Moving On

Since the end of October was approaching and we still didn't have a pumpkin, I told D that it's okay if we just skipped the whole pumpkin thing this year. It was a busy October, so it'd be understandable and justifiable to skip this much-loved and highly-anticipated fall tradition. However, D would hear none of it and it was all about getting to that pumpkin patch. He even voiced his disappointment over the rain on Saturday because it prevented us from going to choose our gourd.

So when Ron and Sara voiced interest in pumpkin-picking (when picking up their little guy on Sunday afternoon), that's all D needed to hear--we decided we’d go together.

Ron, Sara, and the baby came back over a few hours later and we all headed over to the local pumpkin patch/orchard/farmers market. Those owners really have something good going on there, the place is always packed! It’s the same place I took my class for apple and pumpkin picking a few weeks ago.

It was nearing dark, so it was chilly which sped up the pumpkin-picking process. We chose a medium-sized one and were going to make one last stop before heading back to the car...until Sara and I spotted the market. Talk about delicious food, both fresh and packaged. And it was around dinnertime and I didn’t have much at home. And we were dying to try the Tortilla con Queso soup (all you had to do was add hot water)...along with their homemade salsa and chips...and their apple cider donuts for dessert. And, well, caramel apples for dessert, too. As these food items kept piling up in our cart, the guys were making a bee line for the cash registers, saying what we had was quite enough. All of us ate for $15, which was a great deal, I thought :0).

Sara and I made dinner when we got back to our place while the guys entertained the baby. He’s mobile now, so I think we got the better end of that deal! After dinner we started the pumpkin-carving process and ended up with this:

D picked out this cat and pumpkin pattern. There was a really cute “BOO!” pattern on the site we use to print out carving patterns, but this year you had to pay for certain ones and, of course, that was one of them. I helped carve, but my main task was to rescue all the seeds being tossed in the garbage pile. I love, love, love eating pumpkin seeds and between the two pumpkins, there were A LOT. Everyone ended up eating—and enjoying—the toasted seeds by night's end. Festive ending to a festive weekend!

Yeah, it's true. What will they think of next?! I was researching this "holiday" to see if, in fact, there was such a thing and besides receiving confirmation that October 30th is Candy Corn Day, this is what I found...thanks to Candy USA and HowStuffWorks.com:

Every Halloween, bags of triangle-shaped, yellow, orange and white candies fill trick-or-treat bags all over the country. And there are many bags to fill: According to the National Confectioners Association, candy companies will produce nearly 35 million pounds of the corny candy this year. That's about 9 billion individual kernels of corn.

Candy corn is a sweet replicate of dried corn kernels. It's considered a "mellow cream," a name for a type of candy made from corn syrup and sugar that has a marshmallow-like flavor. Although candy corn tastes rich, it's actually fat-free.

Candy corn has been around for more than a century. George Renninger of the Wunderlee Candy Company invented it in the 1880s. It was originally very popular among farmers and its look was revolutionary for the candy industry (the tri-color, triangular look). The Goelitz Candy Company started making candy corn in 1900 and still makes it today, although the name has changed to the Jelly Belly Candy Company.

Although the recipe for candy corn hasn't changed much since the late 1800s, the way it's made has changed quite a bit. In the early days, workers mixed the main ingredients -- sugar, water and corn syrup -- in large kettles. Then they added fondant (a sweet, creamy icing made from sugar, corn syrup and water) and marshmallow for smoothness. Finally, they poured the entire mixture by hand into molds, one color at a time. Because the work was so tedious, candy corn was only available from March to November.

Today, machines do most of the work. Manufacturers use the "corn starch molding process" to create the signature design. A machine fills a tray of little kernel-shaped holes with cornstarch, which holds the candy corn in shape. Each hole fills partway with sweet white syrup colored with artificial food coloring. Next comes the orange syrup, and finally, the yellow syrup. Then the mold cools and the mixture sits for about 24 hours until it hardens. A machine empties the trays, and the kernels fall into chutes. Any excess cornstarch shakes loose in a big sifter. Then the candy corn gets a glaze to make it shine, and workers package it for shipment to stores.

Fun Facts

• One kernel of candy corn has 4.4 calories and no fat.


• A 16-ounce bag of candy contains about 294 kernels of candy corn.


• The Favorite Brands company near Chicago produces about 5 billion kernels of candy corn each year.


• The most popular way to eat candy corn is color by color.


