Most visited post – October 4th – Tacos and Vodka? Is it my birthday or something?
October 21st – Results of this month’s Favorite Reptile poll….Turtles taking it with 75% of the vote! Snakes and crocs didn’t get any love at all.
Total amount spent celebrating this month: $185.89
Most expensive holiday this month: Pumpkin Day – $49….thanks to Rich’s beast of a pumpkin!
My personal favorite holiday celebration this month: Halloween, of course!
I also regret to inform all of you that Bella, the dog that lived at the Elephant Sanctuary, passed away this month. I got an e-mail the other day about it since I am now receiving all of their newsletters. Here is a link, it’s a very touching story (although very sad as well) http://elephants.com/newsStory.php?newsID=1320
Happy Halloween! The best holiday of the year, yay!!! I am just going to post a bunch of pictures to show how we celebrated today, enjoy!
Karri doing her best Captain Morgan pose. She won the costume contest at work!!
Work pals looking festive.
Family photo pre-trick or treating. Roman was captivated by his candy bar (this kept him occupied long enough to distract him from his tiger hood!)
Checking out Dad's kitty mask.
Post trick or treating. I think we went to a grand total of 3 houses, yippee!
Silly Grandma (or Mom) passing out candy to the kiddies.
Roman playing with his trident glow stick from Grandpa. Watch out!
We had a great Halloween, Roman’s first!!! Hope you all had fun today too!
Total Cost to Celebrate: $0 – I am just going to chalk this one up to $0 since I didn’t spend any extra money to celebrate the holiday for this project. I always go all out for Halloween!
NATIONAL KNOCK KNOCK JOKE DAY
Knock, Knock!
Who’s there?
A little old lady.
A little old lady who?
I didn’t know you could yodel.
Knock, Knock!
Who’s there?
Madam!
Madam who?
Madam foot got caught in the door!
Knock, Knock!
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock, Knock!
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock, Knock!
Who’s there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?
Knock, Knock!
Who’s there?
Boo.
Boo who?
Don’t cry, it’s just a joke.
Knock, Knock!
Who’s there?
Cows go.
Cows go who?
No, cows go moo!
Total Cost to Celebrate: $0
Clip of the Day:
The original Halloween trailer. Not sure if this is the actual theatrical trailer but it shows a lot of the awesomeness of one of the best scary movies ever made:
P.S. – Which friend was more annoying, Annie or Lynda? Rich and I were having a debate about which one was the worse actress….it’s a toss-up.
I am a big fan of checklists. I love making lists of things I need to do, it’s almost a compulsion for me. I like making lists much more than I actually enjoy doing the things on them. For today’s holiday I had a few things that needed to get checked off my list. First, get Roman in his Batman costume. This is not his Halloween costume, he has a different one for tomorrow. I found this snazzy getup for $5 bucks a month or so ago. How could I say no?
Check! Second, get a picture of him with the mask on:
Hmmm….I guess I get a half check on that one. Third, get my Halloween costume ready for work tomorrow. Check! I’ll save the pictures of that for tomorrow. I still have a few things left on my list that I haven’t done yet. One is finishing my laundry. Boooooo. I have a feeling that one will wait to be checked off for a few more days. Hey, it’s about making the list not actually doing everything on it. Mission accomplished!
Total Cost to Celebrate: $0
HAUNTED REFRIGERATOR NIGHT
What lies deep in the darkest corners of your refrigerator? Today is the day to find out. It’s Haunted Refrigerator Night!!! (Insert screams of horror) I bravely searched through our icebox and found some scary sights:
OOOOOHHHH, it does look spooky in black and white, doesn’t it? The most offensive item was the leftover egg drop soup from Egg Day….ewwww:
I think I may have nightmares about that one tonight. Here is the rest of the yucky stuff that made its way to the trash tonight:
It doesn’t look too bad from the picture, but believe me everything was long past its consumption date. I didn’t find anything furry today, so that’s always a plus.
Total Cost to Celebrate: $0
NATIONAL CANDY CORN DAY
Candy corn is not one of my Halloween favorites. I’ll eat it if it is presented to me, but it’s not something I will buy for myself. I did buy some to celebrate the holiday today though. After picking up some traditional candy corn I came to discover that there are other variations:
I didn’t even know there were other flavors. This goes to show that I am usually not seeking this out. Are they trying to make this candy more desirable? I’m up for the taste test. I tried all three today and gave them all an equal shot. It turns out I like the regular kind the best (that’s still not saying much):
Rich liked the caramel candy corn. Neither of us cared for the caramel apple flavor, it tasted strange. Now that I have a massive amount of candy corn left over I’m going to have to think of something fun to do with it. Any ideas? Can I melt it down and make some better tasting candy???
Total Cost to Celebrate: $6
Clip of the Day:
Lewis Black: Candy Corn. This is completely true:
P.S. – I’ll take regular corn over candy corn any day of the week.
