Pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere and so much to eat!

Every year our church sets up a pumpkin patch on the grounds to one side of the building. They sell pumpkins as well as having storytime, pictures, and education about pumpkins. This year was my first experience with the patch and I helped unload the truck--61,000 pounds of pumpkins! Believe me, I was sore for days! I felt guilty about the poor pumpkins with blemishes and bruises or soft spots. They were thrown over by the dumpster since they can not be sold. I took three big ones and cooked them up for pumpkin puree to fill my freezer. I have about 15 bags of pumpkin to create with. I was surprised by how many people told me that they never even knew anyone who did that. That's what Libby is for, right? I love fresh pumpkin! I made several loaves of spice bread and boy! they were soooo good. I also slip pumpkin into everyday foods to boost the vitamins in our favorite meals. It tastes great in pasta sauce, red or cream. Today we had ground turkey and pumpkin sloppy joes. They were delicious!

Well, it's supposed to be fall and the pumpkins are supposed to make it feel like fall. Here in Corpus Christi the temps are still in the upper 80s and lower 90s! Ug! Where is fall? I can't find it! I guess we'll just wake up one day to winter and skip fall alltogether; such is life in the tropics.

I am still busy sewing for my business. I've decided not to stress out about not selling much. Seems that everytime I do, it gets worse. If I just relax, I'll sell something. Happily, my hubby started a new job that he loves today. That takes pressure off of me. We are still the poor family while he is finishing his masters of accounting. As my wise mother always says, "You can stand on your head for a little while if you need to." So that comforts me to know that someday this phase of our lives will end.

Here is the recipe for my Turkey and Pumpkin Sloppy Joes:

1lb ground turkey

1/2 onion, chopped fine

1 bell pepper (preferrably yellow since it is not as conspicuous)

2 cloves of garlic

2 cups of pumpkin puree

2 cups of ketchup

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Tablespoon vinegar

All purpose seasoning

Saute the onion, pepper, and garlic in a Tablespoon of oil until nearly soft. Add turkey and seasonings to taste (salt, pepper, or any seasoning you like to use) and brown. Add pumpkin and the rest of the ingredients and cook for about 10 minutes over medium heat. Serve over toasted buns.

Enjoy!

And September ends......

Wow! Is it October already? I have been frenetically sewing lately and have lost touch with time. Life seems somehow really difficult this fall. My business is struggling amid many friends' promises to buy things which they never do. My husband resigned from his job almost two weeks ago. He was facing serious ethical issues and decided the right thing to do was resign. Of course I support him completely, but it is still a difficult time since my shop does not in any way support us and we have no other income. In spite of this we are resolute that he shouldn't just take any old job that presents itself. We really want something that will really boost his future in accounting. So we are bathing that in regular prayer and trusting God to "give us this day our daily bread." Our girls have grown accustomed to the "no, not right until we have money" answer to most questions. I am so thankful they are homeschooled and can be with us as we push through our trials together.

I seem to have so many creative ideas and not enough time to sew it all. One blessing about my hubby not having a job is that he has been cutting some things out for me. I have launched a kid's shop on etsy called http://www.3littlepickles.etsy.com/ where I have listed some really fun stuff that my girls all want to keep! I have to borrow boys from my friends to model my boy items. Funny, huh? Anyway, I'm trying to keep my creativity in check or I'll go nuts! I get bonkers with monotony. I'm having a hard time dreaming of fall and winter stuff, too: being that it is still in the 90s here during the day! I can't complain, I really dislike coldy weather (for extended periods of time). Well, I hope all of you (the two people who actually read my blog) are having a lovely fall and are full of hope for tomorrow.

Augusto

I'm trying to think of when I last blogged....It's been a while. Life is so crazy on the home front. Just how crazy? You don't want to know, but I'll tell you a little about what's happened. In July we had a wonderful trip. We dropped off the kids at my mother in law's house and drove to Austin for a close friend's wedding. I so enjoyed seeing friends that I hadn't seen in about 7 years and others around 4 years. It was great! I loved spending time with my husband also. Dates are few and far between in this economy, let me tell you.

Recently, my husband went through a very rocky time at work. We weren't sure if he was going to be added to the unemployed statistic. We prayed A LOT about that. We decided he should go full time to school this fall in order to speed up his already-in-process masters of accounting. He will still be working and going to school full time--nice knowing you, honey! We've been through this before when he was getting his M.Div in South Carolina. As mom always says, "You can stand on your head for a little while if it gets you where you need to go." So we will be standing on our heads again! I can't remember the last time I was bored--oh wait, it was in 2007, stranded on a missions base in Brazil with nothing to do but laugh at ourselves. (another story). I am still working on my etsy business of making purses and shopping bags. I love doing it, even though it's not making enough money. I will soon be getting a job. (if it works out) Right now, I'm working on a job of 20 shopping bags that are to be gifts at a wedding shower......great idea, right?! They will be lovely, but a lot of work all at once.

I so love living near the beach.....I do hope we live here a very long time, but I am not God and cannot predict where we will be in the future. I happen to be glad about that. Jesus, take my stress away, it's yours!

Happy July 4th

Yes, my blog is once again neglected. Life has been extremely crazy! Between two weeks of VBS at two churches and just trying to keep my house going and sewing, I feel like I really need a "do nothing" day. I like those days when I don't feel pressured to do anything. At least my girls loved vbs and made some new friends. I helped with crafts the first week--over 600 kids every day for five days! Wow, was I ever exhausted. The second week I just drove the girls to and fro across town a bazillion times.