• More than 35 million pounds of candy corn will be produced this year. That equates to nearly 9 billion pieces—enough to circle the moon nearly 4 times if laid end-to-end.


• Candy Corn is not just for Halloween anymore. Candy makers have made Reindeer Corn for Christmas, Cupid Corn for Valentine’s Day and Bunny Corn for Easter (although I've never seen any besides the Halloween type!).

Here's our contribution to Candy Corn Day (one of the girls was out sick):

It was pouring rain when I got home from work on Friday, and the weekend outlook didn’t seem much brighter. Good thing D had rented Transformers (A) from that kiosk at one of our local supermarkets. After some major food shopping at Aldi ($54 later), we cooked a frozen pizza we bought while we were out and settled in to watch the movie. Beside the fact that it was long (over two hours) and I almost fell asleep (it was nearing my bedtime), I really liked it. SciFi is very far down on my list of favorites, but D assured me that it was tastefully done and he was right.

It was still pouring down rain through early afternoon on Saturday, when, of course, it was errand time. One stop was to return the DVD at the food store, which worked out because I wanted to get a few things for a recipe that I wanted to try: Seafood Stew. It’s something that I came across in Good Housekeeping (thanks to Grams passing on her subscriptions) and I tried to forget about it, but I couldn’t. I really try not to shop for specific recipes because that’s how the food bill gets astronomically high, but I figured this once wouldn’t hurt…considering I didn’t go food shopping once the entire month D was gone. I made it on Sunday for lunch and it's quite a tasty recipe. Anyway, we ended up at Olive Garden where we finally used the last of our gift card that D’s parents gave to us last Christmas. I kept finding coupons in my parents’ Sunday paper that extended the life of that gift card, but finally, it is done.

Later that night D’s friend from Ruby Tuesday came over. I made pumpkin bread and even shared my candy corn and Sugar Daddies—a real fall feast. At some point the guys wanted to watch a movie and I wanted to continue watching the World Series, so I went to the bedroom and promptly—ashamedly—fell asleep. D said they turned the game on after the movie and some big play was going on so he came in to wake me up so that I could watch it. I may remember something like that--maybe. I guess his friend left rather late, so David came to bed after 1:30am and paid for it the next day.

Sunday was a fun day, not that it usually isn’t, but it was a spontaneous day. There was some big Town Meeting after church that D and I didn’t want to go to, but our friends with the baby did want to go to. Knowing it would be easier on them (…and knowing I could see my little guy who I haven’t seen in a few weeks!), I offered to take the baby home with us and they could pick him up on the way back to their house. He was sooo tired that he promptly fell asleep for two hours, which was fine with me because this was when I was making my seafood stew. There was still time, however, to feed him and to play with him before his mommy and daddy showed up a few hours later. :) The spontaneous part comes a bit later when the three of them came back over and we went pumpkin picking, but I'll save that story for later!

“Oh my goodness, WHOSE hair is this?!” I screeched, holding up a considerable chunk of hair.

Six pairs of wide-eyes immediately look in my direction. No one says a word; they’re all frozen in place.

“It’s not too hard to figure out who this belongs to, I’m just giving that person a chance to be honest, like a good kindergartener.”

Still nothing.

“Ok, I—“

“It’s mine.”

Yeah, I know it is hers because every other girl in the class has different textured hair.

“Why did you cut your hair?!”

She looks around at the other five now-relieved pairs of eyes. “Acuz I couldn’t see what I was cutting.”

I stifled a laugh, thinking of the irony. Not knowing what exactly to say, I stated the obvious, “You shouldn’t be cutting your hair, you’re not a hairdresser. What should you only be cutting with these scissors?”

“Paper.”

“Exactly!”

“And strings that hang off shirts and jeans.”

“Um, no. Only adults can do that! What is the ONE thing you should be cutting with scissors???”

“Paper.”

“Exactly!” Fearing what other answers I may get, I quickly said, “Ok, line up to go outside everyone.”

My month-long separation from David ended a week ago tonight, at 9:23pm to be exact, when he picked me up from the airport. My flight was a bit delayed and I was waiting on the runway for a bit, but that's okay because that was when I decided that I'm never going to fly again. My ever-thoughtful husband had a package of my favorite candy, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, waiting for me as I got in the car. Guess he was happy to see me :).

