Rough Day at the Track

Where is that 60 and 70 degree weather we had a few weeks ago, when I'm baking in the hot 80 degree sun watching cars go in circles??? The intense heat would have been the first bad sign, the second when Tony's car went sliding across the sponsor-painted grass. Oh well, so much for that race! We did have a great time though (except that minor incident with Tony).

Happen'in Halloween!!

Until we sell our KY house we are living in an apartment, so do I let that stop me from throwing great parties. Of course -Not! Yes, it does limit the number of people we can have over, but less is more (Right?).

We are currently planning our Halloween Party and I have already got some great ideas and party supplies. Sippycups is also having a Halloween Bash and has posted some frightfully delighting ideas on her blog, so check them out.



I love bargain shopping, especially for party decor. I love finding something for a $1 and buying 20. My favorite store for super cheap party supplies is the Dollartree! Search this store out if your lucky to have one in your area. So far we have bought styrofoam RIP headstones, spider web and spiders, bottle labels for wine or 2 litres, bar sign (what's your poison?), twinkle lights in orange-white & purple, and purple paper lanterns.



I have lots of ideas from magazines and books. A great mag/book that is out right now is Matthew Mead's book Halloween Tricks and Treats you can find it at Target.



Better Homes and Gardens also has great food ideas on their website. I think I'm going to make the bat wings and the mummy dogs (these will be with veggie dogs for my sweet hubby)!


Here is the recipe for the Bat Wings:
Ingredients
20 chicken wings (3-1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon five spice powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 recipe Swamp Dip
Directions 1. Place wings in a plastic bag set in a shallow dish. In a small bowl stir together soy sauce, ginger, crushed red pepper, five spice powder and garlic. Pour over wings. Close bag and toss to coat. Chill in refrigerator several hours or overnight, turning bag occasionally. Remove wings from bag, reserving marinade.
2. Place wings on a foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake, uncovered, in a 450 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Brush with reserved marinade (discard remaining marinade). Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Serve with Swamp Dip. Makes 20 appetizers.
Swamp Dip: In a small bowl stir together a 8-ounce container of dairy sour cream and 3 tablespoons coarse ground mustard. Garnish with fresh whole chives. Serve with bat wings.

Birthday Bash!

Lil Bits party was Sunday from noon until 5:00 (yes -5 hours of full on pre-teeness). As promised there are plenty of pics and also pics of how we made her cupcake toppers -Chocolate transfer puppies -YUM! We started the party with pizza, then the girls went outside to make sand art necklaces, lil bit opened all of her great gifts (thanks!) and she handed out her gift bags (which included: $20 play card to Dave & Busters, theatre box of nerds, twirly rainbow sucker, 2 puppy pencils, puppy bracelet and puppy stickers, bag of hershey kissables, and fun dip), we sang happy b-day and had cupcakes, then the girls played rock band, and yes -then we took them all to Dave & Busters and let them use their $20 play cards. This has been her longest lasting party yet minus sleepover parties but it went off without a hitch, no lost cell phones, purses, or kids for that matter. Yeah! Everyone had a Super-Great time!

Did I come home and crash? I wish, but lil bit had a soccer game that we had to rush to-to get there on time. It was a long day, but worth every mili-second!!!

Another Trip Around the Sun for my Lil Bit!

My beautiful little girl is turning one year older and we are having her birthday celebration this weekend! She has picked puppies as her party theme this year and I will post pictures after the celebration, so check back. Aside from her on-field appearance at the MLS game she has requested and of course will be receiving these other gifts.

Preppy Monogrammed Gifts

This week they are giving away one of their Design your own Monogrammed Car Tags!

Enter to win by emailing them at info@preppymonogrammedgifts.com

Contest ends on September 24th at Noon!

They will announce the winner on Next Wednesday.

Please let them know Jesslee sent you. GOOD LUCK!!!

Trick or Treat

So back to the -me and lil bit went to checkout the costumes at Target and these are her two picks. That's right -goth Wednesday from the Addams family and a goth cheerless leader. Great!

Keep in mind my child is not goth in any way. Of course, she has never been into the super cute girly costumes, for instance last year she was a pirate with patch and all, but really goth cheerleader??? And her reasoning behind these choices, she wants to wear her hair in pigtails. I was like ... well you could be a cute scarecrow with pigtails... -she gave me that cocked head look like -uhh.NO!

