Rebecca Homecca

The sky is gray even though the rain has stopped. It is cold and damp outside, your standard Michigan day that comes at the end of October.

Hubs is outside trying out the new leaf blower as the Oak trees decided yesterday they were done with there leaves. They have hung on to them long enough, it’s time to go. I’m afraid of what will be will be covering the yard next…

I’ve got a big pot of Chicken Noodle soup on the stove waiting for when he comes in from the cold. Next I’m gong to peel some apples to make some apple crisp. Maybe the oven will warm things up a little.

The looming winter sky made for a great day to stay inside and cook things to warm us up!

Check this out to see how to make drying your clothes dramatic.

A couple of ladies at work are in cooking groups. You make like 5 of the same meal, then you trade with your group members and come away with 5 different meals. Then you stick them in the freezer until you are ready to cook them for dinner.

Well, one of the groups disbanded, so that lady asked some of us girls at work to start a new cooking group.

I am super excited about it. I have been buying lots of frozen meals lately because it’s just easier. But they can be pricey (although cheaper than eating out) and I’m not sure how healthy they are.

This way I will still have frozen meals, but they will be homemade and the lady says it is a lot cheaper because you can buy in bulk.

It should be interesting. I’ve not made anything on a mass scale before and I am not used to making ahead and freezing. It will be a learning experience, and hopefully I’ll get some good new recipes to share!

Armed with my list I created after closet shopping I headed off to Kohl’s yesterday morning.

I found out the best time to go is right when they open. The dressing rooms are clear, and you don’t have to deal with a bunch of people.

I managed to find everything on my list. I also found another outfit that I “needed”.

It all started with this beautiful grey cardigan sweater. You know how I love a good cardigan.

Since I live in Michigan, I usually stay away from anything grey. If I want to see grey, I just look outside.

But this sweater was so soft and such a pretty light grey. I was in sweater love. However, do to my aversion for grey, I know I have nothing in my closet to wear with it. So the search for pants begins.

Oh, yeah, and I will probably need something to wear under the cardigan.

It took a while, and I almost gave up on the perfect grey cardigan. Finally, I found some charcoal pants with a grey and wine colored pinstriping. I see them recommending these type of pants on What Not to Wear all the time, so I figure it’s a good choice. I eventually also stumbled across a wine colored sweater shell.

Tried it all on together, and what do you know? It’s an outfit, that looks professional and pulled together. Sweet!

I wasn’t planning on buying those three items, but what can you do when you come across such a cute sweater?

I also got a super sassy shirt that I needed to go under a jacket and completed a closet shopping outfit. It can also be worn by itself for another look.

I completed my shopping excursion with another sweater and some new black shoes (also of major cuteness). I shouldn’t have any trouble getting dressed for work this winter now.

I’ve been busy as a bee getting ready for this Christmas show. It’s not an art show so much as a gift show, but they like to have hand made and arty things.
In addition to my regular printed cards I am now offering handmade art cards. I basically take paintings that maybe didn’t work out, but still had nice elements (like the apple there), and cut out those parts to make the cards. A few of the cards were painted specifically for card making. Each one is unique, and they come in sets of 3, all tied up with a ribbon.
We will have room in our booth area for unframed work and some small framed pieces too.
I still have quite a few cards to finish, and they all have to be priced. November 9 is our set up date, so I better get to it!

At 5:15 this morning I am awoken by a howling cat in the living room.

Oh boy, must be another cat outside. That’s the usual cause of such a ruckus.

Get out in the living room, turn on the outside light and there is something furry, striped, and fat (not unlike the crying kitty). It’s not a cat though, it’s a raccoon.

They are just staring at each other through the glass at this point.

I sort of imagined the conversation had gone something like this-

Raccoon: “You look sort of like me. Your striped and fat, but you don’t have a tail.”

Marvin: “Well you have a pointy nose!” (He’s kind of sensitive on the topic of his tail, or lack there of)

Raccoon: “Dude, sorry, I’m just saying, you know, we’re similar but not the same.”

Marvin: “Yeah I guess. Hey my lady is here.”

“Why is she yelling at you?”

Raccoon: “I don’t think she likes me. Where is she going?”

Marvin: “Oh here comes my other person. I’m so excited for them to meet my new friend.”

Racoon: “Uh Oh. Gotta Go!”

Over the weekend I decided to go through my closet and get organized for the cooler weather. So I went closet shopping.

First I took everything out of my closet. EVERYTHING. Cleared it out.

Then I put the summer things to the back. I sorted out any summer things that went one summer too long and either tossed them or put them in the Goodwill pile.

I did the same for the fall/winter stuff that had seen better days or didn’t fit, or I just didn’t like anymore.

Next, I started sorting things into outfits. I tried to look for new ways to mix and match things up.  That way, even though it’s the same clothes, it’s like an all new outfit. It’s called Closet Shopping.

The last thing to do is make a list of any items needed to complete an outfit or replace things that are worn out (like shoes).

Now, I need to go shopping for those things. Since I know they will be used with certain outfits, I won’t get something home that gets pushed to the back because it doesn’t go with anything.

Also, I won’t need to buy as much because I already have new outfits!

I finished reading New Moon and I liked it much better than the first one. I think it was Jacob. I don’t want to give too much away, but I think he’s so much better for  Bella than Edward.

Here’s the thing about Edward, just because he is stuck in a teenagers body, he has lived like 130 years (on account of his being a vampire). You are just going to be too mature for a real 18 year old when you are a 130. He is so condescending, it drives me crazy.

Jacob is so much more on her level. He’s a teenager too and is so much sweeter to her than Edward is (Also, I’ve seen the previews for the movie and he is much cuter.)

And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, well good for you and your grown up life. I am stuck in teenager world until I get through these books. And no, you can not stop once you start. They are like crack. I’m a little anxious about the fact that I am done with this one and I don’t know when the next one is coming.

Now, I’m going to start reading some Toni Morrison and try to get some brain cells back.

Becky’s Totally Scientific Rating: 3.5

Last night we went to see Where the Wild Things Are. We usually wait for movies to come on DVD but I really wanted to see this one in the theater.

It was really good. Hubs noted that the live action monsters really added to the story. Had they been computer generated, they would not be as believable. And they are very believable.

I have to agree with the critics, I’m not sure it’s for kids. The story is very subtle and emotionally intense. Which sounds weird, but these monsters have very real feelings. There are some kind of scary parts, but more than that, I am just not sure how interesting it will be for kids. It’s not the fun kind of usual kids movie.

But I loved it. The little boy is so good, which he had to be. He’s the only human  on screen for 90% of the movie. It’s kind of a darker, sadder Wizard of Oz. His imagination takes him to this world, but you can see his life reflected in the monsters and the events that happen.

We also saw a preview for Fantastic Mr. Fox, which look awesome. It goes old school with stop animation, which is some how even cooler. Maybe I’m burnt out on all the computer animation.

Today hubs spent the day getting the cars ready for winter with a fresh coat of wax.

I spent part of the day outside putting away my planters and stuff that can’t be out in the winter. I also changed my little flag to a Halloween Theme.

I spent the other part of the day inside, cleaning and organizing. I have plans to organize my closet tomorrow, among other things. Get the sweaters out and all that.

It must be some instinct deep down inside to prepare for winter. I resisted the urge to bake something. I am truly nesting. Fall does that to me.

It’s been a particularly cold Autumn. I think that makes us feel like Winter is swiftly moving in, so we must ready ourselves for it.

I’ve been thinking about going shopping for some fall clothes. Now I feel like Why Bother? It will be sweater time soon enough, so I can make it a couple more weeks of in between.