Thanksgiving

We had Thanksgiving at our house again this year. My sister and her family and my dad were there. I (Joe) invited Wayne who came with dad. Wayne is a friend of the family that grew up with my dad who has been staying at dad's house for the past few months while he tries to get back on his feet.

Aimee found some good receipes for green beans and sweet patato casserole. We brined the turkey again this year with a recipe that we found on the Food Network' web site. It was really flavorful and juicy throughout the whole bird. I carved the bird using a technique I learned from watching Alton Brown on the Food Network. I separated the thigh and leg from the bird and then cut the whole breast off which I then sliced across the grain. This produces nice slices and is more tender to eat. My sister made some yummy dishes as well including mac 'n' cheese and the brown sugar glazed carrots that mom used to make.

I'm glad that my sister and her family came. They usually do but they could have decided to spend it with Ron's family. Ron's family usually eat later in the day but I wasn't sure since our plans didn't come together until the last minute. It would have been lonely with just us and Dad. We missed Aimee's family and hope next year they will be able to make it down.

Our Newest Venture: CHOCOLATE!

These are just some of the chocolate wonders I've made in the last few days. In order to have a successful business, you gotta get to know the product, so I have made Truffle Fudge Brownies with Mint Chocolate Ganache, Dark Chocolate Truffles with Raspberry Dusting Powder (pictured), Dark Chocolate & Hazelnut Milk Chocolate Boutique chocolates (both pictured), and Hazelnut Milk Chocolate Mousse. I've also tasted the Sippable Chocolate (REALLY good & rich hot chocolate), as well as the Frosty White Chocolate Whipped Cream and Spiced Chai Hot Apple Cider. Joe, Jaron & I are in a Chocolate Heaven right now! AND...we've created a monster. Jaron is a certifiable Chocoholic. So much so, that when Joe got up this morning, every light in the house was on and Jaron had gotten the mint chocolate ganache out of the refrigerator, and he was sitting at the table eating it for breakfast. This was 6AM!! The boy can't even sleep, now that he's tasted the divineness that is DOVE Chocolate Discoveries. He is his father's son! You must know that Joe is and has been a chocoholic most of his life as well.

I'm in trouble. They are going to eat our profits...and believe me, there will be profits! This stuff is GOOD!!! Spread the word! :)

Our website is www.dove-chocolate-discoveries.com/aimee

Carving Pumpkins

Jaron was super excited to help scoop the insides out of the pumpkins we got at Huber's. This is the first time in many years that Joe & I picked pumpkins let alone carve them. Unfortunately, the small one rotted before we could get a good pic. We carved our names. I guess I need to pick up another pumpkin or two and recarve the boys names and take a picture of them!

Annual Fall Trip to Huber's

Today, Joe & I took the boys to Huber's, keeping a tradition Joe & I started in our dating days. We always go to Huber's in October. This, however, was the first time I believe we actually picked pumpkins there. No matter how many times we told Jaron where we were going, he'd continue to ask. So I decided to tell him "It's a Surprise!", to which he replied "A Sur-fries?! A Sur-fries for Jaron?! Good! That's good"! Jaron did think it was great fun, which we hoped he would. It was a beautiful day too! Ethan really enjoyed himself. It never ceases to amaze me how many people do double takes with him. If their expressions mirror his, then he must have been one smiley boy when I wasn't looking. Of course I captured several grins on camera to savor the memory.

Ethan Stands!

Ethan Crawls!

Spider In My Hair

Yeah...not so fun. This spider had been hanging around outside our kitchen window, with it's web attached to the roof of our sunroom, which is also just above the entrance to the crawl space. We first discovered it when Joe & his dad were installing a sump pump under the house, and Joe voiced concern about the spider possibly getting on him. Of course the spider stayed where it was and never did I ever see it move from its spot for several days. Imagine my surprise when I walked into my sunroom this morning and directly into this spiders' web. I backed up hastily, looked up and saw this HUGE spider mind you climbing out of my hair then stuffing quite violently the web into its' mouth. How in the world did he get inside?! Apparently the room isn't tied to the house properly...

So, I had the willy-nillies the rest of the day, needless to say. Jaron was very excited to have the opportunity to observe a spider this large so closely (thru the glass door). So I took the time to teach him about Spiders being God's creation and even though they can make us scared sometimes, God still loves them and he created them for a purpose.

I was hoping it would decide to go back outside since it wouldn't be able to eat anything inside, but it didn't. The next day she was still in there. When Joe got home that day, I was standing at the back door watching it, as it was getting ready to spin a new web, but when it climbed down to the doorknob and tried to attach a web-string to it, it did not attach and the spider fell 2 feet to the ground and apparently was knocked out, for it didn't move for several minutes. Joe took the opportunity to spray it, and it died.

So, Jaron also got a lesson in death. Quite a lot for a 3 year old to learn in 2 days! Somehow I don't think he understands yet, because he still asks if the spider is going to climb back up the wall. To which I reply, "No, Jaron. The spider is dead, which means it will never come back. It is gone forever." He just looked at me and said "He'll never come back? OK, Mommy" then he ran off to play.