The four-day weekend went by nice and slow, I'm glad to report. We did a lot, as usual, but also had some down time to relax, which was wonderful. Let's see if I can remember all I/we did:

• Dentist appointment: I like our dentist, he's quite chatty and makes the visit go by fast. He was my dentist, actually my entire family's dentist, before we got married and now he's D's dentist, too. D went for a visit on Monday. Nice thing to check off the To Do list.
• Driver's license renewal: I actually didn't wait in the DMV line for long at all. A government-run office that actually ran quite smoothly? Yes, I guess there IS such a thing!
• Girls' Night at Yana and Rita's: We can't ever have a true girls' night at Mom's house because of all the guys lurking around, so we go to Rita's now :). Mom and I made chicken soup, cut up some Italian bread, whipped up some spice cake with cream cheese frosting and there you have a very yummy meal for five starving ladies. Of course we couldn't help but talk of weddings and guys and when we remembered, we watched Miss Potter (A++) with Renee Zellweger.


• Shopping: It can't be helped with mom and I are together. Neither of us mind too much at all, but I can't say that our husbands feel the same...
• Manicure: Another one of those mom-and-I-together things. Another thing at which our husbands nod and [force a] smile. We do the same with all their computer gadgetry, so there you have "men are from Mars and women are from Venus" proof.
• Sears: Not something D and I did, but Mom and Dad went on the hunt for a new washing machine because theirs broke mid-cycle. I'm not blaming it--Mom said they got it when I was 3 months old. Well they didn't stop at just a washing machine. Oh no. They got that, a fridge, a stove, and a microwave. I guess they've been meaning to replace these items, but haven't gotten around to it. And of course they got an excellent deal because Dad wheels and deals like no other.
• Another movie: D and I picked up some grinder ingredients and that's what everyone had for dinner on Saturday. But the boys, as in Ryan and Nick, didn't feel like sticking around for the movie entitled The Holiday (A), a through-and-through chick flick, for some reason. So Mom, Dad, David, and I watched it and loved it. Their loss.
• Sunday lunch and a house walk-through: Mom invited the extended family over for a big lunch on Sunday for the obvious reasons of eating and visiting, but also for the reason of getting everyone at the same place. Nick and Kristina recently purchased a house nearby and everyone wanted to see it. It took three cars, but we all managed to get there and tour their cute home. It fits them perfectly and was a great bargain, so it was an all-around great experience for their first purchase.
• Volvo: Throughout our time there, I had the opportunity to frequently use Mom and Dad's car when D had his car and I needed a mode of transportation. Well this is the same car that they kept saying they would sell to us next year, but for some reason I was never too impressed with it. Boy was I mistaken!! I love it and now am urging Dad to hurry up and find a new car for himself so they can sell the Volvo to us. It even has a sun roof!! Dad thinks Volvos are the best and wants us all to have one because an ER nurse client of his says they are life-savers in accidents. He will not be hearing any complaints from me!
• Ari-girl: On Monday, we went to visit D's mom, Peter, and Ari! She's lots of fun and has taken a recent liking to her Uncle David. She even went to him over me :( which she never did before. She made up for it by cuddling on my lap for a minute before something else caught her attention. I'll take what I can get, that kid can move!
• Back home: It took us exactly 4 hours to get back to PA, which was awesome. We got in around 11pm, so we went right to bed. I automatically went to sleep on D's side because that's where I slept while he was away. He immediately rolled me over and now we are back to our usual routines.

The same ol' grind promptly resumed on Tuesday and I can't say that I mind. We'll be back up in CT in exactly three weeks for another four-day weekend in which D'll cram in two interviews. By the way, he got an interview invitation to UCONN this afternoon. He only hasn't heard from two programs in CT. There's still time. Lots of time, actually.

Overheard conversations throughout the past few weeks:

“Everything in my house is free.” Not sure the exact context in which this was said, but it can be a dangerous statement some years down the road…if said to the wrong person.

“When I choke, my eyes get wet.” The one and only boy in my class told this to me upon waking up from his nap. These kids say and do the weirdest things when they are just waking up. I always ask them what they were dreaming about, but rarely do they remember. Now that would make for a good book!

“Eww, look at that bumpy pumpkin! It got ringworm!” Can you guess who had caught a case of ringworm just a few months ago? Yep, she did. I’m not sure if the other kids knew what ringworm was, but the way she said it sent them running in all directions. Needless to say we did not purchase that pumpkin on our field trip.

