Happy

The weeks Months leading up to the Election have been exhausting. Everywhere my eyes/ears turned it was filled with pure negativity. It was like one big “bash” session…like a long drawn out bitter fight. I guess that’s how it goes when America is literally divided in half by two candidates. It’s a close race….in a few hours it will be over. Ready to regain Happiness, no matter which party you are from….

A Must Watch;   Film - The Happy Movie | The Happy Movie

My heart is madly in love with this film, happy. I can almost guarantee you will be too! Listening to The Dalai Lama talk about Human Compassion was magical!! You can watch this movie on Netflix, I think you will love it, I think it will change how you view life, I think it will make you HAPPY ;) 

The Good and Bad

YES! After years of not getting any Trick or Treaters we got a bunch!! Once I realized we were going to get more than we thought I flew to the store and bought more candy. I loved seeing what all the kids had on for costumes…was highly amused by those that sang those childhood reminiscing words of “Trick or Treat. Smell my Feet.”, those that said please and thank you. Even those that were too shy to say anything at all! I loved them all. They all looked so cute…and I know you are not supposed to pick favorites but I had a couple. My few favorites were ALL homemade costumes. Confession: I don’t think I like store bought costumes, I don’t think I will ever by one! 

My assortment of candy including the norm but also some peanut-free & sugar free, play dough and glow bracelets were a HUGE hit with all the kids. Even the bigger kids were excited for play dough. *Note: I have a big “Haha told you so” grin on my face right now…this would be towards Ralph who said, more than once, “Kids don’t want play dough, they want candy.” Well my charming love, I beg to differ…kids were screaming down the driveway as they went back to their parents. “Mom I got Play dough” amongst other shrills of excitement for their little sack of pumpkin colored play dough with a spooky cookie cutter attached! Ralph wanted to do BIG candy bars because he wanted to be “That House” you know the one where all the kids want to go the following year, because really the big candy bars rock! But I wanted to be simple. I thought mini treats and a little fun would be perfect. I guess I was right ;) We certainly did not have the outside as “cool” as our neighbors....One had the most amazing spooky garage set up, Fog and all!! I think next year we will have to step our game up! I think I will wait a week or two and get major Halloween sales at Target! 

The inner Dental Hygienist in me is lightly humming, rather screaming a Warning…Go through your kids candy. Yes- the “safety check” should be first…But then your “Bank Account” check should be next. No one wants a huge dental bill when certain things can be avoided! There is some candy known to dentists as the “WORST” possible candy for your teeth at Halloween. Sugar-Free candy is your best possible option; yes there may be some in that bag. With children I’m sure it’s not going to be their first pick…Dark chocolate is on the list of not so bad in that big bag of goodies, it promotes good health because it’s high in antioxidants. If there is Gum in your children’s haul that is also a good option too. Gum can actually prevent cavities, because it helps dislodge food from your teeth.

Now.....

On to the “Throw out before the kids even know they got it” list: Chewy candy like taffy should definitely be avoided…A lot of children at “Trick or Treating” age get something called sealants on their teeth, couple of pieces of laughy taffy and you can say bye bye to sealants and your $400 dollars they cost you. Any type of sticky chewy candy even Bit-O’Honey should be avoided. This has been known to even dislodge teeth not only in children but adults too. 

Now onto the highly acidic candies, you know the ones that break down your tooth enamel…and this isn’t after a prolonged (over the years thing) This is as soon as you start chewing…SOUR CANDY!

You don’t have to go and toss your kids whole bag of candy, just leave them with better options…No one is saying to throw out the Reese’s and Milky Ways…just the super bad stuff, that can prevent a trip to the dentist. 

The highest sugar level candies, that will send your child into an atomic bomb of sugar…Candy Corn and those little cute Sugar Pumpkins! Straight Sugar!!! 

All Hard candy, do to the fact that it is a choking hazard in young children and that older children (even adults) as I'm guilty of this too. They tend to bite down before it "melts down." I have seen more children and adults at the dentist for Cracked teeth the days following Halloween than any other day!

The best choice: Have your child pick 10-15 pieces of candy then drive the rest over to a participating dentist and they will buy back your candy, some even pay up to $10 dollars a pound! It’s a Win/Win situation for both, the candy will be sent over to our troops that are overseas and you child can go buy a toy, or new electric toothbrush ;) 

Hurricane Sandy

Though no longer a hurricane the skies murky look looms the effects of, "post-tropical" super storm Sandy that packed a hurricane-sized punch as it slammed into the Jersey Shore on Monday and as it reared its ugly head here in Massachusetts. It hit us hard here in Mass, lots of trees down, floods and power outages. Certainly not the devastating affect it had on others.