Last night I went to a baseball game for the first time ever! The Corpus Christi Hooks were playing a team from Tulsa. We won! The best part was that my husband and I had gone with our pastor and his wife.

My sewing is going slowly. I have so many ideas and so little time to create. I made a Texas flag purse this week and decided to keep it; since I don't have very many things that I have made. I've added a Bolivian apron to my shop. Most women of Bolivia wear brightly colored aprons everyday and everywhere. I have one I bought in Sucre about six years ago that I wear while I'm cooking or anything messy. They are so comfortable and always make me think of being in Bolivia. I like that I can throw it over my neck and don't have to tie the back if I don't want to. I can almost smell a stinky market full of veggies and fruits.

Life moves along in every minute of the day. My six year old loves to pretend she is reading a book speaking very fast in a British accent. It cracks me up. Especially since what she says makes no sense, just random words. My three year old went to the farmer's market with me this morning dressed as Minnie Mouse. She made everyone smile. My eight year old is growing up way too fast. I had to give her the "you are too young for a boyfriend" talk this week. I'm content today to have a loving husband and three lovely daughters, a good farmer's market and Mexican fruteria, and a beach close by.

A moment to sit down

A friend mentioned that she actually read my blog and I thought that I ought to update the poor neglected thing. May was absolutely crazy! I hardy sewed at all. My oldest's birthday begins our whirlwind of activity on the 10th. We celebrated at a local pizza/party place; which I may add, had the worst pizza I've ever put in my mouth. At least she had fun. My second daughter decided to get a mild stomach bug at said event and threw up in the middle of the floor while spinning around looking for the bathroom. The following day was my birthday; woohoo happy 37th to me. I don't think we did much except for eat lunch out. Oh, and I forgot Mother's day......I don't remember much about that either except for receiving a strawberry plant. The 12th I had an orthodontic adjustment for the first time in 5 months! And so, for the 13th, our anniversary, I could hardly chew an overcooked noodle, much less a gourmet meal. fun.

The next weekend we took an on-a-whim trip to Mexico. I spent some of my childhood in Brackettville, TX near Del Rio. So we tip-toed around my old stomping grounds and went over the border to Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. It is a lovely, small, and quiet town. We enjoyed walking around town and eating fresh fruit and shopping. In case you are wondering, there wasn't a single case of swine flu in that state in Mexico. Apparently the tourists didn't know that because there was hardly anyone there.

The next Thursday I left early in the morning with the girls for yet another trip. We stopped in Austin to see my two lovely cousins and eat lunch. Then I drove up to Southlake and spent the night with my parents. We had hit Fort Worth at exactly 5 o'clock, so it took me nearly 2 hours just to get through town. major ug! I was ready to sleep! The next day we drove up to Missouri with my parents for a wedding of a good friend. That was a good, but lengthy trip. I enjoyed seeing people I hadn't seen in several years.

Well, now here we are in June! I am busy making bags for those who love the 4th of July. I am also designing new things in my mind. My daughters are in the middle of our school year now. We are on a funky schedule. We are blessed to have full tummies, a roof (though it be a noisy one from upstairs neighbors), and our family. I am learning to just be content with these. Next week I will be helping out with vacation Bible school at our church.......we shall see.

My blog is neglected!

Sorry, I have been a bit distracted and busy. First, there was the week of four bag sales plus having to sew an elaborate princess dress for a special order. I love to create; so that was a lot of fun. I had made a dress for the same girl a couple of years ago and she needed a new one for a trip to Disney World this month. I pulled out all the stops and made the dress really fancy. Sparkly butterflies flowed down the front of the dress. Most importantly, the girl loved it!

The next week I was busy making Easter dresses for my three daughters. I don't know why I do that to myself. The dresses were awesome, but my house went to pot and I was exhausted. (Especially after staying up until midnight to finish the last one). Anyway, I vowed to just buy the ten dollar superstore dresses next year!

In the meantime I am trying to rebuild stock in my etsy shop. I also had to have a root canal in the midst of all of this. Apparently, my braces injured one of my teeth and killed the nerve. That was painful! I had an infection and my sinus was so inflamed. After a week they finally gave me an antibiotic. Trials of life.

My husband's birthday was yesterday; ironically the day after tax deadline. I am so thankful that he has a job at this time, but the hours are pretty strenuous. We do get to go have lunch with him sometimes. That is always nice.

I am listening to my girls play restaurant in their bedroom while I type this. I get such a kick out of the "chicken cherry-aki" that they have gleaned from the Pepto commercial. Also being served is "upside down chocolate monkey cake" and ten dollar drinks. I think my oldest has an uppercrust imagination. Love it.

It's Monday in bagdom

Good news! I finished the princess messenger bag as well as another shopping bag last week. Perseverance is an excellent virtue. Sometimes I have it and sometimes I don't. I know you've been there. Today my kids are so excited about going to play with some other homeschool kids. Let's just say social outings have been nearly non-existant since we moved here. I am not an outgoing-knock em all over-plan every minute type mom. I do well just to get the girls to finish their school work; and I love spontaneity. I like to reward finished school with a trip to an awesome park, or even better, the beach.

I guess I haven't told you about our dog, Bucky. He is an extremely cute golden, blonde lab. We brought him with us from Roanoke, TX where he was born. Unfortunately, we had to move into an apartment and an inside dog is out of the question in our house. My hubby's new boss graciously offered to keep Bucky at her house. She has two labs of her own, so that worked out wonderfully. We go over when we can to visit him. We stand at the low gate and pet him and talk to him. I wonder if he will forget who we are?

Well, I must get some sewing done! There are plastic bags to retire in the world!