What To Do With All of That Leftover Pumpkin...

Here are two rip-roaring recipes - one for the tummy and one for the face! Both involve a healthy and happy dose of pumpkin.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 box spice cake mix

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 egg

1/4 cup melted butter

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

*Combine ingredients and drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Hey, it couldn't be easier, right? It is such a delicious cookie recipe that was given to me by my friend, Missy. You'll love them to pieces and then devour all the pieces!

Pumpkin Chocolate Cream Pie Facial Mask

1 teaspoon canned pumpkin

2 teaspoons honey

1/4 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon cream or milk

2 teaspoons brown sugar

*Combine ingredients and apply to your freshly cleansed face and neck. Rub lightly in circles for one minute. Leave on and relax for 15 minutes. Rinse with cool water and a wash cloth. Follow with a moisturizer.

This facial mask sounds delicious enough to eat, right? Well, it's just as delectable for your complexion! Here's why: The pumpkin is chock full of vitamins, such as beta-carotene, vitamins A and C, and enzymes to slough off dead cells and brighten the skin. The honey is a natural humectant, which means it moisturizes and softens aplenty. The cocoa powder is an anti-oxidant, so it helps heal free radical and cell damage, while combating aging. The cream or milk contains protein and lactic acid to aid the pumpkin in gently exfoliating, soothing, and calming. The brown sugar, being a grainy substance, will also exfoliate and smooth the skin.

Now, will you feel like a fool applying this brown and goopy goo to your face? Yes. Will you resemble a mud-faced, hideous monster with it on? Absolutely. Will the very sight of you frighten small children and animals? Naturally. Will it all be worth it for how gorgeous your skin looks after you rinse the mask off? Indubitably. (Don't you love that word?) Happy Thanksgiving!

Condensed And Abridged

Now, this will be toilsome! I am forced to condense my answers to a single, lonely word! Keep a prayer in your heart...

One Word Tag

1. Where is your cell phone? Counter
2. Where is your significant other? Autographs
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. Your mother? Sweet
5. Your father? Generous
6. Your favorite thing? Togetherness
7. Your dream last night? Hmmm...?
8. Your dream/goal? Children
9. The room you're in? Family
10. Your hobby? Cooking
11. Your fear? Loss
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Home
13. Where were you last night? Enrichment
14. What you're not? Depressed
15. Something on your wish list? Vacation
16. Where you grew up? Everywhere
17. The last thing you did? Kiss
18. What are you wearing? Satin
19. Your TV? Cartoons
20. Your pet? Jerald!
21. Your computer? Humming
22. Your mood? Content
23. Missing someone? Mother
24. Your car? Working!
25. Something you're not wearing? onesie (ha ha)
26. Favorite store? Bowman's
27. Your summer? Daughter :)
28. Love someone? Infinitely

29. Your favorite color? Pink
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Forgot!

Tour de force! We made it to the end with such demandingly limited verbal usage! Ok, I'll pass the buck onto Jessica, Julie, Aubrey, and Cindy.

Tag - you're it! (And you're cute)

A "Friend" ly Weekend!

This past weekend felt as though it were a holiday of happenings with good friends and family. On Friday, two of my girlfriends from high school and I got together and giggled and gabbed for four hours! Our kiddies enjoyed the play date as well, and appropriately lived it up. I'm on the left holding Summer, Katie is in the middle holding her newborn, Sophie, and Jill is on the right with her three boys.

For the picture below, I held the camera and took about twelve shots of this very pose! We kept laughed hysterically, while demanding retakes because most of the pictures met with our extreme disapproval. Yes, we may as well have been back in high school! We had a merry time together.

On Saturday, we joined up with our good friends, Jim and Emily, for a night of Mexican food, funny fun and frolic! Prior to the burrito fiesta, we watched Emily perform a standing ovation worthy performance in "Alice in Wonderland." It was a prime and sterling evening!

On Sunday, Jerald's twin brother, Josh, blessed Malee, their newest gorgeous addition to their already gorgeous family. It was an honor to be there on Malee's special day!

Of course, my "friend" ly weekend would not be complete without the acknowledgment of my best little friend of all - my silly Summer. I must give voice to the fact that she looks quite arresting in these shots. Don't you reckon?

A Recipe This Good Calls For a Moment of Silence...While You're Chewing.

Teriyaki Beef

2 pounds beef sirloin steak, cut across the grain into thin strips
1 cup sliced onion
2 cups water
2/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup water
1 cup thin carrot strips
1-1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1-1/2 cups sliced green bell peppers
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts

Brown beef strips and onion in a bit of sesame oil or cooking spray. Add water, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, and garlic. Cover and simmer 45 minutes. Add cornstarch/water mixture to thicken. Add vegetables and simmer gently for two minutes or until crisp tender. Serve with hot cooked rice or noodles.

