I'm really going!

Yippee! I am leaving in 10 minutes for Ocracoke Island, see y'all Saturday! I better leave right now before my husband is called back to work...he actually gets to go! Thanks for all the Jalapeno tips...they are stowed in the fridge :)

bye for now!

Jalapeno HELP! request...

I headed out this morning to run some errands before our tenatively planned getaway to the beach tomorrow. Before I left I asked my husband if he could go harvest whatever was left on the jalapeno bushes and rip them out before he left for work.

This is what I came home to an hour later:

Help!! Yes, all 16.2 lbs of them...

So here is my dilemma: I NEED to leave on our road trip tomorrow the minute I get out of school, and no time to skin and can these babies today. Yes, I could freeze them, but I already have 5 gallon bags frozen and we would much rather have more pickled jars for nachos and such this winter. What I need to know from my wise fellow blogger friends is whether or not they will keep in the fridge until Sunday so I can pickle and can them? Have any of you left things for several days before canning? I don't expect there will be much flavor or texture issues since the skins will be charred and discarded, and they are really hot jalapenos, not just bell peppers. Is the fridge thing more of a texture problem or am I looking at a food safety thing? Problem is, I usually plan to can before I even go out to pick so I have never had this happen, lol! I had no idea there was still so many peppers out there... see, I really have been neglecting things! And my husband also said he didn't rip them out since they were covered with blossoms again, lol!

And I actually will get something done today... peas! Thanks Kelly, for lighting a fire under me to get them soaking last night :)

Of course, now I am realizing that I have left tomatoes on my counter for awhile before canning...maybe I am overthinking this the way I do with everything? Advice is appreciated :) !!

Time Management Issues...

Do you ever feel that you are doing everything yet getting nothing done? This is how I have been feeling lately. I know that I am at least maintaining my household at a somewhat even keel, but it has been so chaotic here that I feel like I am just running around placing buckets under leaks, and if I don't get it together, the roof is going to cave in! Oh, yes folks, it's going to be one of those posts!

I am going to use this post as a way to list what's going on at the military "homestead" (nice oxymoron) to see if I can then go back this evening and read it and maybe give myself a break, or at least find a project that I can finish!

In the past week:

1. We said goodbye to sister & brother-in-law after a wonderful visit in which I actually had her harvesting my peppers for me - another chore that I sloughed off!

2. My husband was supposed to leave last Thursday for another few weeks, and they left him here at the last minute. While in theory this sounds good, major chaos ensued. After telling my brother and sister in law (different set of siblings visiting this time!) that my husband would not be able to make it down to their rented beach house, now I am telling them that "yes, he can"! Not exactly. On their couple of hour layover here in town, he had to go to work 3 hours before they got here and remained there until they were long gone on their way to the beach house. Another dinner party hosted alone: check!

3. Since being "able to stay home" this trip, he has been working 15-17 hour days, no kidding! My kids haven't seen him in days, yet he is HERE!

4. Bought child new bicycle for daddy to put together, followed by said child wailing "when is Daddy coming hoooommmmee and fix my biiiikkkkkeeee???!

5. Now we are tenatively back on for the beach house for Thursday - Sat morning, yet my husband says "don't pack the car yet"?!

6. Early onset menopausal symptoms are once again raging. Sleepless nights combined with hot flashes and mood swings... it's a nonstop party. Maybe this is why sailor/husband is working round the clock? Note to self: confront hubby in mood-swing style on this one.

7. The fall garden has not been planted yet....

8. On a high note, I had my first class leading to certification as a Master Gardener this morning. Let me tell you about being in school again and conversing with adults: HOORAY!!! I didn't want to go home!

Here are some random photos from this weekend:

I will allow myself a pat on the back for this one: dinner party for 7 Friday night without my husband's help of keeping the kids out of my hair, lol! We had Greek/Middle Eastern night. I made Stifado w/freshly made tzatziki, Tabouleh, Baba Ganoush with our own eggplant, crusty bread, and this Caprese salad pictured above. I love cooking the Middle Eastern region's recipes since so much of it comes straight out of the garden, herbs and all! I credit my husband for bringing home a wonderful recollection of the Stifado he had in Corfu so I could attempt to replicate it.

This was the night after my dinner party... the one evening I was to spend quietly with my husband after the kids went to bed. What happened???!!! Apparently I am becoming the neighborhood hang-out, lol. Two bags of marshmallows later I gave up on my romantic fire!

Finn's face says it all: Daddy's home again! He gets all the glory around here!

A miscellaneous picture of a disgusting fungus popping up in my front beds. Gross, gross, gross! They smell as bad as they look, and get covered with flies, the good news is that they are usually gone within about 12 hours. We just had about 4 inches of rain in one day, so I think it's appearance was due to that.

Now I need to figure out how to do my homework, help with kiddie homework, get dinner ready, baths, and bike riding time all in tonight by myself. Yeah, the hubby is sitting in the squadron only 2 miles away....grrrrr! At least when he is truly gone I don't count on any relief and he gets a little extra pay as well... that probably sounds harsh but any military gals will know what I'm talking about, lol!

And so it goes for at least the next 2 weeks...placing buckets and waiting for the roof to cave in! At least I am still keeping a clean house, so I know I am not too far gone to be saved :)

I know there is a new "normal" to be discovered here, I just haven't made peace with it yet. My current schedule is just not jiving with my OCD, lol! There is now a 4 year old behind me asking me what "munti-tissing" is... he overheard me talking about multi-tasking... with that, I must leave you now!

Peace Out...