Happy Halloween

Have a safe and happy time with your little trick or treaters!!!

Halloween Candy

This is a fun recipe to make with your kids for Halloween, don't be afraid to get sticky!!!!

Candy Apple Recipe



Wooden sticks
6 Fuji or Granny Smith apples
1 bag candy corn
1 bag licorice bits
1 1/2 cups water
4 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/8 cups corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon red food coloring


Clean apples. Place a wooden stick in the center of the apple. Set aside. Place the candy corn and licorice in separate bowls.

Place the water, sugar, and corn syrup in a clean 3-quart saucepot. Stir to form wet sand.
Place on medium flame until the sugar boils; at that point increase the heat to high. Occasionally, wash sides of pot with cold water and a brush, if needed, to prevent crystallization. Cook on high heat to 283 degrees F. Add red food coloring and swirl around in the pot; do not stir. Continue to cook to 300 degrees F. Remove from the heat and let rest for 3 minutes.

Dip the apple on an angle, rotating the apple clockwise, to coat the apple. Immediately roll the apple in candy corn or licorice. Set aside to cool.

For Sale

I traipsed up to NC this past week to finalize the financial details of the end of my marriage. Happily the second home I am paying for is sold and will soon close, ending my dire financial forecast. It was not a pleasant experience but I am glad it is behind us and everyone can move on. I spent the weekend in a bit of a funk and have now decided to snap out of it and get on with life.

Gloomy

What a gloomy Sunday!! Every once in a while it is nice to have a cloudy Sunday in the sunshine state, that takes the pressure off, no trips to the beach, no fishing on the pier, you can just sit on your couch and do nothing!! I watched the We are Marshall movie on Pay-per-view today, what an awesome movie that was. My ex-husband is from Huntington and was a little boy when the terrible crash happened. I know it has stayed with not just the residents but many others. If you have not seen it is certainly worth the time.

Then I watched Premonition with Sandra Bullock, first of all I could not follow it and hated the ending...enough said.

Enjoy the rest of Sunday!

Biketoberfest

Excellent weekend at the beach! The rumble of bikes is everywhere...enjoy the great bikes and nice people that are in the area!!

Mainstreet Grill

I will probably eat on my own side of the bridge from now on...I heard from several people how good the food was at the Mainstreet Grill at 1610 S. Dixie Freeway in New Smyrna Beach. Well....let me tell you, I took the kids there after a shopping expedition, we ordered a child's chicken dinner, an early bird sirloin & fries and a mixed grill with a baked potato. We got our drinks and salads, and then watched for one hour everyone around us get served....finally a server said, are you waiting for something...well yes our dinner. She checked (she was not our server) said the manager would be over....she came and said they lost our ticket...yes I worked in food service for a time...that is a bad excuse.

We got our salads, and drinks and appetizer....so apparently they only lost part of the ticket.....so 15 more minutes passes and my daughters child's meal arrives and part of my dinner. My son is still waiting for a steak and fries, at this point I have had enough and the kids are asking to go home and have ravioli. I asked for a box. NOW the manager comes back and asks me how the steak for my son should be cooked. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

Now they bring my potato and his steak, no fries, he has already eaten my steak so I ask for another box and the check, she brought me his fries at this point. It was BEYOND ridiculous. So, I ask for the check, I know you are saying to yourself...there should be NO check...well guess what..she took off ONE dinner. On the way out I reiterated to her that it was ridiculous that I paid anything and I was amazed my how bad the service was. She again told me they lost our ticket. I said at the point they realized they LOST the ticket they should have made the food, we waited 30 more minutes and did not get it all at once. She really just wanted me to leave at this point..I was happy to oblige her and we will NOT be back.

I am one of these people who never complains in a restaurant, it is a tough job and things happen, but if they happen fix them....

Fantastic Friday

Where has the week gone??

Soccer games, horseback riding lessons, school, homework, soccer games, horseback riding lessons, visits with the grandparents...oh yea and work. What a week!!!

Busy lives are great, but organization is key to keeping up with it. Using a calendar and keeping up with it is key to keeping any life straight. I recently got Amy Knapp's Family Organizer to try and keep family life a little straighter, so far it is working, it has some great features, and is a perfect size for my purse, I take it everywhere and make notes whenever I need to. Check it out on calendars.com

Enjoy the weekend, it should be gorgeous here in paradise!