“I’m proud tomorrow’s my birthday.” Okay, I think she meant happy/excited/ecstatic/can’t wait instead of “proud,” but “proud” is what came out and others nodded in agreement, so that’s what she stuck with. Even when I mentioned, “I think you meant to say [those other feelings].” So in that case, I’m proud that my birthday is in a week and a half :)!

D has plenty of free time this month. He has the next four weeks off in order to study for Step 2 of the USMLE (aka "big test"). So, I came home to this today:



What, you ask, is that? (I asked, too). It's a book holder, duh (D answered). He assured me it only took him 5 minutes to create and he created it so he isn't always hunched over reading. I am forever telling him to sit up so he won't have a hunched back and, well, this was his solution. It's made out of an eBay/USPS mailer box, with a bent paper clip on the stand part so the stand doesn't spread apart. He is so cute. It's so good to have him back home!

Oh and um, by the way, HE GOT INVITED TO INTERVIEW AT HARTFORD HOSPITAL!! The last day of his rotation was Friday and by Monday morning he had received an email inviting him to interview for the program he had just worked in for a month. So we are extending our Christmas vacation to accommodate yet another interview. I've lost track, but I know we are past 10. Go David!

The four of us had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend together. It was another impressive weekend weather-wise: bright sun, cool, crisp air, and no clouds in the sky. They got here mid-morning on Saturday and we went straight to breakfast at a local diner. I was so happy to see my David again, even though he was a little scruffy from waking up so early to come see me :). Of course, I was happy to see G&G, too, and they had never seen this apartment before so we gave them the 60-second tour.

After breakfast, we drove into the city and happened upon the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. We snapped some keepsake photos and then headed towards the Art Museum. Better known as "The Rocky Steps." D pulled the car up next to them, Grandpa snapped a picture and we were on our way. Now that's my kind of city tour. We passed a few other city sites on our way back to the highway, so G&G got the express version. Oh yeah, D drove us by the Academy of Music, too, which is where his graduation ceremony will be held in [see countdown on right]. G&G probably won't make it down here for it, but at least now they can picture it.

Back at our apartment, we relaxed/napped/read before going to dinner at Ruby Tuesday where D randomly saw a girl he knew from PCC. I saw the PCC sweatshirt she was wearing and elbowed D to see if he knew her. After finally figuring out what I was saying and trying not to stare at the poor girl, D realized he did know her. He ended up saying hi and chatting for a minute. Fun reminder of how small our world really is.

Today we took a ride over to a local farm and orchard to walk around. They have Pumpkinland up and running again this year, but we didn't get one. We're waiting until closer to Halloween, but I can practically taste those pumpkin seeds now. Our kindergarten class pumpkin (formally named Taz on Friday) will probably be carved sooner rather than later, but I am holding them off as long as I can. Anyway, I love fall and it's finally starting to feel like it!

So now I have til Thursday to get my to-do-while-D-is-gone list done. I checked one thing off tonight: clean the hall closet. This weekend D was looking for something in there and I told him that I'd look for it when I cleaned this week. He, a little too quickly, pointed out that he didn't think that I had cleaned the closet because it still looked messy. I took the hint.

I'm looking forward to Thursday night, which means it will never come, because it starts my four-day weekend! D'll pick me up at the airport and we'll spend the weekend in CT (not all fun, I've scheduled a few appointments and D said something about a corn maze) and then drive back here together Monday night. Until then, though, it's All About Pumpkins! this week in kindergarten. Let the fun begin...

Finally, a day to myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm thoroughly grateful to everyone who has kept me entertained while soon-to-be doctor husband is off doing his thing, but I was actually looking forward to tonight because nothing was written on the calendar.

Nick, Kristina, and D arrived very late Friday night, but that sure didn't damper my excitement over seeing my husband who I have been missing for two weeks. He looked cuter than I remembered, although I did end up giving him a haircut before he left. Saturday morning we woke up and went to the earliest showing of The Kingdom (A++) with Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner. Loved the movie! We saw previews for it when we were at the movies back in January and I've had it on my Must See list ever since. The next movie I want to see is O Jerusalem. It's about the formation of the Israeli state back in 1948, a topic covered in The Lemon Tree, which I just got through reading. Anyway, slight tangent. The movie was great and I would highly recommend it. The four of us hung out the rest of afternoon, except for the hour that Kristina and I went to the mall in search of bridesmaid dress ideas. We had so much fun trying on all the different dresses we liked and even left with a few good ideas. The boys, meanwhile, were in the middle of an intense game of Scrabble. For dinner, we ordered pizza and salad and ate in. It was so nice to see D this weekend, just what I needed to make it through the next week and half without him. Although that's not entirely true-he's coming down again this weekend with G&G (Grammy and Grampa). I talked to Grammy last night and she said that Grampa is excited about doing all the touristy things around Philly, how cute!

