Happy Halloween

My Husband loves decorating for Halloween . . . 

Our Decorations the Night They Went Up
Photo Curtesy of Mr. H.

The Creepy Glowing Pumpkin in the WIndow

A Master Artist at Work

Inspiration and the Finished Product
A Boo Jack O' Lantern

The Pumpkins on the Front Steps

The Decorations in the Day Light

I will be Senator Carol Moseley Braun for Halloween!

One days when I have to work, I generally wear a suit and dress a little older than usual and say I'm a notable African-American lawyer. When I was a student attorney, and had to appear in Court on Halloween, I "dressed up" as Condoleezza Rice for Halloween. Next year I think I'll be the First Lady.

Last year, I busted out my poodle skirt again (I bought it for my senior year of high school--the last time I went trick or treating) and I've repeated it at least twice since. I will put it on to hand out candy tonight.


I saved all the seeds from the pumpkins and I'll be roasting them using this recipe many thanks to the Merry Wife for suggesting boiling the seeds before roasting.

Junior League

I'm really excited because I joined the Junior League here! I went to two meet and greets for potential new members and I had a wonderful time. At the meet and greets everyone was friendly and not in an overwhelming kind of way (I am shy so sometimes friendly people scare me) and I saw more Lilly in one place than I had ever seen in Maine before.

After the two meet and greets, I joined the League. Our first new member meeting was in September but the first really exciting event for new members was last weekend--Super Saturday. We went on a tour of the town and learned about all the things the League had started and helped with. Then we had lunch together and had a toast.

Red Cupping It
at the First New
Member Meeting

This past week, I went to a Girl's Night Out event at Alex and Ani and it was wonderful. I felt really awkward going in so after a semi failed attempt a small talk, I made it my mission to find a Christmas present for someone!

A Gift for my Mom
Tangerine Watercolor Beaded Bangle
Whimsical, Viviacious, and Free
Intial E Charm Bangle
Personal, Timeless, Distinctive

After settling on a gift for my Mom, her favorite color and letter. Then I settled into a group of other new members and I got a little something for myself. I had a good time chatting and I'm looking forward to the general member meeting coming up! Hopefully there will be some other new members there.


I part of the reason I joined was because I feel a bit lonely here in Maine sometimes. Most of my high school friends and family are back in Illinois. Our college friends moved away. I never really clicked with the people in my class at law school and it's been a struggle to stay in touch with them since lawyers are so busy. I hang out with Ben's friends all the time but they're the people he grew up with and they are really close and sometimes I'd like to have my own friends to hang out with.

So, I joined to make friends and push myself out of my comfort zone. I hope to make friends working on projects and I hope to learn how to be more organized and grown up. I also miss being involved and volunteering. Law school was so overwhelming that I just stopped. I miss doing things to help out in the world.

Throw Back Thursday! Freshman Year!

This weekend I went through the files on my computer and I found a bunch of missing pictures from college! Today, I got an email reminding me that my five year reunion is coming up this spring (and asking for money)! My how time flies.

Here are some memories from Freshman year . . .

At some point I had a Toga party by myself?

I entered the beard growning contest.

I took this first ever picture of my husband.

The Blue Berry Spice Cake in the dinning hall was my
absolute favorite. We had it for desert at our wedding.

I had a layover in O'Hare when I went to Hawai'i for Winter Break.
My friends came and brunched with me at O'Hare.

Christmas Day on Maui.

I took Foundations of Studio Art

At the end of the school year I went to Greece
with my Mom, Grandma, and Stepgrandfather

Green Bean Casserole

It's getting to be that time of year when I want warm comfort foods. If I weren't currently on a super clean eating cleanse where I was avoiding dairy and gluten, I would want this for dinner.

I made up this casserole recipe last year by combining my two favorite casseroles--tuna noodle casserole with chicken instead of tuna and green bean casserole. The tuna noodle casserole is a family recipe. I found a recipe for a chicken an bean casserole at Taste of Home. I hope you enjoy!

Green Bean, Chicken, and Cheddar Cheese Casserole with Yummy Crunch French Fried Onions on Top

Serves 6 to 8, 35 minutes to Prepare and Cook

Ingredients:

• 3 cups frozen green beans (french cut or regular), cooked and drained
• 1/2 of a 12 ounce bag of Yolk Free Egg Noodles
• 2 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 6 tablespoons butter (or 1/4 and 2 tablespoons canola or olive oil)
• 6 tablespoons (1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups chicken broth (or 1-1/2 cups water and 2 teaspoons better than bullion)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 25 cranks of the pepper mill's worth of black pepper
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup (or more) French Fried Onions

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 ˚F. Cook the green beans and the noodles according to the directions. Drain and set aside. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth and cook for two minutes. Gradually add broth, milk, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for two minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Add green beans, chicken, and noodles to the mixture and stir well. Pour the mixture into a 2.75 quart casserole dish. Cover the mixture with the cup of shredded cheese. Put the casserole in the oven for 10 to 13 minutes. Remove and sprinkle the french fried onions on top. Return the casserole to the oven for five minuets. Remove and eat.

So Excited . . . for a Cleanse?

Wish me luck! I ordered the Advocare 10 Day Herbal Cleanse last Wednesday. It was delivered last Saturday and I will start the cleanse today!

I'm really excited to give this a try. I've been feeling down about my body lately and doing something makes me feel better. I stopped exercising in August and September was so stressful. I started playing Wii Fit again on Monday in preparation for the cleanse and I am almost looking forward to avoiding added sugar for the next ten days.

Yesterday I measured out single serving sizes of unsalted cashews and sunflower seeds. I hard boiled a whole lot of eggs and I made my own carrot sticks. I'll be eating extra clean for the next ten days and I'll let you know how it went for me after it's over.