Allison Wonderland

Ally told me not to post this pic on Facebook until after Halloween, so I'll sneak it in here for now... shhhhh. When she was little, she thought the name of the book/movie was "Allison Wonderland." Like her name, Allison. We still laugh about that. My cell doesn't take the best pics in low light, better pics will come after Halloween.


Amy is having surgery to remove her tonsils on Friday, November 5. We meet with the surgeon for a pre-op appointment tomorrow morning. We had an option of trying a low dose antibiotic for two months to see if that would finally kick out whatever she's been dealing with for the last couple months. Since she's already missed so much work and school, and who knows if that would even work, we opted for the surgery. Well, I should say I opted for the surgery. She's not too keen on it -- I told her to quit looking at stuff on the internet about it, it will just freak her out more. The doctor said the germs are hiding in her tonsils, and everytime she goes off antibiotics they take over again. I think that the longer she waits, it will be even more traumatic to have the surgery as she gets older. Better just to get it all over with. We will see if I feel the same way next weekend. Plus whenever she gets sick, which is more and more lately, her tonsils are so huge they close up her entire throat. Glad the surgery is on a Friday, though, so I can spend the whole weekend waiting on her hand and foot. Oh boy! In the meantime, though, she is back at work and school while on antibiotics, so that's good.

We are planning to go to Sedona for Thanksgiving. We wanted her to come, but she said, "Mom I can't miss a month of work and school and then be like, oh yeah, I need Thanksgiving weekend off, too." Well, I didn't think of that... so Chris, Ally, and I will be off to Arizona for that weekend. Looking forward to it!

I made caramel apples this week. Tried to make a batch of home made caramel that turned into a mini-disaster... happy I had some store bought stuff in the cupboard. I made 15 of these! I thought, wow if I sold these gourmet apples for $5 each like in the stores... woot! But, no, I gave them away at work, to friends, and at women's Bible study. Oh yeah, I ate almost two whole ones over two days. I mostly don't each much of the candies I make, but these... oh my goodness, are they good! Granny Smith apples, dipped in caramel, then in white chocolate, then add graham cracker crumbs on the outside. Mmm... could go for one right now!

This Too Shall Pass...

What a week! Ally was sick and missed school. Amy is still not better... it's been over a month with pneumonia, tonsillitis, and who knows what. My back went out for a few days. Chris had to get a crown for his tooth and couldn't drive because he has to take valium before dental appointments (long, drawn out history there... but suffice it to say he and dentists do not get along, and it's better for them both if Chris is on something...). All of these things were going on at the same time. However, Ally is doing much better, my back is at 98%, Chris has his temporary crown, and Amy (poor thing) is just going to have to have her tonsils out. We met with the surgeon today and after discussing several options, one of which was to stay on a low-dose antibiotic for another two months to see what happens, we decided to just get it over with. Amy is not happy with that, but I think she will be once it's done. The longer it goes on and the older she gets, the more traumatic the surgery will be. We are waiting now for the surgery to be scheduled.

We did make it to the pumpkin farm over the weekend with Ally's friend Bree.



And I made these rice crisp white chocolate candies.


Finally, here's a couple pics from Ally's birthday dinner we had earlier this month. Amy wasn't feeling well even then.

Cool Cat

Love this photo of Tigger taken in Amy's room. Her "Tart Apple" paint brings out his eyes. I'm sure he appreciates the angle this was taken, as the camera takes off five pounds... ha!

Amy was diagnosed with pneumonia (finally) and has been on four different types of antibiotics at the same time. She is feeling better and is back at work and school. We think she had it for a month before being diagnosed (or it turned into pneumonia in that timeframe).

Ally turned 16 -- I don't have the photos from our dinner yet (they are on her camera). She got a new cell phone from us and splatter painted her room with five of her friends. It turned out good... but what a chore. I was exhausted and AM NEVER DOING THAT AGAIN! It was basically an excuse for six teenagers to get together and throw paint. I felt like such a nag, I was so worried about my other walls and carpet, etc. But it's finished now and no damage done. We remodeled a few things in her room -- took out the acoustic ceiling, had a ceiling fan installed, put in new base moulding, and got all new sheets, curtains, etc. But she has to make do with her furniture -- that's just not in the budget right now. She loves the new look!

Before...

After...

Just the Two of Us...

While Ally was away at her school retreat this past week, Chris and I ventured over to our old stomping grounds in Coronado. This city (island) holds tons of good memories for us from back in our Navy days. You can't beat the tons of white sand and clean beaches. There are always military aircraft in the sky and gorgeous views everywhere. Back in the day, we both were stationed on North Island Naval Air Station (Chris on a ship) on the island. We remember how expensive the houses were there... $200,000 -- HA HA -- why didn't we buy one then?!!!! We also ate at our fave Mexican place over there, Miguels. Tasty!

The famous Hotel Del Coronado...

Okay this next pic was taken in La Jolla, but couldn't resist this cute baby sea lion.

I made these tartlets over the weekend. So tasty -- and this version is low cal and low fat! You could make it using real eggs, cheese, cream cheese, etc. if you want it richer.