Stuffed

I am slowly recovering from the prolonged food coma that has rendered me woefully unproductive for several days now. Between Halloween, co-workers' birthdays, and all the grocery shopping and cooking I've done lately, my kitchen has been transformed into a dangerous minefield of tempting leftovers and bowls of candy. I'm feeling quite a bit of pressure to eat my way through these items at an accelerated rate in an attempt to relieve the overcrowding in my fridge without throwing anything away. Luckily, all of this eating should be the perfect warm-up for all of the consumption coming up later this month. A long weekend filled with birthday cake, turkey, pumpkin pie, and lots of gravy shouldn't be attempted without some serious pre-feast stretching, you know.

Surprisingly, the dirty dishes that have been piled in the sink for two days now have not yet taken it upon themselves to bathe. They're going to need to get on that rather soon, though, because I have several more recipes on my to-do list for the next few days. I'm especially excited to try out these guys, as my bowls of chili have been yummy but a bit lonely so far.

Since I didn't have a single trick-or-treater on Halloween night, I consoled myself by roasting pumpkin seeds... and burning them for the second year in a row. Clearly there is a learning curve to this, and I'm floundering somewhere behind it. But despite the fact that they're a bit overdone, I can't keep my hands out of them. I've been helping myself to handfuls constantly for the past few days, but I have a hard time feeling too guilty -- they can't be that bad for you, right? You know, that whole comes-from-a-vegetable thing? Besides, they're just the right mix of crunchy and sweet and blackened that is perfect for this time of year.

Speaking of this time of year, can we talk about the fact that I've had ice on my windshield the past two mornings? I love so many things about winter (the holidays, the decorations, lots of excuses to snuggle), but the temperatures make me wonder if geese have the right idea. It's days like this when I want to pack my bags and move to Florida until next March. I think I may in fact be an 80-year-old trapped  in a twenty-something body. Ahem.

Truth be told, though, I'm pretty excited that it's already November. I know that the next few months are going to fly by in a rush of holidays and family time, and then we will be that much closer to the hubby coming home. Words can't even describe how ready I am to have him back!

   Love,

    Meg