I think I am finally ready to admit it…..I am a cat person. I fought it for years, but I now realize it is true. I like dogs, but cats are just so much easier. I have had a cat or cats as pets for the past 19 years. My first cat, Patches, was my birthday present on my 10th birthday. She is still kicking today, living at my parent’s house. My other cats, Roxy and Bulkhead (yes, Rich named her…I refer to her as BeBe) were a gift from Rich when I graduated college in 2004. I got them when they were only 5 weeks old, soooo tiny! Here they are when they were super duper cute:
Here they are now, first up is BeBe:
She’s our scaredy cat. She is afraid of everything, but she still likes to cuddle. Now on to Roxy:
Roxy has a big personality. She is definitely the domineering one of the pair and demands tons of attention. She gets a lot now, although mostly unwanted, from Roman:
Roman LOVES cats. I’m assuming it is because that is what he sees every day so that is what he likes the best. That picture is so funny because Roxy just meows and Roman attacks, it’s highly entertaining. One last picture of all my kitties:
The black and white one is Felix, he is unfortunately no longer with us. He was very very sweet. Now that I have succumbed to being a cat person I need to focus on avoiding turning into a cat lady when I get older. I have a limit of two….same with children…
Total Cost to Celebrate: $0
INTERNET DAY
I thought it would be a good plan to sort of combine cat day and internet day. Heck, some of my favorite internet clips are of silly kitties! So, here we go, the best of YouTube: Cat Edition:
Wait a second….I AM turning into a crazy cat lady!! NOOOOOOO!!!!!
Total Cost to Celebrate: $0
P.S. – No need for a Clip of the Day today. Send me pics of your kitties and I will post them on the You Celebrating page!
“The hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with a uneasy, half vital motion.” Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was one of the books I read in high school that I actually remember enjoying. It is a classic and Shelley’s monster lives on to this day. Frankenstein was actually the Doctor that created the monster, not the monster himself. Frankenstein has since become synonymous with the images we are familiar with today. To celebrate Frankenstein Friday I found a few nifty things in the $1 bin at JoAnn’s. The first one is a do-it-yourself monster decoration:
That’s me at work post-decoration. I had put the bolt stickers on my neck and the stitches sticker on my face to try to impersonate my monster. You can’t really see them in the pic though, I just look like I have a giant fly on my cheek, ew. I also got this cool mask/visor dealio:
Roman had a blast ripping it off of Rich’s head. He’s quite the little monster himself. Happy Frankenstein Friday!!!
Total Cost to Celebrate: $2
INTERNATIONAL BANDANA DAY
There are dozens of ways to wear a bandana. For today’s holiday, I’m going to go ahead and demonstrate some of the variations for you, hope you enjoy!
The Bandit - taking off with some old lady's purse here.
The Milk Maid - bottoms up!
The Gangsta - check yo self before you wreck yo self.
80's Flashdance - she's a maniac!!
Cinderella - still waiting on that glass slipper....
Badass Biker - aka my Dad.
I probably could have added several more, but Rich was getting sick of taking pictures. Who knew the bandana was so versatile? So many different types of people can transform that simple piece of cloth into a unique fashion statement. My coworker, Rosa sported her bandana today to help celebrate too:
Stylish! I’m going to have to come up with a never before seen way to wear a bandana. Trendsetter extraordinaire, that’s me!
We all know them. They are everywhere. Cranky coworkers. They are taking over the workplace. Watch out, they screw with your head. They try to suck you into their world. Complaining. Whining. Hating. Negative, negative, negative. It’s an epidemic. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Instead of pointing out the dozens of crankypants at my job, I found a better way to celebrate today’s holiday. I thought of the best fictional cranky character and decided to showcase him today. Here is the best of Stanley from The Office, hooray for crankiness!
Classic Stanley. Did I stutter?
Total Cost to Celebrate: $0
Clip of the Day:
Chelsea Lately celebrating the holiday last year:
P.S. – DON’T get caught being the cranky coworker in YOUR office!
Pumpkin Day started off with a bang…literally. A truck on I-696 lost its load of pumpkins and sent them bouncing and smashing along the expressway. Here are some pictures:
They had to bring the snowplows out a bit early this year. Yikes! Check out those sparks!
What a way to start a holiday. My personal celebration wasn’t nearly as eventful. Rich, Roman and I went and picked out pumpkins earlier in the week to prepare. We planned on carving/painting them on Pumpkin Day, but I was a little under the weather with a lovely sinus infection. Roman decorated his though….along with his high chair, clothes and face: We decided it would be just a wee bit safer letting him paint his pumpkin rather than handing an 11 month old a carving knife. See, we are good parents after all! Have a look at his abstract art:
Rich and I carved ours today, a day late but still with plenty of time before Halloween. Rich picked out a beast of a pumpkin that cost us a pretty penny. Nothing but the biggest and best for us! I opted to use one of the patterns we had, the Kitty Bat. Rich was a little more inventive and freelanced his design:
Spooky!!!