Is there anyone else out there with a pre-teen- then I'm sure you know this look, I got!

But anyway being me... I was like OK, then which one and we'll have to get the black hairspray for your hair and what kind of tights and shoes and so on...

OMG, There are already Christmas Cards @ my Tarjay ???

After picking up lil bit from school yesterday we went by Target to check out the Halloween decor and I couldn't believe it but they already have Christmas stuff out (is this crazy or what). I mean I like to decorate and love looking at all the stuff for each season in the stores but how can you go from looking at skulls and fake bloody props to -in the very next aisle ornaments of baby jesus and angels. It was just too much! Is it just me or what, so I told my sweet hubby what I had ran into and he was like ... (no big deal) "Christmas is just 90 days away" so. so. OK, maybe it isn't so far off, but anyway I don't know it was just weird to me. Oh, and hubby since it is just 90 days or so away, I'll start now on my Christmas list. OK!

The SUN is BACK! YAAA!

The weekend was great, no pouring rain during any events! The KC Wizards beat the LA Galaxy 2-zip (David played the whole game with no successful "goals" -except making every woman in the stadium swoon)!

However, the Chiefs weren't so lucky and got beat by the Raiders.

My little "D" didn't get to hold Beckham's hand, but was within feet of him and said getting to walk out on the field with the team was -awesome and that she felt famous with everyone looking down at them. One of the goals scored by the Wizards was made possible with an assist from Hercules Gomez #21, who was the player that little bit got to walk out with. We had a great time and it only drizzled so not too bad for the game weather. Plus, we got some great shots of Beckham in action.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...Comeback on Monday

If you're a fan of MLS or David click on the picture to see #23 in action!

It's non-stop raining here in the midwest. Ugh!... Although it does give me a chance to wear my super cute rain boots, but I really, really hate rainy weather. I especially dislike rainy weather when there are outside sporting events involved.

Tomorrow my daughter gets to be one of the lucky "ducks" who will walk hand-in-hand with players from the KC Wizards and the LA Galaxy onto the field for the opening game ceremony. She is soooo excited and I am too! She, of course wants to get David Beckham, as does every kid that will be there I'm sure. But, what if .... (cross your fingers) she does get David Beckham, I think I would just die! I'll have my camera and sharpie ready for any close encounters! PS, thanks to my dear sweet hubby and his wallet for this great opportunity (I love you)!

Also, on Sunday the KC Chiefs have their first home game, and it's an early game, which means we'll have to get up at the crack of dawn to pack the Jeep and get to the stadium to get our super great tailgating spot. Again ugh, especially if it's still raining! One plus is KC's own American Idol- David Cook is singing the national anthem, so again camera in hand, I'll hopefully get some great rain-free snapshots that I can post.

More Fall Fashions!

Our weather is still abnormal here in the midwest with the past week remaining in the 60's. So it's been jeans and long shirts everyday and my fall fashion has kicked into high gear, I've been out on the prowl looking for new fall fashions!! Have I mentioned I LOVE FALL!!!

These looks can all be found at Victoria's Secrets!

To work or not to work ...

This past week I started to look at the jobs available out there right now. I feel like because we haven't sold our house in Ky I should get a job. I taught summer school in Ky before I came out to KC, so I've been able to pay my own car payment and school loan to this point, but my darling hubby still is paying rent here and the Ky mortgage and all the other bills, so I feel like I should help. He says I don't have to, but deep down I know he probably wants me to. So... he gave my resume to the hospital where he works and they called me for an administrative assistant position. I went in for the interview and then shadowed the ladies in the office, but I was like .... UGH! I just didn't want to do that, so now I feel double bad because he got me the interview and everything. Anyway... I have a Masters degree in Business and Marketing Education and my undergrad is in Business Management, so if anybody out there has a company they work for that has jobs available in Kansas City, please let me know!

Finally... Fall!

Even though fall isn't official until a few more weeks, we went from 85 degree weather to a high of 60 degrees overnight. I know... a lot of it is the remains of Gustav, but it has got me in the mood to break out the fall look. I've posted a few of my favorite items for fall: knee boots in a flat w/ knee highs, scarves, scarves, scarves, and cashmere sweaters (you can find all these looks @ GAP). Love, Love, Love Fall!!