My Life as a Novel

Here, I posed with knife in-hand for a picture, but I did no cutting at all.
Kyle doesn't trust me with a knife.
The multiple scars on my fingers prove that his doubt
in my cutting abilities is well-founded.

And, tonight, Mr. Jack O. Lantern will make an appearance at a Halloween party we're helping put together at a friends house. I mean, he's no piece of jack-o-lantern art, but we're kinda fond of him.

Labels: holidays, photo

I have never carved a pumpkin. Is this strange? Because I didn't think so until I shared that with a few people recently and they looked at me like I was from another planet.

I come from a pretty conservative family that used to be a VERY conservative family. (Case in point: My mom once signed a contract with her job that she wouldn't wear pants and her skirts couldn't show her ankles.) So, needless to say, Halloween was pretty sketchy to my parents. I remember in kindergarten, my whole class was going trick-or-treating and the decision of whether or not I would go was not made without considerable debate.

That Halloween sucked because my parents DID decide to let me go. It was harmless enough. Dress up. Walk to the library, the bank, and the courthouse. Get candy. Go back to school. And I went dressed as a grandma. Floral-print nightgown, complete with matching slippers and hat. Little glasses perched on my nose. And off to collect candy we went.

Everything was fine until we got to the bank and my dad's cousin, who worked there, saw me and pointed me out, laughing, to one of her coworkers. I was mortified. And angry. How dare she laugh at me! I still remember the condescending look on her face. I just wanted to go right back to school. I was done with Halloween. For good. I never wanted to go trick-or-treating again.

Looking back, I'm quite sure she was laughing and saying, "How cute!" But in the moment. Oh, boy. I could've stomped her toe.

So... all that to say. Halloween was not really a "celebrated occasion" for my family. (My parents may have thought it was devilish, but I just didn't enjoy being laughed at.) And since carving pumpkins isn't really a tradition for any other holiday, it's been missing from my list of childhood experiences.

Until now.

Last night, I bought a pumpkin for $2 at the Local Walmart. And tonight, I shall make an attempt at carving it. We'll see how this turns out.

Labels: holidays

I'm gonna have a nephew!!

Labels: Aunt Rita

November is my favorite month. I love Thanksgiving - it's my favorite holiday, hands down. I love decorating for Christmas. I love the fall. And the fact that my birthday is in November does nothing to hinder its campaign for Rita's Favorite Month.

But, as much as I love November ... I can't believe it's almost here already!! Today is October 29!! November starts on Saturday! This is craziness!!

I sit in an interesting position on a weekly basis. I work for a pretty conservative church. I receive emails on a regular basis that are intended for the ministers, but are sent through the website. Which means that if you send them happy forwards through the website with no personal note attached, they probably don't get them. Or if you're a musician who wants to perform lead worship at that church, I listen to your music and decide if people will want to hear it before I pass along or delete your email. Or if you send political emails, I read them and delete them. Every one of them. Straight to the Trash Folder.

And this week, boy has there been an overload of those.

For months, we've been getting the "Don't vote for the Muslim" emails. This week, it's "Don't vote for the terrorist." Even a few that are, "Just please don't vote for the black guy."

And I get frustrated for more than one reason -- but the main one is that they're so full of obvious lies. Easily refuted lies. Anyone who wanted to know the truth could just as easily start up Internet Explorer and give it a Google! And these emails are coming from Christians, who just accept things without question - even things that sound utterly ridiculous to say.

Ultimately, I really DON'T CARE who you vote for. I don't. Just don't vote Republican ONLY because you hate Obama and think he's a Muslim. And don't vote Democrat ONLY just because you don't like McCain and think he's ... I don't know. Old.

Know the policies. Know the truth. And base your decision on that. And vote with the empowerment that comes from knowledge.

I have really enjoyed these websites as useful resources for finding out "the truth".

Put Away Falsehood
Fact Check
Politifact


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If you've noticed my absence from the blogging scene lately, I apologize. I'll be back with regularity soon, I hope! But it's FALL!! (Even though it doesn't feel like it all that much around Charleston.) So I'm spending most of my time praying for cooler weather and knitting.)

Labels: politics

A moment of levity in a campaign that has had too little.

Labels: Good for a laugh, politics

4 medium-to-small red potatoes, washed, halfway peeled, and cubed

Labels: recipe

If you're expecting a Christmas present from me this year, chances are it's in this box. :)

Labels: crafting, holidays, photo

My sister-in-law makes jewelry. A couple of weekends ago, I helped her to take some pictures of her stuff for her website.

Looking for Christmas presents? Get in touch with her! She's got some great stuff!!

Labels: photo

My most excellent friend, Jenny, gave me a bag FULL of apples last night. And an apple peeler/corer/slicer (that I MAY just "forget" to return to her). And tonight, I'm making applesauce! And this excites me a lot. More than it should because, really!? It's just applesauce.

:sigh: I think I'm turning into my mother.

Labels: Good for a laugh, Self-Discovery