Trick or Treat

My princess is ready to go Trick or Treating and it isn't even 8 o'clock yet. She woke up and was ready to get going. I think today is going to be a long day!

We have her costume ready, the bags of candy for trick or treaters , pumpkins on the porch and skeleton lights in the window.

Now I just have to keep her distracted until dusk.

Once the Trick or Treating is done then for a couple weeks we will have mini battles and much discussion over how many pieces of Halloween candy she can have each day.

I love Halloween but I am glad it only comes once a year.

Monday Morning Motivation

I am all gung ho and on the wagon on Monday mornings. Full of motivation and successful musings. Somewhere around three or four in the afternoon my Monday morning motivation train has left the station, derailed and is now a hazmat scene.

As a veteran dieter I try all the tricks such as drinking enough water to fill a man made lake, brushing my teeth and chewing gum. I must have an extra 'self sabotage' lobe in my brain that kicks in and replaces the stick to itness with start tomorrowness and leaves me eating too much or the wrong food. Often it leaves me eating too much of the wrong foods and the next morning my carb hangover leaves me bloated and wallowing in caloric remorse.

Two steps forward and one step back is frustrating but at this point at least I am 40 lbs lighter than I was. I try to focus on that instead the 20 lbs that I so very much want to lose and am struggling to.

Early Voting

This presidential election is truly historic and I wanted to make sure I was part of it.

Usually I wait until election day to vote but this year I voted early. There are plenty of reasons to get in on the action early. It is more convenient if you have a hectic schedule. Going on a day when the weather is nice instead of taking a chance on it being a rainy or snowy November 6. Avoidance of long lines. There were only four people ahead of me and I was done very quickly.

This year I took my mother with me to vote early. She enjoyed the process much more with the shorter line and pleasant fall weather.

So whether you take advantage of early voting or feel the excitement and energy of voting on election day please vote! Be a part of history. Have your voice heard!

Fontenelle Forest

We took a short jaunt to Fontanel Forest. Perfect time of year for it. The trees seemed to vie against each other for colorful bragging rights. We hiked a short loop to view the Missouri River. Taking my mom along we walked single file along the path listening to her stories of the hikes she took as a child growing up in Indiana. Clean, brisk autumn air was the perfect complement to the crunch of dried leaves under our feet. We listened to Grandma's stories of the Great Depression and how times were tough but the people were tougher. The economic hardships her generation faced helped them recognize what was truly important to them. People, love, relationships. Buying things, getting stuff was not part of her childhood. She has fond memories of the games they played,songs they sang. Hikes and campfires. She is homesick now for Indiana but her sisters and parents have passed away. The farm she grew up on is no longer there. She longs to go back for a visit but the reality is that there is no one and nothing left to visit. As we walk under the trees their falling leaves remind us that there is always changing seasons and to enjoy each one as much as possible.

Keeping Halloween Happy

Despite the plasticising and commercializing of it I still love Halloween. Running in the conservative Christian circle that I do I put up with the tight lipped frown of disapproval from those that don't participate in the holiday. Dressing up and getting candy does not make my children pagans anymore than swimming in the ocean makes them dolphins.
Walking around on a chilly night gathering candy in complete and giddy anonymity is such an ingrained childhood memory I can't imagine not passing it down to the next generation.
Scratchy plastic masks and cheaply made big box retailer costumes is the easy way to go but with more imagination and less money the night can be made even more interesting. My triangular foam pizza costume has lasted for years. Cardboard boxes can be spray painted or covered in poster board to transform little ones into cars, dominoes, TVs, cell phones, robots,
computers to an infinite list of easily recognizable costumes with a bit of time and a fraction of
the cost.
Singed vegetables is not one of my favorite aromas and trying to keep stringy pumpkin guts on spread out newspaper is an impossibility so we have taken to decorating our pumpkins without carving them. Using paint and permanent markers is a great alternative to bludgeoning an innocent orange orb for the sake of a lopsided face and a top that invariably caves in. Keeping the pumpkin whole is safer, less messy and keeps it fresh longer.
The way to go in my book!