Total Cost to Celebrate: $49…..yep, told you he picked a pricey one!
MULE DAY
Today’s holiday celebrates the first importation of Spanish jacks to the United States. They were a gift from King Charles III to George Washington in 1785. Hmmm….interesting. Sooooo…how to celebrate? I found a website that explains all the different names for the various horse/donkey/mule/etc. combos:
Ass – A member of the genus Equus with larger ears and smaller build than the horse. Group includes donkeys and burros but the term usually is used only for the wild versions.
Burro – Small donkey
Dam – Mother of any of these animals
Donkey – Either a male or female domesticated ass
Foal – Baby (either sex) horse or donkey
Gelding – Castrated male horse or donkey
Hinny – Sterile offspring of a stallion and a jennet
Horse – Means a horse, either a male or female
Jack – Uncastrated (intact) male donkey
Jennet – Female donkey (pronounced jenny)
Mammoth Jack – Exceptionally large uncastrated male donkey
Mare – Female horse
Mule – Sterile offspring of a jack and a mare
Sire – Father of any of these animals
Stallion – Uncastrated male horse
Whoa, nelly! That is more information than I ever cared to know about these animals. Are we going to have a pop quiz on this? I would fail miserably. I’m confident with horse though, I think I can probably remember that one at least. I feel bad for the undomesticated donkey that becomes a mother, hence Dam Ass. Dam Ass best be watching out for her son, Stallion. He’s hunting for a Jennet to make a little Hinny. I’m just going to stop there, I could have waaaay too much fun with this!
Total Cost to Celebrate: $0
Clip of the Day:
Bizarre Halloween Pumpkins, from people with crazy imaginations:
Sourest Day is the cynic’s response to Sweetest Day. It is a day to basically be a sourpuss rather than a sweetheart. Since I already approached Sweetest Day cynically, I wanted to have a little more fun with this one. I bought some of the best sour candy on the market – Sour Patch Kids. After thinking for a little while about exactly what to do with these guys other than eat them, I got a brilliant idea. I made them into a flower bouquet for my hubby. Observe:
Snazzy, right? I had all the other materials here at home already. The bow was left over from my b-day flowers. I thought it was pretty inventive, but what did Rich think?
He loved his sour bouquet! Here he is enjoying his edible arrangement:
Just to get an extra jab in for today’s holiday I went ahead and helped myself to the Kit Kats I bought Rich for Sweetest Day. He hadn’t opened them yet (he had forgotten about them). I thought in the spirit of Sourest Day it would be nice to take back a little bit of my sweetness. Sour AND sweet today, yummers!
Total Cost to Celebrate: $2
Clip of the Day:
My favorite Sour Patch Kids commercial:
P.S. – I don’t think I would have been as calm if this were me. Those scissors may have been plunged into that gummy body instead.
Breath in, breath out. Now repeat. The only time I am ever really conscious of breathing is when I’m at the doctor, underwater or gasping for air while exercising. Today’s holiday focuses on our lungs. I read some articles on ways to keep your lungs healthy and they are all pretty straightforward:
1. Don’t smoke….duh.
2. Eat healthy and drink lots of water.
3. Exercise.
4. Breath the cleanest air possible.
5. Get your flu shot.
I was semi confused about the flu shot and then I realized that the flu heavily affects your respiratory system. Lucky for me my work gives us the shots for FREEEEE!!! It doesn’t seem to stop all the sickness from infecting everyone around there though. The downfalls of working in an office….ick. I can say that I mostly follow all of the healthy lung tips listed above. I have never been a smoker and I find it to be quite the disgusting habit. I’ll save my rant on that one….for now. For today’s celebration I decided to make this not-so-exciting holiday into something a little more fun. Exhibit A:
Yep, that’s a wood ball blower. I thought Rich and I could have a little competition to see who has the stronger set of lungs. We each got 3 attempts to keep the ball in the air as long as we could. Here are a few pictures of us with our crazy-eyed cat and even crazier-haired baby:
I was feeling pretty light-headed by the end of our game! We didn’t let Roman try for a few reasons. First, he is sick so we don’t need to keep passing around this cold that has been haunting our family for about a month now. Second, he has not figured out how to blow out yet. Third, the ball is styrofoam so that means he would probably try to eat it…not a good idea. So, I bet you want to know who the winner is, don’t you? Rich took one turn and got 14.60 seconds. I subsequently took my 3 turns and never was able to beat his score. Fireman Rich has better lungs that me!
Total Cost to Celebrate: $3
Clip of the Day:
Not one of my most clever, but still funny. I was looking for the Zoolander clip where he says he thinks he has the Black Lung after working in the coal mines for one day. They didn’t have that one on YouTube so I found this alternate scene….still references lungs at the end: