Instant Gratification Comes in a Can

Can I just say it? "I love the spray paint!" To be clear....not for Huffing.

I have spray painted enough this past month to have black lung. And I mean black lung because I only use black. I buy so much I get "the eye" at my local Ace Hardware. Bought the last 2 cans of black satin 'Fusion' yesterday as a matter of fact. Guess I need to start "Store hopping", like a painkiller addict Pharmacy hops.
It started in October. I had worn out and weathered white plastic Adirondack chairs. They looked pitiful, but I needed them for my annual Halloween Party. So I took the cue from my friend, Jeannie, and bought the "Instant Gratification in a Can". Painted 3 chairs and was hooked. There was an old coffee table in the garage that was water/weather damaged and was on the verge of taking the Dump Trip. I scraped on it, painted IT black gloss. Found an old long metal candle stand and it received the treatment too! Even sat it on the table!! Looked like "The Bomb!" Hooked, I frantically started searching for other objects that needed a boost. I repainted my patio set---black of course. Then came Trunk or Treat at our church. There was pressure. We won last year and I hadn't a clue for this year. So at 4pm I grabbed a large flat box in the garage bound for the trash and a can of black and silver(crazy) spray paint. I am NOOOOOOO artist, although I really wish I was. Anyway, I painted a loosely interpreted fireplace took it to church draped with funky webby stuff and a ghost and came in 2nd! Marble Slab gift certificates in hand--(a black stained hand), we came home victorious :)
Last night, I painted 4 sets of black shutters for the house and Curt and I put them up. They look great!!! I should wear a mask...My chest did feel a little congested though, but a mask drives me crazy(the reason I'm not an O.R. nurse).
I already have my eye on the stereo cabinet. Just have to get that 42 inch TV first. Hmmm, maybe on my next trip for more black spray paint.

Thanksgiving

Thankful for Hula Hoops and Friends

http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z265/moonpiechef/?action=view¤t=47e5c265.pbw
Thanksgiving consisted of...Deep fried turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberrylicious salsa, pies,pies, and a cranberry duff!! Writing blessings on a white table cloth, hula hooping, touch football and Black Friday ad perusing, the Moores and the Hendersons I will say I was holding out for the dessert...i love pie. It is my downfall at Thanksgiving. My favorites are my mom's Custard Pie, Coconut Pie and Karo Nut Pie---known outside the Wolfe family as Pecan Pie. Not a big fan of pumpkin pie, although it really is just a Custard pie with pumpkin added, right? We also played "Paper Head" for lack of a better title. Guess I was a little hard on Daniel. He had 'Puritan'.
Anyway, we ate and then out to the front yard before tryptophan had us in it's grip. I brought about 10 home made Hula Hoops and we hooped it! We even took family photos :) Sam could do 4 at a time with the 'Back bump'! We had a great time and drew some sideways looks from passers by! The Hendersons from Jacksonville stopped in for a visit as well. We haven't seen them in about 12 years!
It was such a blessing to be with friends this time of year and year round.

Salsa with a tuxedo...

Just finished the pre-Thanksgiving preps--candied sweet potatoes, ham green beans, cranberrylicious salsa, Frozen pumpkin dessert. The mashed potatoes will be tomorrow. My boot camp group will run the Melbourne causeway a couple of times and see if Java Surf is open for coffee after.
Finishing Thanksgiving morning after our run. Now I have an excuse to have that 2nd helping of potatoes:) My big tuxedo tomcat--Tail-- is sitting here with me. Sweet thing. He rolled out from under a car that was taking a left on Clay St. in Henderson and into our front yard. He loved Sam, who was only about 18 months at the time. It's almost Parade time!!!! No one in the house gets to excited about it other than me. I love to watch and live vicariously through Katie Couric and have the best seat all bundled up etc! I have no desire to watch it any differently unless I could sit above the crowds on a balcony or in an apartment with a bunch of friends. THAT would be great! Now if I could just find the remote.
I hope everyone's Thanksgiving is fun--not stressful.

The New IKEA

Lord. The humanity. All of Central Florida was in the new IKEA Orlando yesterday. I cannot understand it. So many people that you couldn't stop and look at anything. I swear I had that anxiety "can't swallow" feeling. Decided pretty quickly that I didn't need that $12.00 coffee press. It would probably let the grounds through anyway. Sam hung in there though. The best part was that we recognized the juggler at the front door. It was an afterthought to stop by. Sam and I had been at the Orlando Science Center for a Boyscout trip. Should have just driven home, but the traffic was heavy.
We drove over to Mall at Millenia and ate at the Cheesecake Factory. A swarm of people there as well. We sat next to 2 couples. One had been married for only 7 months---sitting next to each other. The other was a Asian couple who thought Sam was pretty funny eating his spaghetti. They were all very nice. Makes you believe there are still cordial nice people out there. Picked up a couple of things at Anthropologie. Walked around. The traffic was still heavy when we left. Wow. Guess I'll be shopping online this year. So you think there will be nice people to talk with online at Target? hmmm.

CS Lewis etc.

Sam insisted that his hair be parted in the middle and slicked back! The night went well. Sam had a great time. There were some great presentations! We went out for a burrito afterwards at the beach. Got up this morning at 5am for my morning boot camp---49 degrees. Ok it's not northern cold, but COLD for us! My butt is still cold---have to take a hot bath to get the feeling back! My blood has become quite thin living down here!! We ran quite a bit this morning to keep warm. It worked. It wasn't long before I was sweating. Then I couldn't take my sweatshirt off because I would be cold from the sweat..a vicious cycle. I've been doing this for 11 months and have really come to rely on it. I feel better than I have in years. My friend Jennifer and I keep each other in line. Although the text messages on some mornings are telling. "Heavy flow--no go" "No mojo--no go" "not today", "No sleep, no go", etc. Speaking of which..."Butt cold, gotta go."

Notable Turkish Delight

Tonight is Sam's "Night of Notables" at school. He did a project about author CS Lewis. The child is a funny creative writer, but STRESSES OUT when he has to complete a set paper. There have been far too many tears in this house the past few weeks. I hate it for him. He is such a worrier and perfectionist. Who knew my crazed 3year old would turn out to have this personality? Will doesn't worry about too much. Although he has started ironing his t-shirts. huh. Anyway, Sam has his presentation tonight. He wants to look like CS Lewis, but wants to keep his curly blond hair and glasses. Don't know what to do about that one. We did have fun making Turkish Delight this week. (from Narnia) We scouted everywhere for Rose Water and finally found some at a Middle Eastern store near F.I.T. The owner was very nice and was surprised that we were going to make and EAT Turkish Delight. She suggested we just buy a small box of it as it had an "acquired taste". Undeterred, we pressed onward and bought the bottle, a box of lemon Turkish Delight plus some Tahini for hummus later on :) What an involved recipe--candy thermometer, stirring, mixing all with 1 1/2 tablespoons of Rose water and 2 hours later, placing all in the fridge for overnight. It came out great! SWEET---but we rolled the gelatinous cubes in powdered sugar anyway! Sam actually likes it! Kid will not touch an onion or a fruit, but loves this odd tasting confection. So that was the most fun he had working on this project. Good for him. It is hard to stick to doing something the way someone else wants you to do it. Kid wants to be creative with guidelines. He comes by it honestly. God love him. :)