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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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Buster has been bugging us for days for these "Glazers" donuts...they're from the gas station (yummy). Tom finally ran inside to get some when he filled up my truck and Buster couldn't be happier (oops, I mean Sebastian, he no longer wants to be called Buster).
Tom took the photo.

302/365

The best thing about carving pumpkins are the seeds!

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We carved pumpkins tonight (except for Matt, he'll have to do his Friday), the big one was tricky and is so heavy that it sort of started falling in on itself so we had to "prop up his face" with skewers! Pumpkin seeds are roasting in the oven, Monsters v. Aliens, Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space is on TV, I think we're having a spooktacular night!

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My pretty rainbow of felt...on a side note, I can't belive there's only 65 days left in the year! YIKES!

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Here I am...the vintage lotto cards are mine! Got my complimentary issue of Somerset Studio today.

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Shelby came home yesterday for a concert the girl's were going to see in Minneapolis...she brought her laundry with her and guess who ended updoing it?

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YIPPEE! I got a new computer today...it was much much needed. Not only was I running out of memory but I was also running out of disk space. The Geek Squad employee at Best Buy told me the computer I wanted was "overkill" but I'd rather have that then to have to sit at the computer for 45 minutes just to do my picture of the day. I'll post my picture tomorrow...on my new computer, but in the meantime I'm posting this from Tom's laptop while he's transferring all my files.

296/365

I apologize in advance because this post is going to be one big whiny mess...it's raining and snowing AGAIN in this Godforsaken state in which I live. I'm already planning a "warm winter getaway" because I have a feeling we're in for one B*TCH of a winter. I think we've had 2 whole days in October with no snow or rain. I think my SADS is kicking in already and I have 5 more months of this crap...so not only will we have to take our normal spring break vacation to somewhere warm and sunny but I'm going to start planning a January trip as well! It's so miserable here that Sebastian doesn't even want to buy a halloween costume, he's dead-set on not going trick-or-treating...and as far as the "haunted graveyard" in the front yard goes...NOT going to happen. The ground is probably too frozen to stake anything up. Thank God Tom bought me this chocolate bar, I'm going to curl up in my PJ's by the fireplace and try to keep my extremities from freezing off while munching on this little goodie! Can't even take a decent picture because there hasn't been any damn sunlight in WEEKS! (SIGH)...ok, I'm done.

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Matt's on my computer working on a big paper that's due tomorrow so I can't post my pic of the day...which, incidentally, is of him on my computer working on his big paper. Just like his mother...procrastinates because he works better under pressure.

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We are BIG into Halloween and everything creepy, scary and ghostly at our house...Tom quietly hides on me so he can scare the crap out of me every chance he gets (and I get him back once in awhile), I hide creepy doll heads in unsuspecting places, we stay up late watching ghost tales on the Sci Fi channel...we all love it, well, all but Sebastian...he HATES Halloween (claims he's not even trick-or-treating this year). So, to make him more comfortable sleeping alone, we've recruited the protection of the mean and dangerous Bellatrix (Trixie for short). She keeps watch over him every night now and he LOVES it! (Still HATES Halloween though...)

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It was a "Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen" night...

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Got the Halloween decorations put up...only used about 1/8 of what I have. I'm going with the "less is more" attitude this year...besides, putting it out doesn't bother me so much, it's the having to put it all away in two weeks that totally turns me off. Needless to say all three boys are thankful that I opted for minimal decorations this year. Now my costume on the other hand...that's another story!

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It's been a family tradition to visit Pine Tree Apple Orchard every October...I've been doing it since Matt could barely walk but this year was a sad year because it was just me, Tom, Sebastian. Shelby's off at college so couldn't go (although she really really wanted to) and Matt just didn't want to go (he's 2 months shy of turning 17). Oh well, I guess I'd better get used to things being drastically different than they've "always" been.

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We had the carpets professionally cleaned today...I'll have to wait until daylight tomorrow to see if it actually did anything, couldn't really tell when it was still damp but I'm afraid I'm going to be disappointed. (Update: Nope, I was wrong, I'm thoroughly pleased, both family room and living room carpets look just like new...and the carpet in this picture is 17 years old!)

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Buster got a haircut...damn that kid is cute (even when he's trying to look mean.)

