My Weird Dog - Vacation Edition

 My weird dog  Pippen went with us on vacation this summer.  Its been awhile since his last vacation down to the Smokey Mountains when he was three.  You might recall that ended in the ghetto van  my van dying and Pippen riding in it while it was towed (he has never recovered from that experience).

RT and Pippen headed up to Michigan together.  I asked RT to send me photos of Pippen enjoying his getaway.  This was cute until I get a phone call from RT,  "Tell your dog to get out of the car!"  There I am, at work, sweet talking my baby  dog trying to coax him out of the car.  Fortunately I was successful.

I guess I forgot to mention the reason Pippen was in the car.  Apparently he was loose (off leash/chain) and started wandering the neighborhood.  RT thinks that Pippen was trying to escape  find me.  

Pippen did enjoy his vacation (once I arrived).  He liked to be outside laying on top of the pine needles and hanging out in the closet under the stairs.  We started to call the closet, "Pippen's Room."  I think he has plans to redecorate.

I was the lucky one to drive Pippen home.  I'll set the scene.  It's 90F and my a/c doesn't work that great.  The ride back was much longer due to traffic and construction.  It was about 100F inside my car.  Someone  Pippen decided to pant (breathe heavily) in my back seat.  After 3 hours of dealing with the child  Pippen, I called RT, who was a few cars ahead of me.  At the rest area, Pippen hopped into RT's car and went to sleep.  Amazingly, my car cooled off.

I think Pippen enjoyed his vacation, but is happy to be home. 

National Handbag Day

 Today is 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 .  They stories are quite entertaining.

I think today is going to be a good celebration.  I am happy to announce that I have added a few more purses to my collection.  I think I should probably start focusing on a new wallet to go with these purses (lots of prayers are going to be needed for that search).

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, it's time to get your craft on this fall 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!

Tea

 I have discovered a really strong Cinnamon tea from Adagio Teas.  Hot Cinnamon tea is wonderful to sip during the chilly months.

Bring on Fall and Winter.  I'm ready!

Gesundheit

 We survived a quarantine.  We survived a pandemic.  We survived wearing masks everywhere.

During the entire mask phase, I was (and still am) afraid to sneeze in public.  I'm sure other people felt the same way.  I mean, sniffle, cough or sneeze and people give you a dirty look.  It doesn't matter that you are wearing a mask that is covering the germs.

I think my sternutaphobia (fear of sneezing) is making me have to sneeze.  The fear of sneezing into my mask might be worse than the actual fear of the sneeze itself.

I know that my sneezes are not related to COVID.  Dust, allergies and the Good Ol' Sun can bring on a sneeze for me.  It also wouldn't be so bad if my sneezes weren't so LOUD!!  (Visit The LOUD Sneeze for more information)

How do you feel about sneezing or coughing in public?

Grocery Store Music

 Have you noticed that the music they play in stores now is basically songs from the 80's?  There is nothing like doing a little grocery shopping to the tune of "Hungry Like the Wolf."  Which, when you think about it, it's perfect because I'm hungry and I have to buy some food!

Growing up the music played in stores was (I thought) just that, plain music.  Music without words.  Happy music is being played, but, not too fast where it will rush you out of the store.  The music is to get you to stay in the store longer and, hopefully, spend more money.  Using 80's music must be an appeal to a different generation, Generation X  (Bye, bye Boomers!).

I'm not sure if the songs that are being played are to get you to buy certain foods or are challenging you to push away from the cart and "Bust a Move"  do your best 80's inspired dance to the song.

I mean, play, "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and you remember that you signed up for that bake sale and need some flour and sugar.  

A little Michael Jackson's, "Beat It" and you remember to pick up some eggs.

Throw in "We Got the Beat," by the Go-Gos and you're asking for some 80's pop dancing or a friendly reminder to buy some beets.

"Red, Red Wine" by UB40 gives you a little nudge to pick up a bottle (or three) to go with Sunday's dinner.

Then "Push It" (Salt n Pepa) real good on up to the register.

The next time you are grocery shopping in store, stop and  "Walk Like an Egyptian"  listen to the background music.  Is the music, "Nasty?"  Or, does it make you want to stay in the store, "All Night Long?" 

Success!

I have unleashed my inner Martha Stewart!  I am proud to announce that I have successfully learned how to fold a fitted sheet.  It only took one try.  If you too would like to master the art of fitted sheet folding, you can check out YouTube for  some "How To" videos.  I can now check this one off my bucket list.  

Next up....napkin folding.