Halloween Party 2010

Last night was our Halloween party and it was a blast! Sure I'm a bit hungover this morning...but I had fun last night! So first here is the menu

Spinach Dip

Salsa and chips

Bacon wrapped weenies

Vampire kissed red velvet cupcakes

peanut butter Oreo truffles

regular Oreo truffles

cocktail meatballs

The cocktail meatballs were the hit of the night! Everybody wanted the recipe! They were the easiest things I've ever made!

Cocktail Meatballs

1 bag frozen meatballs

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

Put meatballs in a crockpot. Mix all other ingredients and pour over meatballs. Cook on high or 1/5 hours. Turn down to low or warm to keep meatballs warm.

It was a great night! We had a costume contest and played kings and just hung out talking! It was great! Here are some pictures of all of us!

What's in Your Fridge?

I had seen a few what's in your fridge posts and decided to put up a deceptively clean what's in my fridge post! Our fridge is not usually this organized, but looks nice in preparation for the party! I had to organize to make room for party food! So here is what's in my fridge!

oh me oh my

Ah what a day! Had a very good day, check in Monday for some exciting news! Today I started the decorating for the party and also started the cleaning of the house! Tonight, we went to dinner with David and Kate then hung out at our house. It was great!

Tomorrow I am going to get my name updated on my license b/c....I got my new social security card!!!! Oh me oh my I'm officially, according to the government, a Rhoades! Admittedly, I got a little sad to leave my George name behind, but I'm really excited as well!!! Such an emotional weekend I'm having and it's only Friday! Sorry for all the short posts lately! I've been running around too much! I'll be back with some real updates soon!

sarah flys by blog

Ah 3 day weekends. Yep I've taken another one. I decided to take the whole day off tomorrow to prep for the Halloween party! I'm so excited! I've got to clean the house, decorate the house, go grocery shopping, make food, change my name on my license....oh what that's not party related! Still have to do it though. Lots to do! It's so nice to be home. I hate being away during the week. Someday, I'll be home full time with the hubster. Anywho, I don't have much to report. Still just taking in the gloriousness of our wedding photos and my new camera! I will have much to report in a couple days!

slides

Wow what a storm we had this morning! The wind was blowing so hard that it was shaking the office building I work in! Yikes! Anywho, not much to report here, but I wanted to show you all something. I am working on converting my dad's slides to digital photos. I have found some serious gems!

This one is my dad and older sister, Becky, planting potatoes. Every Good Friday, we planted potatoes in the garden. I miss it :( I love this photo! I think I'm going to have to print myself a copy!!
This is my baby self, squishy cheeks and all.

And this is my parents cutting their wedding cake!

Wasn't my dad handsome and my mom gorgeous!!! I can't believe she wore a maroon mini dress for her wedding! Lol, ah the 70's. These are just a few of the treasures I've found. I love looking at old slides and I'm glad I'm going to be able to preserve them by moving them to digital. I have to admit, looking at the slides makes me miss being little. Life was so carefree! Not that I don't love my life now. Being an adult definitely has its perks! Like being married to this guy:

Sigh. I love him so much! But enough mushy gushy, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my evening. Toodles!

gloomy monday

Hola! Yesterday Jon and I drove up to Indy to attend my adorable niece Katilyn's 5th birthday party! Isn't she a cutie!



It was back to work on this gloomy day. After work, I ran to Target. When I got home I made pumpkin bread! Yum! Now I'm sitting with my cats watching Twilight. I'm rereading the books for the umpteenth time and felt like watching the movie. By the by, does anyone have any good book recommendations? I need some new reads. For the record, I love Twilight, Harry Potter, anything by Agatha Christie or Douglas Adams. I also enjoy a good graphic novel. Suggestions?

chillin' like a villain! buwahahaha!

What a day! This morning, Jon and I spent the morning cleaning out our office and bedroom. We're still not done, but we've made some serious headway! After showers and some laundry folding (note I said folding, not putting away) my bro in law Zach came over for a bit. It was really nice b/c we don't get to see his 16 year old butt too much. He's too busy being a way cool teenager :) Man I'm old! Anywho, I'm very much enjoying the new camera. I may talk about it or awhile. Love it!! I just keep taking pictures of random things and marveling at the awesomeness o the quality! Squee! I spent part of my day planning the menu for our Halloween party and making a grocery list for it. I can't believe it's next week! Where has this month gone?!?! Jon's not feeling very well tonight, so we are staying in.

