Pie Time - Part Twenty Seven

Tonight is pie making night.

Alli and I both had to work today and then we have to work on Friday, which eliminates any chance of getting home to Ohio, just like last year. Also like last year, we have some great friends who also can't make it home, who invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner. They have a few other couples coming over, so it was decided we were going to have a pie baking contest. Alli and I want to double our chances of winning, so we're each making a pie.

My pie is one of my Mom's old recipes, called Colonial Innkeeper's Pie. It has a flour/pastry/cake  level, which has a chocolate layer poured over it before it goes in the oven. The chocolate cooks down through the body of the cake layer and then settles into a bottom layer. Oh my, so very good.

Alli's pie is a Pumpkin Pecan Pie. Exactly as it sounds, it's a pumpkin pie with a pecan pie top. We haven't tried this before, but we love both of those individually, so we can only imagine it's going to be awesome.

Off to do the toothpick test.

Lost - Part Twenty Six

I

have

no

idea

what

to

write

about

tonight.

At

all.

Someone

give

me

a

topic

or

the

rest

of

this

month

is

going

to

be

a

sad

excuse

for

blogging.

Flying the bird - Part Twenty Five

Had a funny moment on the way to work this morning.

Scene:
Coming up to an intersection of two five lane roads.
I'm in the middle turning lane waiting on the traffic to go past me so I can turn left.
Got stuck in the middle of the intersection waiting for traffic coming the other way.
As the light turned yellow to red, a car coming the other way lays on his horn to yell at me.
I look towards his car.
As he revs up his car and pulls towards me, hand laid flat on his horn, cell phone in the other hand pressed to his ear, he then proceeds to take his hand off his horn to flip me off, and his car jerks out of his control.
Cell phone goes flying and man's eyes almost bug out of his head.

Turns out you have to have a hand on the steering wheel to steer a car.

I admit my error in this scenario at committing to the intersection when I should have stayed behind the line. I'll also admit I laughed aloud at the man's predicament. The best part? The guy in the car behind this man was laughing hysterically at the moron trying to regain control of his car.

Clean and refreshing - Part Twenty Four

Earlier today I realized I forgot to post yesterday. Probably for best, since the topic I had in mind was about farting. Yikes.

On a much brighter and better smelling topic, we rented one of those big professional carpet shampoo/scrubber things today. We have big fluffy carpet in our house, and with a dog and, well, my own messy habits, the cleaning was past due.

I spent most of the afternoon moving furniture and watching Alli do all the actual cleaning. Thanks to her, it now smells fresh and clean.

And now we're sitting down on the couch to watch Wizard of Oz. Good times.

Cookie time - Part Twenty Two

Soooo........ I had plans to get all insightful this evening, but Alli just said she wants to make cookies. And, well, that sounds like more fun than writing.

So we're off to the grocery store to buy supplies and then bake cookies at this crazy hour. I love this woman. :)

Eleven things - Part Twenty One

I've avoided the silly circles that have been floating throughout FB these last couple weeks. I haven't been given a number, changed my profile picture to a giraffe, or exposed cellphone snapshots. My Mom almost caught me up in something about a mouse, but that died out quickly. Despite staying out of those things on purpose, I did enjoy reading the posts in that first game where people shared stuff about themselves that other people may not have known. So I thought I'd share my own list here on my blog, and of course I'll do ELEVEN things. :)

1. I miss having cats.
2. I love taking photographs and wish I had at least one photo album from each year of my life.
3. I was going to go to college in Nashville, TN and was even accepted into the Vanderbilt University Marching Band, but decided I didn't want to go to college that far away from home.
4. For the first six months after my ex first left me, I slept --on average-- only 3 hours a night, and never went to bed before 3am.
5. I am fortunate enough to say I have at least sixty people I consider "good" friends.
6. I love sending cards to people. In fact, I sent three cards yesterday, one on Tuesday, and two on Monday.
7. My single biggest pet peeve is drivers not using turn signals. Seriously, I haaaaaaaaaaate that.
8. My favorite food is apples.
9. I own thirty four pipes and enough pipe tobacco to last --at my rate of smoking-- for more than twenty years.
10. I am quite girly when it comes to scented candles. I've purchased hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of PartyLite candles over the years, and there is almost always a candle burning when I am home by myself. All the candles and candle paraphernalia on our wedding registry were placed there by me.
11. My beautiful wife is thirteen years, ten months, and twenty days younger than me. What's that have to do with me? I scored that sweet piece of awesomeness, that's what.

Alright, I challenge you Adrienne and Kimmy. Your turn to share eleven things about you. :)

Whaddya wanna be when ya grow up? - Part Twenty

Today I had a post-interview conversation with my boss concerning a potential promotion. I'm pretty happy at this new bank, and if I get this new job, I'll get back into that role where I'm the go-to guy. That kind of position keeps me away from that old feeling of being in the wrong profession. As long as the money is right, I'm pretty sure the job is mine. I'll let you know in a week or so.

In the midst of all this job talk, I had a conversation in my head about what kind of jobs I'd do if nothing stood in my way like money or location or good ol' fashioned practicality. Here's what I came up with...

Of all the jobs I've had and done, my favorite job was working at the Nursery. Besides the joy of being outside all the time, I felt good like I was making the word a better place. I don't mean that in a cliché kind of way, I mean it literally... planting trees and shrubs makes me feel like I'm making the world better. I still make it a point to plant at least one tree a year.

A job I wish I'd had a better opportunity to spend more time at, was being a cabinet-maker. Besides the joy of working with my Dad, there was an unexplainable awe watching him transform raw wood into beautiful cabinetry. I certainly carry his passion in my blood, and I've made more than a few of my own piles of sawdust in my adult life, but it was something I never had a chance to really pursue. I may not have liked it as much as I dream, but there's something about woodworking that still calls to me. (I even have a few projects in mind for Christmas presents.)

I've always been fascinated with people who can turn hobbies into money-making opportunities. For me, it sure would be fun to turn gardening into some kind of job. I've never been afraid or even experienced that moment people warn against, when a hobby becomes a job and no longer becomes enjoyable. Sure, there were times I hated some jobs at the Nursery, but I always liked where I was at. I think the same could go for gardening. If only I could figure out how to make money teaching others how to properly dig in the dirt to grow their groceries.

Lastly, I would really love to make a living writing books. This is something I'm truly considering the logistics of. Stay tuned on this one.

Anyway, that's what's on my mind tonight.
This was a fun post to ponder.