Sandy whipped torrents of water over the streets of Atlantic City, stretching for blocks inland and ripping up part of the vacation spot's fabled boardwalk. The storm surge set records in Lower Manhattan, where flooded substations caused a widespread power outage. It swamped beach fronts on both sides of Long Island Sound and delivered hurricane-force winds from Virginia to Cape Cod as it came ashore. Making me wonder how my Grandpa would have been preparing his beach front house with his boats in the water…miss him :/ 

To be honest when I saw the prompts to evacuate certain areas I thought “this can’t be real” There is always that doubt when they hype up a storm and we get, well, NADA! Unfortunately, the fun in missing work and staying in with my little family turned quickly into mournful, feel bad, wish it were a regular day, type of attitude. As I watched countless homes and businesses being literally washed away. People’s pets nowhere to be found and the death toll on the rise…as accident after accident took the lives of people’s loved ones. Imagine running out for a gallon of milk “before it gets worse” and having a tree fall on your car, killing you instantly …Leaving a wife and kids at home wondering why “daddy” is taking so long and Not answering his phone?!? {{Insert the “ugly” cry here}} Heart wrenching!! 

The aftermath of Sandy hangs on every street corner as you see branches and debris scattered throughout. Wondering where this will leave the UGLY presidential election. Wondering if it will bring some sort of comradery between the torn apart sides. It’s as if voting for one over the other is like questioning whether there is a God or if you are even a human being. Can’t someone just prefer one over the other, for their own personal beliefs? Hoping the ugliness dies down on social media networks such as twitter and Facebook. Hoping America comes together, among our differences to help those who are now in need. One of the perks of being “involved” in Hurricane Sandy is {WE} are close. We live in distances close enough that we are able to drive out to help people. When devastation hits, such as Katrina all we could really do is send money. The thought of really getting out and helping others makes my heart smile. This weekend we will be helping those in need. Everyone can get involved. Send your kids over to an elderly neighbor’s house to pick up branches, offer those you know that have no power a place to stay, go to areas that suffered devastation and be a volunteer. Do something worthwhile!

Ralph did manage to get our pups out a few times before the winds really picked up...as you can see they were drenched within minutes!! Luckily I prepared Homemade beef-stew to warm up my boy...and lots of cozy blankets for all four of us! 

 Wishing you all a Happy and Safe Halloween!!!

We are one Unbroken Promise.

We are one unbroken promise.

We are ONE. It still amazes me where we stand today in our relationship, We had made a promise when we first started dating that we would love with everything we had and we are still hanging on to that unbroken promise. We believe in our happiness and are so steadfast in our ways, unbreakable. I never wonder or doubt his love. It will always be enough for me. I hurt for those that don’t get to experience the bliss of {Real} love, or those who are afraid of it. It’s everything that is pure and beautiful in this sometimes wicked world. Ralph and I want to live life uninterrupted of any form of hurt but when it comes, sometimes like a storm we are so ready for it. Having faith, not only in God but in each other is undeniable the root to our steadiness, the core. Knowing that if God decides to throw us a few curve balls we will be ready for them…Joshy would be that perfect example. Thankful our little dog is better, especially Thankful for all the love we have in our house. 

Happy Weekend EVERYONE!!! 

 I think of the verse:

For where your treasure is, 

there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:21

Menu

I know it’s only Thursday and the weekend hasn’t even happened yet but I’m putting in a BIG peapod order for next week’s menu. Confession: I haven’t cooked all week!! It’s been a busy/sick couple of days. So I need to get back on track…Joshy is finally done with all his medicine. I’m feeling better after a weird two day cold and Midterms are over! The calm is settling in and I want to take full advantage of it, here is what next week’s menu looks like :o)

Monday: Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Alfredo Pasta

 Tuesday: Mini Beef Tacos made using wonton wrappers in muffin tins (350' for 8 min)

Wednesday: Weight Watchers Ham and Potato Soup It will be a busy night with Trick or Treater’s so I wanted to make something we can sit in our garage with *Big winter Mugs make my heart smile! 

Thursday: Quick 30 min. meal from this list….HERE

Friday: Smothered Chicken Skillet

Saturday: Take out from our Fav’ restaurant… Alicante 

Sunday: Family Sunday Dinner….Hmmm I want to make it special. I’ll have to think about that one. 

Cranking through the next two days.... wearing my invisible crown, of course.  

DIY; Orange Playdough for Halloween

We have a lot of different age groups in our neighborhood; I’m so excited to get a bunch of Trick or Treaters this year! With the varying ages I decided to give them options, I made Orange Play Dough and printed off cute tags/recipes for the topper.  For the plastic baggies I used the ones that I use for chocolate pops. You can find them at your local craft store for a couple of dollars for about 50-100 bags! On each one I attached a different design cookie cutter. I think the toddlers will Love these!! I’m working on a few things for the Trick or Treaters that have allergies, something “peanut/ Gluten Free” and then Goodie Bags for the rest of the Kids! 

 Playdough recipe
- 1 c. flour
- 1/2 c. salt
- 2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 c. water
- 1 tsp. food coloring
- 2 tbsp. oil
Combine ingredients in a large saucepan. Stir in water, oil and food coloring. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until a ball forms. Remove from heat, store in an airtight container. I like to add a teaspoon of flavored extract to the dough to make it smell nice. I used pumpkin pie spice instead!! Smelled Great!!