Tonight, I made a recipe of the top of my head. I like to call it The Poor Girls Cheesy Crab Bake. Jon and I both liked it. It's totally mac and cheese, but if your tastes aren't too expensive, you could like it too.

The Poor Girl's Cheesy Crab Bake

2 boxes mac and cheese + 2 tbsp milk

milk and butter according to boxes

2 cups chuck crab meat, separated to bite size

1 cup shredded mild cheddar

1/2 cup Italian mix cheese

handful of French's fried onions

Make boxes of mac 'n' cheese according to directions, but adding 2 tbsp milk. once done, stir in Italian cheese and crab. put in baking dish. Top with shredded cheddar and French's Fried onions. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melty and bubbly.

awake too early on sat morning

So why am I up at 8:30 on a saturday morning. Yeesh. My stupid brain did not feel like sleeping in apparently, so I am awake, doing laundry, and watching Friends while my fantastic husband is sleeping soundly. Today, I am pretty sure that we don't have much planned except going to Fear Fair tonight with David and Kate. I've never been to the Fear Fair before, but down here in Seymour, it's a haunted house that's been around forever. I'm looking forward to it! But for now, it's just me and my Friends. I'll see you later. I'm going to go get some breakfast.

first pic's from my new camera

I am loving my new camera! I've spent the day taking picture after picture and I am loving the quality of these pictures. The clarity is amazing!!! Here are some of the pic's I took.

And for reference, here is a picture of my hallway from my last camera.

And one with the new.

Sigh. I am totally in love with my new camera. Love.

My new baby

Hello interwebs!!! I am feeling MUCH better today! My stomach is now a happy camper. I had the day off work today so that I could go to the social security office and officially change my name! Jon and I got up and about and went up to Columbus to go to the office. I am officially, by name, a Rhoades! Wee! While we were there, we stopped at Target and I got the best thing ever! A new camera! And not just any camera! I got a Canon EOS Rebel SX!!!

I have been wanting a digital SLR for a few years now but couldn't rationalize spending that much money on a camera. Jon and I decided the time was right, so we got it!!!!! I am so excited! I plan on playing with it all weekend! I can't wait to take nice pictures! Finally!!! For the rest of today, we plan on staying at home! Jon is really into playing Fallout New Vegas and now I have my new toy to mess around with!

ugh.

What a day. I woke up with some extreme nausea and heart burn. It was highly unpleasant. I almost puked on my way to work b/c I took a corner to fast. ew. It lasted through the morning, but this afternoon it calmed down to just heartburn. lovely. Well I guess you can't have everything. At least I'm home. I'm off work tomorrow, so that's nice. I just hope this mega heartburn would lay off. lol, I'm so cheerful tonight huh? FYI, I posted more on the9er.com so if anyone out there actually reads this, you should check it out and let me know what you think. I'm up up and away from here to get some rest. toodles.

I've been shot!

Well, today I got my annual flu shot. Yuck. I always get a fever and aches for a couple days and they are already here. Blech. Anywho, I've been trying to think of some fun things to do with Josh this winter and I'm coming up short. So far I've got a snowball fight, indoor camping, Children's Museum, and sledding. Can anyone think of anything else? I need suggestions. Anywho, that's all I've got for today. Oh and I've posted a few more articles at the9er.com so go check them out. More to come!

monday shmonday

Well hello there Monday. You know I don't like you right? Just thought I'd point that out. It's not that you're a bad day, it's just that you mean I am way too far away from being home again. Oh well.

So hi internet pepes! I am bushed today! I've been tired since I woke up! This weekend I realized that I am almost out of my favorite Bath and Body works lotion (Midnight Pomegranate) and I needed more! So today I went and wouldn't ya know, they are having a buy 3 get 2 free sale! Yea! And guess what else! Their holiday scents are out! Double Yea! So I stocked up on my winter scents: the aforementioned midnight pomegranate, twilight woods, and winter candy apple. They had small bottles of a coming soon scent, secret wonderland. It is awesome! It smells amazing! I got a couple coupons for full sized bottles when they come on 11/1 and I will be sure to use them! I have a new winter must have scent!!