288/365

Last night the house belonging to one of my good friends burned to the ground, literally. Everyone got out safely which is the most important thing but they lost everything except what they were wearing at the time (mainly pajamas...no shoes, no coats, nothing warm and we had more snow this morning). Really makes you appreciate what you have. Make sure everyone in your house knows what to do in case of a fire!

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Sebastian and Gabrielle, eight years old...4 months apart. I've never noticed this before but they have the same posture, have the same funny-looking teeth, have the same smile, are the same height...you'd think they were brother and sister instead of cousins.

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Went to a Vikings game tonight...ok, not exactly the NFL Vikings but just as exciting, especially when these "Vikings" scored five touchdowns to the "Jets" one touchdown. Jake "the Superstar Spencer" is #4. He scored at least two (possibly three...I was too busy talking) of those five touchdowns and is really quite a football player at the ripe old age of 11. Go Vikings!

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More snow today...enough to warrant hunting down the winter coat, boots, hats and mittens! Doesn't look like Minnesota will have Autumn at all, we've jumped from summer right into winter!

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The Three Muskateers...we had a great weekend with Shelby. I'm glad she decided to come home for the entire weekend instead of us just visiting her for a few hours on Saturday.

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The bad news is this is what we woke up to...snow on October 10th...The good news is Shelby came home for the weekend! Yippee!

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East Ridge Raptors bowling league...Matt's up!

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Lame picture today, I know. I got to see the sneak peek of my layout in an upcoming "crafting" magazine and it looks so good, I'm so excited to get the actual publication (I'll blog about it when the time comes) but anyway, the point is that it made me want to create some goodies (which I haven't really felt like doing lately). No Lisa, this isn't for you, but it might be for one of my favorite nieces!

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The rain took a break today (it's due to start up again tomorrow with a chance of snow Friday night) so Tom took the opportunity to mow the lawn...which was about knee length after 7 days of rainfall! and yes, he's wearing his Detroit Tigers t-shirt even thought they choked last night in the 12th inning!

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Tom was seriously scaring me and the boys this afternoon while watching the "tiebreaking" baseball game (Tigers @ Twins...Tom is from Detroit for those of you who don't know), he was getting so mad at the Tigers he was yelling and screaming at the TV...so we left to do some shopping (and you know it must have been bad in the house if the boys wanted to shop.) Anyway, we ended up at Goodwill and found this little vintage treasure for a mere $1.49. Now we're home and the game STILL isn't over...Lord help us all if the Tigers lose!

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I can't believe how quickly my boys grow...they both had to dig out their winter clothing due to our cold weather but everything was too small...so we were forced to make an Old Navy run (I snuck in a few sweaters for myself!)

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Tom and I don't get a chance to have many "dates" but when the networks started showing trailers for Zombieland I knew I had to plan a "date night" for opening weekend. Last night was the big night and I was REALLY looking forward to some fun time...just me and Tom (although don't tell him I said so!). We had a fantastic dinner at a little swanky joint in Lake Elmo, Minnesota (appropriately called Lake Elmo Inn) then went to see Zombieland! It was a very funny movie...not fabulous...but definitely a good, digusting, gore-y, fun movie...just the right thing to get you into the pre-halloween mood. I think the bottle of wine we drank with dinner helped with the laughs!

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Today was the Boston Scientific 5K Fun Run/Walk at Como Lake. It benefits Camp Odayin, a camp for children/teens with heart disease. Because the four of us participated (in the 44 degree rainy weather), four children are now able to attend camp for one week. Many of the "campers" are at the run each year and it's really touching to hear how excited they get when they talk about the camp. Camp Odayin allows the children to 'rest their worries' and have a week filled with total fun! One of the teenagers told us that her week at camp is the "best week of my life!". This is our second year doing the 5k and it's so worth it, even if it means getting up at 7:30 on a cold and rainy saturday.

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Check out the size of this pumpkin! We were at Sam's Club last night and when we saw these giants we knew couldn't leave without one!

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It's been so cold, windy and rainy all week, I'm beginning to worry that we may skip fall altogether and jump right into winter. Even though it's only 63 in the house we refuse to turn the heat on...thank God for the fireplace!