If you are a follower of my blog you will recognize Cathy’s name……this is the third month in a row that her name has been drawn!!!!  My husband, once again, said, “well you can’t do that, draw another name.” I replied, once again, “she won fair and square.”  (Cathy must put a special mojo on her entry 😉

So, in order to give someone else a chance, I drew another name. Congratulations to Cathy and Mary!! You both won boxed Christmas cards!!

So while making my after-workout-omelette this morning, I was watching the Rachel Ray show and she mentioned that November 2nd is National Deviled Egg Day…much to my surprise and delight!! Everyone in our house absolutely adores deviled eggs. I can remember growing up, my brother and I would dang near come to blows over the last deviled egg!!

So I want to start by sharing a tip from the RR show about how to boil the perfect egg EVERY time…so she claims. If you are like me, I would make deviled eggs more often if they peeled nice n’ easy. Can’t wait to try this tomorrow. Put the eggs in cold water, slowly bring to a roaring boil. Remove pot of eggs from heat, cover and let sit for exactly 10 minutes (set a timer!). Then drain the hot water and shake the pot a bit to crack the shells before putting cold water in the pot (this is the part that must do it, because I never heard of it and it make sense). She said the cold water will get inside the shell and help them to peel better. So there you have it!!

I also took a little time to look up a yummy deviled egg recipe for you to try if you want something different……tbh (acronym for “to be honest”….I’m learning from the young ones in my life) I don’t know if I will do all the eggs like this tomorrow because my boys LOVE the way I prepare them and sometimes don’t welcome change.

What You Need

(recipe from incredible edible egg website)

Yay, I did it!!! Not quite as extensively as I could have but the house is lookin’ very Halloweenish 😉 I still have a lot of pieces that didn’t make the cut this year and I didn’t take pictures of everything that I put out this year (gotta save stuff for next year’s blog post, right?) but I am sharing some of my faves. I hosted a Mary Kay party last night and took the entire day off to clean and make food. I was so mad at myself this morning when I realized I didn’t take pictures during the party or of the delicious food that I made and my wonderful friends made…all displayed in Halloween dishes! Oh well, like I said…save some stuff for next year’s post, lol!

I can’t forget to show you Buster and Daisy sporting their Halloween bandannas. They were groomed yesterday for the party…..they enjoyed the guests too…..although by the looks of Buster, he must have gotten into the wine!

Hello Dollies
by Grandma Terry

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I just use the entire bag)

1 cup chopped nuts (I use walnuts)

1 can (15 oz) sweetened condensed milk

Melt butter in 9 x13 pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs, coconut, choc chips and nuts on top and in the order given. Pour milk over all. Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool and cut into squares. Enjoy!

We celebrated my Dad’s 74th birthday with a delicious dinner and a yummy coconut cake (& pumpkin pie, too!!). My Mom went all out! Of course while eating seconds of EVERYTHING, I remembered there would be dessert……..as you can imagine I was stuffed!!! Speaking of stuffed….I want to share with you my Aunt Marsha’s crock pot stuffing recipe which was on the menu for Dad’s birthday…..it is THE MOST amazing comfort food on the planet!!

(I always say “stuffing” instead of “dressing”……must be a northern vs. southern thang)

2 or three chicken breasts, boiled and chopped

1 small pan corn bread, crumbled

2 to 3 cups chicken broth

4 eggs

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 onion chopped

1 cup chopped celery

1 stick butter (or enough to took onion & celery in)

4 slices of bread, crumbled

1 Tbsp sage or poultry seasoning

salt & pepper to taste

Saute onion & celery in butter. Combine all ingredients. Mix well. Pour into greased crock pot. Cook on high for 30 minutes. Stir & cook on low 3 to 4 hours. Moist & Delicious!! (thank you, Aunt Marsha)

“Do for Yourself”

18″x 24″ acrylic over collaged papers

©Teresa Kogut, all rights reserved

So my goal this week was to paint 4 acrylic paintings…….3 out of 4 isn’t too shabby. Above is just one of the three I painted……a good ole’ Abraham quote again. This is a quote we all need to live by and I find it a good one to remember as a Mom. I find satisfaction in doing things for my children (now 18 and 13)….I can’t help it…..but it is more than satisfaction, it is a natural instinct of wanting to take care of them, nurture them, make their life easy and enjoyable. I’ve been doing it since they were born and the transition from “doing for them” to “doing for themselves” is not an easy one, but I’m workin’ on it 🙂

No Halloween decorations as of yet!!! I have been busy every night….including tonight (quilt class with Mom and Renee). Seems almost ridiculous at this late date to even put out Halloween decorations! However, I must, and here is the reason….well reasons…..1) I didn’t decorate the past two years because of being “too busy” and I have some awesome Halloween decorations! I miss seeing them!! 2) Our boys (ages 18 and 13) are getting older and some day (sniff, sniff) will be out on their own and I want them to have fond memories of the holidays 3) I am having a Mary Kay party next Friday and would be great fun to have the house all decked out!!  Good reasons, right?!?!? 

So this weekend somewhere amongst the laundry, house cleaning, cooking, developing classroom projects for the school’s auction dinner and studying for Sunday evening’s Edge youth group meeting I WILL decorate!  Oh, and now that I posted it here for all the world to see……consider it done 🙂

10×10 acrylic on cradled board

©Teresa Kogut, all rights reserved

I love painting Halloween images….and I am really lovin’ the grungy process on my last two paintings. Now I just need to take the time to get our house in the Halloween spirit!! I am so late with decorating this year! I plan to start tonight just doing little by little each night til it’s done…..I am hoping by the weekend it is finished. I will share photos when I am done 🙂

10×10 acrylic on cradled board

©Teresa Kogut, all rights reserved

Ok, blogger friends…….those of you who follow my blog can see that my art is all over the place!! I use to worry about this…..thinking maybe I should be more focused on a “look” or “style”. As far back as I can remember, I have loved all kinds of art. I can appreciate different mediums…. oil, acrylic, pastel, watercolor, collage, mix media and different styles……landscape, portrait, whimsical, primitive, realism, etc. It only makes sense that I like to dabble in all different kinds of art as well.

One of my favorite things to do is visit art galleries. It’s a delight for the eyes…… I stand in front of a painting for several minutes to look at the brush strokes and detail, just soaking it all in while everyone else is moving on. Recently, while on our anniversary trip, Kevin and I were visiting a gallery in Sutton’s Bay and we were admiring a talented artist’s versatility. He painted in different mediums and in a few different styles…..all done very well. It made me feel more at ease with the fact that I do the same thing…..so now instead of feeling like I should focus on a specific “look”, I am embracing my versatility.