The thing about blogging is...

The thing about blogging is that it would be cool if lots of people read my blog; however, in order for that to happen, you have to invest a ton of time and some money to try and make that happen.  It's a bummer but that is the way of writing really, anyone who writes doesn't write with a guarantee that anyone will ever read their writings.  Even Stephen King doesn't know that whatever he is writing today will ever reach the masses --sure it's fairly likely in his case, but no guarantees. 

Today we are driving down to the University of Illinois to Ms. A in the marching band competition.  She said she would like us to be there, but she doesn't want us to try to talk to her or make contact while we are there because she needs to concentrate on her performance.  I admire her dedication and was also a little annoyed, as is to be expected when dealing with teenagers. If it was up to me we'd stay home and watch the live stream, but when youngest child asks us to be there, well we are going to be there even though we are going to have to drive over two hours to watch an 8-minute performance and drive back.  I'm really not complaining, much.   

First Annual Family Halloween Craft Day #ThrowbackThursday

 

With the kids being teens, I see the writing on the wall, our time together as a family under one roof is limited.  Therefore, I'm on a memory making mission.  Heck I even put Throwback Thursday on this post so it will be easy to find in 5 years when Anna goes off to college and I'm a giant puddle of nostalgia.

This past Saturday was declared by me as Family Craft Day.  The craft I chose was Halloween Mason Jars.  You may notice we didn't actually use Mason Jars. Being frugal and ecofriendly, I saved jars, soaked off the labels and we were set. I still have about 6 jars we can use for Christmas Crafts. 

 Should you be looking to make your own Halloween Luminaries, there are literally thousands of different webpages like this one, and Pinterest Pins devote to this craft.   I got buy-in for this craft project from 2 of 3 kids, so I took it as a win and we are now enjoy the whimsical fruits of  our labors.

 I also spent some time being creative in the kitchen and here is what I came up with for Sunday Dinner.  Jewel had a sale on pork loin, so I paid $11 for a loin I cut into 5 pork roasts. Such a Deal!  I froze all but one for future meals. This one I first covered with Garlic Garlic, Onion Onion, salt and pepper and seared it on all sides in a cast iron skillet.  Then I placed the roast in a roasting pan and added a couple of sliced apples, an onion, 4 potatoes and 4 wedges of cabbage.  I seasoned the vegetables and poured 1/2 cup of Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar over everything.   I covered the pan with aluminum foil and roasted  until the pork roast was fall-apart tender ( 300 degrees F for about 3 hours). It worked out really well. The sweet/sour/savory flavors melded together quite well. Tom and I enjoyed ours with a Ballast Point Pumpkin Ale.

Above Average Temperatures

Checked out the old weather forecast and it looks like the next 7 days in Chicagoland will continue to be above normal.  Rain is supposed to show up on Tuesday and Wednesday so I'll have to remember not to wear sandals on those two days.  Sandals in October?  Yes.  I'm going to keep on wearing my sandals until the daily temps go under 60.  Why not right?  Plus I need to buy a new pair of black boots and have not gotten around to doing that and right now since we are paying for 2 kids to go to Disney on school trips in 2018- I'm trying to put as much $ toward getting those trips paid off as possible as quickly as possibly.

All this warm weather does make it rather hard to remember Fall is here.  The trees aren't bursting with gold, orange and red leaves, and you can leave the house without a jacket. I am sure this will change shortly, but for a bit longer I'll stick with my warm weather clothes. 

That being said I do realize Halloween is fast approaching.  I have amassed a collection of glass jars that I am trying to prioritize DIYing into cute Halloween décor.  I did my Googles and found this blog called Crafts by Amanda-easy craft tutorials for adults and kids.  My plan is to follow through and get crafty the weekend of 10/21- 10/22.  My goal is to get at least one of the kids to make the crafty luminaries with me.  Wish me luck!

Countdown to Halloween...3 weeks from tomorrow!