them in storage for a very long time. This move was the last for quite a while. It feels so weird to think that I am in my very own home and scary to think I am responsible for everything now. The girls picked out some pretty wild colors for their rooms that I will post later and I have my own decorating ideas brewing as well. I am so impatient; I wish I could snap my fingers and have it the way it is envisioned in my head. We did get a really good start Friday. We started painting just as soon as I got the keys. Seeing some color on a few of these stark white walls was invigorating! My new place is steadily changing thanks to some great helpers and several late nights.

I even got a surprise visit from a couple of my besties on Saturday followed up with some fried pickles and baked oysters at our favorite place on Mass; Jefferson's!

From the minute I walked through the front door with my agent this house just felt like "home." It was a feeling I didn't get from any other property we viewed and I remember telling Gen that this house needed us. I know personally this place has already done wonders for me and it hasn't even been a week yet.

Tailgating on da' hill

Our surprise visitor. Baby Jay popped in for some cashews and a photo op. The girls were thrilled!

 

Monster Bash 2010

This weekend the Lawrence Phenix played in the Monster Bash fast pitch tournament in Shawnee. Much to Gen's dismay and agony, the coach took it upon himself to decide that each of the girls should dress up like a Disney princess and he would dress up as Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. This was such an ordeal for Gen that it was almost a deal breaker for continuing with this team. (It was THAT bad). She would have much rather have been a zombie or a ghost, anything but a stupid princess. (Her words, not mine). Once she makes up her mind that she hates something; she doesn't make any attempt to hide her feelings. I am pretty sure she gets that from me. We Aries women are a tad bit opinionated at times.

 

She made the most of it as Mulan the warrior princess and even one of her coaches said, "Gentry, that costume is so you!" The day was filled with dug-out decorating, teams in various costumes, creepy props all around the complex, pumpkin decorating, and even a dance competition. We had an evil jester as an umpire and Gumby too. We saw teams dressed like everything from Ghost-busters to 101 Dalmatians complete with Cruella Deville as their coach. All of the activities were judged in the hopes that the most creative team would win cash credit towards future tournament entries. Of course she didn't want to do the dance competition and the fact that she had no facial expression or sound coming from her mouth made that obvious to everyone. Ah but mom knows how to motivate her tom-boy; thank goodness for her love/weakness for ballpark hotdogs!

 

 Much to her relief, day two of the tournament was just regular softball. 

Having a pre-teen daughter can be a real beat down sometimes. They like to constantly remind you that you are old and out of touch and how much smarter they are. It's great to have someone so enlightening around to bless my meaningless existence every day. On the flip side I am really starting to see her grow as a person and that part makes me smile. I was speechless when she came home from school and announced she had filed for student council. She made campaign posters and did the work to get the support of her teachers. This was something she was truly excited about doing; being in a leadership position and I couldn't help but wonder, "who is this kid?" Seeing as though she knows everything she should at least use that extensive knowledge to benefit her school, right? Well, although she gave it a good shot she ended up losing out to one of her new best friends and seemed okay with the outcome. Still, I thought this was a pretty brave move for a rather shy girl in a new city; in a new school without a blanket of friends as her comfort zone. I am so proud of her for having the courage and hopefully she will repeat the process next year in 8th grade.  

Missouri Weekend

I normally would not consider Missouri my idea of a fun-filled weekend but man was I wrong. This weekend we explored some of the most beautiful scenery and I have the pictures to prove it. The whole premise of our trip was to attend a friend's wedding in Roach Missouri of all places. Along the way we got a kick out of sights like this one.

Guess this bank would be a busy place in this little town.

Once we got to Roach we had reservations at a cabin along the bank of the Little Niangua River. The cabin and the campground was very nice and clean however the cabins did not have running water and we did all our cooking over a campfire.. which turned out to be really fun! I know we ate better there than we would have at any restaurant; gouda stuffed chicken breasts, stuffed jalapenos, grilled veggies and then scrambled eggs and even grilled apples in the morning.

Saturday morning after a big breakfast we headed into Camdenton to Ha Ha Tonka State Park to do a little hiking. Turns out we did a LOT of hiking but the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. Ha Ha Tonka is known for its complex geological features and is filled with caves, underground streams, springs, sinkholes, and a large natural bridge.

 On the way back to our campground we just happened to come across a sign for Casa de Loco Winery so we thought we would check it out. What a nice surprise it turned out to be! Supposedly the winery was formerly the location of an insane asylum. I have no idea if that is accurate or an excuse but we enjoyed a bottle of "Bella Dolce" on the deck overlooking a natural spring. We also met two sisters there who were on a weekend trip that we recognized from the hiking trail earlier.

 We were enjoying the wine and the company so much that we had to make a mad dash back to the campground to get ready for the wedding. We considered 'punting' it.. but knew we would regret doing that.. eventually.

The wedding was a beautiful display of black and white held in Stoner Green... in Roach Missouri. (No, I'm not making that up). The black and white theme was apparently so popular that later that evening a skunk decided to make an appearance and left the wedding party a not-so-nice, pungent present.

Sunday our trip home included yet another winery off the beaten path just outside Knob Noster. Who knew Missouri grew such yummy grapes? This time we enjoyed a bottle of a red wine called "Damnifino." I had to bring home another bottle just for the name.

After two good experiences we quickly decided that we will make a concerted effort to test drive more Missouri wineries and one by one cross them off our list, seeking out the best wines the area has to offer.