Great Gifts

I took a walk down Flagler Avenue today, checked out the gift shops, played tourist for awhile. By far the best shop I found was the Robin's Nest. They have beautiful gifts at reasonable prices. I got a gorgeous little lamp, two charming little butterflies and an incredible vase, I spent a little over $70.00. She has some beautiful things...check it out.

Next stop Beachside Candy Shop. I bought a box of assorted chocolates, truffles, peanut clusters and more to give my parents. Talk about a treat, absolutely excellent candy. No drugstore candy here, this was the real thing!

Pinata Party

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday, my kids have never spent these special days with their grandparents til now. They are beyond excited, we went to Publix last night and got a cake mix, frosting and decorations.

As we strolled thru the store, my eight year old daughter saw the Pinata's hanging from the ceiling. She thought it would be a fantastic idea to get one for Grandma, all I could imagine was my 68 year old mother blindfolded, chasing a pinata around with a stick.....she thought it would be fun if Grandpa played too. Picture it with me, my 78 year old father, who has recently broken his arm and had a pacemaker installed....yea, honey let's blindfold the old man and watch him fall down...oh imagine. Her little heart was in the right place, but you know how sometimes something just hits you as funny and you can't stop laughing...well that was me....we settled on a plant and a balloon. We will save the Pinata for another time.

Style

One of my best friend's is a hair artist, she is terrific, earning the title "artist" and I never really gave my hair a second thought until I moved away from her.

So here I am in a small town trying to figure out what to do with my 3 months of roots and two kids who are desperate for a trim. So I asked around without much success and decided to try The Avenue Salon on Pine St. Being the suspicious type I figured I would let my kids be guinea pigs and made them an appointment for a cut....I was given to Chris Campbell, who first spent a good 20 minutes combing tangles out of my WHINING, CRYING, 8 year old daughters hair. She gave her some good advice about conditioner and gave them both a great cut.

This morning I went and got cut and highlighted, a terrific job at a very reasonable price, Chris has a great personality and is fun to sit in a chair with for 2 hours!

The Avenue Salon also offers pedicures, manicures, waxing and a full line of hair care products. I could not find a website but will inquire and pass it on if I do....

Book Swap

I just got a book I have been dying to read from Bookins. It works like this, you sign up for free and list all your books that you want to swap, when someone wants your book, you get an email, you print the postage off your computer (no charge to you) stick it in your mailbox and away it goes. You get points in your account. When you have a book YOU want, add it to your "wish list", when it becomes available the owner prints the postage, points are deducted from your account, you pay the $4.49 shipping and the book is sent to you. Check it out if you love to read!

NSB Parks & Rec

In my old life in NC I was part of a large youth sports organization, it is a ton of work for a small number of volunteers and is governed by County Parks & Rec.

When we moved here my son wanted to sign up for soccer with New Smyrna Beach Parks & Rec and I did not have high hopes, I have never loved soccer, he has always played football, but I figured it would be a great way for him to make some friends in a new area.

What a great experience it has been so far, our team did not have a coach the first week of practice, and one of the parents stepped up not only to coach but to sponsor the team. Angel Garcia of Divine Homes Realty of New Smyrna Beach has been terrific with the kids.

These kids are 9 and 10 years old, they are exhibiting excellent sportsmanship, playing and a team and having a great time! Thanks to Angel and Parks & Rec for their great program!

Coronado Hardware and Beach Bikes & Kayaks

I spent some time this past week working on the chaos that is still my house after the move. One of my little trips out for supplies involved a visit to Coronado Hardware on 3rd Ave.

What a fun store, they have everything from pool floats to cast nets. Ladders to yard flags. It is a typical old time hardware store, the staff greets you as you walk in, ask if they can help and personally takes you to what you need. I spent about 15 minutes chatting with the man(who may have been the owner)about our windy weather. Great place.

From there I went across the street to Beach Bikes and Kayaks, where last week I ordered a bicycle. This was also a great experience, they helped me get the perfect size and style bike, ordered it for me and called me when it was ready. I rode several of their bikes around the parking lot before I made a choice...as I was riding off on it they told me to be sure and ride it for a month and bring it back in for adjustments. Great guys!