Trick or Treat: Happy Halloween

Today is October 31st, and that means a couple things. First, it means that today is Halloween, although it didn't really feel like it to me. I worked all day, went to the gym, and came home to my normal evening routine. Oh well. Halloween used to be my favorite holiday, but I'm starting to dislike all holidays because they aren't special anymore. Every holiday is mundane to me; they all seem either comparable to everyday life or way too overdone/stressful for my liking. My favorite days now are the ones where I can do something new or go on creative, fun dates with Dan! Maybe one day I will like Halloween again...

Secondly, October 31st means that there are only two months left in the year. That is insane to me. I feel like it was just New Years, and here we are again...

Since I killed the mood, I do want to share a few pictures. The first one is a popcorn hand that one of my kiddos brought me today. She also made muffins a few weeks ago to share with the teachers, and they were great. She's so sweet.

Also, here are a couple throwback Halloween pictures of mine. One is from 1987, the year I was born. I was a skunk for my first Halloween, and I was only three months old... what a weird choice for a costume. I'm sure my parents chose it because I smelled bad... or something like that ;)

This next picture is circa 1990, when I was three years old. I'm not in my actual costume (bat -- I was a weird child, okay?), but I'm wearing a fun little pumpkin shirt and sitting next to a couple adorable kittens. Some things never change... ;) 

That trip down memory lane has been fun. See you in November! :) 

Long Week

This is SUCH a long week. I think it's because I'm trying to get back into the swing of things after a four day weekend. Plus, Dan is back in town, but we can't even hang out because he has SO much to catch up on from last week when he missed classes for five days. I am so looking forward to this weekend... relaxing and hanging out with my love.

For now, I'll just have to settle for these little guys. However, they are so adorable, cuddly, and warm that it's not really settling -- they're awesome companions!

Cookie Candy Brownies

Yesterday, I made a delicious treat to share with my students today, and they loved them so much that I have to share the recipe for anyone who may want to make these. They sure did go over well with a group of ravenous eighth graders at an after school Halloween party! 

For lack of a batter name, I just call them the "cookie candy brownies" because, well, they're made of cookies, candy, and brownies... clever, huh? 

(The full recipe will be posted the the END of this blog post!) 

Basically, you create the bottom with chocolate chip cookie dough, then add a piece of candy, and cover that with brownie batter before baking. It's simple, but it was still time consuming because of all the steps and the amount that I made. 

THE RECIPE

1. Make cookie dough. (Directions for MY cookie dough are found below.)

2. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners. *This step is a MUST because I tried them without liners, and I had to scoop them out with a spoon, and they were AWFUL looking!

3. Smoosh cookie dough as flat as possible into the cupcake liners.

4. Cut Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in half.

5. Place one half of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup on top of cookie dough in each cupcake liner.

6. Make brownie batter according to box mix.

7. Pour brownie batter over cookie dough and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. *Make sure you cover the entire thing for best results.

8. Bake for 18 minutes on 350*. (I found that they needed to cook for 22 minutes, but that may be the altitude in Colorado. Check yours at 18 minutes.)

*SPECIAL NOTES: 

- I made 36 of these with ONE batch of cookie dough.

- I needed TWO batches of boxed brownie mix to make that many, though. Be prepared.

ENJOY! :) 

Cookie Dough (any recipe, but I used my own):

·       1 cup butter, softened

·       3/4 cup packed brown sugar

·       1/4 cup white sugar

·       1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

·       2 eggs

·       1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·       2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

·       1 teaspoon baking soda

·       2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add pudding mix, eggs and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.

My Mom's Visit

Well, my mom and I packed a lot of things into just two and a half days! As soon as I picked her up from the airport, we drove to Castle Rock (on the way back to Colorado Springs) and stopped at the Nike outlet because I was looking for some new running shorts. I scored BIG TIME at the outlet and got three pairs of shorts and one pair of tight-fitting capris for the price of ONE pair of shorts. Heck yes!

That night, we met Eryn and her mom for dinner at Pueblo Viejo (our moms have been friends for a long time too!), and that was a lot of fun. We had fruity margaritas with dinner, and I asked Eryn to be a bridesmaid in my wedding while we were there. It was really nice since both of our mamas were there.

