trick-or-treating

tonight was the first go around of trick-or-treating in our house or "beggar's night" as they like to call it in dsm. we had just under 75 kids stop by our door step for piece of candy. rachel and nicole came over and were great helpers in the process.  nicole kept a tally of the number of kids while rach kept a look out. 

the highlight of the evening was a boy who rang our doorbell with a joke, "how did the butcher introduce his wife?"..."meet patty."  hilarious. i love silly jokes like that.  i rewarded him with two pieces of candy for his wittiness.

the low point was two boys (way too old to be trick-or-treating,) one dressed as michael jackson-thriller days and the other one as i have no idea.  i greeted them at the door with a bowl full of candy and they asked, "don't you have a can of pop or something?"  i was beyond annoyed and followed up with a "no, but you can have an almond joy (my least favorite candy out of the bunch.)"  he rebuttled with "do you even like almond joy?" and i lied responding with "yes, it's my favorite."  those punk kids should not have even been out there but it left us with entertainment for the rest of the evening coming up with responses i should have said instead, here are just a few that i remember:

"no, but you can have some propofol."

"no, but you can have a can of shut the hell up."

"you should just beat it."

"that was not a thrilling costume."

"that was just bad."

"is your friend just your little pyt?"


happy halloween all, hope you're enjoying your left over candy like me.

home sweet home cooking

we were able to travel back home friday night. it was a quick trip but long enough to have a home cooked meal.  it's been a long time since we've been home but even longer since since i've had my mom's cooking.  she is an awesome cook. as soon as we walked in the door, she said she just got back from the store and had purchased 5 pounds of butter.  she could give paula deen a run for her money but i knew our food would be amazing and it did not disappoint. i have to give my dad some credit in all of this too, he is a great sous chef and master of the grill.

what was on the menu you ask? grilled smoked chops, scalloped corn, garlic mashed twice baked potatoes and pineapple fluff salad.  and to end our meal, oreo ice cream dessert.

if i had to pick my favorite part, i would have to go with the mashed potatoes. followed by a close second to the pineapple fluff, but it was all so good.

there is just something about your mom's cooking that can't be beat! 

squinnies update

i was finally coming to terms with the squinnies. i realized they weren't doing any harm so i should learn to get over my fear. then last week i found one nestled up in my tarragon, not once but twice and after pounding on the patio door, it wasn't even phased by me. that was it, WAR.

we went back online to do some research and while everyone suggests just shooting them, i still don't think a gun will be in my future. instead i went to the store and bought rat poisoning. while i do feel extremely guilty about killing these guys off, i am ready for them to stop making a mess and to leave my herbs alone.

j-rod set out the poisoning and the next day it was gone. i then saw a squinny running around on the deck like a crazy person, so maybe it worked? i am sure there are more just lurking around the yard, but i am determined to get rid of them one by one.

cutting the grass

well today was a first, i mowed the lawn. growing up we weren't allowed anywhere near the mower because of one little incident that i'll never forget. my dad went away on a business trip and told us to ask the neighbor to mow while he was gone. we didn't listen very well, my mom, sister and i decided we could figure it out on our own. when we went to start the mower we discovered it was out of gas. so of course, we found the gas can and filled it up. turns out we put the gas where the oil goes and there went the mower. from that day on, we were not allowed anywhere near it ever again.

j-rod was busy working today and mentioned the lawn needed mowed so i decided to help. i was very nervous at first but eventually got the hang of it. turning was definitely the hardest part. it has a self-propel feature and as you can tell by this video, it often got slightly out of control. it reminded me of when you see dogs walking their owners, that was the mower and me today. the mower almost went straight into the fence and into my sister's car but thankfully i stopped it just in time. also, i steered clear of any mailboxes as my luck with those hasn't been too great lately.

squinnies?

Not until I moved to West Des Moines had I ever seen or heard of a squinny or as I thought they were called "squinnties" aka ground squirrels. Pretty sure these creatures didn't exist in Mount Pleasant.

I'm not afraid of regular squirrels and growing up I was a fan of Alvin and the Chipmunks but for whatever reason I am scared to death of their much smaller, more agile relative. And they seem to really like our new house, I often see them hanging out on our back brick patio and near our front steps.

I googled how to get rid of them and have decided I'm stuck with them. None of their methods would ever work for me. I'm not on board with getting a cat, trapping them in a cage or using rat poison.

And in case you were wondering I made JH pick out the picture for my blog as I was cringing in my seat looking at their mug shots.