Yesterday, we carved our pumpkins, so I wanted to post some pics.

Jon's is the one with the hat and pipe and I love it! Well, I am bushed and I want to get in one reel of dad's slides converted to digital, so I'm off!

Jose Cuervo Cookies...Enjoy ;)

Jose Cuervo Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup nuts
• 2 cups dried fruit
• 1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila

Serves / Yields

One

Preparation Instructions

Sample the Cuervo to check quality. Take a large bowl; check the Cuervo again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.

Turn on the electric mixer...Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add one teaspoon of sugar...Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the Cuervo is still OK; try another cup ...just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit, Pick the frigging fruit off floor... Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Who giveshz a sheet. Check the Jose Cuervo. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.

A Perfect Fall Day

First I have to start with Friday night, then I'll get to the perfect fall day. We made a cookie coffin! Well, we decorated it. Josh had a ball!

Then we watched It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. It's become an annual view for our family. Josh really likes the Charlie Brown holiday shows, which is great because so do I! Ok, now for the perfect fall day!

Yesterday was such a good day! Good and busy! We got started and headed down to Huber's Orchard and Winery using directions from Google maps. Well, they were crap!!! We ended up on a detour and got a leeetle bit lost, but we found our way in the end! For future reference (for me next year) take 65 south to exit 6B for 265 West and take that to state rd 111. So much easier this way!

Did I mention that the weather was absolutely gorgeous?! Sunny and around 70 degrees! Anywho, we had a great time picking our pumpkins in the pumpkin patch, navigating bamboo and corn mazes, and seeing animals at the petting zoo.

Then we got some awesome homemade ice cream and I brought home some cheese curds and some blueberry cheddar cheese! Yum!! We made it home and I made meatloaf for lunch per Josh's request. That kid loves his meat!

Last night, we went with Jon's family to a haunted maze and hayride and had a weeny roast! Yea! It was so much fun! It was Josh's first haunted experience and he wasn't even scared! At all! That kid has guts! We got home pretty late, so it was pretty much straight to bed, smelling like fire smoke.

Cheesypotatoburger Soup

Keeping it short and sweet, we all liked this one, so here it is.

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried parsley

2 boxes chicken broth

5 potatoes, chopped

3 cups velveeta

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup sour cream

1 stick butter

Brown hamburger and drain. Put butter, onion, parsley, basil and hamburger. Cook until onions are done. Add broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes slide off a fork when stabbed. Reduce heat, add velveeta and milk and simmer until cheese is melted. Add sour cream and heat through. Eat!

Sidenote: Jon mentioned that he would like to 1/2 the potatoes and add broccoli next time. He isn't the hugest potato soup fan though. I liked it with all potatoes, but I love potato soups.

a quick promise of things to come

I promise I've not forgotten my little bloggette! I've been very busy this week! I've written 3 more reviews for the9er.com and hanging out with the fam! Tomorrow promises to be busy, but I promise on Sunday I will have updates! I tried a new recipe tonight, Cheeseypotatoburger Soup, so look for that to come as well! Oh, and Jon beat The Impossible Game! Yea!

Why I haven't been around this week

My mom has been in town this week, so I've been hanging out with her at my sisters house. It's been a fun week! Today, I decided to do the cheap lady's version of face painting on my niece and nephews.

Are they not so absolutely adorable!!! Some of the cutest kids ever! Anywho, that's why I've been not so much around. Lots of fun times being had. I don't have much else to blog about, so I'll give you a few coming soon's. This weekend, we are going pumpkin picking, making/decorating a cookie coffin, watching It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, making 2 new recipes, and my personal favorite....just being home! tatafornow!

