My Weekend

... In Which Apples Take Over, Orange Makes An Appearance, And I Stamp 150 Toilet Paper Rolls

Actually, that title pretty much sums it up.

I woke up early today, way, way earlier than I normally ever do on my day off. But I guess it's offset by the fact that I didn't wake up until 1 PM yesterday (in all fairness, I've been feeling like crap ever since Abby and I took a hayride on her school field trip - allergies gone completely, completely haywire - and I'd dosed myself with the maximum allowable amount of Nyquil the night before). Bouncing awake early just set the tone for the entire day; I put on an episode of Castle and watched it while eating breakfast in bed, got my room tidied up, and then meandered downstairs and jumped into a long to-do list.

Which involved: cleaning out my truck (more on this later), checking on my hens (I have eggs again! Yay! I have no idea why but they stopped laying for a few days), and starting a massive craft project: finishing the "favors" for my friend Becka's wedding on Saturday. She began it several weeks ago, but with the death of her mother :( and all the last minute wedding prep, she realized she wasn't going to be able to finish them, so I took over. The project involves flattening 150 toilet paper rolls - you heard right, toilet paper rolls - stamping them with rubber stamps, writing their names and the wedding date on each roll, then stuffing them with rice and sealing the ends.

So far I'm about 100 rolls flattened and stamped, with 50 still needing stamping, and I haven't labeled any of them yet or begun stuffing. Hopefully I can enlist some help tomorrow at Sunday School; if not, well... I'll be stuffing toilet paper rolls in all my spare time this week. :)

Now, on to apples...

It started yesterday, when I finally got around to taking my 20% off coupon to Bath and Body Works to get #2 checked off my bucket list. Maggie and I had gone last week to check out the new seasonal scents, and I knew I wanted either Cashmere Glow or Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin. When I got there, though, they were sold out of Pumpkin body wash, and I didn't like Cashmere as much as I remembered. Right next to the gaping hole where the Pumpkin was supposed to be, however, was a scent that hadn't been there last week - Honey Autumn Apple. I took one whiff, and I was in love.

Several weeks ago, while walking through Target, I spotted a bright orange crockpot, and I knew I had to have it. It was limited edition, however, so in order to get it for me for Christmas, my parents had to special-order it from Target right now (rather than waiting for Christmas). :) My mom finally asked me if I'd be offended if we unpacked it right now and made something in it to make sure it worked (as Christmas would be long past the return date). Naturally, I squealed with delight and began thinking about what I could make. It didn't take long for me to decide: apple butter! I guess those amazing winesap apples I bought at the farm on Wednesday were still on my mind. :) Maggie and I ran back to the farm for a 1/2 bushel of assorted apples, fresh off the trees.

There are quite a few slow-cooker apple butter recipes out there, but I decided to use this one, mostly because she shares my name. :) Everyone on the blogosphere was whining about the time it takes to peel, core, and chop the amount of apples you need, but honestly, I found it relaxing. I sat and got my apples ready and listened to the kids and mom playing Hearts. :)

As of right now, my beautiful, insanely orange crockpot is filled with slowly softening apples, and in a little bit I will dump in the spices, turn it down to low, and go to bed, only to awaken in the morning to full finished, divine apple butter. This, people, is why crockpots are magic.

So let's see, did I cover everything I promised? Apples, orange, toilet paper rolls... check.

I got quite a few things knocked off my bucket list this week! #3, #11, #16, #18, #31, and #35 are all checked off now, leaving me only 19 things left, and roughly 28 days to do them in (I'm not exactly sure when my Winter list will kick in yet. I'm thinking the week of Thanksgiving :)).

I was just thinking today how much more successful my Fall Bucket List has been than my Summer Bucket List. I have some thoughts on this that hopefully I'll have time to put in a post for you guys later this week - just in case you're thinking about making your own bucket list! :)

I hope you're having a great weekend. :)