Pollyanna, Is That You?

Pumpkin Spice Pie

Miss Mia over at Aspiring Homemaker posted this great recipe and how-to for making pumpkin pie starting from a 10 lb. pumpkin, to two baked, delicious looking pumpkin pies - plus with extra pumpkin in the fridge. We just bought a large pumpkin for roasting pumpkin seeds yesterday, and Mother Dear said I could try this recipe out with the rest of it. Thanks Miss Mia!

Six Things You Never Knew...

I've been tagged by Miss Victoria Rebecca for a fun little way of getting to know people. You're supposed to write six random things about yourself, and tag six other people. Here are the six "rules":

1. Link to the person who tagged you.


2. Post the rules on your blog.


3. Write six random things about yourself.


4. Tag six-or-so people at the bottom of your post -


5. And leave a comment on one of their recent posts letting them know they've been tagged.


6. Let the person who tagged you know you've written the post.
   

Well, here I go....

1. I've never had a cavity. When I was little Mother Dear instilled in me a strong habit to brush my teeth every morning and evening, and though I've skipped a few times, I brush my teeth pretty religiously!


2. When I was about five years old, I was pretty good (not fluent, but pretty good) in Spanish. I took some some after-school classes at an elemetry school near by where we lived, and apparently did pretty well. Since I never practiced it, all that I really remember from what I learned in those classes is counting to 50. But all is not lost, as I'm taking Spanish right now (through Rosetta Stone, which I really like), and to have learned it before has really helped me in my accent and learning the language more quick (I've taken some French, so I can see the difference!)


3. I enjoy making pies. I've made a few fruit and pumpkin pies with my grandma, and about two months ago made my first two, which were rhubarb. I had a good experience making them, and hope to make more pies soon with all the yummy fruit that's coming out! We have an awesome pie crust recipe, given to us by one of our neighbors, that I'll have to share with you sometime. It's great for beginners like me, since it can take a good beating and not fall apart. :)


4. One of my largest pet-peeves is when people take food out of the microwave before the timer goes off, and don't press "clear." I extremely dislike it when I look up to see what time it is, and the little digital clock reads "three minutes and fifty-four seconds". :)


5. I love to sing! If the shower curtain could talk, I would name the it as my first witness. :)


6. Since I was about nine or ten, gymnastics has been one of my most-loved hobbies. Although I can't really do anything that exceeds a back walk over, I still love to practice what I've learned from past gymnastics classes on our trampoline and on any old big patch of grass. If you've ever gone to the park with me, or hung out in the back yard, you'll know that if my skirt is wide enough and I have pants on underneath, I'll do a cartwheel just for the fun of it!

There you are, six things I'll bet you never knew about me. :)

Now, even though it won't be six, I'd like to tag a few people:

• All three ladies from Princesses in Disguise
• Miss Rebecca from Bopey's Blog
• Lady Rachel from any of her blogs The Milk & Honey TeaRoom, A City On A Hill or Rachel's Reasoning

Thanks, Victoria Rebecca, for tagging me!

Hershey's Caramel Apple Kisses

I just ate two of these delicious suckers. As much as I don't like Halloween, I love Halloween candy, let me tell ya. I've had some of those Candy Corn Kisses (my dad is a chocoholic, so I don't usually miss out on what's new :) and thought they were alright, but these Caramel Apple Kisses are delicious! I was a little skeptical when I went to try one, as Hershey's chocolate doesn't really appeal to me, but loved the taste as soon as it filled my mouth. Dad said I could help myself to his little stash in the cupboard to the left by the sink (hint, hint family members - just kidding! Mom, the only other person in this house on the computer, already knows about it. I would never give away a candy stash spot! :), anywaaaays... in spite of Dad's generosity, I think I might just have to buy myself a bag... :)

Well, enough about my new favorite candy (dark chocolate still is first in line, though :). What's your favorite Hershey's chocolate? I think I'll have to make up a little poll about that. Check my sidebar, it should be up by the time you're reading this, and put in your vote. I'd love to see!


Photo courtesy from Frances Civello at The Hershey Insider

An Old Fashioned Girl

About five minutes ago I finished reading An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott. It is now one of my favorite books! I recently met two young ladies that are around my age, when we had their family of eleven over for dinner. Right away, we became friends and found ourselves sitting on the stairs, gabbing about everything under the sun. :) Of all the subjects that were spoken of, good books was one of them. While Ashley and Emily were recommending a few to me, An Old Fashioned Girl popped into their minds, and I wrote it down with the others. I was pleased to find it at the library, and started to tackle it at once.

Fourteen year old Polly Milton is a lovely girl who goes to visit her wealthy friend, Fanny Shaw and her modern and fancy family. She is in awe of the life they live, as well as disgusted of the way the young ladies flirt and dress. Even though everyone thinks her most peculiar and "countrified", Polly sticks to her simple clothes and modest nature, eventually winning the hearts of the whole Shaw family.

I was encouraged by this book, because even though the pressure to be excepted into the fashionable society around her was large, Polly stood by the godly ways she had been brought up with, painfully going against the grain of the things people practiced around her. I think we ladies, who are earnestly living for the Lord, go through these same trials. It's not always easy to dress modestly, be chaste and discreet, be content with the life God has given us or keep ourselves pure for our future husbands - all things which are frowned upon and openly dejected in these perverse times of our world.

Another way I was encouraged by the book, was by Polly's gentle and patient spirit in dealing with little ones. I am constantly working on myself to have the same spirit when I am with my siblings. It is easy when they're being charming and obedient to be a good and kind sister, but when they're sassy and disobedient, I often find myself getting easily frustrated after repeating myself many times to do something (or not to do something), and the patience and gentleness seem to melt away. I enjoy reading books with characters who have a gentle spirit in everything (including their siblings and little children around them), as it encourages and reminds me to press on and realize that, with much prayer and help from the Lord, a gentle spirit in all things can be attained.

All in all, I have extremely enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any girl who loved Louisa May Alcott's Little Women and would like to be encouraged in holding fast to their "peculiar and countrified" convictions and beliefs in our modern and fashionable society.

Joyfully,

My New Decor

How do you like my new template? I got it off of The Cutest Blog on the Block. They have so many fun templates - and it's extremely easy and quick to get one on your blog. My last template I had (which I didn't really like too much) was a bit frusterating as I lost all my side bar links and lists, and it took a while to put them all back on. With this one, I didn't lose a thing! Mother Dear also grabbed a cute template. Go on over and check it out!

A Trip to the Fair

Last Friday there was a great deal at the fair - $1 for everyone's admission! Dad and Mother Dear had promised Creative Genius that we would go to the fair for his birthday this year, so they figured this would be the perfect time. So we went!

We looked at the animals...

Me and Baby MIT, baby bjorn-ing...


We played on the tractors...

Enjoyed the children's exhibits...

This little exhibit was really cute. All she did was sit and smile!

We ate some yummy cotton candy (something MIT #2 wasn't quite sure what to do with :)...

The boys went on a couple rides (I decided not to go on any since they didn't seem as exiting as they used to be. And considering the cost, I figured it just wasn't worth it, if you know what I mean :)...

And, the end of the day, trying to keep the two very tired MITs happy :)...

Au Revoir!