Why Men Should Watch Twilight

I feel the need to mention that Jon refuses to watch Twilight with me. Any of the movies are completely off limits if he is around. He just point blank refuses to watch them with me! This is a mistake guys! Do you know the kind of brownie points he could get just for watching a movie with me?!?!? So take this as a little piece of advise from yours truly. Watch Twilight with your babe! I have already stated reason one: major brownie points! Reason two: you might actually like it! I know it's super cheesy and pretty darn girly, but if you can suffer through the first one, which is pretty much just a mushy movie, then you get to see the others! New Moon has a pretty cool fight scene at the end. And Eclipse has some really cool fight scenes throughout! Breaking Dawn is bound to have a...love scene and I'm betting on some cool fights as well. Don't knock it till you try it! Reason three: BROWNIE POINTS!!!! Reason four: we've earned it! How many times has your lovely sat and watched some bloody, pointless action/horror/etc film with you b/c they knew how excited you were to see it? Think about that a minute. No really, take your time! You owe us! And finally, point number five: BROWNIE FRICKIN' POINTS!!!!! You will be the talk of all the girlfriends of you lady if you watch these movies! Suddenly, they'll be using you as an example of what they want! Seriously guys!! It's not all that difficult. It's a couple hours of your life that you get to spend with a lovely lady and then we owe you! See how that works! So the next time you want to watch one of those inherently boy-centric movies, we won't complain quite as much! That is why men should watch Twilight!

Stuffed Peppers

I made stuffed peppers for the first time ever b/c Jon had mentioned how much he loved them. There is a huge amount of stuffed pepper recipes out there, so I kind of just made up my own out of several. Here it is!

6 bell peppers
1/2 cup uncooked white long rice
1/2 cup water
1 can tomato soup
1 can tomato sauce
1 tbsp Italian salad dressing
1 onion, chopped
1 lb hamburger or ground sausage
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
shredded Italian mix cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 can diced tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut off tops and remove seeds from peppers. Boil in salted water for 10 minutes. Place in a 9x13 glass baking dish, open side up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook rice in water. Brown hamburger and onions. When done, drain fat and return to pan. Add tomato soup, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, rice,and water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Spoon mixture into peppers. Mix can of tomato sauce with Italian dressing and pour over peppers. Bake 25 minutes. Top with cheese and bake another 10 minutes.

woo and hoo

Ah Saturday! Definitely my fave day of the week. Today we got my oil changed and did the grocery shopping at Walmart, then took a nap when we came home! Like a 2 1/2 hour nap!! Neither of us slept well last night, so we needed it! We've been bumming around the house, picking up and doing laundry this afternoon. Tonight, we went to Columbus with David and Kate to go to a Halloween shop to see about getting some costumes. I am going to be the Mad Hatter and Jon is going as Space Ghost. I can't wait for our party!!! After Columbus, we went to Steak n' Shake for dinner. Then we hung out at David and Kate's for awhile tonight. Now we're home and going to watch The Little Shop of Horrors. I've never seen it, so we rented it. Well I'm off to enjoy my hour and a half with Rick Moranis!

the9er.com

I have officially become a guest writer for an awesome website you should all check out!!! the9er.com is a editorial site where my husband, his best friend Dustin, and I write reviews about games and books. Check it out!!! (And yes, this is a total and shameless self promotion!)

Happy 25th NES!

I picked up the issue of Nintendo Power that is out now and lo and behold, it is a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the NES!!! (Wow do I feel old!)


Happy 25th Anniversary NES! Take a moment to revel in the awesomeness that is the NES. A system that brought us the Super Mario Bros, Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, Tetris, Castlevania, and so much more. My all time favorite game for the NES was Super Mario Brothers 3. I'm sure that the same could be said of many gamer novies like myself. I still haven't beaten that damn game! World 8 gets me every time!! One day I will prevail!

random boringness

Well hello there! I've been away a couple days! Sunday, I was just enjoying my weekend and yesterday, I had the sinus headache from hell, so those days were not blog worthy. Lol, not that there's anything new to report today! I can report that I have officially started on our Christmas shopping (I like to get it done by the beginning of Dec, so I start early) and I am officially leaving work early on Dec 23 (that's our Christmas Eve with Josh)!! Lately, I've been watching The Secret Life of Alex Mack on Itunes! I loved that show back in the day and I still do! So cheesy and so good!


Man, I loved that show! I read the books too. Teehee, I so loved the 90's.
In other news, I have been reading the Mass Effect novels, and I am loving them!

Jon played the games and I got really into watching him play those games! They have such in depth stories! (Side note, I can't play them myself, b/c a lot games make me motion sick b/c of the camera perspective). He got the books to read and I've been reading them right behind him! I read Revelation and loved that one, and now I'm almost 1/2 way through Ascension! So good! I wish there were more of the Krogan's in the books though. They are so my favorite species from the games! Anywho, I really don't have much else to blog about. I know I'm totally boring!!!