Happy Halloween!

 Every day I go on a bike ride and take the same route just so I can ride by this one house.  They have two skeletons in their front yard that they move every day.  One day they are exercising, the next day they are playing baseball or football.  They have been known to camp, barbecue, do sit ups, cut the grass, do yard work, golf and rake leaves.  Today they were Trick or Treating. 

I'm a little sad the Halloween season is over because I will miss my skeleton friends.   Hopefully one of the neighbors has some creative outdoor holiday decorations planned.

Happy Halloween everyone!

National Months - November

 Once again, we have quite a few scary weird fun holidays to celebrate all month long.  

Let's get started!

At the top of our list.... it's

World Vegan Month

An entire month dedicated to vegans.  There are lots of exciting vegan products out there (food, beauty, clothing).  There are also a lot of vegan recipes out there for you to give a try this month (even some on the blog, just click on recipes).  Some reasons people go vegan:  to save the animals (because of poor treatment of animals on farms and the actual killing of the animals), to save the environment ("animal agriculture takes a toll on the earth by contaminating aquatic ecosystems, soil and more"), and for their health (animal fats and proteins are linked to colon cancer and heart health among other diseases).  

it's also

National Noshavember

Learned something new about No Shave November.  Apparently, this was started to raise awareness for cancer.  Any money that you would normally spend on haircuts or facial grooming was to be donated to a cancer research charity.  Don't forget to share those hairy pictures on social media, #NoShaveNovember. 

National Pomegranate Month

Pomegranates are packed with many nutrients like, protein, fiber, Vitamins C and K, folate and potassium.  They also are a beautiful and tasty fruit and this happens to be pomegranate season.  Check out Greek Mythology and the story of Demeter and her daughter, Persephone for an interesting take on the effects of pomegranate seeds. 

National Pepper Month

Great time to try out the world's hottest new pepper, Pepper X.  I'll stick to peppers that don't burn the inside of my mouth (and stomach).  Add this fruit (yea, peppers are fruit because of the seeds) to all of your dishes.   I love adding them to salads for extra color and crunch.

 

National Peanut Butter Lovers Month

Great time to celebrate our love for all things peanut butter.  Check under recipes on the blog for some peanut butter recipes.  Better yet, just type peanut butter on the search bar.  I'm sure Pippen would love to participate this month.  Peanut butter is his favorite.

and, finally, it is 

National Gratitude Month

A month of being thankful.  Let others know that you appreciate their friendship.  Give back to your neighbors and community.   It's also a great time to start that gratitude journal.  How about just journaling for the month of November?  Just by writing down what you are grateful for helps you look at the world in a positive way.    

Looks like a fun month ahead.  Get out there and celebrate all month long!

Witnessed - by mail

 The other day I looked through the mail and saw we got a letter from Donna T.  I set the envelope aside and sorted the rest of the mail, all the while trying to figure out who is this Donna T. person?  

I have to admit, it was rather exciting receiving mail from a person instead of a bill.  I mean, who doesn't like getting a personal letter in the mail?  I don't get a lot of letters in the mail these days, just bills like the rest of the world, so you can imagine my excitement this letter is bringing me.  I was so excited to find out who this Donna person is, so I tore open the envelope.    I pull out the letter and find out that Donna T. is a Jehovah's Witness.  I have to admit that my excitement deflated rather quickly.  I was surprised that I was receiving a letter in the mail.  Don't they walk through neighborhoods and knock on doors anymore?  It seems rather impersonal to just send a letter.  I guess there are a lot of weirdos out there.  I wouldn't want to knock on random people's doors. 

Have you been witnessed by mail? 

If you need a little laugh about being witnessed, check out this post.

RT or Retweet

 I think we all know that I refer to my husband as RT.  In fact, I have him in my phone as RT.  When calling him while driving my last car, the voice would say, "Calling Artie."  By the way, that is how I had to say his name if I wanted to call him.

Recently I noticed that RT's name has changed.  When I call or receive a text from him, he is now referred to as, "Retweet."  I never know if I am calling my husband or retweeting something.

I guess I could just change his name in my phone but that would take away all of the fun.  

My Weird Dog - Forgotten

 I woke up at 2am the other night and thought I heard my weird dog, Pippen, barking.  It sounded like he was really far away.  I thought I might still be sleeping and dreaming of him barking.  I was a little shaken and decided to get out of bed and investigate. 

To my surprise I found him wagging his tail and staring at me on the other side of the sliding glass door.  I let him inside.  The poor guy's fur was standing up and he was a little miffed he was left outside.  It was all RT's fault...or at least that is what I told Pippen.   