Monday night my friend Sara invited me over for dinner and I brought apple oat muffins for dessert. Best part though: I got to see my little man!! He was hungry when I got there, so I fed him and then got to play with him until dinner was ready. He has the best personality and is always ready with a smile and now a hug (the head on the shoulder thing)! He really is the best. Sara said she can tell that he especially likes me because he smiles more and talks more around me than any other non-family member. Being the non-family member that feeds him and plays with him and watches him most might explain that, but whatever the reason I am going to miss him terribly.

Last night, the couple that heads our Sunday School class came by and picked me up and brought me out for a Chinese dinner. We actually went to the restuarant and sat down, which is different because I can't remember the last time that I ate Chinese food at a restuarant. It was delish. This couple, Steve and Dana, remind me of my own parents. We always talk in groups at church or at get-togethers, but it was neat to talk to just them. The night ended with a torrential downpour, so they didn't come in. But they would have found a very, very clean apartment if they had. Don't tell D, but that's a great way to get me to clean: Tell me that someone might be coming over, whether it's true or not. Anyway, all I have to do now is maintain til G&G and D get here, shouldn't be too hard...

Well, I'm off to walk around the mall or visit AC Moore or do some Christmas shopping. Or maybe I'll just lounge around here and enjoy my very nice, very clean apartment.

Just a quick update about the Residency application process. D sent his application in on Saturday, September 1st and as of this writing, he has received 7 interview invitations!!! Hence the reason my man is good. Obviously interviews do not promise a placement anywhere, but when he has gotten this much feedback in such a short amount of time...he is a very competitive applicant. Like this is news to anybody. One program even went so far as to say, "Congratulations! We are impressed with the academic record you have achieved as a medical student, and look forward to having you visit." God has been so good to us throughout our years here and He continues to be as we approach the end of this journey and begin the next.

Day ten without David and I am still alive and well. And the dishes are even managing to get done. Of course that was due in large part to my parents' arrival (didn't want a messy kitchen greeting them) and my mother's insistence on doing them while she was here.

Mom and Dad's visit came just in time...I was just starting to miss D on Thursday. M&D arrived right as I got off of work on Friday, so I met them across the street at the food store. Draw what conclusions you may from my dad's first stop being a food store. We got some ingredients for a yummy dinner, which Dad so graciously made. We tried watching a movie, but Dad and I fell asleep...poor Mom.

The next morning, Dad and I were up early and went for a walk. I really miss D and my walks, so it felt great to exercise again. After getting ready, the three of us headed into the city -- one of Mom's favorite places. Coincidentally, we ended up near Reading Terminal Market and, well, it was lunchtime, so well, we ate! Dad had an ingenious idea: buy one of a lot of things and split everything three ways. We started with an Amish pretzel (wonder whose idea that was...), proceeded to a chocolate-covered chocolate chip cookie, followed by a roast beef sandwich from Carmen's. It was all washed down with homemade strawberry lemonade from an Amish stand. Dad also bought us broccoli and cheese soup that we ate when we got home.

Since we still had quite a bit of time on the meter, we wandered the streets and ended up at Macy's. Which was formally Strawbridge's, which was formally Wanamaker's...back in my grandma's day. The building is huge and old, which means that my mother couldn't stop raving about it. No sooner had we exited this huge, old building than we run into a co-worker of Dad's! What are the odds, both M&D pointed out, that we met at that time and that place. Think about all we both had to do, they kept saying, all we both had to do to get to that same spot. Anyway, it was nice to meet them and really, what were the odds of that happening?

Later in the day, Mom and I went to David's Bridal to try on some bridesmaid dresses for Nick and Kristina's wedding. I forgot to mention that while I was in CT a few weeks ago, I got the bridesmaid dress I'll be wearing in Ryan and Yana's wedding. It was so much fun shopping with the girls:

The rest of their visit was enjoyable and I was so thankful for their company!!