I found this treasure of a recipe in the "Dinner is Ready" cookbook by Deanna Buxton. I made it for the first time this week and knew I had to share it with all of you cute people. I served it over egg noodles and it left us all reeling! I added a bit more water at the end, but you can see what you think. I always omit mushrooms due to their offensive nature (in my humble and fungal opinion) and it still proved ambrosial. Your appropriate moment of silence can only last so long, however, for you'll soon be shouting your praise of this one!

Sweetheart Tag xoxo

Here's a gooey, romantic game of tag. Here's how it works: I will answer questions about Jerald. At the end of the post, six of you will be tagged. Then, those six people can do the same thing on their own blog and so on and so forth. Feel free do this on your blog anyway - even if you're not tagged!

*What is your husband's name? Jerald Marc Simon.

*How long have you guys been married? Five years and eight months.

*How long did you date? Nine months (we dated for six and were engaged for three).

*How old is he? 28

*Who is taller? Jerald is. He's 5' 9" and the sublime height for kissing. I just lean my head back a bit and tilt. Perfect!

*Who can sing the best? Oh, we both love to sing and to sing together.

*Who is smarter? Well, I think we're both smart, but no one can understand Neapolitan sixth chords and Locrian modes like my man!

*Who pays the bills? Jerald does.

*Who does the laundry? I do, but he helps me fold the clothes sometimes.

*Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Jerald has always slept on the right side with me snuggled up next to him. He's a Simon, which means he's a human furnace.

*Who mows the lawn? Jerald always has and always will mow our yard because he's a believer in the continuous practice of the art of chivalry.

*Who cooks dinner? I cook dinner, but he often whips up astonishing breakfasts.

*Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? We don't fight - a fact about which our friends often tease us.

*Who kissed who first? Oh, he definitely kissed me first. We were hugging when he turned his face and effectively smooched me! He'd tried several times for the previous five minutes, but I kept flirtatiously reminding him I wasn't ready to take the kissing step. He wisely ignored me and went in for it anyway. Yes, it lasted a good twenty minutes. A very good twenty minutes!

*Who wears the pants? We've always said there's one pair of pants and we each have a leg in them. That may provide for a curious visual, but it just means...we're in each other's pants. Just kidding!! Ohhh!! Sorry. What it really means is, we don't believe in controlling one another. Hm...I think I liked the former explanation better... xoxo

I tag Katie, Cheryl, Elicia, Elizabeth, Kalee, and Shelece.

Life Tip - What Are You Looking For?

For several years now I've had a daily tradition. During my morning prayer, I ask Heavenly Father to help me find the blessings and simple pleasures of the day. Then, during my bedtime prayer, I report to Him my findings. It provides for such merriment! Good things happen every day and it becomes a jolly good game to search them out - to look for them. The possibilities are multitudinous: Good hair days, favorite songs on the radio, notes in the mail, or a fresh box of Kleenex when our nose is an erupting volcano. We might find a five dollar bill in our pocket, down a glass of icy cold water when our innards are a desert, or be given a sincere compliment given just when we need it. There are always rejuvenating power naps, eating just the thing we're craving, seeing a sea of flowers, hearing our kids' laughter, making our spouse smile, or receiving ten emails in our inbox. We always appreciate a sparkling kitchen accompanied by the comforting hum of the dishwasher, our subscribed magazine's arrival, and of course, the spontaneous giggling over something so silly, you'd have to be there. Then, there are the scripture verses we read and feel were written just for us, peaceful reassurances from the Lord, and as my Grandpa By called it - "that wonderful sense of well-being" - the feeling of utter contentment. It's easy to get bogged down with the daily negatives, but it's much more recreative to notice and note the simple pleasures of life. The Lord, from whom our blessings come, will bless us for our gratitude. So, tally up the daily delights and watch them grow day by day. Don't we always find what we're looking for?

Halloween Happiness

When it comes to Halloween, the costume choices are endless. You have the ghosts, the goblins, the witches, the politician look-a-likes, the Hannah Montanas...but the one thing our Princess Summer could pull off with the most convincing ease and charm is the Princess Sleeping Beauty. What a happy Halloween! We started off the evening at Summer's Grandpa Jerry and Grandma Denise's house where we, Summer's paparazzi of choice, had a photo shoot among the leaves with the Princess herself.

Summer loved going trick or treating and she sure melted our neighbors' hearts! Here is a one minute video clip of Summer trick or treating at our house!