A Recap Of October 2011

Jeez...again, no blog activity in October.  I should start blogging more very soon because life is slowing down.  However, the Holidays are coming here ~ so maybe life will NOT slow down for a while longer.

1. A quick recap ~ I canned quite a bit which made me happy because I didn't expect to.  My mom and dad went over East of the Mountains and brought us home some pears and apples towards the end of September...so I canned. 
2. Also this month my hubby went both deer and elk hunting...and no luck.  I was hoping to fill the freezer but that didn't happen this year. 
3. My sisters, mom, daughters, nieces and one nephew walked the American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Walk in Snohomish county.  This is the second year in the row we have walked this event in support of my sister who is a breast cancer survivor.  It was a wonderful day! 
4. Also this month my favorite youngest daughter had a halloween party and I made the most perfect cake pops ever...and I didn't even take a dang picture.  
5. After being on the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover for two months...we paid off our first bill...one of my school loans.  Yahoo!
6. I am working towards another big goal to begin January, 2012 which is to only spend $250.00 a month on groceries...including food, toiletries, paper goods, etc.  WHY?  Our insurance premiums are going up and I don't want to take away from my Dave Ramsey "snowball" amount so I am cutting back on grocery money. 

Here are some pictues from October to share:

My mom, myself and two my sisters at the breast cancer walk.

Cinnamon Pears...first time canning these myself but my mom
used to can these when I was younger.  My mom was a great
canner and I can remember our hall closet being full of her homemade canned goods.

This is the display I created by my front door for this fall season. 
The larger pumpkins are not from my gardent but the corn stalks, the
marigolds and some of the small pumpkins are from my garden!

I planted garlic bulbs this fall for the first time.  They are
already sprouting out in the garden.  It is fun to see things
still growing in this cold dark weather.

I have been much better about couping and I did pretty good
during the month of October...all the pop was FREE!

Apple Pie Filling!  I must admit that I overfilled the jars but
most of them seemed to seal just fine.  I will be wrapping a
pretty ribbon around these along with a recipe for apple pie!
What a fun Christmas present!