On Friday, we headed to our favorite Middle Eastern restaurant in Colorado, Heart of Jerusalem, and it was amazing as always. We also picked up some new drinks to try -- lemon meringue creme and bubblegum vodka! Both were superb, and I will never spend $8 for one bubblegum martini again! :)

new shorts :) 

blackberry and banana margaritas :)

bridesmaid card for Eryn

the drinks we found at Cheers

bubblegum martini -- but I used a champagne glass instead because they're more fun (yes, I do own martini glasses)

hot Middle Eastern tea, dolmas, falafel sandwich, and baklava... the perfect lunch!

this is seriously the best stuff ever

We had a lot of fun eating at different places and seeing the big cats at Serenity Springs Wildlife Center. I took pictures there too, so I may post those sometime soon! 

300th Post

Today is my 300th post on here. Technically, it should have been posted yesterday -- oops! But regardless, I have only 65 more posts to make this year, and that is fairly exciting!

I just drove to Denver to take my mom to the airport. She is on her way home to Kansas City right now. I go home for Christmas, though, so it'll be less than two months until I am there.

I am going to make a plan today of which posts I need to still make to catch up on EVERYTHING (I have a list of events; I just need to decide WHEN to post each one) so that I can be finished before the end of the year.

I will be creating a new blog soon, and I will link to it from here so everyone knows about it. I will also put links to my old posts from this blog on the new one so they will stil be accessible!

Adventures

Today has been a lot of fun. I had the opportunity to sleep in (nice), and then I went to Heart of Jerusalem for lunch with my mom. It's one of our favorite restaurants in Colorado Springs, and today was no exception! :) Then, we drove through Garden of the Gods, took some fun pictures, and sampled  fudge in the Trading Post (as always). We headed to Manitou Springs so I could pick up some of my favorite organic shampoo and conditioner from a little shop there, and we sampled MORE fudge at the Outpost. ;) From there, we headed to Old Colorado City and checked out a little bakery to inquire about cupcakes for the wedding... not so excited about that anymore. We'll see what happens. We want to head out to find appetizers and drinks for happy hour this evening somewhere, so I'm off!

Exciting!

My mom comes in town TODAY! Actually, she arrives in under three hours. I am pretty excited... can you tell? We haven't seen each other since my birthday in July, and I can't wait to eat lots of good food and relax. :)

I am driving up to Denver International Airport to pick her up, which is just over an hour away. The flights were SO much cheaper that way rather than having her fly into Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, which is only ten minutes away from my house. Oh well.

Sleeping in today was glorious. I did not awake until my alarm went off at 9:15. Can you believe that? 9:15?! It usually goes off at 5:50, so this was much welcomed. I have cleaned my house, done some laundry, made lunch, and just chilled out. It's nice having a day off every once in a while. :)

Four Day Weekend

My four day weekend began a couple hours ago. I scheduled all of my parent teacher conferences for this evening so I wouldn't have to go in tomorrow... and I don't! Yay!

I pick my mom up in Denver at 2:30, and then we have a whole lot of nothing planned... hanging out, eating food, talking, and watching old TV shows... sounds like the perfect weekend to me!

Blast From the Past: Halloween 2010

Well, I was trying to hold off on this post until next week since it's Halloween then, but if I want to finish catching up with my Blasts From the Past, then I need to get buys!

Halloween 2010 was two years ago now, and it was my first one in Colorado. I had a great idea for a costume, and I refused to tell Dan what it was until I put it on. I decided to be Amelia Earhart that year (because he is oh-so obsessed with her!), and I really like how the costume turned out.

Earlier that month, we went to the pumpkin patch / petting zoo, and it was a lot of fun. Dan is wearing his service dress in the pictures because he was still a four degree at the Air Force Academy, so that's why he looks a bit silly. There was also an Air Force football game that day, earlier in the evening, so there will be a few photos from that event as well!

Reliving my favorite season with my favorite person just two years ago is bringing back great memories! :)

(haha, excuse my face!)

Halloween is such a fun time! I wish I had something to do for it this year, but it's on a Wednesday night (blah being an adult with a real job! haha), and my handsome fiancé is out of town... but that's okay. Next year will just have to be twice as big! :)