Happy Halloween

I am so lucky to work in a small office with great people. We have a very laid back office with out the usual office drama. We aren't the kind of co-workers that hang-out outside the office but when we do have a good time when we have pot lucks or little parties. Today we had a pumpkin carving contest and a potluck.

This is mine (above) - I tried to be too Martha Stewart.... It looked good on the internet.

This is J's. (above) He ended up winning first place - $50 bucks!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

2nd Place winner

3rd Place

A few of us dressed up. None of us went all out - but it was still fun.

Owner of our company. This was a nice change - for the past few years he's been Zoro...

President - hard at work

This was cute - she's a "spice" girl...

Me!!! J - he's a retired football player.... real creative dear....
Our CEO - he dressed up like a CEO.....

I'm very blessed to work with a company that is so devoted to it's employees and their families. They have always been so good to me and my schedule. And they pay me well!!!

Happy Monthiversary to Us

Yesterday was our 4 month monthiversary.

It was such a beautiful and memorable day. I had wanted our wedding to be the kind of wedding people loved and talked about. I wanted it to be the most personable wedding ever.

It was indeed a very special day for us all.

Weekend Update

The weekend was a good one - a few activities + a lot of rest = happy Missy. I was still recovering from this stupid cough/cold and the lack of anything to do was great! Saturday morning was of course soccer. The Green Extreme was able to add another Win to it's total and Buddy was able to add another goal to his. It was an exciting game!

After the game we went to my friend D's for little D's birthday. She's turning 7 - unbelievable. I was blessed to be in the room with she was born and now I can't believe she's already 7. She is a cutie and quite the performer. It was a great birthday party complete with a magician and cupcakes from Leda's Yum!!!!! I was in heaven with the Velvet cupcake.
Earlier Buddy picked out little D's gift - a webkinz. If you have children, I'm sure you know what these are. They are adorable stuffed animals that Webkinz come with a unique Secret Code. With it, you enter Webkinz World where you care for your virtual pet, answer trivia, earn KinzCash, and play the best kids games on the net! I thought they were so cute I let Buddy get one also. He played for hours on the computer taking care of his black lab "Jackson".

Sunday morning I had the craving for a big omelet. I had found this recipe during the week and was dying to try to make it. It was awesome!!!!

The rest of the day was spent doing chores around the house. J and I were able to actually have an impromptu dinner together - just the two of us at a new place in Ventura Harbor Village - Brophy Bros. Restaurant & Clam Bar. They are known for their fish & chips and clam chowder. It was delicious!!!

Our view from the bar

That was the weekend. Not too much but just enough!!!

8 Random Things About Me

1) I was born in a small town in the panhandle of Texas - Plainview. Our claim to fame was it was the hometown to Jimmy Dean (not James Dean - but Jimmy Dean Pure Pork Sausage)

2) I am a certified diver. I've dove in Mexico and Hawaii.

3) This is gross - but I can burp the ABC's. So lady like - I know.
4). When I was in middle school Leif Garret was filming a movie at the local high school stadium. We got to go over and I actually got a kiss from him.... Very exciting for a 14 year old.

This Leif Not this Leif

5). I've watched Jazz Singer more times than I care to count. I even used to have the soundtrack on 8 Track, yes 8 Track.

6) I love to drink pickle juice.

7) I'm scared of people dressed up in clown suits.

8) I don't like talking about myself and found this very hard to do. It has taken me so long to come up with this "mememe" list. But I did it! Yay!

A New Day - A New Blog

Yesterday I finally did something I've been wanting to do for some time now - I created a food/recipe/cooking blog. I love cooking, finding new recipes and of course eating.

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I don't know how easy it is going to be to keep two blogs going but I really want to try. I have never been one to keep a diary, to share my thoughts/feelings openly and this is my opportunity to do just that. I'm pretty much a private person. I started a "mememe" post a while back but have yet to finish because it just seems so open - so personal. I understand that is the whole purpose so I need to step out of my comfort zone and finish it and just put it out there.

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I love to read other's blogs and to be perfectly honest I feel like mine is really really boring compared to others. I came to the conclusion that I was blogging for others and not for myself. I found myself reading my posts and then changing them a million times because I didn't think they were interesting and were boring. I wasn't being true to myself and what I believed in and it bothered me. I actually changed a post and deleted a portion and re-posted. And it was one of the most important parts - about how the Rockies organization is made up of mostly Christians. I guess I didn't want to put out there that I'm in deed a Christian, a church going Christian. Why? I don't know. Maybe I thought it would make me boring. Whatever. I questioned myself yesterday - what is the purpose for my blog? Which is why I wanted to create another - one for my personal posts and one for my cooking/food related posts.

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Purposes -

MissMissy - an on-line diary of my likes, my dislikes, my family, my thoughts, every day happenings (boring or not).

Missy's Dishes - to share my favorite foods, recipes, cooking dishes, eats, etc.

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There I did it - I opened up. Not so bad actually.