Side note:  Pippen loves being outside and it wasn't really that cold.  He just likes curling up in his bed at night (or on the carpet by my side of the bed).

Today is National Make a Dog's Day.  A day set aside to give all dogs the best day of their lives. It also encourages to adopt, not shop.  If you already have a dog, how about showing some love with an extra walk or a special treat.  Maybe a visit to a dog park.  

Of course we will be observing #MakeADogsDay by going on a walk, extra treats (maybe even some green beans), fur hugs and even remembering to bring the pooch inside at night.

P.S. No harm was done to Pippen.  He is happy and healthy.

Retail Problems

 I think I have been hanging out at work too much (is that possible?). 

I had a customer ask me if I have a twin sister.  Of course I replied, yes.  Just kidding.  I replied, no.  The customer continues, "I swear I saw your doppelganger at (some bar) over the weekend." (of course, this was said to me in front of my manager).  Apparently, I have a twin sister who spends all of my money by partying all weekend at local bars. 

 I assured the customer that it wasn't me at the bar.  I also made sure my boss knows I'm not living it up at the bar when I am not at work (it does sound like fun, though).

National Handbag Day

  Today is my favorite day, National Handbag Day!  A day set aside for me to celebrate all of the time and headaches effort that I put into finding the perfect a new purse.  

Handbags come in many shapes and sizes.  They can be as small as an envelope or as large as a carry-on suitcase.  Handbags also come in every solid color and a variety of prints like leopard, zebra and even stripes.  You can get a sparkly bag or a purse with rhinestones.  There is a handbag out there for everyone.

Whatever you call it... purse, pocketbook, clutch, evening bag, case or pouch, handbags have been used for thousands of years.  The earliest bags were used to carry tools or gear.  Sometimes the user decorated them with beads.  And some dyed the material to make the bag.

How do you celebrate National Handbag Day?  Wear your favorite handbag today, of course!  Or use this day to buy a new handbag.  There are so many out there for you to choose!

 We all know that I celebrate this day because of my purse commitment issues.  If you need to read up on my scary purse stories, click  HERE, HERE and HERE .  I promise these stories are quite entertaining.

I have been using one of those waist pack/ sling over your shoulder bags the majority of the summer.  Today I will actually use a purse.  I am always on the lookout for a new everyday bag, so, lots of prayers are going to be needed for that search.  

National Produce Misting Day

 Okay.  I think these National Days are getting a little out of hand.  Produce Misting Day?  Are you serious?  We're happy that every time you go to grab your produce, you get to take a free shower?  

I dug a little deeper into this one and found that it is celebrating the fact that the automatic produce misting machines were invented in 1979.  No more covering the produce with burlap sacks at night.  No more manually misting the produce to try to keep it fresh.

I mean, it's great that the produce mister was invented, but do we really need to dedicate an entire day to celebrate?

Fall is here!

 "Fall is here!  Fall is here!

It's my favorite time of year

Football games and falling leaves
I'll take mine with turkey please"

It's that time of year set aside to think about falling leaves and all things pumpkin!  Pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice, pumpkin spiced latte, pumpkin potpourri, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies and just plain pumpkins.

Are you a pumpkin person?  A football person?  How about a Halloween person?

Well, time to get your craft on and get into the Fall spirit!  I thought I would put links to some of the Fall Halloween crafts and Costumes that I've blogged about in the past.  Some of these are great ideas to do with little kids and some are great to do with your Girl Scout Troop!


Halloween Crafts

Bat Pencil Cup  uses an empty can and construction paper

Extra Crafts - using construction paper, make owls, witch, ghosts and foam monsters

Mosaic Pumpkin - using paint chips

Mosaic Pumpkin - using construction paper

Owl - using construction paper

Pony Tail Craft - using ribbon (great for a Girl Scout Troop!)

Pumpkin and Ghost - using Popsicle sticks and paint

Pumpkin Magnet - using foam

Spider - using pipe cleaners and google eyes

SPIDER  using construction paper

Spider (under $1 craft)  using an egg carton, black paint and google eyes

Witche's Hat  uses foam and glitter glue

Pumpkin Soap


Have a party to go to and need a quick, easy Halloween costume?  Look no further! 

Costumes
Easy Halloween Costumes
Eye Candy Costume
Target Employee

It's also time to grab that apron and whip up some fall goodies!  Everybody loves pumpkin!  (well, at least I do!)

How about some Fall food ideas:

Vegetarian Chili
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Pie (from a Pumpkin)

Halloween Candy Dessert 

The Great Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins 

Hope this inspires you to get into the fall spirit!  I think I'll go make some pumpkin cookies.

Enjoy!