Halloween Poll

We're conducting a Halloween Poll. As a reader of this blog you MUST post. Why? Two reasons:
1) It's Halloween, and it's the first time Brian and Melissa have EVER had trick -or- treaters at their house ( it's true, not a single trick-or-treater at our California apartment - we had to eat ALL the candy ourselves!!)
2) A few people have posted on the blog to let us know they read up on us, but we're sure there's a few ghostly readers out there that haven't revealed themselves... are you one of them?? We'd like to know who's reading, so here's your chance to leave a comment!
(and 3) because we said so! ... that always worked for Mom, right?...)

Ok, Here's our Halloween Poll:
How many trick-or-treaters will Mel & Brian have Halloween night?
(We'll try to keep track the best we can...) And we'll give people a few days to guess.

Don't know how to leave a comment?
1) Click on "comments" just below this post
2) Type your guess in the Leave Your Comments box (be sure to sign your name!)
3) Choose Anonymous
4) Click Publish your comment!
And you're done!

1 Sock, 2 Sock, Red Sox, Blue Socks...

Yup, since the Red Sox made it to the World Series, we've been staying up later than normal to watch the baseball games. Everyone in New England has been a little sleepy for work each morning, as the games aren't over until about midnight.... (I'll admit, I don't quite make it that late...)

Here's Brian in one of his Red Sox shirts, watching the game from the couch.... Let's hope they can pull it off tonight!

The Big 27

What a coincidence!? High of 72 degrees today - and today Brian turns 27.... What a beautiful day for a birthday!
We celebrated with the families on Sunday with a BBQed lunch so everyone could enjoy the birthday fun and eat cake too!! Look what a fabulous cake Sue designed and made for Brian - all her own idea! It even featured sandtraps and a "hole 27" flag!

We BBQed up some yummy chicken, including Mel's Grampie's famous Teriyaki sauce on our new grill!
Here are the guys - watching over the grill.. keeping an eye on their lunch I suppose ;-)

And is it really a birthday without a little goofing around??

Happy Birthday Brian! Love ya!

Office Clip - From the Future

This clip makes us laugh every time...

Farmer's Popcorn

Sooooo, farmer's market here is nearing an end (not as much to choose from this morning, sniff sniff) but we got this little gem there a few weeks ago and tried it out this afternoon- farmer's popcorn. It's corn, ready to pop, still on the cob. I'd seen it in stores, but had never tried it. How easy!! You just put it in a paper bag, roll up the end and stick it in the microwave. It was delicious, and much more fun to pop, too! Who knew popcorn could be so cool... I only wish we had picked up more cobs!! And yes, there was a lot more popcorn (almost a regular popcorn bag amount) in the paperbag, all popped. These are just the pieces that didn't actually let go of the cob...

Scrapbook pages

Here's what i did last night while Brian intermittently read Harry Potter, watched Red Sox, and napped.... photos from our July trip to Illinois to visit our friends from Cali and their beautiful girls (who, you might have noticed, we just can't get enough of!).

Funny little 'do

This is the hairdo you get after watching an "Office - Season 2" marathon with your hand on your head for hours... hee hee. (It actually reminds me of Zach Braff's (last name?) hair on "Scrubs"... but that's another show we could watch for hours without blinking - one show at a time now.)

Soapy Shapes

Just wanted to show off these beautiful handmade soaps that our good friend Kim made and sent to us. What a sweetie! Thanks Kim!

Matching Sweater Day

Ok, so we might have almost killed Stacy she laughed so hard when she saw us (which was the point). So Mel's sweet great-uncle gave us these matching sweaters that he and his wife bought (in the 70's?) but never wore. He brought them all the way to Maine from California since he thought they'd fit us - which they did, surprisingly well! And, while we don't mind them, they're not exactly fashion forward either. So we thought if we wore them together, at the same time, surprising Stacy, she would get the biggest kick out of it....I don't know if I've ever heard her laugh so hard - first when she saw Brian and thought he had picked out that sweater and bought it, and then we she saw me with the same sweater. And so today it was born - Matching Sweater Day.

Criss Cross Applesauce

Apple picking with Brian's side of the family this morning at Willow Farm Apple Orchard. Here's the group (note the fabulous sweaters!) and a few actions shots. It was rainy last night, and cloudy and dreary this morning, but we lucked out with the sun coming out just as we arrived at the orchard. Perfect weather for apple picking!

Uh-oh! Stacy ripped her pants! That's what you get for climbing the trees without the ladder (hee hee)...

Horray for fresh apples. Now we just have to figure out how to eat them all! Ok, so that won't really be a problem.... apple sauce, Brian's special apple pie, plain ol' apples, apple crisp, baked apples....Mmmm, gotta get started!

Mrs. Green Thumb

Mom came over this morning and gave me a little garden lesson at our house. She identified all our mystery plants and trees on the yard, trimmed some plants back, and helped me to plant some daffodil and tulip bulbs. Let's hope enough of her green thumb rubbed off so these little babies grown next spring! I felt a bit like a little squirrel hiding my acorns before winter arrives! If I did everything right, they should look great this spring as you drive around the corner onto Loon (and arrive at our house).

Blue Angels Airshow

A few weekends ago the Blue Angels were in town, so Brian and I rode our bikes to the bikepath, and found this great spot (we weren't the only people to find it) from which to watch the show. The planes got closer than they appear, but pictures can play with perspective like that. The show wasn't as exciting as we remembered it as kids, but was still enjoyable. We got a great bike ride in afterwards, if nothing else! (And of course the whole ride from our house to the bike path was downhill....... which made for a fun ride home :-D)

Happy Us Day - Year Two

Here's a pic of Brian and I on our anniversary -actually, the day after - but close enough. On Monday night Brian surprised me with dinner at The Great Impasta - a little Italian restaurant hidden away at the end of Maine St. And then we went for dessert at the Gelato Fiasco - a new (Italian) gelato cafe, also on Maine St. Why the Italian theme? Beause the night we got engaged we went to a fabulous little Italian resaurant in Laguna Beach, CA called Te Amo.... isn't Brian the sweetest?!

And look at the goodies Mom baked for our 2nd anniversary! Just think of the dessert buffet we'll have at our 30th!!

It's not easy being Green...

Just a random eco-minded tidbit I thought was interesting.... it just puts things into perspective a bit:

"A imported, one-liter plastic water bottle uses 1/4-liter of oil to produce (and that's just for the pumping, bottling, and shipping)." Talk about oil dependency...Makes tap water that much more appealing....