Off to finish my 8 Things About Me post....

Garlic Spaghetti

I can say no to cookies, cakes, brownies, etc. but I can not say no to pasta. I love it in every size, shape or form. My all time favorite recipe is so simple but so delicious.

Garlic Spaghetti

1 (16 ounce) package spaghetti
10 cloves garlic, minced

Sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a skillet over low heat, cook garlic and sun dried tomatoes in oil until garlic lightly browned. Remove from the heat; stir in parsley, salt and pepper. Drain spaghetti; place in a large bowl. Add garlic mixture and Parmesan cheese; toss to coat.

Enjoy!

Winning the Right Way

Tonight is the first game of the World Series and I am 100% behind Colorado to win. Not because I am a HUGE Angels fan and would love nothing more than for the Red Sox to lose and not beause they are the underdogs but because I am impressed by the Rockies organization.

Back on September 15, baseball's Colorado Rockies were only four games above .500, six-and-a-half games behind in the race for the final playoff spot. With only nine games left to play, they were still four-and-a-half games behind. And now the Rockies, 40-to-1 shots to make it to the playoffs, are in the World Series.

To get to the playoffs, the Rockies had to win 14 of their last 15 games, including a do-or-die one-game playoff against the San Diego Padres. As befitted this improbable story, they won that game by scoring three runs in the bottom of the 13th inning to overcome a two-run deficit.
Once October started, the Rockies kept rolling: They swept both Philadelphia and Arizona to enter the World Series having won 21 of their last 22 games.

The Rockies' way means "[doing] the best job [they] can to get [the right] people with the right sense of moral values . . ." To that end, prospective Rockies are interviewed to see if they are compatible with the Rockies' approach.

And off the field, the Rockies players recently proved that the "Rockies' Way" is the right way. Last summer, a minor league coach in the Rockies farm system, Mike Coolbaugh, was killed by a line drive while coaching at first base. The Rockies players have now voted a full share of the team's playoff money for the coach's family.

With all the news these days about steroids, cheating, and felony arrests, modern-day pro sports needs a story about the good guys. And athletes need the reminder that it is possible to excel both as a player and as a human being—that character counts. Go Rockies!!

Sick

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Which is good because I have a killer sore throat today and feel awful.... I hate being sick. But even more I hate being at work and sick.

Crazy Winds and Fire!!!

We woke up Sunday morning to crazy high Santa Ana winds reaching up to 50 mph at at time 80 mph gusts. J had worked so hard on Saturday on the yards and cleaning up the backyard - everything looked great when we went to bed on Saturday. I love a freshly manicured lawn.

Sunday was different story - trees were down, leaves were all over, the Pepper Tree next door looks like it lost all it's berries - all over our yard. Everything that had been organized and put away the day before was now scattered all over.

All the news stations were covering the Malibu fire that had started about 3 hours earlier. It was heartbreaking to watch as they reported the flames had consumed the Malibu Presbyterian Church and the landmark Castle Kashan (Hodge Castle). I spent most of the day watching fires pop up all over Southern California. By nights end there were nearly a dozen fires in all.

We had a couple fires in Ventura county that filled the air around us with smoke. Making the sky very red and very unsafe to be out in. I took these pictures an hour apart from each other.

1:39pm

2:24pm - the white spots is ash falling

I can't imagine living where the fires actually were. I tried to limit whatever errands I had as the air was so thick and awful to breathe.

On a cuter note - Duncan sat and looked out the window all day yesterday - he could not figure out the wind.

Saturday Wrap Up

The weekend was good.

*Daughter left for Hawaii with her best friend's family. I'll miss her terribly but I know she will have a great time! I heard from her around 3:00 our time that they had made it safely and were heading to the pool.

*Buddy had a soccer game at 10:30. They did really good despite the fact they were down to only 7 players so that meant no subs for the team and they would all have to play the entire game. The other team was a filled with little aggressive, fast guys. It was a great game - had it not been for a couple bad calls - the Green Extreme would have ended in a win - instead we had to settle for a tie.

*I had been researching and pricing new insurance companies for auto insurance now that we have a new driver in the house. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Mercury is great with teen drivers so I tackled the process of switch insurance companies. I'm so happy to have that all taken care of.

*It's a rare occasion when J and I actually have a "date". Saturday night we went to dinner on the recommendation and gift card from our Friends to the Scotch and Sirloin in Ventura. I've lived in Ventura for over 30 years and admittedly have never gone to the restaurant. The view was very pretty. It sits in the Ventura Harbor. The atmosphere was nice - romantic. We were seated right by a window and had a nice view of the harbor.

Prime Rib Soup

Wedge Salad

Scotch Sirloin (J)

Shrimp Scampi (Me)

Self photos not so good.

A nice man must have felt sorry for us and offered to take our picture. : )

I think I made the people around us a little nervous with all my picture taking. I had one lady ask me if I was a food critic.... No, just a lady who rarely gets a night out with her hubby.